Berkeley council member: US Marines are “unwelcome intruders” Updated
posted at 10:35 am on February 1, 2008 by Bryan
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I have half a thought that the residents of Berkeley are so upset about their local US Marine Corps recruiting station because it’s where the city’s rebellious teens may go to act out against their parents. Rebellion nearly everywhere else in the country takes the form of drugs, vagrancy and irresponsibility. Berkeleyites are mostly known for those behaviors, though, so what’s a rebellious teen in that city to do with his angst? Join the Marines, do something useful with his life.
Matt Sanchez, from whom I swiped the front page image, blogged about one council member trashing the Marines as “unwelcome intruders,” prompting the former Marine to declare that Berkeley has seceded from the union.
I think that’s about right. I also think that if a majority of residents in Berkeley really believe that the US military is unwelcome, then the US government should rescind all of the federal funding that goes to Berkeley for any reason. Military, law enforcement, streets and highways, the university — all of it. Every cent.
Sen. Jim DeMint is drafting legislation to that effect, though it doesn’t go quite far enough for me.
Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Jim DeMint (R-South Carolina) released the following statement in response to the decision by the City Council of Berkeley, California to evict the U.S. Marine Corps Recruiting Station from the city.
“This is a slap in the face to all brave service men and women and their families. The First Amendment gives the City of Berkeley the right to be idiotic, but from now on they should do it with their own money. If the city can’t show respect for the Marines that have fought, bled and died for their freedom, Berkeley should not be receiving special taxpayer funded handouts. I am currently drafting legislation to ensure that American taxpayers aren’t forced to pay for this insult by rescinding all of the earmarks for Berkeley in the Omnibus Appropriations bill, and to transfer the funds to the Marine Corps.”
Michelle also reports that the American Legion is weighing in against Berkeley’s noise. This is all federalism at work, but federalism can cut both ways: Berkeley doesn’t want federal defense, then Berkeley doesn’t get federal bucks.
Update: Berkeley is biting back in its inimitably moronic way.
“We are the defenders of democracy, the upholders of the Constitution,” said Medea Benjamin, co-founder of Code Pink. “If it weren’t for people like the people in Berkeley, standing up for what they believe, we’d be living under Hitler.”
Riiiight. I guess that’s why Code Pink shoveled $600k for “humanitarian aid” in Fallujah, right, Medea.
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These are the folks McVain wants to “reach out to.”
They deserve one another.
ebrown2 on February 1, 2008 at 10:36 AM
where did you find that pic LoL!
Jimmy the Dhimmi on February 1, 2008 at 10:40 AM
Your McHate has blinded you. That is among the stupidist comments I have ever seen on this site.
JayHaw Phrenzie on February 1, 2008 at 10:40 AM
Excellent.
eanax on February 1, 2008 at 10:41 AM
That’s fine. Now I know which foreign country we use to empty out Gitmo. Just fence Berkeley and put up checkpoints.
Beagle on February 1, 2008 at 10:41 AM
I (heart) the United States Marine Corps…and Jim DeMint.
RushBaby on February 1, 2008 at 10:42 AM
Aww, that sounds about right for Berkley.
They’re the same adorable people who naively believe Ahmadinejad should be negotiated with and that WW2 should not have been fought at all. It might be nice to never grow up.
mjk on February 1, 2008 at 10:42 AM
I saw this on Michelle’s site the other day and it made my blood absolutely boil. Disgraceful.
Geronimo on February 1, 2008 at 10:42 AM
Actually, I’d assume Berkeley is pretty safe from terrorist attack. Why on earth would they blow up an area that is obviously an enemy of the US already?
Sugar Land on February 1, 2008 at 10:44 AM
Stupid.
Vizzini on February 1, 2008 at 10:45 AM
As as Marine I don’t want anyone from Berkley fighting next to me anyway. Redeploy the Berkley recruiting office to Okinawa.
Wade on February 1, 2008 at 10:46 AM
“Your McHate has blinded you. That is among the stupidist comments I have ever seen on this site.”
