Remember The Cupcake Pricing By Race Story? Well Liberal Protesters Made The Bake Sale Planner's Point!!

By Susan Duclos

The other day I wrote about a bake sale which was planned by Campus Republicans at the University of California Berkeley as a statement/protest event to California legislation (SB 185) that would let the California universities consider race or national origin during the admission process.

Zombie over at Pajamas Media attended the event and came away with awesome pictures, video and descriptions of today's activities.

The U.C. Berkeley College Republicans struck a national nerve today by holding a bake sale with racially discriminatory pricing: Higher prices for white and Asian students, lower prices for black, Hispanic and female students. Why the intentional discrimination? To protest a pending new statewide law, SB 185, which attempts to re-introduce Affirmative Action into university admission standards, something that was banned years ago with California’s Proposition 209, a popular constitutional amendment requiring race-neutral admissions.

The purposely inflammatory gag was very clever: the goal was to make everyone point out how racist the cupcake prices were, at which point the young Republicans reply, “Exactly! Racial discrimination is unfair. Thanks for making our point for us!”

But the leftists on campus and around the state instead flew into a blind rage: The joke was too effective, so Affirmative Action proponents simply pretended to “not get it.” Accusations of racism flew back and forth and before anyone knew it we had a major FUBAR situation on our hands.

Zombie did the heavy lifting by taking and publishing all the pictures and stuff, so please head over there and look through all of them.... there are a lot!!

The liberals on campus played right into the event planner's hands and made the point for them.

The Campus Republicans deserve a round of applause, they sold their cupcakes, they forced the protesters to make their point for them and they put a spotlight on the legislation in question.

A job well done.

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Should Race Or National Origin Have Anything To Do With College Admissions?

By Susan Duclos

[Update 9/28/11] Bakes sale day!!!!! Campus Republicans held their sale and made their point.

Video below post.

California legislators seem to think that race or national original should be part of the college admissions process for California universities and Campus Republicans at the University of California Berkeley have come up with their own controversial form of protest.

A bake sale!!!

Not your every day type bake sale, no, a sale that lets race or national origin determine the price of the baked goods being sold instead of their actual worth.

Just as a person's academic achievements should determine their eligibility instead of where they are from or what color their skin is.

During the sale, scheduled for Tuesday, baked goods will be sold to white men for $2.00, Asian men for $1.50, Latino men for $1.00, black men for $0.75 and Native American men for $0.25. All women will get $0.25 off those prices.

"The pricing structure is there to bring attention, to cause people to get a little upset," Campus Republican President Shawn Lewis, who planned the event, told CNN-affiliate KGO. "But it's really there to cause people to think more critically about what this kind of policy would do in university admissions."

Lewis says it's a way to make a statement about pending legislation that would let the California universities consider race or national origin during the admission process.

15 years ago voters overwhelmingly passed Proposition 209 which prohibited using affirmative action in admitting students to colleges and universities. SB 185 would effectively change that state law which voters passed.

Text of Prop 209

• Prohibits the state, local governments, districts, public universities, colleges, and schools, and other government instrumentalities from discriminating against or giving preferential treatment to any individual or group in public employment, public education, or public contracting on the basis of race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin.
• Does not prohibit reasonably necessary, bona fide qualifications based on sex and actions necessary for receipt of federal funds.
• Mandates enforcement to extent permitted by federal law.
• Requires uniform remedies for violations. Provides for severability of provisions if invalid.

Proposition 209 passed by 54.55 percent.

15 years later, SB 185 was introduced by Sen. Ed Hernandez (D-Los Angeles)

This bill would authorize the University of California and the California State University to consider race, gender, ethnicity, and national origin, along with other relevant factors, in undergraduate and graduate admissions, to the maximum extent permitted by the 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution, Section 31 of Article I of the California Constitution, and relevant case law.

SB185 Could See Affirmative Action Back at California Universities: MyFoxLA.com

Considering the controversy surrounding this bake sale, I would say the Campus Republicans at the University of California Berkeley have made their point and achieved their goal of starting the discussion and bringing the issue to attention of the public.

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Why Moonbats Should NEVER Be Allowed To Run A City!

By Findalis

Moonbat Alert!

The city of Berkeley, California, home of Code Pinko, hatred of the men and women in US uniform, proud of the Islamic attacks on 9/11, and where science is not an acceptable course of study in school, is now giving the nation this new outrage:

Amid calls from some politicians to press treason charges -- which could carry the death penalty -- against whoever leaked secret cables to WikiLeaks, the Berkeley, Calif., City Council is entertaining a resolution to declare that an Army private accused of leaking some classified information to the website is an American hero.

City Peace and Justice Commissioner Bob Meola, who authored the resolution, told the San Francisco Chronicle that Pfc. Bradley Manning, 22, is a patriot who deserves a medal.

"If he did what he's accused of doing, he's a patriot and should get a medal," Meola told the newspaper. "I think the war criminals should be the ones prosecuted, not the whistle-blowers."

Manning -- accused of leaking a video that depicted an Army helicopter attack that left 11 people dead in Baghdad and widely suspected of leaking hundreds of thousands of secret cables to WikiLeaks -- is currently being held in a Virginia military brig.

And that's where he belongs, say members of a national veterans group, who call the Berkeley resolution "appalling."

Ryan Gallucci, a spokesman for AMVETS, which represents roughly 180,000 U.S. veterans, said the City Council "would be wise" to vote down the resolution in support of Manning. A city commission has already approved the measure, and the Berkeley City Council will vote on it on Tuesday.

"AMVETS believes it would be appalling to commend someone like Bradley Manning, who has betrayed his country and disgraced the uniform," Gallucci wrote in a statement to FoxNews.com. "Manning not only compromised American interests across the globe, but he has blood on his hands for our Afghan allies sought out by the Taliban from the first leak."

Gallucci said Berkeley lawmakers should be "ashamed" that the proposal ever surfaced.

Manning, who has not commented publicly on his case, faces up to 52 years in prison if convicted of leaking the video. Though widely suspected, he has not been charged in connection with the release of hundreds of thousands of classified military documents to WikiLeaks, many of which have been released in the last couple of weeks.

His civilian attorney, David Coombs, did not return a call seeking comment. Army officials also did not immediately comment when reached by FoxNews.com.

But Jeff Paterson, an organizer for the Bradley Manning Support Network, said he's "hopeful" the Berkeley resolution will pass.

"I believe he's a hero," Paterson said. "There's an international witch hunt against WikiLeaks and if Bradley Manning is the source of the material, he needs all of our support."

Paterson, who will attend Tuesday's vote along with Meola, says he considers the resolution's chances of passing to be "50-50."

James Carafano, national security expert at the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank based in Washington, said he considered the resolution to be jumping the gun.

"First of all, someone is innocent until proven guilty," Carafano said. "And the investigation is not done. They're kind of pre-judging the judicial system -- at least wait and see what evidence and charges are presented. They have no evidence to base this judgment on."

If Manning is ultimately charged and proven guilty of leaking the sensitive documents, Carafano said, the resolution could be construed as encouraging millions of U.S. military officials with access to sensitive information to disseminate that material.

"I'm a great lover of democracy and I'm a great lover of federalism," he said. "But if people of that city want to earn the disdain of other Americans, that's their right. If these people want to vote against the crowd, have at it.

"The most kind and generous thing you could say is that it's completely irresponsible."

I suppose we will now see this detestable piece of trash, this poster boy in favor of abortion, this creature with no redeeming value will get a ticker tape parade down Broadway next, the keys to all US cities and the Congressional Medal of Honor personally submitted for it by Barbara Boxer and Diane Feinstein.

There once was a time in this country that the left knew not to promote or support a traitor to the country.  Not only was the traitor shunned, but his or her supporters were shunned.  It was an unwritten rule concerning this type of behavior.  But those days are long gone. Now traitors are rewarded and heroes are jeered.

I wonder if there is any way to physically remove Berkeley from the United States and send it to Cuba?  They would be more at home there.  Just a thought.

Code Pink Retreats From Berkeley

Many might remember the disgusting actions of the Berkeley city council when they tried to call the US Marines unwelcome and unwanted in the town of Berkeley, to which cause a firestorm of support to show up, enmasse, for the Marines until the Council decided to rescind and reword their resolution.

