Frickin' California!


VFW Condemns Berkeley City Council for Permitting Marine Harassment

KANSAS CITY, Mo., Feb. 4, 2008--The national commander of the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) is furious with the Berkeley, Calif., City Council, calling their actions “outrageous and idiotic” following their recent vote to give the boot to a U.S. Marine Corps Recruiting Station.

“The resolution is a direct insult to not only the Marines Corps, but also to all members of the nation’s armed forces,” said George Lisicki, national commander of the VFW, the nation’s largest organization of combat veterans. “Their recent actions represent a calculated effort to legalize harassment of one of our nation’s most elite military organizations. If there were ever a prize awarded for lack of appreciation and awareness for what our military has contributed to preserving our way of life, the Berkeley City Council would certainly win the trophy.”

The Berkeley City Council, on Jan. 29 by a vote of 6-3, told the Marines at the downtown recruiting station that they are not welcome in the city. Furthermore, by an 8-1 vote, the council voted to give anti-war groups the right to harass the Marines, even giving protestors a parking space in front of the recruiting station. The only council member to vote against both proposals was Gordon Wozniak, with council members Betty Olds and Kriss Worthington joining Wozniak in voting against the council’s resolution to boot the "unwelcome intruders."

“The city council leaders need to be reminded that all the freedoms we enjoy as Americans have been earned by generations of patriots who were willing to fight to protect the liberties we, as Americans, enjoy,” said Lisicki, a Vietnam War veteran from Carteret, N.J.

What Lisicki said also troubled him was the failure of city authorities to do nothing when Code Pink, an antiwar group who originated the complaint against the Marines, defaced the front door of the recruiting station by altering the sign “U.S. Marine Corps Officer Selection Office" to "U.S. Marine Corps Officer Assasination [sic] Office."

“If anyone has earned the right to have a presence in any community in this nation, it would be the U.S. Marines,” said Lisicki. “The Marine Corps is welcomed in every city and town across the America except for the City of Berkeley and by the Taliban and Al-Qaeda in Iraq and Afghanistan."

The national commander also is encouraging its 2.3 million members of the VFW and its Auxiliaries to e-mail or call city council members.

City of Berkeley
2180 Milvia Street, Berkeley, CA 94704
TEL: (510) 981-6900, TDD: (510) 981-6903, FAX: (510) 981-6901
Office Hours: Monday - Friday, 8 a.m. - 5 p.m.
E-mail: clerk@ci.berkeley.ca.us

Voted for Resolution
Mayor Tom Bates
E-mail: mayor@ci.berkeley.ca.us
Phone: (510) 981-7100
FAX: (510) 981-7199

Linda Maio
E-mail: lmaio@ci.Berkeley
Phone: (510) 981-7110
FAX: (510) 981-7111

Darryl Moore
Email: dmoore@ci.berkeley.ca.us
Phone: (510) 981-7120

Maxwell Anderson
E-mail: manderson@ci.berkeley.ca.us
Phone: (510) 981-7130

Dona Spring
E-mail: spring@ci.berkeley.ca.us
Phone: (510) 981-7140

Laurie Capitelli
E-mail: lcapitelli@ci.berkeley.ca.us
Phone: (510) 981-7150

Dissenting Votes:
Betty Olds
E-mail: olds@ci.berkeley.ca.us
Phone: (510) 981-7160

Kriss Worthington
E-mail: kworthington@ci.berkeley.ca.us
Phone: (510) 981-7170

Gordon Wozniak
E-mail: GWozniak@ci.berkeley.ca.us
Phone: (510) 981-7180

Related stories:

Berkeley Gives Marines the Boot

Demonstrators Get Space to Protest

Group Protests Marine Recruiters in Berkeley

Marines Vote Leads to Threat on City Funds

Code Pink vs. The Marines

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Flhaus
Administrator

Unbiased Travel Reviews of Bars & Restaurants for the Traveler by a Traveler

SC Senator Jim DeMint fights Back here's an excerpt:

Over $2 million was secretly tucked away for Berkeley earmarks in the 2008 Omnibus Appropriations bill, projects that were never voted on or debated.

I do not believe a city that has turned its back on our country’s finest deserves $2 million worth of pork-barrel projects. So, I will introduce legislation to revoke the funding.

Included in the $2 million worth of pork are some particularly wasteful projects.

One earmark provides gourmet organic lunches to schools in the Berkeley School District. While our Marines are making due with MREs of Sloppy Joe and Chili with Beans, the organization Chez Panisse is getting federal tax dollars to design meals that promote “environmental harmony.” Chez Panisse’s menu features “Comté cheese soufflé with mâche salad,” “Meyer lemon éclairs with huckleberry coulis” and “Chicory salad with creamy anchovy vinaigrette and olive toast.”

Are we to understand that the city that has been home to many of the country’s most rich and famous cannot afford to pay for its own designer school lunches?

Another $975,000 earmark is for the Matsui Center for Politics and Public Service at U.C. Berkeley, which may include cataloging the papers of Congressman Robert Matsui. Is it really necessary to tax the paychecks of Marines so we can earmark nearly $1 million for a school that is already sitting on a $3.5 billion endowment?

Let me be clear, my bill does does not cut off all federal funds to the city of Berkeley, though I am sure most Americans would feel that is justified. My bill merely rescinds wasteful earmarks. Berkeley is free to compete with other towns and cities across America for merit-based federal grants.

Actions have consequences. When the Berkeley City Council decided to insult the Marines in a time of war, it was a $2 million decision. Especially in a time of war, we cannot just allow cities to play insulting games at our troops’ expense while continuing to shower them with congressional favors.

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Flhaus
Administrator

Unbiased Travel Reviews of Bars & Restaurants for the Traveler by a Traveler