Thursday, September 4, 2008

"...read the Constitution of the United States?"

Some of you may remember when Bobby Kennedy famously told the sheriff in Fresno that in America, you can't arrest someone just because you believe they may violate the law:

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http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/rfk/peopleevents/p_chavez.html
Robert Kennedy's first trip to see Chavez in Delano, California, began with a public hearing on the standoff between striking grape pickers and law enforcement, and it got his blood up. During the questioning of a sheriff who admitted to arresting strikers who looked "ready to violate the law," Kennedy shot back, "May I suggest that during the luncheon period of time that the sheriff and the district attorney read the Constitution of the United States?"
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Apparently that is no longer the case:


"Any rational person planning to protest the GOP Convention would, in light of this Government spying and these police raids, think twice -- at least -- about whether to do so. That is the point of the raids -- to announce to citizens that they best stay in their homes and be good, quiet, meek, compliant people unless they want their homes to be invaded, their property seized, and have rifles pointed at them, too. The fact that this behavior is producing so little outcry only ensures, for obvious reasons, that it will continue in the future. We love our Surveillance State for keeping us safe and maintaining nice, quiet order."
From Glen Greenwald, attorney

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To voice your disapproval: call the Ramsey County Sheriff's office at 651.487.5149 and the St. Paul Mayor's office at 651.266.8510.

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