Another cancer in Berkeley was the Code Pink as they harassed the Marine recruiting office, chaining themselves to the doors, vandalizing their building and spewing their venomous hatred, trying to force the Marines to leave, again, they failed as more support showed up for the Marines.

(right- Melanie Morgan faces off with Code Pinko member Medea Benjamin-left)

Melanie Morgan, Chairman of the pro-troop organization Move America Forward sent me an email showing that the Code Pinkos of Berkeley are leaving!!!!!!

We hate to gloat, but . . . .
Code Pink, the leftists anti-American hippies who dress in Pepto Bismol pink and who tried to run the Marines out of Berkeley, have retreated. We at Move America Forward lead the charge against them when they attacked our Marines. Now Code Pink is having a “going out of business sale.”

From Code Pink:

We must close our CodePINK office, 1248 Solano Ave., Albany. Come to our EVERYTHING MUST GO Moving Sale from noon until 7:00pm Tuesday Oct 28th thru Thursday Oct 30th!

All the office furniture, display cabinets, tschotkes, and all the wonderful outdoor furniture and fixings as well - not to mention CodePINK memorabilia and merchandise - will be on sale!

Come get your treasure and help us close this part of our chapter.

This is what I call good news to awaken to on a Monday morning!!!

Thanks to Melanie, Move America Forward, every veteran, family member and friend that showed up in support of the U.S. Marines in Berkeley for everything they did and their consistent show of patriotism.

To the Code Pink chapter in Berkeley- Good riddance to bad rubbish!

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More Financial Woes for Berkeley

The other day I wrote a piece detailing the financial costs to Berkeley California for their anti-military stance, their support of groups like Code Pink, their calling the Marines in Berkeley "unwanted and uninvited intruders" and the fallout they are suffering from their actions.

I followed that up with a letter, hand delivered to the US Attorney's office by Move America Forward, written by their attorney, asking for a full investigation of crimes committed in Berkeley.

Today, H/T to A Newt One, I see that yet another business is taking their company out of Berkeley.

A software company in Downtown Berkeley has announced it will be relocating outside of the city, citing what they claim is a "non-response" to crime by Berkeley police officers, who are forced instead to deal with protests at the Marine recruiting center.

Avontus Software, which has been based in Berkeley for more than a year, is one of many businesses affected by anti-war protests surrounding the recruiting center.

The city's decision to support Code Pink and other anti-war groups protesting the center by granting noise and parking permits has been detrimental to the business climate, according to Brian Webb, Avontus Software chief executive officer.

"All they're doing is giving our city negative press-they're removing our businesses," Webb said. "I actually have had to remove our address from our Web site because we received negative feedback from our customers about being here."

As of today, the city council has still not apologized to the Marines for their disparaging remarks. They are still encouraging members of Code Pink and other organizations to break the law and "impede" the Marine recruiters and they are still receiving complaints and suffering for their actions.

This is not going away and Berkeley should be made to understand it.

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Announcing My Evil Plot to Take Over the World

Opinion (or something like that)

I'm going to state, for the record, so that any of you out there who aren't quite as rational as others of us when you read this, will know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that I am totally can completely serious in what I am about to say...

I'll leave you all with that thought as we begin.

I am setting out, beginning this coming Saturday, to take over the world. Planet Earth will, at the completion of my quest, be renamed as Htrae. There are reasons for the choice of this name that will become evident as my thought processes unfold here.

The decision to take on a grand scheme such as this is not one that comes spur of the moment. Usually. No, instead and indeed, the decision for such great and powerful quests often are inspired by the request (demands) of one individual upon another to inspire the onset of such an event, and in this case, that demand has been the demand of "I need for there to be 36 hours in a day. ARRANGE IT." The one who made mention of the need for a 36-hour day shall for the moment remain unnamed.

And so, my friends, soon to be my minions, I have decided that come this Saturday, I will indeed embark upon my quest to take the world over and do just that. It will be a major undertaking, requiring much effort, much financing (I'm starting the funding with 74 cents that I've just pulled out of my pocket, donations will be appreciated and expected as you begin to understand that it's all going to be mine in the end anyway), and a great deal of being able to handle the stress of being the benevolent and just dictator that I intend to be.

The exact ways and means of how I will accomplish this will come to light as they are undertaken (i.e. it will be made up as I go along), but KNOW THIS, there will be changes.

Oh yes, there will be changes.

First will be the matter of the 36 hour day. I intend to have a team of the worlds top astro-physicists working on the problem from the outset of the initial take-overs. There task will be to find some way to extend the day from it's current 24 hours into 36. I do know enough about the subject to realize that there will have to be other changes made as well, due to the change of climate that is certain to occur, one can not extend the number of hours in a day without changing the orbit of the earth itself, after all. This will lead to an extension of how long a week is, how long a month is, how long a year is, so forth and so on.

As you can see, my scheme will affect time itself. Time will no longer be relevant in the way we understand it now. Our entire way of thinking will have to change.

One thing is for certain, however: my conquest of the world and the moving of the planet's orbit around the sun will definitely cause Al Gore to sleep more easily at night, as I will have been the catalyst for ending "global warming."

This will lead to another problem, however, and as one who is highly fond of the bikini (thong bikinis in particular), I have already taken this into consideration and have a plan for making sure that this very important (skimpy) outfit survives the coming winter. Domed communities. That's right, we're going to begin an immediate construction of domes to enclose our communities so that the temperatures can be regulated so that in any city your benevolent dictator visits the uniform of the day will be thong bikinis for the ladies who wear them and love them. I'll be a hero of international acclaim for this.

I love being me.

Under my rule, unemployment will not be a problem, either, on the same note. There will have to be massive construction projects going on around the world to ensure that my plan comes to full fruition. Millions of workers will be employed in the construction of the domes and the subsequent environmental systems that will maintain them. Further, there will have to be massive changes made in agriculture that will lead to work for masses of people as new ways of growing food can be put into practice. Every meal will be a feast fit for a king, or in the case of the new world order, a benevolent dictator.

I will also solve the problems of fuel requirements for transportation; there will be none, unless I approve it. I will have to have a massive staff for the handling of requests FOR transportation, which again goes back into how I'm going to solve unemployment.

There will also be a massive drop in crime under my plan, as everyone will be required to be armed (with orders and instructions, of course, that there will be no coups attempted to overthrow my regime. I have to be the one in charge or it all falls apart).

The media doesn't escape my all encompassing eye nor my compassion. Anyone broadcasting the news will have to do so naked. There will be no more tailored suits and such for news broadcasters. Simple psychology comes into play with this one. One is much less likely to try to spin their own political ideology into a news report if they have to be on camera naked. One particular CBS anchor comes to mind that has inspired this edict. Yes, Katie, I have figured out how to bring you in from the far left.

Berkeley, California, you have not escaped my notice, either. You, Berkeley, will become the new home for two very important things, you will become the home to a United States Marine Corps boot camp facility, and that same base will be the home of the United States Marine Corps band. There will be mandatory nightly concerts in front of Berkeley City Hall, and the wearing of pink will be outlawed. Unless it comes in the form of a pink thong bikini.

Under my rule homicide bombings will become a thing of the past. Potential terrorists will be rounded up and enter reeducation programs, in which they will be forced to watch RENT for 24 hours out of the new 36 hour day, so that they can learn one word; INDIVIDUALISM. This will be a graduated process, from which they move on from watching RENT to reading The Fountainhead, Atlas Shrugged, and One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.

YES, my friends, there are going to be changes.

The Mountain Gorilla will become a saved species, as I have a particular use for them. Every child molester and child abuser, wife beater, so forth and so on will be sentenced to a ten by ten steel cage that they will share with a silverback mountain gorilla. If they survive, they will be told that they have been rehabilitated and that no one expects to see them come back for a repeat offense.

Reality Television will be outlawed, unless it is as original and creative as Stan Lee's "Who Wants to be a Superhero?"

Hollywood will put their political leanings into a new use: there will be no protest movies, all politically-based movies will have to, in some way, pay homage to me.

No commentary will be allowed that is in any way anything less than complimentary to me. Ann Coulter will remain exempt in this edict, as she will be assigned the task of making sure that I remain "grounded." One can not allow one's ego to become TOO large, after all.

Politicians will no longer be necessary. I will be in charge of all things governmental. Those currently serving in political office will be subject to a tribunal process, headed by me, to determine if they have actually been doing the work of the voting public or working for their own self-interests. I am, after all, going to be benevolent. The people will be my priority.

