Saturday, December 17, 2005

19 arrested for attempting to speak Olympia Snowe's office in Bangor, Maine

Bright Eyes told us of "When A President Talks To God." What happens when constituents attempt to talk to their senator? In Maine, apparently, it's call the cops.

I'm wondering how this plays. I know from members of the community who live in Texas, that they feel Kay Bailey Hutchison doesn't feel that she has to meet with them. They feel she wants votes, she just doesn't want to interact with voters. At her office in Dallas, people have been arrested for attempting to speak with her and we're supposed to believe that this isn't her, this is a policy of the building she rents office space in.

She's an elected official. If she's leasing space in a building that doesn't allow the public the access they need, she needs to break the lease and find new offices.

Since she hasn't, members from that area feel that she is responsible for the arrests that have taken place. Now she apparenty has been joined by Olympia Snowe. We're noting a press release from Maine Independent Media/Maine Commons Bangor:


At 2:00 pm, on December 15, 2005, a "This War Is Over" press conference and rally "To Tell The Truth" were held in front of U. S. Senator Olympia Snowe's office at One Cumberland Place, Bangor, Maine. A group of approximately 100 people attended the rally and heard Judy Robbins of Sedgwick read a letter signed by 450 citizens from around the State of Maine that had been sent to Senator Snowe. The letter asked that Senator Snowe agree to participate in a public "town meeting" to listen to the voices of Mainers who are concerned about the war in Iraq. The letter also asked that Senator Snowe admit that she had been lied to by the Bush administration in the lead-up to the war; that she would work to stop the funding for the war; and that she would work to bring the soldiers in Iraq home now. Statements were also read by Rob Shetterley of Brooksville, artist of the "Americans Who Tell The Truth" series, Bruce Gagnon of Brunswick, a member of Veterans for Peace, and Nancy Galland from Stockton Springs. Gail Kelly, Senator Snowe's office manager, left her office to a read a response from Senator Snowe..
Nearly 50 rally participants who were felt that Senator Snowe's letter did not address their concerns went to Senator Snowe's office hoping to talk by phone with Senator Snowe in Washington, DC, or to discuss Senator Snowe's position on the war in Iraq with her staff. At approximately 3:30 pm, the building manager at One Cumberland Place requested that the rally participants leave the building. Upon being told by an officer from the Bangor Police Department that they would be arrested for "criminal trespass" if they did not leave, all but 19 people left the building. At 3:45 pm officers from the Bangor Police Department and deputies from the Penobscot County Sheriff's Department arrested 19 people for "criminal trespass" and transported them to the Penobscot County where bail was set and 18 people were released.
One person , Jim Harney, refused to post bail. He was released on Friday morning.A hearing is set for 8:30 pm January 20, 2006, in Bangor District Court...
Gerald Oleson,
Maine Independent Media/Maine Commons
Bangor, Maine 207-947-2970
These are the names of those who were arrested.

Judy Robbins Sedgwick
Doug Rawlings Chesterville
Steve West Penobscot
Ron King Penobscot
Jim Harney Bangor
Sandy Yakovenko Tenants Harbor
Maureen Block Swanville
Debby Marshall Deer Isle
Nancy Hill Stonington
Peter Robbins Sedgwick
Richard Stander Stockton Springs
Carolyn Coe Blue Hill
Elizabeth Adams Ellsworth
Olenka Folda Brooklin
Dud Hendrick Deer Isle
Nancy Galland Stockton Springs
Rob Shetterly Brooksville
Bruce Gagnon Brunswick
Pat Wheeler Deer Isle


While Snowe couldn't bother to meet with constituents, she could issue a statement on the death of twenty-three year old Joseph Lucas in Iraq:

"We can never sufficiently express our gratitude for his sacrifice," she said.

Is a sacrifice slight? When she can't meet with people she represents to discuss the topic of the war in Iraq, her statement on the passing of Joseph Lucas in Iraq comes off as little more than lip service.

FYI, I'm working on the spacing for Maria's entry. It will post below this because I'd already copied and pasted her e-mail into another screen. We'll be touching on the arrests at The Third Estate Sunday Review.

The e-mail address for this site is common_ills@yahoo.com.














[Note: Post corrected re: spelling of "Hutchison."]
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