About a man who favors John Kerry over the Swift Boat Vets?
I think not.
ebrown2 on February 1, 2008 at 10:46 AM
Really? Alright then, let’s test your Stupid Threshold. Let’s see of John McCain puts his name on DeMint’s bill, then. DeMint/McCain.
RushBaby on February 1, 2008 at 10:47 AM
Jim DeMint is on Romney’s team. Yay!
Buy Danish on February 1, 2008 at 10:48 AM
May I offer an alternative proposal: Since Berkeley wants to allow in Code Pink, but not our military, let Code Pink defend the campus if it is ever attacked.
Bigfoot on February 1, 2008 at 10:49 AM
McCain has forgotten he has a job to do. What was the last bill he voted on?
Wade on February 1, 2008 at 10:50 AM
I live about 20 minutes from that cesspool,have avoided it like the plague for years, have told dates that have wanted to go there that it just ain’t gonna happen. Cut them off I say.
bbz123 on February 1, 2008 at 10:51 AM
Mind you… this is the same people who will be shouting the loudest when the National Guard doesn’t show up after a natural disaster hits it.
crazy_legs on February 1, 2008 at 10:52 AM
this is = these are (dang English rules!)
crazy_legs on February 1, 2008 at 10:53 AM
I think that the granting of a special parking space and exemption from the noise ordinance is grounds for a lawsuit. Let a pro-life group apply for something similar, get denied, and then sue the hell out of Berkeley. Viewpoint discrimination by governments is a violation of the First Amendment.
It’d probably take long, and who knows if it’d be successful in the 9th Circuit, but at least it’d whittle away some of their resources.
By the way, Sen. Jim DeMint is an IDIOT. He says that the First Amendment gives Berkeley the right to do this? He’s flat out wrong. THE FIRST AMENDMENT DOES NOT GIVE GOVERNMENT BODIES LIKE THE BERKELEY CITY COUNCIL ANY RIGHTS AT ALL, WHATSOEVER. The Bill of Rights applies to individuals, the people. When the government “speaks its mind” by engaging in viewpoint discrimination at the expense of the rights of others, it VIOLATES the first amendment.
Sydney Carton on February 1, 2008 at 10:53 AM
Nowhere in the constitution are we told we have to pay for someone else’s free speech.
I know that’s what the Berkeleyoids expect, and there’s plenty of precedent for it.
Cut them off without a cent, and let them wallow in their own filth.
MrScribbler on February 1, 2008 at 10:54 AM
Call it the “Islamic People’s Republic of Berzerkeley”. Works for me.
jdawg on February 1, 2008 at 10:56 AM
Good Riddance, Berkeley is dirty scummy place anyway. I have never been in a place I wanted to leave so quickly. We stopped there nearly 10 years ago, to gas up and grab a snack. One of my group went to use the pay phone. BIG mistake. She said it had been used a toilet. Not to mention the dirty hippie couple dry humping on the grass next to the (bathroom) phone booth. I just wanted to go. We left with half a tank of gas.
HotAirExpert on February 1, 2008 at 10:57 AM
A
SECONDFIRST LOOK AT JIM DEMINT FOR PRESIDENTnatesnake on February 1, 2008 at 10:58 AM
Heh. Jerkley.
MikeZero on February 1, 2008 at 11:00 AM
Is it too late to just let them leave the Union?
Browncoatone on February 1, 2008 at 11:00 AM
my dad is probably rolling over in his grave seeing what is going on in smerkeley. what they are doing makes me want to VOMIT
Nascar70 on February 1, 2008 at 11:01 AM
BTW Rick Santorum just endorsed Romney on Laura Ingraham’s show.
GO MITT GO!