Oh yes, there will be changes...

And to think, it all was inspired by the call for a 36 hour day.

Once and Always, an American Fighting Man (on his way to world dominance...)


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Move America Forward Files Formal Request for Investigation of Berkeley

Move America Forward with the group's co-founder and chairman, Melanie Morgan, met with US Attorney Will Frentzen yesterday to deliver a letter formally requesting a full investigation into allegations of crimes committed in Berkeley, California.

Move America Forward (MAF) is the largest pro-troop organization in the US, and eight members of the group from the Bay area, gathered in front of the United States Federal Building in San Francisco, to meet with the US Attorney's office to lodge formal complaints and to demand a full investigation into allegations of anti-military groups, such as Code Pink, harassed, slapped, punched or otherwise harmed pro-troop supporters at gatherings such as the one on 2/12/08, in the town of Berkeley.

MAF was there at the US Attorney's office to hand deliver a letter from their attorney making this official request.

That letter was exclusively given to me to publish on Saturday, March 29, 2008, which I did.

ABC, Fox News and KTVU were on hand to report this meeting between the US Attorney and the eight members of Move America Forward.

(Melanie Morgan, chairman of Move America Forward being interviewed by KTVU in front of the United States Federal Building in San Francisco- Photo courtesy of Melanie Morgan. com)

Each member of the MAF group related stories at the press conference about the lawlessness that ran rampant at the February event, citing specific accounts of CodePink, their supporters, as well as truant Berkeley High school students, who were allowed to violate their rights and the police that did nothing when these violations occurred, even when they were asked to step in and separate the two different groups according to the legal permits that were granted.

We hereby request an investigation into the timely lack of response by the City of Berkeley and the Berkeley Police Department during the events of February 12, 2008. In short, the City of Berkeley failed to protect its citizens engaged in the lawful exercise of their rights under both the First Amendment and federal civil rights laws.

Video of police refusing to keep the groups separated to the areas where their permits allowed them to be, after complaints had been brought to them, can be found at YouTube here.

After the press conference with reporters, the group from MAF was then taken to the 11th floor of the Federal Building to meet with US Attorney Will Frentzen, where MAF hand delivered their letter and cited examples of the violations that occurred and Mr. Frentzen told them he would be in touch with the FBI and well as passing around the formal letter of complaint to the legal departments in the civil division.

(Photo L- to- R is Eamon Kelly, disabled Marine, Bryan Weldon, Lafayette Flag Brigade and Elizabeth Kelly, Blue Star Mom, Sherry Perussina, Blue Star Mom, members of MAF, relating stories of abuses and harassment they suffered or witnessed at events held in Berkeley- Photo courtesy of Melanie Morgan)

It was not only violations to to the the members of the pro-troop organization, MAF, that the US Attorney was asked to investigate, as stated in the letter (link above), the Berkeley city council had passed a resolution on January 29, 2008, calling the Marines in Berkeley unwanted and uninvited intruders, but another passage of that resolution, which was later rescinded stated in their recommendation (3), "encourage all people to avoid cooperation with the Marine Corps recruiting station, and applaud residents and organizations such as Code Pink, that may volunteer to impede, passively or actively, by nonviolent means, the work of any military recruiting office located in the City of Berkeley."

Which led to the request for the US Attorney to also investigate whether the council's encouraging disruptive behavior patently calculated to drive the Marine Corps out of the City of Berkeley was unlawful and criminal by urging interference with the lawful operations of a federal agency operating within the City of Berkeley.

Further, Move America Forward requests that your office inquire into the legal propriety under applicable federal law of the efforts of the City of Berkeley to “encourage,” through legislative action, organizations actively committed to undermining the ongoing military operations of the United States both at home and abroad to impede the lawful activities of a federal agency operating within the city limits.

To that point, it was just two days later that members of the anti-military groups chained themselves to the door of the Marine recruitment center and physically interfered with people that were trying to enter the Marine recruitment building. (Video of that can be seen at the link)

Ms. Morgan states, "We have been fighting them all the way and this is simply the next step," she then concludes with, "Berkeley has got to realize that we’re not going away."


Thanks to memeorandum for featuring this article.

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BREAKING; Letter From Move America Forward to US Attorney's Office Regarding Crimes in Berkeley CA.

Thanks to Melanie Morgan, Chairman of Move America Forward, Wake up America has a copy of the letter that has been sent from Move America Forward's attorney to the US Attorney's office regarding the criminal actions in Berkeley California, demanding an investigation. More at Melanie Morgan.com.

We first told you of MAF's announcement that they would be sending a request letter for investigation to the US attorneys office, two days ago, when they issued their press release.

The Letter:

BY FEDERAL EXPRESS DELIVERY

Tracking No.: 7984 0570 0813

The Honorable Joseph P. Russoniello

United States Attorney, Northern District of California

11th Floor, Federal Building
450 Golden Gate Avenue, Box 36055
San Francisco, California 94102

Dear Mr. Russoniello:

This Firm represents Move America Forward, Inc. (hereinafter “MAF”), a non-profit organization committed to supporting members of the United States Armed Forces and their families.

Our client participated in what began as a peaceful demonstration in support of the United States Marine Corps Recruiting Center, located on Shattuck Avenue in the City of Berkeley, on February 12, 2008. MAF obtained a permit from the City of Berkeley prior to the demonstration. Sadly, the peaceful demonstration was disrupted with violence. During the demonstration, several incidents occurred which the Berkeley Police Department failed to respond to adequately. MAF supporters were harassed, threatened, and intimidated by opposing groups. In addition, several acts of violence were committed against MAF supporters, and the Berkeley Police Department ignored their repeated requests for assistance. The police failed to protect its citizens during what should have been a peaceful demonstration. These incidents of intimidation, violence, and government inaction were widely reported in both the Bay Area and national media.

Our client also remains concerned that recent legislative action by the Berkeley City Council, which ultimately precipitated the unfortunate events of February 12, 2008, runs afoul of federal law. As you are likely aware, the Berkeley City Council approved a resolution on January 29, 2008, that provided in pertinent part that “the Marine recruiting office is not welcome in [Berkeley], and if recruiters choose to stay, they do so as uninvited and unwelcome intruders….” The Council then resolved to “encourage all people to avoid cooperation with the Marine Corps recruiting station, and applaud residents and organizations such as Code Pink, that may volunteer to impede, passively or actively, by nonviolent means, the work of any military recruiting office located in the City of Berkeley.” The legacy of this “encouragement” was the shameful events that transpired in Berkeley on February 12, 2008.

The City of Berkeley is actively, through the legislative action by the City Council, encouraging private organizations to disrupt the lawful governmental operations of the United States in the City of Berkeley, by encouraging groups to “impede” the efforts of the United States Marine Corps to recruit qualified young people to serve in the Corps. There is little question that Berkeley, as a college town, is an appropriate place for the Marine Corps to recruit qualified, patriotic young people to serve their country as United States Marines. By encouraging disruptive behavior patently calculated to drive the Marine Corps out of the City of Berkeley, the City Council appears to be soliciting unlawful, and quite possibly criminal, interference with the lawful operations of a federal agency operating within the City of Berkeley.

We hereby request an investigation into the timely lack of response by the City of Berkeley and the Berkeley Police Department during the events of February 12, 2008. In short, the City of Berkeley failed to protect its citizens engaged in the lawful exercise of their rights under both the First Amendment and federal civil rights laws. As you know, these laws fully protect our client’s right to participate in such peaceful expression, and they have the right to be protected from such acts of violence. Further, Move America Forward requests that your office inquire into the legal propriety under applicable federal law of the efforts of the City of Berkeley to “encourage,” through legislative action, organizations actively committed to undermining the ongoing military operations of the United States both at home and abroad to impede the lawful activities of a federal agency operating within the city limits.

Thank you in advance for your attention to this matter.


Sincerely,

SWEENEY & GREENE LLP



James F. Sweeney

As I just finished reporting about the financial costs to the city of Berkeley, I showed a quote from Morgan, where she said, "We have been fighting them all the way and this is simply the next step," she then concludes with, "Berkeley has got to realize that we’re not going away."

The Berkeley city council has publicly encouraged and incited code pink and other organizations to commit criminal acts and the US attorneys office must investigate and prosecute them to the full extent of the law.

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The Financial Cost to Berkeley California For Their Anti-Military Stance

[Update] 4/3/08- Another business leaves Berkeley.

