I am surprised that she does not claim that it is a conspiracy by the government to silence her from telling "the truth" about 9/11.

Sue Dremann interviewed me yesterday morning, before I had a chance to update anyone who had been arrested with me on Good Friday at Lockheed Martin about the turn of events, and I think she sincerely tried to get the facts right in her article, but she did make some mistakes which I think that I should clarify here.

On the day of my arrest in Sunnyvale, I don't recall precinct walking, I was simply protesting at Lockheed Martin. However, I was precinct walking in Palo Alto last Saturday for many hours and just returning to my home when I was arrested and taken to San Jose to be processed.

I was not involved with the planning of the action on Good Friday, which was organized by the Pacific Life Community (See Web Link but I went in solidarity to be supportive of their efforts, aimed at ending nuclear weapons and war making through non-violent action. When I arrived in Sunnyvale, I was very impressed with the people who had gathered there, including Bob and Janet Aldridge. I was familiar with Bob's extensive work exposing the Trident weapon systems. My decision to join the action was spontaneous, but I was heartened by the participation of another friend, a Stanford professor, who very eloquently read a powerful statement before we were arrested.

When we were processed in Sunnyvale and given the May 18th court date, we all agreed that that was a difficult date for us and wanted to push it back until June. My friend knew that he would be in Europe giving a lecture and performing in a play, ironically about Gorbachev and Reagan at a summit in 1986 discussing the reduction of nuclear weapons, in which my friend played Reagan. Due to a miscommunication, we didn't get our paperwork to the guy who went to court on May 18th asking for the date change. The date was changed to May 30th for three of the five who were arrested, but my friend and I were stunned to receive Bench Warrants for $10,000 on Saturday, May 26th. We couldn't do much about it over Memorial Day weekend, but four of us were at the clerk's office that Monday to ask the clerk for a date to surrender to the court and ask the judge to waive the bench warrant. We were given a new court date (June 15th) and given a phone number to call the Sunnyvale Police Department. We called Sunnyvale and the Santa Clara County Sherrif's Department to call off the Bench Warrant, but they couldn't do so because the bail amount was so high and could only be called off by the judge. A lawyer told me that it is rare for people to be picked up on a bench warrant, unless they commit a traffic violation and they come into the police's radar. I was also advised to surrender directly to the Sunnyvale police, to avoid any danger of being arrested. I almost did (late Wednesday, June 29th), but on the way to Sunnyvale with a friend and with the bail money, my friend convinced me that I was too "invisible" for them to come after me, and that the processing could take hours and that if I turned myself in I should do so early in the morning rather than risk being stuck in the system after hours, which is what eventually happened to me. My husband drove twice to San Jose while they did the paperwork, processing. Only when I was released, and called him on the cell phone my son had loaned to me, was he able to locate me and pick me up on his third trip to San Jose.

I also went to court on May 30th, in solidarity with my friends, hoping that the judge might allow us to be heard and arraigned on the same date. The judge was aware of my presence, but didn't have my paperwork handy and indicated that the dates could be resolved at my scheduled hearing on June 15th. Now I have another court date hearing on July 18th, in addition to the new court date of July 12th, and I will probably have to go to all of them, unless the judge kindly agrees to consolidate our cases and the court date hearings.

We do believe the National Lawyers Guild will provide us help and support with our case, but we haven't yet had time to get lawyers to help us through the labyrinth of the "criminal" Justice System.

When we see the Supreme Court judging in favor of money and major corporations, when we see the media gloss and fawn over Presidential participation in assassination squads, when we see Congress go along with the institutionalization of torture, the shredding of our Constitutional rights, when we see powerful financial entities get away with fraud and the largest heist in human history, when we see the legalization of murder, theft, war, torture, than I think it is time for "we the people" to stand up for what is right, moral and identify the criminality of systems which serve a few and threaten the many.

My original reason for running for Congress in 2006 was to raise the taboo issues. I believed that Bush and Cheney should have been impeached back then, and that Congress failed to defend our Constitution when it passed the PATRIOT Act. Now more than ever, I think the job of Congress should be to defend people and rein in corporate power which has rampantly corrupted the courts, the legislature, and makes it exceedingly challenging for those of us who challenge it.

I hope that anyone who believes that we need to strengthen people power over corporate power will find the time and energy to support my Congressional campaign today by voting for the only party that doesn't accept corporate contributions, the Green Party. Under the new rules, unless I come in second today, my voice will be eliminated from the November election.

