Matthew Rothschild: 'Arrest, death threat, for farmer with upside down flag'
Posted on Thursday, July 20 @ 09:48:16 EDT
Matthew Rothschild, The Progressive
Source: smirkingchimp.com
Dale Klyn raises beef cows in Corydon, Iowa.
For the past six years, he has been flying an American flag on his property.
But since May 21, that flag has been upside down.
He gives two reasons.
First, he's angry at a judge for allowing a debtor of his to declare bankruptcy. The debtor, who had bought a business from Klyn on a contract and still owed him $282,000, now only has to "pay me six cents on the dollar," says Klyn. "The judge approved that on the 18th of May. I was pretty upset about that."
Second, he wants to show solidarity for Terri Jones.
She's the Iowa mom who has been flying her flag upside down after her son returned from the Iraq War and committed suicide. (Klyn had never met her before.)
"When I got the Des Moines Register and read the article about Terri Jones and how her son didn't get the medical attention he needed, I decided I'm going to support her and oppose what the judge had done and fly my flag upside down," he says.
It got a reaction.
"I went to the local Case equipment dealer and bought some parts, and the salesman come out and he asked me why I was flying the flag upside down," Klyn says. "So I explained it to him."
But the salesman wasn't sold, telling Klyn, "I've lost all respect for you. I'll buy you a one-way ticket anywhere you want to go out of the country," Klyn recalls.
Klyn says his postal worker also remarked on it.
"The mail carrier left me a personal note," he says.
A local TV news reporter then came out and did a story on him.
"The next thing I knew I'd been charged with disorderly conduct," he says. "I was surprised. I have the right and the freedom to do that."
On July 6, Klyn, represented by the Iowa ACLU, met with a magistrate.
"I pled not guilty," Klyn says. "No trial date has been set." Terri Jones, by the way, went to court that day to support him.
"She came to my hearing," he says. "It was very kind of her."
Alan Wilson, the county attorney who is prosecuting the case, did not return three phone messages for comment.
But Klyn's troubles go beyond this court case.
He faces death threats from a forum on a Marine vets' website, www.leatherneck.com, which calls itself the "Marine Corps Community for USMC Veterans."
That forum contained the following remarks from four different Marines:
"Any scout snipers live in Corydon, Iowa???"
"Corn hole 'm."
"Fly him under it upside down."
"If the flag is flying upside down, it means he is in trouble, right? I think we Marines should show up and get him 'out' of trouble."
Says Klyn: "I view it as a threat."
Source: The Progressive
http://progressive.org/mag_mc071906
Bloggers and radio hosts: Don't be shy -- tell your readers/audience you saw it on Smirking Chimp
'Arrest, death threat, for farmer with upside down flag' !!
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- SomaliNet Super
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During the Vietnam war, the upside down flag symbolized the expression "Fock the Country". Well, imagine an equivelent in Somalia and some Somali flying his flag upside down. What kind of a reaction would he get? I am not saying it's right, it's a free country and he's free to express himself. But when you express yourself in a way that is blatantly offensive to a lot of people, don't be surprised when you get a reaction.
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- SomaliNet Super
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"But you guys claimed to be a democtratic country which justify such action according to your first amendment what is going on?"
Desecrating the flag is against the law. Now, it's a law I don't personally agree with. I think that freedom of speech should take precendent. But it is against the law. Sometimes you have two principals which run against each other, as in this case.
"At least we didn't claime to be a democratic country if we punich people who do such act."
Well, that would kind of be my point. Claiming to be an idiot is probably not a good excuse, don't you think?
Desecrating the flag is against the law. Now, it's a law I don't personally agree with. I think that freedom of speech should take precendent. But it is against the law. Sometimes you have two principals which run against each other, as in this case.
"At least we didn't claime to be a democratic country if we punich people who do such act."
Well, that would kind of be my point. Claiming to be an idiot is probably not a good excuse, don't you think?
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- SomaliNet Super
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You can't be a true Muslim and not believe in democracy. Even Mohammed practiced a simple form of democracy.
You are either democratic or facist. The framework for that, Theocracy or secular, is another quesiton. But how the leaders are chosen, and the limits of their powers, define what kind of government you have. So you can choose between democracy or facism or some mixture of the two. Right now, if the Islamists win by force in Somalia, which you are hoping for, you will have a facist oligarchy running the country. They will say what is and what is not OK, the Somali people will have no say, and anyone arguing with their interpretation of Islam will be branded a heretic and put down hard. That will be their way. Indacaade and Aweys are facists at heart.
You are either democratic or facist. The framework for that, Theocracy or secular, is another quesiton. But how the leaders are chosen, and the limits of their powers, define what kind of government you have. So you can choose between democracy or facism or some mixture of the two. Right now, if the Islamists win by force in Somalia, which you are hoping for, you will have a facist oligarchy running the country. They will say what is and what is not OK, the Somali people will have no say, and anyone arguing with their interpretation of Islam will be branded a heretic and put down hard. That will be their way. Indacaade and Aweys are facists at heart.
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