Here's how MediaNews staff writer Douglas Oakley's story "Bill introduced to strip Berkeley of funds" starts:
A move to strip Berkeley institutions of federal funds is going forward in Congress in retaliation for last week's City Council vote telling the U.S. Marines their recruiting station is not welcome in the city.
Six Republican senators and an Orange County representative are introducing companion bills called the Semper Fi Act of 2008 that takes away $2 million, including funds from UC Berkeley and a local foundation that provides lunches to the Berkeley Unified School District.
The Senate bill was introduced today by Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C.; Sen. Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga.; Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla.; Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas; Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla.; and Sen. David Vitter, R-La. Rep. John Campbell, R-Newport Beach., in introducing a companion bill in the House. [...]
Once again, the Got Ours Party's members of congress reveal themselves to be the vindictive, mean spirited demagogues that they are. It would be one thing to go after the city council and city government in general. But cutting school lunches money and funding for a U C program to maintain the papers of the late Robert Matsui? Give me a break.
There's by far more than enough money within Berkeley to fund the programs you cherish, so it's time for Berkeley, and not the rest of us, to do so -- Berkeley has been living on other peoples dimes since the '60's, and this subsidized ride should cease!
As Tip O'Neil observed: "All politics is local", warning that you earn what you have chosen. So the GOP (as you point out) has begun weighing in, by name, Office, and State, on Berkeley's choice -- but where is the opposition? Have Feinstein, Boxer, Lee, Dellums, Tauscher, et. al. weighed in? Or Harry Reid? Or Nancy Pelosi?
I've seen not one neighboring City, nor County adjacent to Alameda, let alone one State, that has supported the resolution of your City Council -- have you? Do you not understand that the First Amendment maintains its universal respect, and so relies on, broader Citizen review? This Council's action has trivialized the First Amendment, and until Berkeley's citizens (and not us outsiders) overturn it, Berkeley will continue its descent into irrelevancy. The University does not, and has never, depended on Berkeley for its identity, but the same cannot be said for the City -- left to itself, the City would be nothing but a fetid swamp.
I don't reside in Berkeley as your message seems to assume, so much of your argument misses the mark. Its all academic anyway since the GOP backed vengeance legislation is very unlikely to get through congress any time soon.
Hey, the good citizens of the Republic of Berkeley voted in the City Council/Politbureau .......they deserve the consequences of the Council's actions!! If they don't like their councilmen[women], vote them out!! Or, at least put on a public demonstration and act like MEN/WOMEN!! and not a bunch of wimps...
Excuse me Boron but this is still the United States of America and we live under a Constitution that protects our right to free speech and that includes the folks living in Berkeley and their city council. For congress to attempt to silence the right of our citizens to speak their minds about ANYTHING is a perversion of justice. They don't have to like the protests nor the resolution passed by Berkeley's city council, to attempt to punish them in their exercize of free speech by withholding $2M in funding is a slap in the face to everyone of us who wish to continue living in the land of the free.
Posted on Thu, 02/07/2008 - 02:44 — by CCTModerator
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 86
Here's how MediaNews staff writer Douglas Oakley's story "Bill introduced to strip Berkeley of funds" starts:
A move to strip Berkeley institutions of federal funds is going forward in Congress in retaliation for last week's City Council vote telling the U.S. Marines their recruiting station is not welcome in the city.
Six Republican senators and an Orange County representative are introducing companion bills called the Semper Fi Act of 2008 that takes away $2 million, including funds from UC Berkeley and a local foundation that provides lunches to the Berkeley Unified School District.
The Senate bill was introduced today by Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C.; Sen. Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga.; Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla.; Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas; Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla.; and Sen. David Vitter, R-La. Rep. John Campbell, R-Newport Beach., in introducing a companion bill in the House. [...]
Edited 2/6/2008 5:49 pm by CCTModerator
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 54
Once again, the Got Ours Party's members of congress reveal themselves to be the vindictive, mean spirited demagogues that they are. It would be one thing to go after the city council and city government in general. But cutting school lunches money and funding for a U C program to maintain the papers of the late Robert Matsui? Give me a break.
Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 27
There's by far more than enough money within Berkeley to fund the programs you cherish, so it's time for Berkeley, and not the rest of us, to do so -- Berkeley has been living on other peoples dimes since the '60's, and this subsidized ride should cease!
As Tip O'Neil observed: "All politics is local", warning that you earn what you have chosen. So the GOP (as you point out) has begun weighing in, by name, Office, and State, on Berkeley's choice -- but where is the opposition? Have Feinstein, Boxer, Lee, Dellums, Tauscher, et. al. weighed in? Or Harry Reid? Or Nancy Pelosi?
I've seen not one neighboring City, nor County adjacent to Alameda, let alone one State, that has supported the resolution of your City Council -- have you? Do you not understand that the First Amendment maintains its universal respect, and so relies on, broader Citizen review? This Council's action has trivialized the First Amendment, and until Berkeley's citizens (and not us outsiders) overturn it, Berkeley will continue its descent into irrelevancy. The University does not, and has never, depended on Berkeley for its identity, but the same cannot be said for the City -- left to itself, the City would be nothing but a fetid swamp.
Snorkler
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 54
I don't reside in Berkeley as your message seems to assume, so much of your argument misses the mark. Its all academic anyway since the GOP backed vengeance legislation is very unlikely to get through congress any time soon.
Edited 2/12/2008 11:28 am by ScreenName
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 17
Hey, the good citizens of the Republic of Berkeley voted in the City Council/Politbureau .......they deserve the consequences of the Council's actions!! If they don't like their councilmen[women], vote them out!! Or, at least put on a public demonstration and act like MEN/WOMEN!! and not a bunch of wimps...
Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 11
Excuse me Boron but this is still the United States of America and we live under a Constitution that protects our right to free speech and that includes the folks living in Berkeley and their city council. For congress to attempt to silence the right of our citizens to speak their minds about ANYTHING is a perversion of justice. They don't have to like the protests nor the resolution passed by Berkeley's city council, to attempt to punish them in their exercize of free speech by withholding $2M in funding is a slap in the face to everyone of us who wish to continue living in the land of the free.