Berkeley California has been the subject of news for months since the City Council of Berkeley issued a resolution calling the Marines "uninvited and unwelcome intruders." They later rescinded that resolution, but what has it cost them?

It started with a resolution (opens in PDF) passed on January 29, 2008, in which a statement was made that said, "Direct the City Manager to send letters to the Marine Corps Recruiting Station at 64 Shattuck Avenue and to General James T. Conway, Commandant of the United States Marine Corps, advising them that the Marine recruiting office is not welcome in our city, and if recruiters choose to stay, they do so as uninvited and unwelcome intruders."

That statement kicked off a firestorm of protest against Berkeley with politicians demanding that federal funding be stripped from Berkeley, business owners declaring they would no longer do business in Berkeley and pro-troop organizations charging into the town of Berkeley to show support of the Marines of Berkeley.

With members of Code Pink and other anti-military organizations facing off against pro-troop organizations like Move America Forward, joined with local members of the Berkeley community, right outside of the City Council chambers for the next scheduled meeting, the council rescinded that resolution.

They did not apologize to the Marines of Berkeley though.

Code Pink holds protests at the Marine recruitment center on a weekly basis and counter protests are also held to support the Marines of Berkeley.

(Eagles Up in downtown Berkeley on March 22, 2008- Photo courtesy of Move America Forward)
Which brings us to the cost to the city of Berkeley.

In the last six weeks alone, the city of Berkeley has spent over $210,000 in police overtime to keep peace during these protests and counter protests, according to police.

The Berkeley police department has 186 officers on duty and in a statement from police spokeswoman Sgt. Mary Kusmiss, they usually spend between $2,500 and $3,500 per week on overtime during a normal week.

She further states that from Feb. 12 to March 22, that rose to $210,814.13 and that the city spent approximately $93,000 Feb. 12 during an all-day protest at Old City Hall that drew about 2,000 anti-war and military supporters.

Since then, anti-military groups like Code Pink and the World Can't Wait have continued to hold weekly protests which have required anywhere from three to eighty officers to work overtime, saying that the anti-military groups mentioned above have become "increasingly raucous."

Last Monday, March 24, 2008, they say that the police had to arrest another four CodePink protesters during a rally.

Those arrested were Benjamin, 55, of San Francisco; Suzanne Joi, 57, of Berkeley; Pamela Bennett, 45, of San Francisco; and Mari T. Blome, 52, of El Cerrito.

"We feel it's important to have some measure of presence at any type of protest or demonstration," Kusmiss said, adding that the department is worried about the "comingling" of CodePink with the groups the World Can't Wait and the ANSWER Coalition, which police say, unlike CodePink, chain themselves to buildings and purposely antagonize police officers.

Code Pink vows to continue their protests every week until the Marine recruitment center leaves town, as stated by the co-founder of Code Pink, Medea Benjamin, who says, "If people are concerned they should put pressure on the (recruiting center) landlord to break the lease. The recruiters are the ones who should have never come in to Berkeley. If whomever in the city wants to stop the protests, they should encourage the recruiters to leave. Democracy comes at a price."

Benjamin is correct about the price and it does not stop with the financial strain on the city of Berkeley for police over time.

(Eagles Up and military supporters gather in downtown Berkeley to support the Marines- March 22, 2008- Photo courtesy of Move America Forward)
The Lafayette War Veterans Golf Committee has moved their third annual fundraising golf tournament outside of the Berkeley. Their stated reason is " due to the cities hostile attitude toward the Marine Corps."

They have raised over $60,000 the last two years to help people who have been wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan and are being treated at the Polytrauma Rehabilitation Center at the Veterans Administration hospital in Palo Alto.

Ted Garrett, CEO of the Berkeley Chamber of Commerce said they had received at least 140 emails from people saying they would not do business with Berkeley. That was in early February, the number has risen since then.

According to Garrett, "Most are threatening to never set foot in Berkeley and never have anything to do with businesses in Berkeley. I know of at least one instance now where an innkeeper has reported that one visitor has canceled their reservation because of the council's actions."

On February 4, 2008, the Government Affairs committee had a meeting where they discussed plans to withhold business license taxes to protest the resolutions' effects on their business.

That would require the approval of the chamber's executive committee or board of directors and Carolyn Henry Golphin, the immediate past chair of the chamber's board, says that should always be a last resort option, the further states, "We have to do what we have to do. We do need to make a stand together if that's what we all agree on."

By the end of February, Garrett says the number of emails, faxes and letters had reached over 300 and reports were coming out about hotels, restaurants and theaters, all saying they were seeing cancellations with hostility from opponents of military branch cited.

Some businesses reported a decline of 10 to 15 percent and those communications Garrett spoke of were from people outlining their plans to boycott the city.

The shops downtown are suffering because people are avoiding the downtown area because "the weekly anti-war protests have become increasingly volatile."

Nearly a month after the Berkeley City Council refused to apologize to the U.S. Marine Corps for calling them "uninvited and unwelcome intruders," Berkeley businesses are feeling the backlash from people who do not want to spend their money in the city.

The last counter protest held in Berkeley, on March 22, 2008, to show support for the troops, which Move America Forward joined Eagles up, who consists of mostly military veterans that wanted to show their support for the troops, and thundered into the town of Berkeley with 400 motorcycles, showed that even those going to Berkeley refused to spend money in Berkeley and chose to use hotels outside of the town.

(Eagles Up rolls into the town of Berkeley to show support for the Marines- Photo Courtesy of Melanie Morgan, chairman of Move America Forward)

According to the group they spent spent $25,000 to $30,000 in neighboring cities to penalize Berkeley financially for its recent anti-military stance..

The rally organizer Doug Lyvere, a retired Marine sergeant major and the West Region coordinator of Eagles Up, said, "If Berkeley does not want the military in town, then veterans should not be spending any money there."

He goes on to say they did spend money at one Berkeley business, a pizza joint, because that establishment supports the military.

One notable aspect of that rally, which had 400 veterans but anywhere from 600- 800 total participants, is that city officials and police say there was not one arrest made.

The Chamber of Commerce's, Garrett made a statement for that report also, saying, "When businesses can't even open their doors, there is a loss of business here in Berkeley."

Garrett says the Chamber officials have met with the Mayor, who is an active supporter of Code Pink, and attends their rallies wearing a pink hat (see third photo down) and has heard nothing to indicate that the council intends to apologize to the Marines, saying, "They aren't looking like they are going to budge, but that doesn't stop us from working diligently to try and come up with a solution that is going to protect our businesses."

Councilmembers Kriss Worthington, Laurie Capitelli, Betty Olds and Gordon Wozniak did vote on a motion to send a formal apology to the Marines. That motion was put forth by City Councilmember Kriss Worthington, when, after the motion was defeated, said, "When our council adopts such outrageous language, we owe an apology for using that language. More importantly than words, I think we need to show some genuine, positive, practical support for our veterans."

The businesses of Berkeley are laying the blame directly at the feet of the city council as another member of the Chamber of Commerce's board, Mark McLeod, who is also the president of the Downtown Berkeley Association says he believes the Berkeley City Council should have considered the implications of its actions before voting for the resolutions.

McLeod stated, "The council can't operate as an isolated unit-the university, council and chamber have to realize they're all members of a large, complex community and have to act with a realization of the effect of their actions on all members of the community."

While the council refuses to issue a formal apology to the Marines, as well as provides free parking permits and encouragement to members of code pink, while other people have to pay for their parking permits, pro-troop organizations continue to plan events to counter the protests at the recruitment center in Berkeley California.

Last but not least, Move America Forward's attorney has drafted a letter the US Attorney's office to ask them to investigate Berkeley City Council's encouragement to anti-military groups to "impede" the work of Marine recruiters to determine if it constitutes a breach of law.

Chairman of Move America Forward, Melanie Morgan says, "We have been fighting them all the way and this is simply the next step," she then concludes with, "Berkeley has got to realize that we’re not going away."

The financial cost to Berkeley for the council's actions has been high and as of now, there seems to be no end in sight.

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Move America Forward Demands U.S. Attorney Investigate Lawbreakers In Berkeley, CA.