HotAirExpert on February 1, 2008 at 11:01 AM
Secession. It’s the right thing to do. The People’s Socialist Republic of Berkley has a nice ring to it.
fourstringfuror on February 1, 2008 at 11:03 AM
I think anyone who wants to join the Marines should make a special trip to Berkley and sign up at that very recruiting office. It would be awesome to see it become the most successful recruiting office in the country.
p40tiger on February 1, 2008 at 11:05 AM
Members of the US military are willing to give their lives in service to defend their country. I wonder if the people of Berkley are willing to give their lives for what they believe? They should at least vacate the property that is protected by the US military since by resting safe and sound upon it, they are beneficiaries of the very organization they wish to destroy.
Aka hypocrites.
Hening on February 1, 2008 at 11:09 AM
The Drudge link to this story took us here:
As I noted on my blog (shameless blog pimping), the author misspells the word “hightail” as “high tale”, which may have something to do with the fact that Berkeley is now officially a sanctuary city for medical cannabis.
The good news is that not all the residents of Berkeley approve of these Code Pink hooligans:
An employee of a nearby business who asked not to be identified said Wednesday the elderly Code Pink protesters are aggressive, take up parking spaces, block the sidewalk with their yoga moves, smoke in the doorways, and are noisy.
Is there a First Amendment right to block sidewalks with yoga moves?
Buy Danish on February 1, 2008 at 11:14 AM
Seriously, what do we expect from the state that’s the leading producer of fruit and nuts in the country.
Leonidas Hoplite on February 1, 2008 at 11:14 AM
I think Berkeley should go all the way. They should demand that Al Qaeda put in a recruiting station across the street from the Marines. Code Pink could stop by and be their Monicas.
snaggletoothie on February 1, 2008 at 11:17 AM
I HIGHLY RECOMMEND going here to read the actual submission to city council. These people are really out of their minds with their hatred for those who protect the very liberties that allow them act like idiots in public.
@ntif@n on February 1, 2008 at 11:19 AM
It’s seriously about time we cut these people off and let them fend for themselves.
bojack on February 1, 2008 at 11:19 AM
Hear hear.
srhoades on February 1, 2008 at 11:21 AM
LOL
bojack on February 1, 2008 at 11:21 AM
Um, no. People like you were claiming Hitler would stop at Poland and if we were just a little more gentle, a little more diplomatic, he’d stop being so gosh darn mean.
amkun on February 1, 2008 at 11:25 AM
No, genius, if it weren’t for the brave young men in the MILITARY who shot guns and killed Nazis, we’d be living under Hitler. “Standing up for what they believe in” is all well and good when you’re not being persecuted. But I can guarantee that this Code Pink people would fold like a cheap suit if they actually faced the Gestapo or the SS.
But it must be fun to be delusionally saintlike.
mjk on February 1, 2008 at 11:25 AM
The grand part is this: If (and it won’t happen), but if we turned the Federal spigot off, they would come screaming and hollering for their share of the pie.
*
And just to set the record straight, Democrats (who were mostly socialists and communists then–1940’s) were against going to war, the country was basically evenly divided (like now). It wasn’t until Winston Churchill came over and gave his great speech to the joint session of congress, that the tide began to change.
I doubt those libs in Ca could care less about that war monger Churchill…
Once again showing the liberals are against the “right” movement, and embrace it win it turns out to be correct (hence the name “right”).
right2bright on February 1, 2008 at 11:26 AM
It’s not the terrorists they should worry about; when the logical conclusion of their dhimmitude occurs (America under Shari’a law) they’ll all be put to death for their offenses (homosexuality, adultery, blasphemy, etc.).
Frozen Tex on February 1, 2008 at 11:31 AM
code pink vs. the krauts…HAHA LMAO
bojack on February 1, 2008 at 11:32 AM
Panzer–1, Pink Tutu–0
p40tiger on February 1, 2008 at 11:36 AM
Typical liberal utopia. While their city celebrates the homeless that use drugs, commit crimes, urinate and copulate in the streets spreading disease and ruining the quality of life, the city council primps and preens over issues over which they have no legal jurisdiction.
Berktanamo. Yeah. Why not add terrorists to the mix of the urban rabble?
pistolero on February 1, 2008 at 11:37 AM
I’m glad Code Pink has a parking space… if only the Berkeley City Hall would tell us which one so we’ll know where to drop a box or two of nails.
