The city of Berkeley has Transgender conferences and a mayor who protested the cutting down of a tree by camping out in it but the Marines arent welcome?
CNN) -- Berkeley, the famously liberal college town in California, has taken aim at Marine recruiters, saying they are "not welcome in our city."
Berkeley passed a measure last week encouraging protesters to gather outside the Marine office.
Republican lawmakers in Washington fired back this week, threatening to take back more than $2 million of federal funding to the city as well as money designated for the University of California-Berkeley, the campus that became a haven of protests during the Vietnam War.
The battle erupted after the Berkeley City Council approved a measure last week urging the Marine recruiters to leave their downtown office.
"If recruiters choose to stay, they do so as uninvited and unwelcome intruders," the item says.
It goes on to say the council applauds residents and organizations that "volunteer to impede, passively or actively, by nonviolent means, the work of any military recruiting office located in the City of Berkeley."
Outside the Shattuck Avenue recruiting station earlier this week, a handful of protesters with the anti-war group Code Pink camped out, strumming a guitar as they sang anti-war songs and held signs against the Iraq War.
"Time to end the war, time to end the war, time to end the war right now," they sang to the beat of "I've Been Working on the Railroad." One giant sign said, "No Military Predators in Our Town." Another message on a pink placard read, "Join the Marines. Travel to Exotic Lands. Meet Exciting and Unusual People -- And Kill Them."
Zanne Joi peered out from under her straw hat. "This Marine recruiting station is trying to recruit our youth to go to Iraq to kill and be killed. And we are against that," said Joi, a member of Code Pink Women for Peace.
"This is part of a multi-pronged effort to end this war."
Protester Sharon Adams added: "This recruiting station recruits people to go fight and then once they fight and they serve their country, our country doesn't take care of them. That's a shame."
But not everyone here supports the protesters.
Forrest Smith, who described himself as a veteran of U.S. Special Forces, said his son recently returned from a tour in Iraq and his daughter served in Afghanistan.
"My position on this is the Marines are the best thing we have," said Smith, decked out in Army fatigues.
He blasted the City Council for its action. "It's clearly an abuse of power."
A group of young students who strolled down the sidewalk shared that sentiment. They derided one of the protesters who argued the United States was involved in an illegal war in Iraq.
"Where's the logic in that whatsoever?" one of the young men said. "That's our national security, and you're here protesting the Marines."
Another said, "It makes me sick. It makes me sick."
Gunnery Sgt. Pauline Franklin, a spokeswoman for the Marine Corps Recruiting Command, told CNN there is "no plan for that office to move."
She said recruiters are there to "provide information to qualified men and women who are looking for opportunities that they may benefit from by serving in the military."
"The Marine Corps is here to support and defend the Constitution of the United States, which does guarantee the freedom of speech," Franklin said. "In terms of the situation in Berkeley, the City Council and the protesters are exercising their right to do so."
In Washington, a group of Republican lawmakers have introduced the Semper Fi Act of 2008 -- named after the Marine motto -- to rescind more than $2 million of funds for Berkeley and transfer it to the Marine Corps
"Like most Americans, I really get disturbed when taxpayer money goes to institutions which proceed to take votes, make policy or make statements that really denigrate the military," said Sen. David Vitter, R-Louisiana, a co-sponsor of the bill.
He told CNN he believes the bill will pass. "I think it's going to have significant support."
The bill's co-sponsor, Sen. Jim DeMint, R-South Carolina, said in a written statement, "Berkeley needs to learn that their actions have consequences."
Berkeley's declaration, which was introduced by the city's Peace and Justice Commission, accuses the United States of having a history of "launching illegal, immoral and unprovoked wars of aggression and the Bush administration launched the most recent of those wars in Iraq and is threatening the possibility of war in Iran."
It adds, "Military recruiters are salespeople known to lie to and seduce minors and young adults into contracting themselves into military service with false promises regarding jobs, job training, education and other benefits."
Out on Shattuck Avenue, it appears the protesters have no plans to leave anytime soon. "We are the civilian population; we control the military," Adams said. "We the people have to take back our control of the military."
But now they apologize so they can keep their government funding
WASHINGTON — The mayor of Berkeley, Calif., has issued an apology to servicemen and women serving in Iraq following a flap over a City Council vote that told the U.S Marine recruiting station there it should leave, and if it doesn't, is staying only as "uninvited and unwelcome intruders."
