Do you promise to tell the truth?

Lawyers lined the side of the prosecution in the court room yesterday. Besides the DA, they had the city attorney, the state DA and a handful of others. The DA, being whispered advice from the city attorney, started with Officer Crisp, who was not so truthful. He stated that Jonas "darted across three lanes of traffic". Well this one wasn't a lie but an exaggeration. He did cross the street, but that section of the road has a light on each side of the bridge and, before 8am on the Haywood Road bridge is not exactly what you would consider heavy traffic. The "three lanes of traffic" apparently included the turning lane. He also did not indicate any specific car or pedestrian hampered by "the protester". When asked by our attorney, Bill Auman, if he questioned Jonas if he was a part of the Climate Convergence group that had protested the Bank of America just two days prior or if he was a member of Veterans for Peace or any other local activist group. Crisp stated that he did not ask him any questions. Which was a flat out lie.
When Sergeant Riddle took the stand, being a seasoned man on the force for over thirty years, he told his untruths using the "I don't recall" response. Auman asked Riddle if he said "I'm sick of this crap" and "You're gonna' get your fifteen minutes of fame, buddy". "I don't recall sayin' that". In my opinion, Riddle has been on the force too long and is overdue for retirement. A friend of ours was pulled over by Riddle one evening. Our friend had a doll holding a sign that said "Impeach Bush and Cheney" propped up to show out the back of his hatchback. He told our friend, "I like your doll" in a sarcastic tone. When asked why he was being pulled over, Riddle barked at him about having a reason and told him that his head light was out. He says that Riddle appeared agitated, as he did when he was arresting Jonas.
The circus went on, with WLOS filming everything. (How can I get a copy of that?) The Asheville Citizen-Times was there along with reporters from the Asheville City Paper and the Mountain Express. Additionally a handful of bloggers took notes and absorbed the spectacle. Our attorney had about five arguments, all technicalities, why the case should be dismissed. One by one the judge overruled our lawyer. The prosecution centered it's case on highway blogging being a dangerous distraction to motorists. But, Jonas wasn't arrested for endangering motorists, which they did not prove anyway, he was arrested for blocking the sidewalk. A fact they also did not prove.
In the end, the judge sided with justice and found that they did not prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Jonas broke the ordinance. He was found not guilty. When Jonas was questioned by WLOS whether he would resume highway blogging he stated he would and he would bring a buddy. "Blog with a buddy". Good advise for any protester.

And now for the verdict.........

Today was a beautiful day. For some. For a couple of homeless men, not so beautiful. As we awaited Jonas' case to be called this afternoon, we listened as one man was convicted of trespass and sentenced 10 days in jail along with another man found guilty of "soliciting alms". As I listened I forgot about my husband's minor city code violation charge. Yet these charges never make the papers, never are discussed during political debates and these men are never on Oprah.
But truth and justice prevailed on our side today. Today, it was a beautiful day for us. Jonas was found "not guilty" today of the charges! Our lawyer, Bill Auman, could not have done a better job.
There are already articles about it:

DailyKos
Asheville Citizen-Times
Mountain Express
Asheville On The Ground

I will write more later. I need time for this to sink in.

Poetic Torch Scorches Neocon Agenda

I received this slam poem as a comment to IVAW Storms UNCA



2008 Middle East Spelling Bee Final Words: QUAGMIRE & IMPEACHMENT
Poetic Torch Scorches NeoCon Agenda
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
What Americans think, feel, vote, and say has zero bite.
With millions of votes Diebolt stolen, accountability - so slight.
NeoRadical RepubliCons chose how to so waste our might ---
Just where, when, and why we had to go START a fight.
They'd planned for Iraq, with 30 years more oil still in sight.
Must control the price and flow into OUR gas tanks, right?
Exxon-Mobil, BP, Shell - profits future sure looks bright!
Hyped bogus threats, then fanned the flames to such great height.
9/11, Anthrax, then the mushroom cloud type of fright.

