[Announce] Fw: Two WI Catholic Workers - Don Timmerman and Roberta Thurstin unjustly found guilty for disorderly conduct while visiting US Rep Obey.

[Robert Waldrop]

----- Original Message ----- 
> From: Roberta Thurstin <don2roberta at yahoo.com>
> Date: Thu, Mar 6, 2008

> Just to let you know what happened yesterday, 
> March 4, 2008, at
> Marathon County Court in Wausau WI.
>
>
> Both Roberta Thurstin and I, Don Timmerman, 
> were charged with
> disorderly conduct stemming from our visit at 
> Rep. David Obey's office
> in Wausau over a year ago when we asked  the 
> office for information as
> to how Rep. Obey was going to vote on funding 
> the Iraqi invasion and
> occupation.
>
>
> In spite of no disorderly conduct being done by 
> either of us and in
> spite of being arrested before the office was 
> closed the judge found
> us guilty and gave each of us a fine of $5  plus 
> court costs and
> service costs.
>
>
> We were surprised to find out that if you are 
> found guilty of any
> charge you are to pay for the one pressing the 
> charges being there and
> then pay the courts for giving us the privilege 
> of having a court
> case.  In fact, now the courts receive money 
> from taxpayers for
> running the courts and receive even more from 
> taxpayers when they come
> for any kind of court case.  In total,  we are 
> supposed to pay $190
> each. Since we live below the poverty level to 
> remain below the
> taxable income so as not to have to pay for the 
> invasions of Iraq and
> Afghanistan it will be hard for us to pay such 
> an amount.
>
>
> However, the real injustice is not holding the 
> legislators accountable
> for the unjust, illegal and immoral invasion of 
> Iraq that they
> continue to fund at the expense of millions of 
> desperate Iraqis who
> have suffered untold misery due to the invasion 
> and continuing
> occupation of their sovereign nation by the US 
> and other nations.
> This invasion is done in the name of Christ who 
> told us to love, not
> kill and harm, our enemies  and to do good to 
> those who do harm to us.
> In this case, the Iraqis did no harm to the US. 
> Even the ones who
> did the harm at the Twin Towers on 9/11 were not 
> Iraqis.
>
>
> We feel the real reason for the invasion is, as 
> Alan Greenspan wrote
> in his recent book, the privatization of oil in 
> Iraq which will allow
> US and British oil companies to profit from the 
> oil in Iraq.  The
> military industrial complex will continue to 
> initiate wars since it
> gains a great deal of money from taxpayers for 
> more and more weapons,
> training of our young for war, mercenary wages, 
> etc.  We all know of
> the waste of money stemming from allowing the 
> military industrial
> complex to have its way.  Already 3 billion 
> dollars is missing from
> funds that were intended to be spent in Iraq.
>
>
>
> We will continue to ask the American public to 
> stop funding the
> invasions and occupations and start using their 
> tax money to help fund
> the basic needs of the people in the US and the 
> world who are dying
> every day due to a lack of the basics of life. 
> Thank you.
>
>
>
> Don Timmerman and Roberta Thurstin
> N15878 Tamarack Rd
> Park Falls WI 54552
> (715)762-8239