"When we were processed in Sunnyvale and given the May 18th court date, we all agreed that that was a difficult date for us and wanted to push it back until June. "
I guess Carol feels that the accused criminal should decide when and if to appear in court.

Not sure why we have read this long excuse by a so-called responsible adult. Seems to me that everyone is to blame but Carol.

"Under the new rules, unless I come in second today, my voice will be eliminated from the November election."
No chance of that and thank goodness for small favors.

You got my vote. Even though I think Anna has been very good at what she does for a number of years I have always respected the way you have stood up for truth, justice, and "the American way". I know the odds of your winning are very slim; however, it's about time that we have a real alternative!! Good luck!

>> I didn't realize that Sunnyvale was so harsh on exercising First Amendment rights

Wow, "block the street" really is in the First Amendment:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble and block the street, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

Svatoid, so you are saying you think manipulating court dates and continuing hearings are something new? Helloooo.

Yes, musical, it is everyone's fault but Carols.

She should be given a chance-Carol would fit right in with so many other California Congressional Representatives- Woolsley, Stark, Boxer, Pelosi, Waxman, Waters, Miller, Speier, Eshoo and others so numerous, can't mention them all.

Is it the water or the air in California that causes this?

'Svatoid, so you are saying you think manipulating court dates and continuing hearings are something new? Helloooo."

No. Not new. But it sounds like Carol is providing a litany of excuses for her failure to appear in court.

"She should be given a chance-Carol would fit right in with so many other California Congressional Representatives- Woolsley, Stark, Boxer, Pelosi, Waxman, Waters, Miller, Speier, Eshoo and others so numerous, can't mention them all."

I would hardly compare someone like Carol with a real politician.

[Post removed by Palo Alto Online staff.]

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

No " block the street here "

When you add Feinstein, Pelosi and Boxer in to the same group here that TWISTS Wording to suit their agenda, it is no wonder that the rest of the nation uses epithets to describe people from California...

The other problem: Censorship that distorts the FACTS presented. The PA weekly ( or is that WEAKLY ) is a prime example of this GROUPTHINK...

Who read Carol's whole commentary? I didn't. Who has the time? I don't. I respect her correcting the account of what happened & of course she has her fans/followers & I guess it would be really hard to post that on Facebook or tweet it. I guess making a court date would be hard, too. Why was she given a choice on court dates? I don't get it.

There's a lot I like about the Green Party, but this just comes off as self-serving navel-gazing rather than taking responsibility - including responsibility for HOW one exercises their rights, knowing that as a public figure, when you screw up, the po-pos gonna come looking for you.

Hmmm,
I for one have the time. This is the second time that I've seen Carol posting on PA Online and her posts seem informative and well written. I will, however, politely say that I disagree with several statements I found on her election webpage.

CB got 4% of the congressional vote. It shows how little influence she has. On the other hand, it is frightening that one in twenty-five people amongst us can take seriously a person who believes that the U.S. government blew up the World Trade Center.

I was glad to read Carol's version of the events. It certainly casts a different feeling to the whole episode. As far as changing court dates, everyone has calendars and the includes the judge and police. She is not being arraigned on murder charges so why not be civil and make sure everyone can make it to the court on time.

From all of the rigamaroll she had to go through, it is obvious that crime does not pay or at least is very inconvenient to one's life. But I have to take exception to one thing and that she was probably charged with trespassing or blocking an entrance, not for free speech. Carol, you have to follow the rules! Keep moving and don't block the entrance.

And as far as the 1/25th people amongst us who voted for her, I can say proudly I am one. I am not voting mainstream anymore as they all get nothing done. I met Anna Eshoo once at a person's house and she could not answer anything straightforward. She speaks this political speech that never answers the questions. I am done with the likes of these people. I can't wait until there is a third party ready to take on the likes of the Democrats and Republicans. They are ALL alike!

"I am surprised that she does not claim that it is a conspiracy by the government to silence her from telling "the truth" about 9/11."

An interesting idea! With all history of gas station secirity camera tapes confiscated by the FBI, and steel from the collapsed buildings at WTC immediately shipped overseas for smelting, it appears very likely. You are a genious svatoid! That's the way to the truth!

"I would hardly compare someone like Carol with a real politician."

Why is that? Is it because she wouldn't take money from lobbyists?

Your publicity scored one vote (from me) it otherwise wouldn't have gotten.
Glad to see that you're a cyclist!

