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sabra Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Apr-11-06 11:18 AM
Original message
Councilman refuses oath over Iraq war

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/localnews/content/local_news/epaper/2006/04/11/s1b_oath_0411.html

Councilman refuses oath over Iraq war


TEQUESTA — Basil E. Dalack so strongly believes the war in Iraq is illegal, he's willing to give up his office over it.

Dalack, an appellate lawyer who recently won a seat on the Tequesta Village Council, is refusing to take the oath of office because it requires him to "support, protect and defend" the federal and state governments. To him, that's the equivalent of "blind support" of the war and of Bush administration policies. If Dalack took the oath, he says, he'd have "the blood of all those Iraqi and American kids on my hands."

Dalack, 76, filed a lawsuit in federal court Friday alleging that the oath violates the Constitution by placing a "prior restraint" on his right to free speech and denying him, without due process, occupancy of his elective office.

...

"No citizen of the Unites States should be required to swear to support the government, which is the (Bush) administration," said Dalack, who served in the Army in Korea during the Korean War. "Those kids in Iraq died only because of George Bush, and I will not swear to support a government with immoral and unlawful policies."


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dubyaD40web Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Apr-11-06 11:22 AM
Response to Original message
1. Heheheheh!
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cain_7777 Donating Member (417 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Apr-12-06 09:28 AM
Response to Reply #1
22. hahahahaha
I wish everyone had the balls to stick it to bush
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lumberjack_jeff Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Apr-11-06 11:22 AM
Response to Original message
2. When I took a councilperson oath in Washington...
... it was to uphold the laws and constitution of the state and federal governments, not "the government" per se.
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babylonsister Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Apr-11-06 11:24 AM
Response to Original message
3. Wow, a man with a conscience! Whoo hooo! nt
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BlueEyedSon Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Apr-11-06 11:25 AM
Response to Original message
4. i love being the 5th recommendation vote on stuff like this!
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shenmue Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Apr-11-06 11:28 AM
Response to Original message
5. Brave guy
:patriot:
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Richard Steele Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Apr-11-06 11:28 AM
Response to Original message
6. Opposing B*shCabal™ _IS_ "defending the Government".
Just like fighting a tumor is "defending the patient".
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wtmusic Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Apr-11-06 11:31 AM
Response to Reply #6
7. agree. He's handing America to the Bush administration.
wrong tack to take.
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Richard Steele Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Apr-11-06 11:34 AM
Response to Reply #7
9. He needs to take that oath, and take it SERIOUSLY. nm
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MADem Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Apr-11-06 11:31 AM
Response to Original message
8. An oath to support the GUBMINT??? That sounds a bit.....
UNCONSTITUTIONAL to me!! Now, if they asked the guy to support, protect and defend the CONSTITUTION, that would be fine and dandy. But the GUBMINT???

The lawsuit asks the court to declare the oath unconstitutional and force the removal of the words "and government" from the section that reads, "I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support, protect and defend the Constitution and government of the United States and of the state of Florida."

I like this guy!!!! I hope he prevails--to my mind, it seems like he should!

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Peace Patriot Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Apr-11-06 01:20 PM
Response to Original message
10. Wow! A 76 year old man taking on such a fight! That is amazing.
And, you know, I feel the same way. This is NOT my government. And I have never felt that in my life before--even when our government was doing really bad shit, and I mean really bad (slaughtering upwards of two million Vietnames and Southeast Asians; assassinating democratically elected foreign leaders; training death squads...). There was always the feeling of elements in the government going very wrong, but with the possibility that correction could occur, and in many cases it eventually did.

When NAFTA passed, for instance, we knew that some Congresspeople were bought and paid for, and almost none of them had read it, and that the president (Clinton) had broken his campaign promise not to sign it without labor and environmental protections. But even as late as that, in the history of Corporate Rule in the U.S. of A., the possibility of change still existed. (--that's why 50,000 people bothered to march in Seattle and disrupt the World Trade Organization meeting in 1999--an event that was thoroughly slandered by the corporate media.) (Boy, did that scare 'em!) I felt Clinton was wrong. I never felt he was unreachable. I never even felt that about Reagan, bad as he was. He certainly authorized the war on Nicaragua (the Iran-Contra scandal), in violation of a specific Congressional ban, but he had his operatives do it covertly and illegally. And they DID get caught (even though Reagan got off). Meaning: they knew what the law was, what the limits were; they didn't openly dispute Congress' right to declare war and make laws; and they still had some fear of public opinion. Also, the covert nature of their Iran-Contra activities and the war on Nicaragua means that there were lots of people in the gov't establishment--in the military and intelligence communities, within the administration, and in Congress--who respected the law and the balance of powers.