D2Boston on February 1, 2008 at 11:37 AM
Here you go Berkely, this is how you run a school district.
right2bright on February 1, 2008 at 11:38 AM
That’s the irony. If they were transplanted to the middle east, they would be dead within days…stoned, then dragged (or drugged) through the streets, then torn apart limb by limb.
It’s almost funny what they are fighting for, fighting to have their lifestyle eliminated. My head is spinning from trying to sort this out.
right2bright on February 1, 2008 at 11:41 AM
Wrong. The Democrats back then were not like they are now. They were all for the war. It was Republicans who were the isolationists back then, and some even worked with Nazi sympathizers (research the America First Council). Yes, times have changed but don’t let that whitewash past history about the Democrats.
mram on February 1, 2008 at 11:45 AM
McCain on Republicans:
http://archive.newsmax.com/archives/ic/2004/4/2/115508.shtml
ebrown2 on February 1, 2008 at 11:53 AM
I’ve got yer “unwelcome intruders” right here:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=zGeWfmqE2HY
“…if you were here you’d have a fkng heart attack!…”
lobosan5 on February 1, 2008 at 11:55 AM
Wake up, General Sherman, wake up! Got a job for you…
dhimwit on February 1, 2008 at 12:04 PM
My son and his lovely young lady live in Berkeley as she finishes up her master’s there (he graduated in May). They live on Northside because it is magnitudes less weird than south of the university, but no lie, the town’s a cesspool.
So sad that such a great university is in such a horrible town. When I was a student there I’d hustle from BART to get onto campus as quickly as possible, since the really bad stuff isn’t allowed by UC Police to be on campus. It’s certainly an educational experience to walk down Telegraph, one that makes you glad you live in Sacramento.
Bob's Kid on February 1, 2008 at 12:05 PM
Why is it when WWII is referred to by the lefty idiots of California they only remember Hitler and his land grab in the 40s? These idiots live through life with short term memories.
Guess the text books in Berkley left out a little history.
SPIFF1669 on February 1, 2008 at 12:07 PM
Uh, Medusa is it? Correction. If it wasn’t for people like my grandfather who died for hippies like you, we’d be living under Hitler.
Big Daddy Cool on February 1, 2008 at 12:09 PM
So Joe Kennedy was a Republican?
srhoades on February 1, 2008 at 12:10 PM
I support Demint on this all the way. How dare that old tart claim to be the self appointed “defenders of democracy, the upholders of the Constitution,” Who do you want standing between you and AQ?
USMC or
Code Pinko.
I truly hate these people. I hate em’
ronsfi on February 1, 2008 at 12:11 PM
I’m wondering how long it’s going to take before we have a President who has the balls to tell cities like this that the military will no longer protect them.
The President should hold a prime time press conference, and tell the world that cities like this are no longer under the protection of the Federal government. They’re on their own. Let them have exactly what they want. No military. No guns. No federal government of ANY kind. They’re 100% on their own. See how long THAT lasts before they understand how wrong their views really are.
Gregor on February 1, 2008 at 12:12 PM
Not just Berkeley. San Francisco needs to be included. Let the terrorists have it as their playground. I won’t shed a tear.
Gregor on February 1, 2008 at 12:14 PM
A freakin’ men.
Wake me up when a president finally holds them accountable.
Hawkins1701 on February 1, 2008 at 12:15 PM
Oh, and this incident finally made the lightbulb go off in my head.
San Francisco and Berkeley = Sodom and Gamorrhea
Hawkins1701 on February 1, 2008 at 12:21 PM
The Marines and other military personnel SHOULD leave…and never come back no matter what may befall Berkely. They can call Hugo Chavez for help. Or a bunch of us could move there and overtake them. :-)
SouthernGent on February 1, 2008 at 12:24 PM
Damn hippies.
madmonkphotog on February 1, 2008 at 12:24 PM
The weak kneed cowardly lack of response from Bush is disgusting and that whole thing in Vermont, where the city council voted to have Bush and Cheney ARRESTED for war crimes if they ever step foot in their city? That’s TREASON!