Press Release via email from Melanie Morgan, Chairman of Move America Forward:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Pro-Troop Group Demands of US Attorney: “Investigate Anti-American Activities in Berkeley”

City Accused of Encouraging Interference with Federal Officers

SAN FRANCISCO---A law firm representing a pro-troop organization has sent a letter to the U.S. Attorney in San Francisco asking the federal government to investigate whether the Berkeley City Council’s official anti-Marine position and encouragement of anti-war groups to “impede” the work of Marine recruiters constitutes a breach of law. If the City Council violated the law, the letter asks the U.S. Attorney to prosecute the perpetrators.

The letter was drafted by the attorney for pro-troop organization Move America Forward (website: www.MoveAmericaForward.org), which is the nation’s largest pro-troop grassroots nonprofit. The correspondence also voices concerns that the Berkeley Police were unresponsive and negligent to public safety during a protest the group organized in Berkeley on Feb. 12, 2007. The original copy has already been mailed and an additional copy will be hand-delivered Monday morning with a press conference immediately following.

“We will explore every avenue to ensure that Marine Corps personnel are not harassed for simply doing their jobs, especially not by a city government,” said Catherine Moy, Executive Director of Move America Forward.

Move America Forward has been active in organizing demonstrations as well as several ad campaigns rebuking the Berkeley City Council since they called Marine Recruiters “uninvited and unwelcome intruders” at a Jan. 29 council meeting. The council also reserved a publicly funded parking space and gave free sound permits to a radical anti-war group protesting the office.

“That is a blatant misuse of tax dollars and a violation of civil rights” said Moy, referring to the privileges granted to Code Pink, the antiwar group that received special treatment from the council.

“We have been fighting them all the way and this is simply the next step,” said Melanie Morgan, Move America Forward’s co-founder. Morgan is also demanding that Berkeley’s mayor give a full and official apology to all military personnel, veterans, and their families, and rescind the resolutions giving special treatment to Code Pink.

“Berkeley has got to realize that we’re not going away,” Morgan concluded.

WHEN – 10:00 AM Monday March 31st, 2008

WHERE – North Entrance of U.S. Federal Building, 450 Golden Gate Avenue, San Francisco, Ca.

CONTACT – Ryan Gill, MAF Operations Director (650) 678-7732

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EAGLES UP!!!!! Soars Into Berkeley

[Update] Melanie Morgan has more on this event.....she sounds like she is on cloud nine.



A teaser:

The most deeply moving moment of the day came when a young man, fresh from Iraq and a close haircut, literally wandered into our gathering. He was stunned.

He had NO IDEA so many people supported him, especially in BERKELEY.

I wish I got our soldier's name, but he was a bit embarrassed because he was crying. I gave him a hard, long hug and whispered, "Welcome Home, Soldier."

That's when he really broke down.

God Bless our soldiers, and all of you. Never before in American history has there EVER been a counter protest movement to the so-called 'Peace Crowd', a fringe group of people who are screaming like hyenas, calling our troops thugs, baby-rapers and murderers.

They are NOT.

They are HEROES and I was proud to stand in support of their service and sacrifice.

Damn, now I am crying.

Now go read the rest of her firsthand account...... go.

Eagles Up is comprised, mostly, of Military Veterans as well as military supporters.

Today they did what they do best and instead of the town of Berkeley seeing the anti-American, anti-Military protests from groups such as Code Pink that call our troops murderers.... Berkeley saw patriots protesting against the Berkeley city council.

They were protesting against the Berkeley City Council for their disgusting behavior toward our troops in earlier in the year, calling the Marines at the Marine recruitment center, unwelcome and uninvited intruders in the town of Berkeley.

This caused such outrage from around the country, businesses boycotted Berkeley, Move America Forward and military supporters from across the country descended on the Berkeley city council with all the wrath they deserved.

The Berkeley city council rescinded that resolution with the offensive language as they even saw their own town members protesting alongside of Move America Forward.

But they did not apologize to the Marines.

You can read about the whole saga every step of the way we kept up with the news and it is all on one page here.

TODAY, Eagles up, descended on Berkeley as well to hold their own protests against the city council.

Eagles Up Mission statement:

1. Pursue every opportunity, within our means, to actively stand up, support, and defend, the principles embodied in our United States Constitution.

2. Support our warriors in harms way, around the world, and their families, with a fervor worthy of their sacrificial service for our freedom.

3. Honor and protect the memorials to our fallen, missing, and support their loved ones.

In that vein, 400-600 flag-waving, leather-clad, pro-troops bikers roared into Berkeley today to show their support for an "often besieged Marine recruiting center in the city."

"I'm here because I support my Marines," said Steve Bosshard, a retired San Francisco police officer who came from Santa Rosa. "I don't like what Berkeley's done. They don't realize the effect it has on the troops."

The center was criticized by the Berkeley city council and is often the target of protests.

Today's demonstrators, most of whom are military veterans, said they were protesting the Berkeley city council decision in February to waive the amplified-sound permit fees and provide reserved parking in front of the Marines' office for Code Pink, an anti-war group that stages protests at the recruiting center.

Never to miss an opportunity to show support of our troops, in this case the Marines of Berkeley, Move America Forward was right there and the chairman of Move America Forward and my friend, Melanie Morgan, rode into town on the back of a Hog.

Melanie says, "I’ve never had so much fun in my life as I did on the back of that bike!"

These groups will continue to besiege the Berkeley city council until the apologize to our troops as even members of the council have said they need to.

To Move America Forward and to Eagles Up....good Job and HOOOOOOOOOOOAHHHHHHHH!!!

To the fine, upstanding, brave Marines in Berkeley, I say but one thing.

Semper Fi.

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This is Your Anti-Military, Anti-War, Anti-American Left

The only thing I can say about this piece I am going to quote from, is that at least this blithering idiot is honest... an honest idiot.

When you see someone say "we support the troops, but we don't support their mission", as they highlight every single wrong they can find, insult our troops at every given opportunity and compare them to mercenaries, then you know the empty words claiming they support them, are just that...empty.

So take a good look at what is under the rhetoric because every once in a while, you get a person that is honest in their idiocy. (Note this is a piece in the Berkeley Daily Planet- all Berkeley pieces here for those unaware of the history)

In the recent political battle around the Marine recruiting station in Berkeley there has been much confusion around the concept or slogan of “supporting the troops,” but opposing the unjust wars of the Bush regime. Many who oppose the Bush regime wars also say they “support the troops.” Let me say it straight out—I do not support the troops and neither should you. It is objectively impossible to support the troops of the imperialist military forces of the U.S. and at the same time oppose the wars in which they fight.

I agree with that last part I put in bold... you cannot claim to support the troops and at the same time say you don't support their mission, despite claims to the contrary from people that simply are incapable of telling the truth as the writer quoted above did.

Now look at this comment:

The United States has over 700 military bases or sites located in over 130 foreign countries. The hundreds of thousands of troops stationed in these countries are not there to preserve or foster freedom and democracy as the Bush regime would like to claim...

I point that out because this is a case of the mental disease called Bush Derangement Syndrome. I say this because we have had military bases all across the world for far longer that Bush has been president and yet this moron cannot seem to wrap his head around the basic fact that Bush did not station people in those 130 countries, many, most of them, have been there for longer than Bush has been in office.

Read the whole piece, take a good hard look at who the anti-military, anti-war, anti-American left really is.

Like ripping the roof off of hell and letting the world see the people inside. Hiding behind their empty rhetoric of "we support the troops".

They don't. They make these claims so they won't be seen for what they are.

We need to expose that those in the U.S. military are trained to be part of a “killing machine.” While not every member of the military is an individual murderer, they are all part of a system that commits war crimes, including aggressive wars, massacres, rape, and other crimes against humanity, all in the service of U.S. imperialism. The bottom line is that even if these people are relatives or friends, you can not support the troops without also supporting the objective role that these troops play in the imperialist system.

I need not respond to this man, but Hot Air points to a fine, patriot that does respond.

This is a man that at the age of 38 and 14 years after leaving the Marine Corps, is now joining a National Guard unit as a commissioned officer.The unit he is joining will be sent to Iraq or Afghanistan in 2009.

He says much, but he makes two specific comments that I will show you, then you can go read his full response for yourself.

And I have just two comments:
1. He’s wrong. He couldn’t be more wrong. These kids are rough, sometimes uneducated, some have lived hard lives … but they’re good people. Your pride in them is well placed. This man is simply wrong. He does not know what he’s talking about. I can forgive his ignorance. He’s just too dumb to know better.