"Your publicity scored one vote (from me) it otherwise wouldn't have gotten."

Happy to read that! I thought all this publicity didn't get her any votes. I peddled Carol's candidacy to numerous potential voters in front of Whole Foods and at Lytton Plaza the night before the election and nobody knew of her, let alone that she had been arrested. Whoever controls the media has got us by the balls!

"I guess Carol feels that the accused criminal should decide when and if to appear in court."

I see you believe that an "accused criminal" is guilty until proven innocent. Don't tell me you read it in the Constitution!

"I see you believe that an "accused criminal" is guilty until proven innocent"

That is why I called her an accused criminal--she is innocent until proven guilty. But that fact does not mean that she can ignore court dates. She needs to take responsibility for her actions and not write long winded excuses for her actions. Maybe when she grows up, she will understand and also realize that the US did not blow up the towers on 9/11.
Meanwhile--4000 votes--hysterical.

A politician that goes out and gets arrested for her beliefs? She's got my vote. Thank you, Carol, for standing up for what is ethical, responsible and logical.

>A politician that goes out and gets arrested for her beliefs? She's got my vote

Very typical response of a true believer. Forget logic and reason, like the World Trade explosion by the U.S. government. CB has about the same level of credibility as Oliver Stone (JFK movie), who is one her heroes. Magic bullets, anyone?

The 4%ers are in a camp unto themselves; the 96%ers can only roll their eyes and move on. Crazy stuff.

Another Mistake...

Post Election... I reread my statement and realized that I made a mistake when I wrote "June 29th," instead of "May 29th," the eve of the court date for my three friends who were arrested, which I did attend. To err is human. I did miss my May 18th court date which is why the judge issued the Bench Warrant. That was a big mistake on my part, whether it was conscious or unconscious, premeditated, deliberate, forgetfulness, a misunderstanding, ignorance; I should have written the date down and made sure that I was in court that day, but I didn't. I have missed dentist appointments, forgotten to pick up my community supported vegetables, forgotten to buy ingredients, soap... at the store. I didn't realize the harsh consequences of missing a court date and I probably will never miss another one. I had no idea that missing a court date would result in being arrested and held for 15 hours, until my family paid $10,000 to get me back.

I do suspect that the reason police use violence, ignore civil rights, beat people up, throw them in jail is to discourage them from protesting, challenging corporate or government power. Fear is the tool used to control people in our society. However, love, solidarity, courage are needed sometimes to challenge overtly criminal systems which threaten all of us. The global uprisings which are taking place right now are probably scaring those who wish to maintain their power. I believe that the best hope for all of us is massive non-violent civil disobedience, public truth telling, genuine transparency, accountability. I do wonder if the local police are here to protect us or to frighten us into obediently complying with every law made, regardless of whether it violates our moral code or the Constitution of the United States.

"CB has about the same level of credibility as Oliver Stone."

That level of credibility would have been enough to put Carol in Congress, were it not for the main media silence (one way or the other) about her.

> I did miss my May 18th court date which is why the judge issued the Bench Warrant. That was a big mistake on my part....

CB finally needs to a pay price. Now she is whining about it. When has she ever stood up and agreed to suffer for her kooky beliefs, like the 'truther' nonsense about blowing up the WTC? In this case, she broke the law. Punish her, as anyone would be punished. No problem.

We had Orly Taitz running for Senate, why not Carol "It is everyones fault but my own" Brouillet running for the House.
The best part of her long winded excuse was:
"My friend knew that he would be in Europe giving a lecture and performing in a play, ironically about Gorbachev and Reagan at a summit in 1986 discussing the reduction of nuclear weapons, in which my friend played Reagan."

Good point, svatoid. I have paid fines for missing court dates before. I wasn't abducted by aliens, in the hospital or watching a friend portray any politician in a play locally or abroad. I used to somewhat admire Brouillet's view on some things, but the navel-gazing provincialism became more noticeable. Also, she was inspired supposedly, by an Oliver Stone film to research the CIA. That's a supposedly serious statement about her? I'd be embarrassed to have that in my bio.

Gee, such a rebel living in one of the most expensive places on the planet! Gee, joining protests in solidarity, then after blowing it w/the court, writing a thesis on why it wasn't her fault. Almost makes Orly Taitz look reasonable.

What does Carol actually do for a living? Or is she an unpaid political activist raising her children/stay at home mom?