October 22, 2009
For more information contact Jim Babb at 610-539-8825 or
jamesbabb@mac.com, or Ken Krawchuk at 215-881-9696 or info@KenK.org
PROPERTY RIGHTS RALLY IN ABINGTON A HUGE SUCCESS!
On Saturday, October 17th, the Montgomery County Libertarian Party
staged an all-day rally in Abington Township in support of the
property rights of Elizabeth Patane, an 80-year old widow whose
property is being unjustly seized by the township commissioners via
eminent domain for use as a neighborhood library, even though the main
township library is approximately one mile away.
Over the course of the day, several dozen of backers of property
rights paid a visit to the homes of all eight commissioners who voted
in favor of the taking, including Commissioners Benzak, Carlin,
DiJoseph, Kline, O'Connor (Michael), Peacock, Ring, and Schreiber.
The citizens also rallied for over an hour at the seized property at
1180 Easton Road, then marched on the township building at 1176 Old
York Road to hold another hour-long rally. Among the speakers were
Jack Patane, the son of the owner of the Abington property, Rick Saha
of Coatesville, the town which unsuccessfully attempted to seize his
family farm, Pat Sellers of Chester County, a veteran of the Saha
victory, and Abington activist Ken Krawchuk, the former Libertarian
candidate for Pennsylvania Governor and co-organizer of the rally.
Every Abington Township Commissioner had also been invited to address
the crowd, but none of them chose to attend.
Krawchuk said he was pleased with the turnout at the rally. "I've
lived in this town almost thirty years, and never before have I seen
such a huge outcry against any decision of the commissioners. I leave
it to your imagination how many more would have attended the rally had
there not been a double Nor'easter storm pummeling the area. But
despite the rain, the message of the rally came through loud and
clear: you don't abuse the power of government to beat up on little
old ladies. It just isn't right."
Jim Babb, co-organizer of the rally and Montgomery County's
representative on the Libertarian Party's state board of directors,
took a dim view of the commissioners' reaction to the rally. "Not one
of them had the courage to face their constituents and explain their
vote," he lamented. "Most of them cowered behind drawn drapes, even
the ones I personally called and asked to come out and address us.
Commissioner Kline did emerge from his house à ?? wielding a loud
chainsaw! He stood not twenty feet away, but chose to ignore us and
cut firewood instead. The arrogance of these pubic officials is
outrageous. I'm not surprised they're seizing a defenseless old
woman's property. They're acting like a pack of shameless thieves."
High-resolution photos of the rally have been posted on the Internet
at http://gallery.me.com/jamesbabb/100251, and a map of the rally's
route can be found at http://www.KenK.org/
RallyForPropertyRights (case
sensitive). Details about the rally and the taking are posted at
http://www.MontcoLP.org, and http://www.Abington.org, respectively. Video of parts
of the rally are on You Tube at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=elRMTTftXIE and
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pPfy3pafj5A&feature=related.
A second rally is being planned for Thursday evening, November 12th,
beginning at 7 PM behind the Abington Township building, immediately
prior to the commissioners' monthly meeting. "And there are more
rallies coming," Krawchuk promised. "We're not going to back down.
Their vote is like a dirty diaper... It needs to be changed, and for
the same reasons."
Founded in 1971, the Libertarian Party is the third largest political
party in the state and the nation, with hundreds of elected and
appointed officials currently serving in office nationwide, and dozens
in Pennsylvania. Like the Founding Fathers, Libertarians believe that
you have a God-given, inalienable right to conduct your life as you
see fit, without interference, so long as you respect the rights and
property of others. For more information about the Libertarian Party,
the public may contact the Montgomery County Libertarian Committee at
http://www.MontcoLp.org or 610-539-8825, the Libertarian Party of
Pennsylvania at http://www.LpPa.org or (800) R-RIGHTS, or the National
Libertarian Party at http://www.Lp.org or (202) 333-0008.
- End -
