<html><body><div style="color:#000; background-color:#fff; font-family:times new roman, new york, times, serif;font-size:14pt"><div><span>Let's translate his story into another situation and see if it makes sense: <br></span></div><div><span><br></span></div><div><span> "I am really upset about the fact that there are dangerous big snarly dogs out in the world. I want to exercise my constitutional right to dance around in a circle and protest the presence of big </span><span>snarly </span><span> dogs in the world. To make my point even more righteous, I will dance WHILE poking the big </span><span>snarly </span><span>dog with a stick! <br></span></div><div><span><br></span></div><div><span>TIME PASSES....</span></div><div><span><br></span></div><div><span>Night after night I kept poking this big </span><span>snarly </span><span> dog with a stick (i really had no intent to get in trouble i was just exercising my right to have an opinion and a stick!!) and
when i got no response from the big </span><span>snarly </span><span> dog i moved closer to the big </span><span>snarly </span><span> dog and poked it with a stick again and again. And then i made fun of The Man that was walking on the street advising me to not get too close to that big </span><span>snarly </span><span> dog. I called The Man all sorts of names, see how clever I am! And I told him to go do things to himself with the stick and the big </span><span>snarly </span><span> dog! And then, OMG, i almost got BIT by the big </span><span>snarly </span><span> dog!!!!! </span><span> I know right!? </span><span>So then i wanted to tell The Man that I had almost been bitten by the big rabid dog! But he kind of blew me off!! I am so sure! I mean, I pay The Man's salary!!! He should be protecting me from getting bitten by the big snarly dog! See how dangerous those big snarly dogs are! I think I need more and bigger sticks!! Anyway, so I poked the big
snarly dog again! And then The Man I had just told to go do things to himself with the stick and the big snarly dog told me that i had poked the big snarly dog with a stick enough times and that i now need to cease and desist from such behavior and move on out of the way of the big snarly dog because apparently the big snarly dog wasn't breaking any laws and also had rights!! But then when i failed to do so and got arrested for failure to do so because i think my constitutional right to have an opinion and a big stick should trump having to follow any other rules or suffer any consequences of my choice to use my stick to interfere with someone else's constitutional or legal rights ... i don't understand the logic???? Help Help I'm being oppressed!!!"</span></div><div><span><br></span></div><div><span>Debbie Gray</span></div><div><span>(I'm all for non-violent protests of big snarly dogs or anything else that one morally/ethically opposes, but if you
stomp on the big snarly dog's tail and poke him with a damn stick you had better be prepared to get bitten.)<br></span></div><div><br></div><div style="font-family: times new roman, new york, times, serif; font-size: 14pt;"><div style="font-family: times new roman, new york, times, serif; font-size: 12pt;"><font face="Arial" size="2"><hr size="1"><b><span style="font-weight:bold;">From:</span></b> Ted Moffett <starbliss@gmail.com><br><b><span style="font-weight: bold;">To:</span></b> Moscow Vision 2020 <vision2020@moscow.com><br><b><span style="font-weight: bold;">Sent:</span></b> Sunday, October 9, 2011 5:54 PM<br><b><span style="font-weight: bold;">Subject:</span></b> [Vision2020] Moscow-Pullman Daily News: Megaload cyclist says he'll fight obstruction charge<br></font><br>
I was once told by an attorney working for the federal court in Boise<br>that the traffic code is deliberately inconsistent, contradictory, so<br>that it is impossible to always follow all the code rules, no matter<br>how diligent the operator of the vehicle... Law enforcement can follow<br>anyone and eventually find a violation to justify a traffic stop, to<br>employ the tools of investigation etc. that a traffic stop legally<br>allows police...<br><br>http://futures.tradingcharts.com/news/futures/Megaload_cyclist_says_he_ll_fight_obstruction_charge_166154677.html<br><br>Oct 08, 2011 (Moscow-Pullman Daily News - McClatchy-Tribune<br>Information Services via COMTEX) --<br><br>A Moscow man says he and a friend were wrongfully arrested and charged<br>late Thursday night for allegedly obstructing law enforcement by<br>riding their bicycles on North Main Street ahead of three overlegal<br>Imperial Oil/ExxonMobil loads.<br><br>Zachary E. Johnson, 33, said he
probably plans to the fight<br>accusations in court.<br><br>He said he was part of a Critical Mass bike ride earlier Thursday<br>night prior to shipments passing through the city. Critical Mass of<br>Moscow is described on its Facebook page as a group that opposes the<br>fossil fuel industry and promotes cycling and will do so to assert<br>their right to access roadways.<br><br>Johnson said after most bikers dispersed, he and several other<br>cyclists, including Aaron T. Malgren, 22, who was also arrested<br>Thursday, made their way from Gritman Medical Center to where South<br>Main Street intersects with Palouse River Drive.<br><br>Once they saw the lights of the ExxonMobil convoy, Johnson said the<br>cyclists turned around and headed back up Main Street.<br><br>"We had no plans to block or impede the megaloads with our bikes or<br>bodies," he said. "We did not want to get arrested. That was not our<br>intention at all."<br><br>Moscow Police Chief