Bush doesn’t say a word about it. I’m just as sick of Bush as I am with the traitors themselves.
Gregor on February 1, 2008 at 12:25 PM
I say we let the Bay Area secede.
Then blockade their port :-D
BKennedy on February 1, 2008 at 12:28 PM
Excuse me, but take a look at the democratic party, heavily supported (as now) by Hollywood Dems. You are saying they were not socialists? Some of the biggerst stars supported our war effort, but the birth of liberal subversiveness began with that party.
Repubs were isolationist (almost a foreign word now), but realists, and launched heavy into the war. The protests against the war were mainly from the left, the socialists and communists.
Indeed, the first president elected after the war was a what?
Now I do concede that the dems launched us into the Vietnam quagmire.
In 1936-38 era, the democratic socialists opposed entry into the war, after we were attacked they shifted their position. Then after the war, they formed a alliance with the Democratic party (and unionists). The isolationists were there to prevent what the democratic socialists (now Democrats) wanted, the European socialist economy and government.
*
To enter the war, as the democrats wanted, wasn’t to “save” American freedom, but to ensure the survival of democratic socialism.
*
You can only read these words from Marx to understand the desire of the Democrats to embrace his ideas.
Embraced by the Democrats who sought out the democratic socialism of the European nations. That lifestyle was threatened by Hitler, not for the protection of our free society. Different from the “isolation” that the Repubs wanted, isolate us from the social democrats.
right2bright on February 1, 2008 at 12:29 PM
Dude, it’s Brattleboro, VT. If it even reached Bush’s ears, he probably thought it was just another insane lefty nutbar land doomed to fail.
BKennedy on February 1, 2008 at 12:30 PM
Most amazing to me is that these nitwits’ ideal system would have them shot in secret, without ever being mentioned again.
The power of freedom is incredibly evident in same Marines defending their right to be this stupid, free, and alive.
Entelechy on February 1, 2008 at 12:30 PM
These people make me so sick, its stories like this that makes me glad I live in Texas!
LMM on February 1, 2008 at 12:34 PM
While I would not wish to see another 9/11-style attack on this country, if one were to occur and wound up reducing the city of Berkeley to nothing but a great big smoky hole in the ground, any other stupidity like the meaningless blather that is currently flying out of the mouths of any current card-carrying members of Code Pink would be pretty much moot at that point, you think?
pilamaye on February 1, 2008 at 12:36 PM
The first thing Code Pink would do is claim it was an inside job to silence their dissent.
BKennedy on February 1, 2008 at 12:41 PM
You can guarantee that the very next day, liberal freaks around the country would be on the streets screaming that BUSH DID IT to shut them up.
They’re all cockroaches.
Gregor on February 1, 2008 at 12:42 PM
Damn. You beat me to it, lol.
Gregor on February 1, 2008 at 12:43 PM
Did. We got pwn3d. Compared to Hitler. That’s an automatic win in every debate, isn’t it?
lorien1973 on February 1, 2008 at 12:45 PM
I think that’s a damn fine idea.
Sasnak on February 1, 2008 at 12:52 PM
I agree wholeheartedly with you Bryan, that they really ought to lose all federal funding of any kind.
And that statement by Media Benjamin, one of the most moronic and a$$-backwards I’ve heard in a while.
4shoes on February 1, 2008 at 12:54 PM
While DeMint is at it…….how about including cities such as San Francisco and Sacramento? Send any earmark money to San Diego for support of the military there and also for border fence construction.
Dr.Cwac.Cwac on February 1, 2008 at 12:56 PM
I’m a smooooooth operater Gregor.
BKennedy on February 1, 2008 at 1:04 PM
Sacramento? I don’t get it. I live in Sacramento and I’ve seen no such political moves here. Sacramento has it’s problems, but this isn’t one of them. Not yet anyway.