The apology follows the introduction this week of the Semper Fi Act of 2008, pushed by Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., that would rescind more than $2 million in federal earmarks destined for Berkeley. DeMint was joined by five other Republican lawmakers in introducing the bill Wednesday after they were angered over the Berkeley City Council's actions.
A companion bill entered in the House has the support of 45 Republicans. No Democrats are supporting either bill.
Following a public uproar, Berkeley Mayor Tom Bates argued Wednesday that the council's actions last week shouldn't be linked to federal money dedicated to schools and other services, according to tan San Jose Mercury News. Bates is a retired U.S. Army captain.
"There's really no correlation between federal funds for schools, water ferries and police communications systems and the council's actions, for God's sake," Bates said.
But, he said: "We apologize for any offense to any families of anyone who may serve in Iraq. We want them to come home and be safe at home."
Berkeley city officials indicated they likely would withhold now sending a letter containing the message they agreed on at last week's council meeting.
On the introduction of his bill Wednesday, DeMint released a statement saying, "Berkeley needs to learn that their actions have consequences. Patriotic American taxpayers won’t sit quietly while Berkeley insults our brave Marines and tries to run them out of town. Berkeley City Council members have shown complete ingratitude to our military and their families, and the city doesn’t deserve a single dime of special pet project handouts."
The list of items that DeMint's bill target include:
DeMint's office provided a preliminary list of items that would be subject to his proposal:
— $975,000 for the University of California at Berkeley, for the Matsui Center for Politics and Public Service, which may include establishing an endowment, and for cataloguing the papers of Congressman Robert Matsui.
— $750,000 for the Berkeley/Albana ferry service.
— $243,000 for the Chez Panisse Foundation, for a school lunch initiative to integrate lessons about wellness, sustainability and nutrition into the academic curriculum.
— $94,000 for a Berkeley public safety interoperability program.
— $87,000 for the Berkeley Unified School District, nutrition education program.
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The group who is protesting thinks the soldiers would be happy. Soldiers hate these actions and its not protesting the war its protesting the Marines and the military. If their city was attacked they might change their mind but they think they have the right to take away the citizens right to join the military. They say that if the Marines leave it will give citizens the right to decide.
The CODE PINK group feels if you protest the Transgender conference you are trying to take away their rights. Troops are embarrassed by these actions, not people against the war but people against the military.
Living in a tree is better than supporting your troops is basically what one of their representatives have said.
Best quote about this situation "I love Berkeley it makes the rest of the country look sane."
MSNBC anchor was suspended for saying,
"Doesnt it seem like Chelsea is being pimped out in some way?
SEATTLE, Washington (AP) -- A distasteful comment about Chelsea Clinton by an MSNBC anchor could imperil Sen. Hillary Clinton's participation in future presidential debates on the network, a Clinton spokesman said.
Sen. Hillary Clinton greets supporters during a rally in Tacoma, Washington, Friday.
In a conference call with reporters, Clinton communications director Howard Wolfson on Friday excoriated MSNBC's David Shuster for suggesting the Clinton campaign had "pimped out" 27-year old Chelsea by having her place phone calls to celebrities and Democratic Party "superdelegates" on her mother's behalf.
Wolfson called Shuster's comment "beneath contempt" and disgusting.
"I, at this point, can't envision a scenario where we would continue to engage in debates on that network," he added.
MSNBC said Shuster, who apologized on the air for his comment, has been temporarily suspended from appearing on all NBC news broadcasts except to offer his apology.
"NBC News takes these matters seriously, and offers our sincere regrets to the Clintons for the remarks," MSNBC spokesman Jeremy Gaines said, adding the network was hopeful the debate would take place as planned.
Clinton and Sen. Barack Obama are scheduled to participate in an MSNBC debate February 26 from Ohio, which holds its primary March 4. The Clinton campaign has pushed hard for as many debates as possible with Obama, but Wolfson said the February 26 debate could be jeopardized.
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Wolfson pointed to what he called a pattern of tasteless comments by MSNBC anchors about the Clinton campaign. Weeks ago, "Hardball" host Chris Matthews apologized to the former first lady after suggesting her political career had been made possible by her husband's philandering.
Shuster told The Associated Press he has tried to reach Clinton to apologize.
Bill Burton, a spokesman for Obama, called Shuster's comments "deplorable" and said they had no place in the political process.
Superdelegates are elected officials and other members of the Democratic National Committee who serve as unpledged delegates to the party's convention. They're expected to play an important role in selecting the party's nominee if the delegate contest between Clinton and Obama remains close.
