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ithappenedinAMERICA?
Welcome to Another Republican Convention!
by David Brady
This convention is brought to you by
the party sponsoring such hits as The Patriot Act, Wiretapping, Electronic
Eavesdropping, Military Commissions Act of 2006, partial suspension of Habeas
Corpus and your Miranda Rights.
Today, with another show of force, the
Republican leadership shows the opposition that your opinions and thoughts need
to be kept private and to yourself. If you make them public, act on these ideas
or even plan to protest the "required quo" (formerly the status quo but has most
recently become required) you to can be harassed or severely
punished.
Case in point, today
Police raided headquarters of RNC protesters in ST. PAUL, Minnesota. Police
raided a rental hall used by a group organizing protests at the Republican
National Convention in St. Paul, Minnesota, on Friday. Although no one was
arrested, the group said police temporarily detained and photographed at least
50 people who were inside the building. As many as 30 police officers entered
with guns drawn, according to witnesses in the building. "We are now accused of
a simple fire code violation," the statement said. Oddie Miller, a 19-year-old
from Fort Collins, Colorado, said it was "just a space to get food, free
Internet, community organization."
This is again another show of force
from the Administration that you are warned. "Do not cross us or you too can be
in such a situation."
Not many remember the convention in Philadelphia. I
do, I lived and worked there. Let me tell you a story that didn't make the news.
Prior to the convention, the RNC leadership decided the Admiral Wilson Boulevard
(in New Jersey across the bridge from the convention) was an eye sore. How could
a Republican governor (NJ-R) allow such things in her state? (Freedom maybe? New
concept). Christy Todd Whitman (NJ-R) and the RNC pressured local communities to
rezone the highway and thus revoke the business licenses of local
establishments. How could the RNC travel past such places and still give the
fake squeaky clean image? (Maybe they were afraid RNC members might go to those
places).
I quote: "Not every place revels at being a welcome mat. But
when the governor started bulldozing
liquor stores, strip clubs and hot pillow joints along the Admiral Wilson
Boulevard here, that was precisely what she had in mind." Chock one up for
eminent domain.
Freedom gives us the right to say what we think and do
the things we want without government interference. This administration had
feared public outcry since day one and enacted laws to prevent it. This
administration started off with bulldozing private businesses it didn’t agree
with and no one really batted an eye. How can we be surprised when today’s raid
occurred? ……
David Brady is Chair of the Libertarian Party of McHenry County (IL) and a candidate for IL State Chair.
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