Kelo Report, Part 2

[Kat Kanning]

More national coverage from World Net Daily:

      THIS LAND WAS YOUR LAND
      Court commits anti-Kelo protester to psych ward
      Woman who opposes eminent-domain ruling arrested in New London
      --New London Day

Links to The Day article from yesterday.

[TackleTheWorld]

Hi, Lauren here, resident of the embattled Ft. Trumbull neighborhood of New London, Connecticut.  Day 50.

Status of utilities:
electricity     On
gas             On
water           On
phone           on
cable           On

They have quite a rigorous initiation for new citizens here.  Hopfully I can get into the next city council meeting.  I thought all those stories the local folks told about innocent people getting intimidated by public officials were exaggerated.  They were true.
Let me tell you about why I allowed myself to be arrested.  In that crowded stairway was a vocal mass of people struggling to rise, they weren't yelling threats,  they were questioning the validity of the new fire regulation. They didn't have weapons, they came empty-handed.  They were not growling and cursing, they were asking about the status of their inalienable rights.  At the top of the stairway our way was blocked by One stern officer wearing a white shirt and two tv cameramen with blazing white floodlights. Neither the officer nor the cameras offered answers to our questions, just the dark baton in the officers hands and the black void of the camera lenses.  We were not a riot, not a lynch mob, just people insisting to be heard, and we were met with blank, reasonless refusal. 
Then I saw Ron Pero, a city councilman, caught in the crowd.  He was stuttering about how he thought everyone should be let in.  He said that there have been meetings with hundreds of people in the past.  His forehead and upper lip were wet with sweat.  The cameramen retreated.  I looked up at the officer, he was calling for backup, his eyes looked tensel.  I could see the whole bureaucracy start to crack and crumble like rotten planks under the weight of insistant logic.  Then the city manager (?) appeared from above announcing that the meeting would be rescheduled tomorrow at a bigger venue.  Many people relented and desended the stairway.  No, I thought, what if they are just saying that to diperse the people?  Now I was at the top step and could see into the meeting chamber.  I decided to stay until I saw the meeting disband, just incase they were lying.  As the crowd left four or five policemen arrived with batons and handcuffs in their hands.  They asked me many times to desend but I said I would leave when the meeting adjourned.  They said I was a fire hazard, handcuffed me, and ran me down the stairs to the paddy wagon.  Man, we nearly had them.


Please don't use the word 'sacrifice' to describe my actions, I did it all for myself.  I did it to make a better city for me to live in. 

Many thanks and hugs to all the protesters that traveled to CT.  I'll endeavor to return the favor.  Thanks to all the well-wishers and critics of my actions, I've enjoyed all of your comments here.  I love this forum.

[Russell Kanning]

Hi, Lauren here, resident of the embattled Ft. Trumbull neighborhood of New London, Connecticut.? Day 50.

Status of utilities:
phone? ? ? ? ? ?on

They have quite a rigorous initiation for new citizens here.?
They said I was a fire hazard, handcuffed me, and ran me down the stairs to the paddy wagon.? Man, we nearly had them.

Very good to hear from you.
I see that your personal utilities situation has been upgraded while you were on vacation.
lol
Once almost everyone left ..... there would have not been a fire hazard .... the cop could have left and made room for you. Problem solved.

'Lauren was convicted of "disturbing the peace"' - by sitting down and not talking?

[Lloyd Danforth]

Good to see that our AWOL reporter is back on the job in New London.

[Russell Kanning]

I thought she was more of a resident government resister.

[FSPinNY]

Hi Lauren,

Thank you for being so strong under the heavy handed government pressure!  You have thousands of supporters and friends spread throughout the world.  We're glad you're free!   

Brian

[Kat Kanning]

Fort Trumbull Dissident Released
Canario agrees to plea bargain deal

http://www.theday.com/eng/web/news/re.aspx?re=5ec3ef3d-ea5b-443d-938b-89ba33115f29
By ETHAN ROUEN
Day Staff Writer, Police/Fire Reporter
Published on 10/5/2005

New London ?? Lauren Ann Canario did not admit guilt Tuesday, but she agreed to plead to creating a public disturbance and was freed from prison despite a report that questioned her mental fitness to stand trial.

The 48-year-old Las Vegas transplant was wheeled into court dressed in the white turtleneck and black pants she wore when she was arrested Sept. 19 after refusing to leave a City Council meeting on the city's plan to take several homes through eminent domain. Her hands and feet were shackled. Less than 30 minutes later, she was free, headed to the police station to retrieve her belongings.

Judge Kevin McMahon, who doubled Canario's bond when she refused to speak during her first court appearance, accepted her plea under the Alford doctrine, which means she did not admit guilt, but did admit that there was enough evidence to convict her.

Canario had not spoken to officials since her arrest in City Hall. She was charged with first-degree criminal trespass, interfering with police and refusal to be fingerprinted. A lawyer appointed to represent her quit because of her lack of cooperation.

After 15 days in the Janet S. York Correctional Institution in Niantic, Canario finally spoke Tuesday to McMahon, asking questions about the Alford doctrine before agreeing to plead to the reduced charge.

Still, her appearance was not without confusion. A report by the state Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services said Canario ?let us believe that people, including the court, were out to get her and her associates,? said Ann Senick, a social worker for the department.

?I'm in a Catch 22,? McMahon said, noting that he wanted to accept Canario's plea but was not sure that he could following the report's conclusion that she was not competent to stand trial.

While being interviewed on the witness stand, Senick said, ?The willingness of Ms. Canario to speak with you today is different from what we? witnessed during the department's prison interview with her in late September.

McMahon accepted Canario's plea, but not without reservations about her mental health.

?I still have that lingering concern about your degree of paranoia,? he said before encouraging her to seek counseling.

Canario said that after she retrieved her belongings, she planned to check to see if she still has a job in Pawcatuck, where she was testing electronic equipment. She said she then planned to head to Bill Von Winkle's house in the Fort Trumbull neighborhood, where she rented an apartment that she plans to occupy until the eminent domain battle is over.

?I'm all paid through the 15th of the month,? she said.

[Russell Kanning]

you're not paranoid if the government has thrown you in prison.

[president]

... Canario .... protested to keep Cuban immigrant Elian Gonzalez in the United States....

WTF is up with that?

I totally agree with her..... only a guy named el presidente could disagree

I even liked the snl skit.

You think kids should be kept from their parents?
You are a bad guy.

[president]

Apparently the court released Lauren this afternoon after 15 days and dropped the charges.  What a farce. 

--
Doug Schwartz

So this is a lie.....the charges were not dropped.  She pled nolo contendere?

[Russell Kanning]

tomaato tomahto

for me that is all greek ..... she is free because they gave in .... not her

[president]

she is free because they gave in .... not her

She gave in, pled no contest, and was convicted of a crime.
If they gave in ,they would have dropped the charges. They didn't. They got what they wanted....a conviction.

But at least she didn't plead guilty like you and Mike Fisher.

I forgot how much you like your rose colored glasses.

[Russell Kanning]

she wanted to get out ... and she got out .... you are looking at this the wrong way

[Russell Kanning]

I forgot how much you like your rose colored glasses.

In the Bible, Paul called it "Joy". I try to be joyful always.

[FTL_Ian]

Welcome back Lauren.  If you'd like to talk about your story tonight, we'd love to have you on.  Please email me to schedule a time: ian@freetalklive.com