>>> PLEASE DISTRIBUTE WIDELY <<<



Sunday, February 12, 2006

DUDE, WHERE'S MY CRIMINAL CHARGE?

Costa Mesa Mayor Allan Mansoor "thanks" me for asking

people in the audience to stand up

By DUANE J. ROBERTS

duaneroberts92804@yahoo.com



COSTA MESA, CA -- At first, I wasn't planning on

speaking at last Tuesday's meeting of the Costa Mesa

City Council. But the temptation to do so was too

great for me to resist. So I plucked a pencil out from

my shirt pocket and quickly filled in all the blank

spaces on the little yellow card you must submit to

the City Clerk if you want to speak. After I finished,

I handed it over to her and patiently waited for my

name to be called. The moment arrived much sooner than

I expected.

"Is Duane here?" asked Mayor Allan Mansoor.

"Yes," I responded.

I walked up to the podium, adjusted the microphone,

and began to introduce myself.

"Good evening," I said. "My name is Duane Roberts. I'm

Chair of the Social Concerns Committee of the

Unitarian Universalist Church in Anaheim, which is

located at 511 S. Harbor Blvd. I'm also a member of

the Tonantzin Collective. I want to read the following

statement."

I looked down at my clipboard and slowly began to read

what I had hurriedly jotted down in pencil only a few

minutes earlier:

Congress shall make

no law respecting the

establishment of

religion, nor prohibit

the free exercise thereof.

Nor prohibit the freedom

of speech, or of the

press. Or the right of

the people to peaceably

assemble and to petition

the government for

a redress of grievances.

"That's the First Amendment of the Bill of Rights of

the U.S. Constitution," I said. "And if anybody here

supports the First Amendment, please quietly stand

up!" I motioned with my right hand for people in the

audience to rise up out of their seats. And that they

did. In fact, almost everybody present in Council

Chambers stood up.

Mayor Mansoor, looking surprised at what had just

occurred, quickly responded: "Uh, sir, please direct

your comments to the council and ..."

But before he could finish his sentence, I abruptly

cut him off.

"Mayor Mansoor, your time is up!" I said. "Thank you!"

I then walked away from the podium.

"Thank you," he responded.

As I returned to my seat, people began to clap in

unison. But I was confused. I mean, isn't this the

reason why Mayor Mansoor had Coyotl Tezcatlipoca

beaten, arrested, and criminally charged for last

month: asking people in the audience to quietly stand

up in support of something? And now he's "thanking" me

for doing the exact same thing?

Dude, where's my criminal charge?

========================

To hear Mayor Allan Mansoor "thank" me for asking

people in the audience to stand up, click on "view

video" feature for the Tuesday, February 7, 2006

meeting of the Costa Mesa City Council at the

following link:

http://costamesa.granicus.com/ViewPublisher.php?view_id=4

Jump to "Speaker No. 29".

great job!

You really showed 'em!

That was kind of interesting -- though pointless.

Duane,

what was the point?

was it because you had nothing to post for like a week now?