Gregor on February 1, 2008 at 1:09 PM
It didn’t seem to work in NYC or Northern Virgina. If anything, they’re more liberal than BEFORE 9/11. Go figure.
pistolero on February 1, 2008 at 1:09 PM
There are four cities that should have all federal money stopped.
Berkeley, San Fransico, Seattle, and Vermont.
Gregor on February 1, 2008 at 1:17 PM
San Francisco
Gregor on February 1, 2008 at 1:17 PM
Wait. Maybe San FranSICo is much better.
Gregor on February 1, 2008 at 1:18 PM
Vermont. That’s funny, Gregor!
RushBaby on February 1, 2008 at 1:18 PM
Well, the University is a state of California institution and is an innocent party here. Furthermore, the citizens of California aren’t going to be happy if the law enforcement in Berkeley is bad and their children are put in danger. (I personally have profited by the concern of the parents of university students. Much tax money has gone into gentrifying my neighborhood, so kids can be safe.) I’m sure there is still a lot of ways that we can reduce money to Berkley without creating a backlash from the parents of university kids.
I wonder if commerce clause could be stretched to forbid wine, cheese, and organic vegetables from being transported into Berkley city limits. We could have them on their knees in no time.
thuja on February 1, 2008 at 1:23 PM
You disagree? They’re just as bad as Berkeley.
Gregor on February 1, 2008 at 1:27 PM
Please! The University of Berkeley is anything but innocent, and the parents of kids who go there are well aware of what they stand for. They deserve what they get.
Gregor on February 1, 2008 at 1:29 PM
I’m an American. Be what I want, where I want. Welcome or unwelcome.
pissants.
dingbat on February 1, 2008 at 1:31 PM
Using your big boy words. Very good.
fourstringfuror on February 1, 2008 at 2:04 PM
Seriously now for a moment. The University of California, Berkley has in the past allowed rowdy students to run the recruiters off of the campus. I’m guessing that you’ve forgotten that. If the liberal cities don’t want any Federal Presence in their areas, that’s fine, it’s their right. It’s the rest of our rights to deny any and all funds to the city. Enforced Secession if you will.
Hey, I’m all for Free Speech. I just think our speech should be a vote as well, voting AYE to the amendment to eliminate all funding for the cities which harass and assault our troops.
Snake307 on February 1, 2008 at 2:05 PM
I think he was laughing at Vermont being called a city.
baldilocks on February 1, 2008 at 2:20 PM
Michelle has the e-mail addresses for the mayor and city council members on her site. I just e-mailed them all and vented.
Trafalgar on February 1, 2008 at 2:26 PM
Isn’t Medea that Greek mythology witch who chopped up her baby brother to pieces?
Darth Executor on February 1, 2008 at 2:32 PM
re the possibility of establishing an al queda recruiting office across the street from the marine recruiting office.
just think of the fun and games in a firefight between the two offices.
of course the berkley police department, being a modern liberal establishment, would stand back and wait for the fun and games to complete before they started their report writing.
C
pk on February 1, 2008 at 2:33 PM
“Isn’t Medea that Greek mythology witch who chopped up her baby brother to pieces?”
Yes, an appropriately-named worshiper of true fascism, isn’t she?
ebrown2 on February 1, 2008 at 2:38 PM
That’s being petty and vindictive… elgeneralisimo would prefer a more equatable ‘win-win’ solution…
Pull the Corp from Berkley and relocate the Yucca Mountain Repository into the Berkley city limits.
The fed-gov ‘win’: it solves its location problems in Nevada.
The Berkley ‘win’: it doesn’t have a Bu$Hitler Stormtrooper recruiting station. In its place it gets to recycle nuclear waste and outdated bombs; thus fighting Global Warming and dismantling the weapons of the Military-Industrial Complex in its place…
elgeneralisimo on February 1, 2008 at 2:41 PM
How about a brand-spankin’-new USMC headquarters building? Pity about City Hall, but y’know - Eminent Domain.
mojo on February 1, 2008 at 2:56 PM
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