What a sweet picture, Jane. Thank you for reporting.
About the photo, I especially noticed the large Exit signs at the ceiling on either side.
Run Away, or Run towards?

General Hamsher!

You’re back!

Looking forward to hearing the government’s excuse as to why out of 1250 people arrested at the White House during the Tar Sands action, Dan Choi was singled out for prosecution.

Good question Obama needs the Gay and Asian vote to win so in his mind at least its better to stomp on people who disagree with him on a few things and keep his own house in order rather than stomp on his enemies because then he might lose.
This kind of thinking is authoritarian mind you and not logical. Its the result of being part of an ingroup that was always smaller and weaker than the other ingroups. Discipline your own more than the other guys and avoid battle until the other bigger ingroup has a minute of weakness.
The thing is Obama has never fought to create that minute of weakness he does not recognize it. He does not realize that his is not the only in group on the outs with the other ingroups anymore.
Who am I kidding on the most important issues to voters the majority are now to the Left of Obama and O has no clue.

What kind of moron pisses off Gays, Asians and Vets right before an election? Just who is giving him political advice Wiley E Coyote?

Does O really want to give Dan the Street Cred only Jail can give a person? On top of Dan being a Vet politics 101 you don’t want to create Martyrs instead you ignore them or discredit them but make sure nobody knows you are discrediting them.
You can also scapegoat them and blame them for America’s troubles like Nixon did lying helps if you want to do that but a straight forward prosecution with no discrediting or scapegoating on an issue you already folded on?
This is compounding failure and makes O look childishly vindictive which would be ok if people feared Obama but they don’t Fox News with their insults and lies that go unchallenged by O showed us their is no reason to fear O.
Maybe it would help if we started bringing Guns to protests then none of us would get arrested just like the Tea Baggers did at healthcare rallies is that the lesson O wants to send?

OOPS!

1250 people arrested at the White House during the Tar Sands action

None had previous criminal records previous criminal records are normally a factor in deciding who to prosecute.

Good question volunteering at PADS I was told was not tax deductible if Super Pacs are tax deductible then I will suggest PADS become a Super Pac not that I had any income this year to deduct.

Isn’t there some issue about how the government found out that Dan was going to be there at all, or is that some other White House protest I’m thinking of?

Looking forward to your report, Jane. Thanks for being there for Dan. It’s great to see him surrounded by supporters this morning. It could have been a very lonely day for him, given the distractions available. Those folks in the photo get a commendation, as do you, for simply showing up today.

I’ll add a “second” to what ThingsComeUndone, has to say.

Furthermore, the proseecutors should have tossed these cases into the dumpster since time is valuable and when a compared to or weighed against what’s on the pending docket for being far more important, given the financial resources being provided by the taxpayers. And as such, this civil disobedience makes this prosecution political. Unfortunately, prosecuting incidental civil violations seem to have a “value” for any prosecutor seeking to “make his bones” in the legal profession today.

Jaango

I’d be laughing out loud at the oppressive criminality of our corporate government if I wasn’t a citizen of the USA. As it is, I find its actions, both foreign and domestic, to be appallingly disgusting.

Also, to me at least, more than a little frightening. Tragically, I’ve already taught my children to fear the uniformed police (yes, I know there are some wonderful ones, but…), now I have to teach them to distrust the whole damn gummint. Does that make me a redneck? I’m so confused.

BTW, don’t let the uniform and the career fool you. D.C. is a DFH if I ever saw one. Deep cover.

Will we have to stop blogging here when the NDAA takes effect in March for fear of being disappeared?

General Hamsher…I love it.

1250 people arrested at the White House during the Tar Sands action

None had previous criminal records previous criminal records are normally a factor in deciding who to prosecute.

That is amazing considering that almost 7% of the US population has a criminal record (with about 1 in 15 people doing jailtime at some point). You would expect that around 88 of the 1250 would be joining Dan.

Not so — Dan Ellsberg has been arrested many times in the past. But I guess Obama figured that attacking the heroic whistleblower whose release of the Pentagon Papers not only hastened the end of the Vietnam War, but the end of the corrupt Nixon régime, was probably not a wise move. So they’re going after the non-Caucasian gay guy instead.