2. And I appreciate his honesty. He is an ignorant, traitorous bastard … but he’s both honest and right in his assessment of “support the troops, not the war.” If you hate the President, if you’re in Code Pink, if you march and protest … you do NOT support me. So quit pretending. The truth is better than the lie.

I’m honored to have the opportunity to go be part of what this man hates. I don’t mind dying for his right to spew such ignorance. But if I can forgive his stupidity, perhaps he can forgive my enormous pride in my country and in the young men who fight for it.

Go read all what this man has to say...compare his words, his loyalty and his love of his country, America, to the screed over at the Berkeley Daily Planet.

Take a good hard look at what lies under the veneer of those that claim to support the troops.

Every once in a while, that veneer is ripped away so that we can all take a good look at the monsters that lie within.

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Situational Irony: Berkeley Protestors Call FOR Marines

Berkeley, California, has once again found itself in the headlines. This time, however, they're calling IN the Marines.

In what can only be seen as an ironic twist of fate, Code Pink, and none other than radical leftist Medea Benjamin, found themselves involved in an incident in which they saw the necessity of calling in the Marines for help.

It started at the usual place with the usual suspects involved. Members of Code Pink were barricading the Armed Forces recruiting center in Berkeley, California (where the city still gives them free parking and a free pass to protest uninhibited by normal legal procedures), when a man in a white volvo drove by and "spat upon Code Pink."

This is where the Marines come into play, in a first-hand, eye-witness account given by Eamon Kelly, a Marine recovering from back surgery, in an email sent to Melanie Morgan of Move America Forward:

Titter Meter: HIGH.

"While we were at the protest in Berkeley from 12 to 4 PM a white volvo drove by and a man spat upon code pink. They chased him down the street and got into a verbal altercation. The police were NO WHERE in sight. That's not the best part, ready for this? Medea Benjamin yelled and I quote "Marines!" she actually yelled for our help because this man had stepped out of his car. Lol. I even asked her if she was yelling Police and she told me "I said Marines" then put her arm around my friend Allen (the Marine vet) Ironic? Ok back to the emails!! "

Speaking of e-mails, Eamon has recieved hundreds and hundreds of letters of support from Americans all across the country after he was featured in my WorldNetDaily.com a couple of weeks ago, and the blogging from so many people, including Michelle Malkin, Pat Dollard, Spree at WakeUpAmerica, EaglesUp, Gathering of Eagles, Canada Free Press and dozens more.

Interesting how when the going gets tough, even leftist extemists know who they can count on to bail them out.

More interesting are the ties and connections that surround Medea Benjamin. According to FrontPage Magazine, some of these ties may very well involve financial contributions to terrorist networks in the Middle East:

Waxman has signed a letter allowing radical leftist Medea Benjamin and a dozen of her cohorts – some of whom had lost relatives in the Iraq War – to slip the $600,000 of cash and supplies into camps housing refugees from Fallujah, with less outside scrutiny of its contents. The letter was given to Fernando Suarez del Solar, an amnestied illegal immigrant from Mexico and antiwar speaker for the leftist organization Global Exchange, who lost his son Jesus Suarez in Iraq. Fernando Suarez lives near Waxman’s congressional district. Fernando Suarez distinguished himself as an emotional antiwar protestor. His son, Jesus Suarez (a.k.a. Victor Gonzalez), reportedly died after stepping on an American cluster bomb. Jesus Suarez, who also entered this country illegally, had been offered posthumous citizenship for his service in the military, but his father turned it down. (His wife reportedly accepted the offer in order to safeguard the legal status of their child.) At his son’s funeral, Fernando recalled that Jesus had always wanted to become a Marine and be remembered as a modern day Aztec warrior. However, Fernando soon began shilling for Medea Benjamin and protesting against his son’s lifelong wish.

More troubling than the fact that Waxman’s letter probably sped those supplies through military security is the remaining question: Who was the intended recipient of this collection of left-wingers’ philanthropy?

It says a lot, in my opinion, that Benjamin called upon the Marines for help when there was no available law enforcement. It says a lot about the reputation of the Marines in regards to character, honor, and valor. What speaks volumes more, to me, is that the Marines on sight at the protest did what Marines do best and like no others; they responded to the call of duty.

I don't know if this will make any sort of impact on the Code Pink crowd that was involved in the protest. I don't know that some spark of reason may be triggered in the backs of any of their minds that will give them pause to stop for a moment and think, "These Marines are willing to put themselves in harms way for me, what am I doing?" Perhaps not, but the possibility of it exists.

As for Medea Benjamin? It takes a lot of gall, a lot of unmitigated gall, in my mind, to call upon those whom you're protesting and working against and to undermine and ask them for their help.

God Bless the Marine Corps (and yes, I'm putting aside my service branch bias as an Army veteran to say that).

Once and Always, an American Fighting Man


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Move America Forward Continues the Fight for OUR Marines

A quick recap for those that haven't heard about the city of Berkeley and the Berkeley city council's anti-military stance against our Marines and service members.

In January the Berkeley city council passed a resolution, 6 to 3 to tell our Marines:

From: Peace and Justice Commission

Recommendation:

1. Direct the City Attorney to investigate and report back to Council within 60 days on City options for enforcing Chapter 13.28 of the Berkeley Municipal Code, prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, with respect to military recruiting offices in Berkeley;

2. Direct the City Manager to send letters to the Marine Corps Recruiting Station at 64 Shattuck Avenue and to General James T. Conway, Commandant of the United States Marine Corps, advising them that the Marine recruiting office is not welcome in our city, and if recruiters choose to stay, they do so as uninvited and unwelcome intruders;

3. Encourage all people to avoid cooperation with the Marine Corps recruiting station, and applaud residents and organizations such as Code Pink, that may volunteer to impede, passively or actively, by nonviolent means, the work of any military recruiting office located in the City of Berkeley.

This caused a firestorm of reaction, Move America Forward instantly came to the front to fight for our Marines and planned a little road trip to attend the next city council meeting on February 12, 2008,, Code Pink decided they were going to try to counter the massive outcry against Berkeley council and sent their own alerts out, businesses that do business with the city of Berkeley took the stand that they would no longer DO business with Berkeley, brave politicians stood up and proposed legislation to strip Berkeley of federal funds and earmarks.

For those unaware of who Code Pink is, they are bunch of cretins that run around dressed in pink and calling our troops killers as seen in the sign they held up at the counter protest:



The day arrived and with constant updates we watched patriots from across the country descend on Berkeley to stand up for the Marines...it was spectacular!

The Berkeley city council rescinded their previous resolution....the Patriots had been heard, BUT, the city council discussed and discarded the idea of APOLOGIZING to the marines and the people of Berkeley for their incredibly idiotic actions.

So, we are all caught up now....

Move America Forward is not done with the Berkeley City Council and as per their announcement via email:

We at Move America Forward are proud to release to you this brand-new ad that takes on the Berkeley City Council's campaign against the military.

We're fighting back and want you to see this ad and then pass it on to others. Please email it to others, post to blogs - let's get the word out!! The ad will begin airing nationwide starting this upcoming Monday. Until then Move America Forward will be raising money to buy as much airtime as possible!

For those getting this article via email,here is the YouTube URL for the video, it is a little over one minute and WELL WORTH watching.



Please keep in mind, we have joined with some other bloggers in yet another CALL TO ACTION, because the Pinkly Clad pests are now targeting other recruiting stations in other towns, including a Navy Recruitment Center in Santa Monica on Friday the 22nd and we need patriots from all over to go and stand up for our Naval men and women and counter the hate that the Code Pinko's will be spewing at them.

Patriots around the country, veterans, supporters, family members, and citizens that are grateful that our troops, all of them, are willing to put their lives on the line for America..... make sure that your town isn't invaded by these pink insects and stand up against them proud and strong...let our troops know that while they are fighting to protect us, WE HAVE THEIR BACKS HERE AT HOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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CALL TO ACTION: DEFEND YOUR LOCAL RECRUITING STATIONS!

Hat tip to Michelle Malkin for this call to action. The communist/jihadist embracing leftinistra's have called out for help and they're getting it. Code Pink has been joined by World Can't Wait in Berzerkely, and as MM shows on her site, they're being joined by other groups as well across the country.

Code Pink's announcement:

Join us for Counter-Recruitment this Friday, February 22nd at our new location at the U.S. Navy Recruitment Center!