David Duke said about nine cyclists were warned at<br>the Sunset Mart about riding in the roadway prior to the shipments<br>entering the city. The cyclists began riding alongside the shipments<br>on Washington Street, he said, frequently leaving the sidewalk and<br>returning after warnings from law enforcement. When the loads reached<br>the Moscow Food Co-op, Duke said several cyclists were observed riding<br>between the equipment modules, occasionally striking them with their<br>hands.<br><br>"They were making profane comments toward the loads and the drivers,<br>as well as the flaggers and the officers," Duke said.<br><br>Johnson said he and Malgren rode in the bike lane until its end at the<br>intersection of U.S. Highway 95 and State Highway 8 before moving to<br>the sidewalk heading north on Washington Street, but was not aware nor<br>did he participate in any actions against the shipments.<br><br>"We were just following alongside peacefully," said
Johnson. "We<br>weren't trying any funny business, trying to weave in between the<br>loads. Nobody ever rode in front or darted in between the loads. I did<br>not personally witness any of that."<br><br>He said he approached one Moscow police officer in a patrol car<br>between two loads on Washington Street at one point to report nearly<br>being struck by a module that was extending into the sidewalk.<br><br>"At that point a megaload came very, very close to hitting us on the<br>sidewalk. It was about six inches away from me, of my face at this<br>point," Johnson said, adding he was initially ignored by the officer<br>sitting in the passenger seat of the patrol car. "He rolled up his<br>window and would not look at me, not look at me at all."<br><br>He said he was finally told to lodge his complaint at the police<br>station, but he instead continued north, again leaving the sidewalk<br>when his path was impeded by about 40 protesters and returning 50
feet<br>ahead of them.<br><br>Duke said one cyclist rode ahead of the load to intercept it where<br>Washington and Main streets fork and was later joined by a second<br>cyclist. These were determined to be Johnson and Malgren.<br><br>Johnson said he took Washington Street to Walgreens, and then<br>proceeded back onto North Main Street using the sidewalk with Malgren.<br>He said they had to leave the sidewalk again between E and Morton<br>streets because of a traffic sign in the way that indicated the left<br>lane of the road was closed.<br><br>"A couple seconds after we were back on (the sidewalk), an ISP officer<br>said through a loud speaker, get on the sidewalk," Johnson said. "At<br>that time we were already on the sidewalk, so we didn't think anything<br>of it. All of a sudden I heard his siren. I think he was trying to say<br>something to us, but the megaload was right next to him."<br><br>They were then told to lay down their bikes and sit on the
ground,<br>Johnson said, and were placed under arrest.<br><br>According to court documents, Johnson and Malgren had refused to<br>return to the sidewalk, which led to their arrest and citations for<br>resisting and obstructing a law enforcement officer. They were also<br>issued infractions for not licensing their bikes with the city of<br>Moscow, Duke said.<br><br>Johnson said he and Malgren had tried to explain to officers why they<br>had left the road, but were ignored and taken in a Latah County<br>Sheriff's Office van to the county jail.<br><br>Both men are scheduled to appear in Latah County 2nd District Court at<br>8:30 a.m. Wednesday. They each posted $500 bonds Friday morning.<br><br>"I plan to plead not guilty," Johnson said. "I was trying to explain<br>to the officers why we were in the road. We both find that these<br>charges are absurd, and we will probably fight them. I am not guilty<br>of obstructing and resisting an officer's
request.<br><br>"I think it's a travesty that this situation had to happen and I think<br>it's a travesty that law enforcement is having to be put in this<br>position of having to protect these loads. I think the whole thing all<br>around is crappy. I wish this whole thing hadn't happened, and I don't<br>know why it had to happen."<br><br>Brandon Macz can be reached at (208) 882-5561, ext. 238, or by email<br>to <a ymailto="mailto:bmacz@dnews.com" href="mailto:bmacz@dnews.com">bmacz@dnews.com</a>.<br><br>___ (c)2011 the Moscow-Pullman Daily News (Moscow, Idaho) Visit the<br>Moscow-Pullman Daily News (Moscow, Idaho) at <a target="_blank" href="http://www.dnews.com">www.dnews.com</a> Distributed by MCT<br>Information Services<br><br>Brandon Macz<br><br>Copyright (C) 2011, Moscow-Pullman Daily News, Moscow, Idaho<br>**********************************************************************<br>Vision2020 Post: Ted
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