Now I feel like our federal government is a foreign power. There is no way for the people to influence it. Anyone loyal to the Constitution and the people has been purged. It is insulated by a fraudulent election system and by war profiteering corporate news monopolies. It does whatever it wants to, with no reference to the rest of us. The only thing they bother with is a slick newsstream (or what they think is slick) to make us all believe that they have some support...somewhere. (If the Barbie Dolls and Pinnochios on TV think it's all okay--if that's the "MAINSTREAM"--then maybe believers in peace, justice and democracy should crawl into a hole and give it up.) But, mostly, they couldn't give a crap. They have all the power--to steal us blind, to sent nukes flying, to send troops to their deaths, to spy on us, to suppress and marginalize dissent, and to abandon us at their will. So, what do they care if they have a 30% (at best) approval rating, and get booed by tens of thousands of baseball fans whenever they stick their heads out their bunkers? They really and truly don't care. To them, WE are the enemy.

Not to mention their trying to sell our ports off to the United Arab Emirates, the Saudi-Carlysle-Bush cabal, Prince Bandar lounging around the White House, FEMA's failure to protect the people of the Gulf coast, the jacked up and escalating price of oil, and China holding our paper.

I get the feeling that our national government has become the mere pawn of global corporate predators--I mean, much moreso than before. Before they purchased influence; now they just pick up the phone and issue orders to the Bush junta. It has nothing to do with us any more. And to swear "loyalty" to this "government" would be a betrayal of all that we revere and ARE loyal to, in the history of our democracy. Non-transparent elections and the cabals of the rich create tyranny. That's what we have.

And cheers and hoorah's to Basil E. Dalack, who has said so--and intends to stick it to them! What joy to see the real patriots stand up!

:applause: :patriot: :applause: :patriot: :applause: :patriot: :applause: :patriot: :applause:


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fshrink Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Apr-11-06 02:03 PM
Response to Original message
11. Last sentence
is particularly simple and true. The guy is probably too old to learn to reframe.
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drduffy Donating Member (739 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Apr-11-06 04:04 PM
Response to Original message
12. VOTE VOTE VOTE
I didn't realize from your posts that there was a vote involved. On the article page... vote whether you agree or disagree with what he did. And whether you should always support your government 100%.

Go vote.
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sabra Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Apr-11-06 04:07 PM
Response to Reply #12
13. here:
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leQ Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Apr-11-06 04:35 PM
Response to Original message
14. i think i just found Quote of the Year
Edited on Tue Apr-11-06 04:35 PM by leQ
No citizen of the Unites States should be required to swear to support the government, which is the (Bush) administration," said Dalack, who served in the Army in Korea during the Korean War. "Those kids in Iraq died only because of George Bush, and I will not swear to support a government with immoral and unlawful policies."


on edit: typo
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eppur_se_muova Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Apr-11-06 04:35 PM
Response to Original message
15. VOTE to support this man! (Link at top of OP) nt
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Peace Patriot Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Apr-11-06 05:45 PM
Response to Original message
16. The goosesteppers are winning, 51.71% to 48.30%...
...the latter composed of 44.23% who completely support his view, and a few (4.07%) who don't agree but are okay with him saying it and holding public office.

We need to DU this poll!

If people don't understand the difference between loyalty to the Constitution and the country, and loyalty to the government, then we have some educatin' to do!
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IndianaGreen Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Apr-11-06 06:00 PM
Response to Original message
17. The oath should be to the Constitution not to the Fuehrer
There is something very wrong about that oath, I'll bet that the oath dates back to the McCarthy era.
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Pacifist Patriot Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Apr-11-06 06:55 PM
Response to Original message
18. Herein lies the rub. What is our government?
Is it the U.S. Constitution or is it the personalities occupying the positions outlined within the esteemed document? I'd have absolutely no hesitation in swearing an oath to uphold and defend the government if it is defined as the Constitution. I appreciate his discretion with regard to semantics. I'd like to see them nail this down as well.
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IndyOp Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Apr-11-06 07:38 PM
Response to Original message
19. VOTE! DU THIS POLL! We are behind... : (
I agree with his views completely. 45.13% 287

He shouldn't run for office if he doesn't stand behind our federal government 100 percent. 50.94% 324

:kick:
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AuntiBush Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Apr-11-06 10:02 PM
Response to Original message
20. Imagine that.
Someone with *integrity* *honor* *ethics* Coming from a vet, his actions speak even louder then his honorable, patriotic words.

:kick:
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dalaigh lllama Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Apr-11-06 11:12 PM
Response to Original message
21. Vote results
What do you think of Mr. Dalack's stance?

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I agree with his views completely. 38.35% 303
I disagree with his views on Iraq but support his right to refuse an oath he doesn't believe in. 9.49% 75
He shouldn't run for office if he doesn't stand behind our federal government 100 percent. 52.15% 412


Of course he has a dilemma. The oath says support the Constitution AND the government. Isn't that some sort of oxymoron? :shrug:
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Dragonbreathp9d Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Apr-12-06 09:49 AM
Response to Original message
23. Hell Yeah! Go get'em!!!!!
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Seabiscuit Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Apr-12-06 10:14 AM
Response to Original message
24. Now that's MY kind of vet!
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