Pulled the Towers, and with balled-up flags to plug their ears:
A Patriot Act panic attack => waived our rights to calm the fears.
How well a shredded Constitution wiped away our wasted tears.
Slick magic trick: lasted 800 years - now Habeas Corpus disappears.
Load the planes with C-notes, no bids please, as toxic dust clears;
Corporate warriors - No Draft! It's a private war - Three Cheers!
Fat cats, still fed by exce$$ greed, now six straight years.
Ten billion fraud, whistleblowers stalled in Justice: no one hears.
Say what, a change of plan to end war profits? Sharpen up the spears!
Another traitor to be skewered, trot out the NeoCon-tradicting seers.
From Limpbowel, O’Rlie-to-me, and their ilk, we start to hear the jeers.
Interrupting homophobic rants on "No Marriages for queers",
To deliver freshly think-tank-framed simplistic scripted smears.

Sad sight, so many flags draped over coffins never seen.
The sinister lies that filled them burried deep beneath such patriotic sheen.
Human losses well disguised, and media filtered from our collective eyes,
By corporate puppet leaders, whose agendas we must now despise.

Pity the Iraqi families, alone with blood, pain, death, despair,
Depleted uranium shells exploding - poison dust spreads everywhere,
While pompous jingo windbags fill the U.S. propaganda-polluted air,
Can spews of false praise glory, hide true neglect in veterans' care?
Fox Snooze hype NOT, as your heroes, our loved ones lost;
Their blood for oil - spent badly – much too high this cost.
Keith Rupert Murderdoch, the boss who must be tossed!

Long past his “Mission Accomplished” day in years now more than four,
One so delusional Decider is still not looking for an exit door.
An occupation, one aggressor means it never was a war!
The stench, the smell - corruption, failures everywhere,
Yet all we hear is that which plays upon our deepest fear.
A drone of platitudes preached to stretch our stay another year.

“The job is almost done! “
“Must keep them Terrorists on the run!”
“We can't abandon Iraq until we've won.”
“Another 30,000 surge, send us your brave sons.”
“ Trillion dollar debts, their kids can pay these no small sums!”
"Waterboarding works. Don't call it torture. You're just chums!"
NO NO NO! Time true Patriots stand and shout “Impeach these Bums!”

Lean hard on traitors, like Lieberman, to not just lose their parties,
But to find our Republic again, while we still have one!
Target the REAL Axis of Evil => IMPEACH Cheney-Bush!
Perhaps small justice, but at least some!

by RRLedford



Thank you, RRLedford. That was very inspiring.

Is It For Freedom?

Jonas goes to court...again

Court has been postponed once again.

Jonas arrived shortly before 9am at District Court 1. I arrived shortly after. Clare joined Jonas near the back of the court room. Another supporter and a reporter entered next. The woman bailiff was kinder than the one there at the previous court date. She asked everyone to put their cell phones on vibrate and then went around to make sure no one needed anything. The other lady told you to shut your phone off and didn't care if anyone had any questions.

After the defendants started making their pleas, two other people, there to support Jonas, walked in the court room. We all watched with pity as some mousy disabled man was handcuffed and forced to walk past the leering crowd twice. I'm not sure what his charge was, I could not hear very well in the back of the room. Next time I will sit closer. Clare, wanting to hear better, moved closer to the front.

Once again, Jonas' charge was the most ridiculous on the docket. Of course that is our opinion. I'm sure many others there thought their charge was ridiculous as well.

At after 10, his lawyer had not arrived yet. But when he walked in, his was the next case heard. At this point, the DA tells them that the officer (not sure if he was talking about Crisp, Riddle or both) called in sick. That's right, he (they?) called in sick to court. If Jonas had been sick, it would have been considered a "failure to appear". If a civilian plaintiff had done that, the case would have been dropped.

I question if they were truly sick, or if this is some sort of tactic.

Dennis Kucinich Urges Conversation about Impeachment