Join CODEPINK outside of the Navy Recruitment Center in Santa Monica! Wear your pink for peace as we gather to spread the anti-war message and to educate the public about the risks associated with military recruitment and why it’s smart to OPT OUT. To attend, meet us outside our new location at the U.S. Navy Recruitment Center located at 2708 Wilshire Blvd. in Santa Monica (90403) at 12 noon this Friday the 22nd. Let’s show our support for Berkeley and let everyone know that Santa Monica is still in the running with Counter-Recruitment!

Let us know you’re coming by contacting Sarah at 310.827.4320 or la@codepinkalert.org

An announcement that is obviously calling themselves "Funk the War:"

After many previous protests had found the 14th st recruiter “closed” at 5PM, Funk the War found them open, and the door unlocked at nearer to 6Pm and promptly exploited the situation by demonstrating to them first hand how an occupying force behaves.

After a loud commotion inside while outnumbered cops watched, recruiters finally managed to get protesters to leave-but not before literature and full-body length cardboard displays in the street window area were destroyed. In addition, hundreds more “Funk the War” stickers were plastered all over just about everything that would take them. By the time everyone was out it looked like a tornado had swept through the lobby.

One recruiter tried to grab an activist but found himself overpowered by SDS’s superior strength and numbers and had no choice but to give up!

This came on the heels of the whole group marching in K st and Connecticut Ave at the height of rush hour, closing War Profiteer’s Row to cars fro quite a while. The group closed out by going after DC GOP headquarters, but that door was locked and there were too many cops around to break it down.

Pass the word along, contact people you know who live in these areas and let's put patriotic American men and women out there in numbers to counter these people and send them home. If you live in other areas where you see this sort of thing happening, LET US KNOW and we'll make sure the word gets out.

SADDLE UP!

Once and Always, an American Fighting Man


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Letter from Joe at Move America Forward Re: Berkeley--GAME.SET.MATCH.

From Joe Wierzbicki, via email: GAME. SET. MATCH.

We are exhausted, spent, drained, aching, sleep-deprived…

but also exhilarated, motivated, and determined that we will continue to fight on every street corner in every town across this country whenever any individual or group or government body attempts to do what Berkeley has done these past few weeks: dishonor our troops and their brave and honorable service to this nation.

Yesterday that meant going into the Belly of the Beast, where the city was against us, the cops were NOT there to protect us, and the decked was totally stacked against us (by teachers who let their students out of class with the instruction to go take part in their "civic duty", by city officials who made us go through hoops but then emboldened Code Pink to attack our supporters, by city officials who told our supporters that they could ONLY speak to the Council if they first marched through riot police to stand among the violent mob of anarchists and aggressors from International ANSWER, World Can't Wait and anarchist groups).

But we did it, and we did it in numbers (the pro-military crowd grew and shrank throughout the all-day AND all-night event, in the morning and afternoon hours varying between dozens and hundreds only to swell to the point that the media said 2,000 or so folks were lined up outside the City Council chambers before the meeting began).

It was an amazing day, Susan, and although the Berkeley City Council couldn't bring themselves to issue a formal apology to our troops (they couldn't get a 5-vote majority to agree on WHO they should apologize to), we had them listening to our testimony for hours on end, and then listened with glee as at lesats 5 or 6 members on the Council did "mea culpa" statements about how they had screwed up in one fashion or another with their actions.

Again - they couldn't get a majority to agree on WHAT SPECIFICALLY they screwed up on, but they knew that they had made a disgrace out of Berkeley, and ya know what -- in an odd way they managed to unite this country behind our troops at a time when the Code Pink crowd are trying to undermine support for the troops.

Game. Set. Match. And in Berkeley of all places. What a great achievement for the pro-troop movement!

To Joe and everyone at Move America Forward.... job well done and Thank you.

HOOOOOOOOOOAH.

For the Marines that have been keeping an eye on these threads.......

SEMPER FI.

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Berkeley City Council Rescinds Anti-Marine Vote

Yesterday we brought you all day updates on the protest rally Move America Forward held in Berkeley, CA. on February 12, 2008.

It was a long day in Berkley California on February 12, 2008, with the pro-military Move America Forward organization, there to protest the Berkeley City Council resolution, which called the Marine recruiters,"uninvited and unwelcome intruders."

Starting at 5am, in the town of Berkley,media was out in full, flags flying high, veterans from every branch of the military were there to show support to their brother and sisters in arms, Move America Forward with bullhorns and patriotic songs and the group Code Pink, an anti-military group, holding a sign that read "JOIN the MARINES, Travel to exotic lands, Meet exciting and unusual people, AND KILL THEM"



Code Pink has been camped outside the Marine recruiting office on Shattuck Avenue for the last four months, singing peace songs and chanting slogans for an end to the Iraq war.

The original resolution set off a firestorm in the media and in the blogosphere and council member Gordon Wozniak, who opposed the council's actions two weeks ago on the recruiting station, said that he personally had received 26,000 e-mails on the subject in the past 10 days (24,000 supporting the Marines, 2,000 against), and he is just one of nine council members.

Wozniak goes on to say "On a hot issue, we sometimes get a couple hundred e-mails.I've never seen anything like this. I'm getting one every five minutes. It's huge."

Mr. Wozniak is right, when you do a google news search right now, there are 530 news articles listed as the number.

The battle lines were drawn, the city council wasn't meeting until 5 pm, so for twelve hours reports and photos were coming in, via media, via Move America Forward members and from every day citizens that were outraged at the city councils resolution as well as the group, Code Pinks, continued harassment and insults thrown at the Marines in Berkeley.

Some of those Berkeley local citizen, stood tall firmly with Move America Forward and against Code Pink, holding signs telling Code Pink that "they" weren't welcome.

According to police an American flag was set on fire outside the City Council chambers, damaging a pair of bicycles.

Four people were arrested before the meeting even began and from an email sent by Cat Moyer of Move America Forward "terrorist-supporting anti-war group crossed into Martin Luther King Park and assaulted pro-troop individuals. Riot police stood by, but did not stop the assaults. Police agencies did not respond to calls for help."

Two of those arrested were boys ages 13 and 15, for scuffling with a Marine supporters and a third was Luisa Romero De Los Angeles, an 18-year-old Berkeley resident who they say slapped a police officer who told her to back away as she demanded they release the two boys who had been arrested earlier.

The fourth was a man wielding a knife.

The portion of the city council meeting that was scheduled with the controversial resolution didn't start until 9pm and for three hours they heard from more than 100 speakers, mostly from the citizens of Berkley and early into Wednesday morning,when it came time for the vote, 7-to-2 voted to rescind the previous letter to the Berkeley Marines, calling the marine recruiters unwelcome and instead stating its opposition to the war as well as acknowledging "we recognize the recruiter's right to locate in our city and the right of others to protest or support their presence."

Debbie Lee, a member of Move America Forward, whose son Marc Lee was the first Navy SEAL to die in the Iraq war, demanded an apology from the council. She told the council "My son gave up his life for you. I'm appalled at what you did."

According to the San Francisco Chronicle, some council members agree with Ms. Lee, that they owe the U.S. Troops as well as their own citizens an apology.

They also quote Gordon Wozniak "To err is human but to really screw up it takes the Berkeley City Council. We failed our city. We embarrassed our city."

The full council decided, however, not to issue a formal apology for their previous resolution, nor did they apologize to their own citizens.

Melanie Morgan, chairman of Move America Forward, has some after action reports on her site, and you can find more photos courtesy of Move America Forward and at Zombietime.

More from Michelle Malkin.

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The Showdown Started Early In Berkeley: All Day updates--Council rescinds anti-Marine Vote--BUMPED

[Update]2/13/08- Berkeley City Council rescinds vote that called the Marine recruiters "unwelcome"

Photos courtesy of Move America Forward unless otherwise specified.

(Melanie Morgan in Berkeley bright and early this morning-Photo courtesy of Move America Forward)

The wording of the resolution (PDF file) that was passed by the council in a 6 to 3 vote is:

From: Peace and Justice Commission

Recommendation:

1. Direct the City Attorney to investigate and report back to Council within 60 days on City options for enforcing Chapter 13.28 of the Berkeley Municipal Code, prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, with respect to military recruiting offices in Berkeley;

2. Direct the City Manager to send letters to the Marine Corps Recruiting Station at 64 Shattuck Avenue and to General James T. Conway, Commandant of the United States Marine Corps, advising them that the Marine recruiting office is not welcome in our city, and if recruiters choose to stay, they do so as uninvited and unwelcome intruders;

3. Encourage all people to avoid cooperation with the Marine Corps recruiting station, and applaud residents and organizations such as Code Pink, that may volunteer to impede, passively or actively, by nonviolent means, the work of any military recruiting office located in the City of Berkeley.

