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Kansas Activists Bring Down the Rafters
cellphone photo by Carol Huhs
Report by Anne Pritchett and Carol Huhs
In case you haven't heard, last night Kansas Representative Dennis Moore and Kansas Senator Pat Roberts met for a little "kaffeeklatch" at Johnson County Community College (JCCC) near Kansas City, Kansas. It was an attempt at bipartisanship - - a blue dog Dem talking with a Repub - - trying to make all the problems go away. They sat and talked about nothing for about an hour and a half. They took questions from the audience that were written on postcards and screened by the evening's moderator - - who made sure that all questions asked of the gentlemen in public were totally inane. You all know the view of the American public on the war - - an overwhelming majority want it OVER - - and there was NOT ONE WORD mentioned about the w-a-r.
Well, about 9pm as they were wrapping up, there was a sudden unveiling of the truth! The audience heard a "thud-thud-thud" and turned around to find to the dismay of Moore and Roberts, no doubt, a HUGE banner which you will see in the pictures.
Kaedden [last name unknown], an employee of JCCC, willingly "fell on his sword," as activist David Quinly put it. He knew he would be fired from his job working for the theater at JCCC, but still climbed up on the catwalk to push the banner out so everyone could see it. He was taken to the Security office and questioned for about an hour. David asked him later if he had been water-boarded or otherwise tortured. Kaedden wasn't sure if they would press charges of any type. He said that the college threatened to "ban" him from the campus. We were ready to post bail!
Hopefully, this may help to open some folks' eyes.
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Simply amazing !!
Now that's how you stir the pot people! You use the big spoon and both hands and you put your back into it! Don't worry about getting fired as there are plenty of jobs out there for people like you. May I suggest running for public office?
Thank you for your bravery and for speaking for those without a voice and for those too afraid to speak out. You give me hope for our country.
Anti-war banner creates a stir at political lecture
By JIM SULLINGER
The Kansas City Star
The caper was stealthy, startling and definitely against the rules.
A war protester rolled up a huge cloth banner and secretly secured it to the ceiling above a catwalk in the back of the Polsky Theatre at Johnson County Community College.
The banner initially went unnoticed by the nearly 400 people who attended a 90-minute lecture on bipartisanship Monday night. The lecture featured U.S. Rep. Dennis Moore, a Kansas Democrat, and Sen. Pat Roberts, a Kansas Republican.
About 15 minutes before the program ended, the protester unfurled the 20-foot square banner. It sounded as if the ceiling were falling.
People in the back row ducked as if a hard-hit foul ball were headed their way. Everyone turned around to look.
In large block letters, the banner accused the Bush administration, Moore and Roberts of “crimes against humanity.” The last line was a plea to end the Iraq war.
Soon after, the perpetrator was escorted off the catwalk by a college public safety officer and the theater’s technical director. Political signs are not allowed in the theater.
“My first thought was how security could let something like this happen,” said Dick Bond, a former president of the Kansas Senate. “The college should be embarrassed.”
College officials said that they were investigating and that information might be turned over to Overland Park police. The suspect is a part-time employee of the college.
Julie Haas, a spokeswoman for the college, said that someone else had asked the man to rig the banner. The man would not identify his co-conspirator.
“Our main concern is for the safety of the people who were there,” Haas said.
Before the event began, several war protesters demonstrated outside the Carlsen Center, where the theater is located. They were not allowed inside.
To reach Jim Sullinger, call 816-234-7701 or send e-mail to jsullinger@kcstar.com.
IMPEACH Bush and Cheney!
Kaedden is a hero and I hope it prompts more Americans to stop acting like sheeple when the blue dogs and the nazirepukes don't even speak of this genocidal war for oil and the horrific deaths of our soldiers and National Guard meant to protect us from REAL THREATS HERE AT HOME and the murder of one million Iraqi citizens still ongoing.
ADS should have a file on the secret airwar against Iraq which have killed a million human beings in Iraq. When we will stop being Good Germans and start speaking out and fighting for our country and fellow Americans?
The sad part of this story is that Roberts and Moore kept on talking and didn't even look up to see the banner. The college is concerned about its image. No one was hurt, no property was damaged. But JCCC is embarrassed.
And 3700 of our soldiers are dead. I wonder who has suffered more - JCCC or 3700 families?
The Kansas City Star article called the JCCC caper stealthy and startling. I would like to add Steadfast. These wonderful people are out there week after week after week at every event exercising their right to freedom of speech and are asking for nothing more than a better world to live in. A great many of us lazy people sitting home, myself included, believe in what they are doing and feel the way they feel so I say hooray for the heros. We all know the troops are the #1 heros, however, these people who are often called war protesters or activists are really so much more and are also giving of themselves. Like it or not, they are calling attention to what is wrong with both the war and the current government. Most of us roll over and play dead and leave it to the few who give freely of their time. They are STEADFAST in their efforts and I salute them for their fortitude.
As one of those people out there several times a week your comment really means a lot. Thank you for knowing we are there and why we are doing what we do.
To fall on ones own sword has never been so gratifying! Hopefully it was Moore and Roberts who felt the sword of justice at their throats' for if they do not start listening to their constituents and put an end to the profiteers' war then surely they too will "fall on their own swords."
We must come to realize that the system of government in the "United" States of America is broken beyond repair. People with money are doing all they can to control the North, South, East, and West through their lust for power and greed of resources. Peace will come when the power of love will overcome the love of power.
People must become the peaceful change we wish to see in the world. Division only causes more strife. United for sustainability in all social aspects; we must elect local officials who will create sustainable energy systems, health care options, and reliable locally grown organic foods. To rely on capitalism to create sustainability through market demand is to have sustainability corrupted by the beast.
Capitalism = Greed = corruption. Corruption is rampant in our government because people expect it and accept it, and I find this apathy unacceptable.
Get yourself out from under the thumb of the beast by creating your own fuel and electricity. Grow your own foods. Find local holistic healers who do not rely on prescription pharmaceuticals to heal your ailments. Conserve the resources we have for future generations, and do all you can to help heal the insults inflicted on the Earth with grace and patience.
Never forget that we are the government, we are politics, we are spirituality! Believe in yourself and your ability to change the world one step at a time and get out there and make a difference! Get involved with the peaceful coordinated efforts of your local, national, and international humanitarian organizations and lend a hand. Together we shall overcome the evil of the world with love.
Respectfully yours in Peace and Justice,
Kaedden Michael Timi
Kaedden@gmail.com
913-424-0062
www.EarthPeaceSystems.net
for doing something which very few of us would have had the stones to do, Kaedden.
Even though we really are the government, we've been told that we're too stupid, too dumb and too ignorant to not only be the government, but to act like the government. We've been told by those who claim moral superiority over us that we're incapable of making a difference, and we bought into those lies hook, line and sinker.
Your bold act of courage stripped away all of those lies which had been told to us, and the lies we told ourselves about our inability to make a difference in a truly meaningful way. The hardest part for most of us, I think, is locating that source of moral courage to speak out with forcefulness, authority and boldness, even when it means that we'll lose everything in the process. We've lost confidence in ourselves to the point where we don't trust our own minds or our own voice; we let others speak for us instead of speaking for ourselves. We don't take risks any more; we're driven to play it safe in order to hang on to the temporal things which we think matter more.
We need to see that it is possible to make a difference, and to use that example of courage to strengthen us when we feel inadequate or insecure about ourselves and the real power we possess to make a meaningful difference.
Thank you, Kaedden, for making that difference. God Bless you.