Mickadeit,

The best part of your column (Nov 22) was where you asked, "Where are the other religious groups? Where are the small-business organizations? Where is the ACLU? ...where is the libertarian Register?"

This is precisely what Marie is asking.  Why doesn't anybody believe in freedom anymore?  And why doesn't anybody have the guts to stand up for it?

Perhaps it's because they have all been intimidated by aggressive government that prosecutes people for PEACEFUL, NON VIOLENT behavior.  Like this trial.

The Piecemakers store was forcibly invaded by  over 20 armed police last Oct, senior citizen quilting ladies were roughed up, handcuffed and taken to jail, only because they resist the regulatory state and its arbitrary and capricious rules.

The Piecemakers have commited NO violence or acts of coercion against their customers, their suppliers, or even the government.  They have simply said "no" to SOME of government's stupid rules.

And what they got was an ARMED RAID of their own business, with violence by armed government thugs.

Apparently, this has totally escaped you.

ALL VIOLENCE in this scenario has been committed by the GOVERNMENT.

IS ANYBODY AWAKE?

Your own observations judged STYLE completely over SUBSTANCE.

What is Marie's salty language compared to the PHYSICAL VIOLENCE of a RAID???  Whatever happened to Marie's 4th Amendment rights?

Can't you tell the difference between physical violence and mere verbiage?  Have you forgotten the schoolyard chant about "sticks and stones"

Aren't you curious about why Marie agreed to subject herself to the torture of a kangaroo court when she admits upfront that she is "guilty" of resisting the code enforcers?  Why didn't she just pay the fine, the first time around, instead of resist the intimidation of the DA's office?

Have you ever heard of INDIVIDUAL COURAGE?  

As a reporter, you should know a citizen's rights and use your "power" to keep government in check.  Yet here you were siding with the government over a peaceful business run by quilting ladies.  You're a whore for the state, Frank.

What about the jury!  The Constitution says a defendant is to be tried by a jury of his peers. Was there even ONE small-business person on that jury?  Or were they all government retirees?  Did you bother to find out?

If none of the jurors were Marie's "peer," then a case of jury tampering should be charged against the court The PURPOSE of a jury trial is for representatives of the community to judge the defendant.  Are you willing to say that the Piecemakers store, which engages in voluntary trade with willing customers, and sponsors musical theatre presentations, is a THREAT TO THE COMMUNITY?

Did the judge say the jury had a right to judge the LAW, as well as the FACTS of the case?  Or did he just instruct them to judge the "facts?"  Since the verdict came in so quickly, I suspect there was no debate in the jury room.  The jury became a rubber stamp for the judge.

The purpose of the trial, from Marie's part, was to bring to the attention of a wider public, exactly how much violence is being committed against peaceful people by the regulatory state.  The Piecemakers have been targeted for this kind of harassment for at least 15 YEARS.  They are weary of it.  And rightly so.

They are trying to set an example of standing up for their freedoms, in hopes that other Americans will find their own backbone and begin resisting the regulatory state.

If government can invade a restaurant with armed police and inspectors, and get the support of the community, then it can invade YOUR KITCHEN with armed police and inspectors.  Get it????

Remember WHO the court consists of -- mostly government employees who slavisly protect the interests of the government, NOT JUSTICE.

The judge is a government employee, just like the prosecutors, the health inspectors and the police.   And even Marie's lawyer is "licensed" by the government, which means, he can be put out of business by the very people he is opposing. The power ratio of government vs Marie is 10 to 1.  

So when Marie complains about too much government, she's GOT IT RIGHT.  And when she says that government is against private citizens who believe in Constitutional freedoms, she's right again!

Perhaps you can help your readers understand these things.  

An ignorant jury, following the instructions from a devious judge, rubber-stamped the judge's instructions.  This is what they used to call in the old Soviet Union, a SHOW TRIAL.

A trial to show the power of the state and its relentless coercion of peaceful people to intimidate the rest of the public to stay in line.

Is this what America is about?  

These "laws" governing restaurant inspections, are not "laws" passed by a legislature or even voted on by the people.  They are 'REGULATIONS,  written by the regulatory agency, enforced by them, and prosecuted by them.  This is what a DICTATORSHIP is.  

Our Constitution proclaims a separation of powers, by having 3 independent branches -- legislative, executive and judicial.

But the regulatory agencies are doing ALL 3 of those functions.  The regulatory agencies, both federal and state, have morphed into dictatorships that are virtually unaccountable and have unlimited power over everyone.

Moreover, the concept that government should inspect restaurants' kitchens is false economics.  It's the old left-wing mind-set that all business is crooked and profits are evil, so government should keep business in-check.

This is patently FALSE.  There is no incentive for restaurants to poison their customers any more than there's an incentive for your mother to poison you.  A business can only exist thru REPEAT business.  And customers won't come back if they get sick at your table.

Lastly, Marie talks about obeying God's law instead of man's law.  This means she is putting herself and her behavior under a much finer restriction than if she agreed only to obey "man's" laws.

God's law says thou shalt not STEAL  and thou shalt not KILL.

Man's law says thou shalt not steal except for the government or by majority vote; and thou shalt not kill except when the president wants you to for his foreign policy.  Marie REJECTS this philosophy.  You should, too.

The fact that the Piecemakers continue to find so little public support is proof of how intimidated Americans have become by the police-state government we have in America today.

Businessmen and individuals are terrified and intimidated into silence.  

Marie has the fortitude to stand up for her Constitutional rights, so the government wants to crush her.  And with lapdog reporters like you, Frank, they get away with it

And what is the outcome of the trial?  MORE GOVERNMENT VIOLENCE.  Fines or jail time.  The government just never gets its fill of torturing people.  And you lent them your dirty hands.

Shame on you, Mickadeit.  You're not good enough to be called an "American."

Don Hull

PS:  If the OCR op-ed writers won't stand up firmly against tyranny in our own hometowns, it will be impossible to prevent it at the state or federal level. I'm weary of being the only defender of the Piecemakers.  When are the OCR writers going to find some backbone and defend these brave people??

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