This is what today's rally in Berkley is all about.

(Deborah Parrish (left) and Forrest Schmidt engage in a discussion at Berkeley's Civic Center Plaza, early Tuesday. Chronicle photo by Paul Chinn)

We have reported on this, we have published an Exclusive interview with Melanie Morgan, we have had our own Veterans speak out about this and today Move America Forward and patriots from across the world, stand up for our Marines, in Berkeley and the battle lines are drawn and the showdown began early this morning.

(All previous Berkeley pieces on one page here to catch up on the story from beginning to present)

A pre-dawn confrontation broke out this morning in Berkeley between peaceniks and pro military groups, more than 12 hours before the City Council considers to rescind its statement telling the U.S. Marines they're unwelcome in this leftie town.

Police were forced to form a line between the two groups to keep them apart shortly after 6 a.m. at the park across Martin Luther King Jr. Way from old City Hall, where the City Council meets.

An hour and a half later, the shouting continued, but there had been no arrests, a police dispatcher said.

The Berkeley City Council tonight is scheduled to revisit the council's Jan. 29 approval of a resolution calling the U.S. Marines' recruiting office on Shattuck Avenue "uninvited and unwelcome intruders." The vote was 6-3 in favor.

The 6-3 vote on that item caused a nationwide backlash against the city, prompting Republicans in Washington and Sacramento to introduce legislation to take away money for things like school lunches and police communications equipment.

Just about every City Council meeting in Berkeley includes protesters who show support or disdain for whatever is on the agenda.

But tonight, the city is likely to host the mother of all meetings in its recent history. Councilman Gordon Wozniak, who opposed the council's actions two weeks ago on the recruiting station, said he received 26,000 e-mails on the subject in the past 10 days (24,000 supporting the Marines, 2,000 against), and he is just one of nine council members.

"On a hot issue, we sometimes get a couple hundred e-mails," Wozniak said. "I've never seen anything like this. I'm getting one every five minutes. It's huge."

(Emphasis mine)

24,000 emails from Marine supporters and only 2,00 supporting the anti-military city council!!!!!

That should tell those Code Pinkos a little bit about how they are NOT going to get away with insulting and disparaging our troops.



This showdown was reported by the New York Times last night who said:

On Tuesday night, the nine members of the Berkeley City Council are expected to do something they, or the Marines, for that matter, very rarely do: retreat in the face of fierce opposition.

Councilwoman Betty Olds, who is 87, who voted for the parking spot but not the language about the Marines, said she had never seen such a response. Not that the Council did not deserve it, she added.

“I live in the hills,” Ms. Olds said. “And they don’t like this one bit.”

No, they don't, the group there protesting the city council doesn't and millions across America don't and they are standing up and speaking out.

Let us not forget the Mayor of Berkeley, Tom Bates, stands WITH Code Pink as this picture of him sporting his pink little hat joins the Code Pinkos in protesting the Marine recruiting center in Berkeley.





The silent majority is no longer silent and this town of Berkeley is discovering what it is like to awaken a sleeping giant.

From Fox News:

That decision sparked a nationwide outrage, calls to withhold government funding for the city, and an apology and clarification from Berkeley Mayor Tom Bates.

On Tuesday, the council will hear from Laurie Capitelli and Betty Olds, two council members who are sponsoring a revised resolution that will ask the city not to send a letter to the Marine Corps saying it's unwelcome in Berkeley.

The resolution would reiterate the city's opposition to the Iraq war, while clarifying Berkeley's support of the nation's military servicemembers.

In a joint press statement, Capitelli and Olds said: “We failed to make it clear that while we continue to oppose what we consider an unethical and illegal war in Iraq, at the same time we respect and honor all the brave men and women who are serving or have served in the military … We have erred by not adequately differentiating between the war and the warriors.”

Now dear readers, go back to the beginning of this post and reread the short three paragraphs of the resolution itself.

Did they or did they not make themselves perfectly clear?

Is there any room for misunderstanding the words in that resolution?

The New Hampshire Union Leader is even talking about Berkeley and calling them a "laughing stock"!!!!!

[Update #1] Pictures from Move America Forward are already in.


CNN is reporting that even progressive activists are admitting Berkeley "overreached" and owe are Marines and apology!!!!

Kriss Worthington, a progressive Berkeley activist and council member for 11 years, believes the council overreached.

"The inflammatory language in the City Council item is really outrageous -- not just to right-wing people, but to mainstream liberal people and even to some peace activists who have said they're insulted that the city would have such language," Worthington said.

He said Berkeley owes an apology to the military and to the peace movement "for having such embarrassing language allegedly trying to promote peace."

"When you make a colossal blunder, you can't just sort of ignore the mistake and go about your way. You have to do something to fix it," Worthington said.

He is correct, this is not a right or left issue, this is a right or WRONG issue.

[Back now and below are more photos from the Berkeley showdown]







Look at this next one. These folks are awesome, aren't they?



Looks like the town members are standing with Move America Forward as they hold signs that say NO MORE PINK IN OUR TOWN!!!!!!



Hot Air shows us how Dingy Harry Reid used a sneaky procedural motion to block the DeMint legislation to strip funding from Berkeley.

Harry Reid is trying to keep Democrats from having to choose between hippies and the Marines. He used a sneaky maneuver to block a vote on the Semper Fi Act Monday. That’s the bill that would strip Berkeley of this year’s earmarks.

Instead of adjourning at the end of a day as usual, the Senate “recessed” twice, a move that, under Senate rules, slows the process of adding new bills to the calendar. Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) did not adjourn until last Friday, effectively pushing back floor consideration on the GOP bill until Tuesday — the same day that the city council is likely to tone down its call for Marine Corps recruiters to leave town.

“The only reason to recess is to block something, and the thing that got blocked by Reid’s stall tactic was the Semper Fi Act,” said spokesman Wesley Denton, referring to the bill introduced by his boss, Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.).

“Democrats have chosen not to defend the Marine Corps, but to pander to anti-war protesters and Berkeley officials that are actively trying to impede military recruitment.”

Oh, here are the type of signs Code Pink are holding up:

(Source-CNN)

Real sweathearts huh?

Malkin brings a statement from Catherine Moy of Move America Forward, who explains that Code Pinks members physically attacks our patriots that are standing up for the Marines:

Berkeley Police Watch “Peace” Freaks attack Patriots

Berkeley erupted in violence Tuesday morning when the Communist, terrorist-supporting anti-war group crossed into Martin Luther King Park and assaulted pro-troop individuals. Riot police stood by, but did not stop the assaults. Police agencies did not respond to calls for help.

Move America Forward, the nation’s largest pro-troop organization, received permits from the City of Berkeley to hold a daylong demonstration in MLK park against the City Council who passed three outrageous resolutions calling U.S. Marines “unwanted intruders.”

“It is mayhem on here,” MAF communications director Danny Gonzalez said from the park early Tuesday morning.

Code Pink was permitted for across the street. The two sides were to stay separated, according to rules laid down by the city. But the city has a history of giving Code Pink special preference. The City Council gave free parking permits and a free noise permit to the radical group, which has helped fund terrorist families in Iraq with a $600,000 gift. MAF Exeutive Director Catherine Moy attempted to get help from the Berkeley police as the mayhem unfolded, but an officer hung up on Moy. Moy asked the California Highway Patrol to help in the emergency, but the CHP refused. “I have never in my life experienced such inaction in the face of an emergency, “Moy said. “I will ask the Federal Government to investigate, as well as the State Attorney General. It is one thing to give free parking places to the City Council’s special interest anti-war groups, it is another to take sides and endanger the lives of others.”

Move America Forward and other pro-troop organizations will stand in support of the Marines all day Tuesday until they can enter the City Council chambers to address the City Council.

More to come as the pictures keep coming in.... keep refreshing.

~Snooper~

One of our own, Dean, was out on the Front Lines in the War On Berzerkeley on 2/12/08. Here are the pictures he sent to us.

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