State v. Granny - Democracy On Trial

Waving canes and white-knuckling their walkers, 18 unrepentant anti-war grannies . . .all facing disorderly conduct charges in Manhattan Criminal Court, refused the last-minute deal in which prosecutors offered to dismiss the cases if they stayed out of trouble for six months.

The war in Iraq "is wrong as all getout! And we're against it, and we'll do whatever it takes, whatever we can do to stop it," Marie Runyon, 91, said, waving her cane before entering the courthouse.

[They] spurned the deal because "they felt they didn't do anything wrong." [i.e., they follow their conscience!] They face up to 15 days in jail if convicted of disorderly conduct in connection with the Oct. 17, 2005, rally, in which they sat in front of the station.

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In opening statements in the nonjury trial before Judge Neil Ross, prosecutor Amy Miller said the case "is not about the war, it's about disorderly conduct" and blocking foot traffic.

No, what's on trial is a dictatorship and the charge is impersonating democracy.

[Defense counsel] said the women, calling themselves the Granny Peace Brigade, went to the recruiting center to enlist so that their grandchildren would not have to fight. But the door was locked, they said, so they sat. He denied they blocked the door.

The State is damned if it does and damned if it doesn't convict these women.

Any "victory" will be pyrrhic as it will turn these grandmas into martyrs.

And if it "loses," the state will still have to contend with the rising wave of dissent against a government gone wild - a democracy turned dictatorship in the arms of Straussian idealogues.

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Thank WRH for link.