Antiwar camp losing appeal with Bush neighbor

[paineinthearse]

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2005/08/15/antiwar_camp_losing_appeal_with_bush_neighbor/

Antiwar camp losing appeal with Bush neighbor
Actions by both sides, spotlight from media said to be disruptive
By G. Robert Hillman, Dallas Morning News | August 15, 2005

CRAWFORD, Texas -- Larry Mattlage has had enough.

He's tired of all the commotion at the antiwar camp across the road from his ranch house. He wants all the cars out of his ditch, and the antiwar protesters, the pro-war demonstrators, and the media to leave. So, he's closed the iron gate to his small spread outside of town and posted ''Sorry, We're Closed," and ''Help Wanted" signs. And yesterday morning, as Cindy Sheehan and a small gathering of other antiwar supporters prepared for a worship service, he stood in his goat pasture and fired a shotgun into the air.

''I'm getting ready for dove season," he said when reporters pressed him. ''I'm practicing." His message, though, was unmistakable as he talked. ''These neighbors out here are upset," he said. ''I don't want nobody getting hurt. I just want them to pack the damn tents and go where they came from."

Within minutes of his shotgun blast, sheriff's deputies and Secret Service agents, who protect President Bush at his nearby ranch, rushed in. McLennan County Sheriff Larry Lynch said he counseled Mattlage to exercise some restraint. ''He's on his own property," Lynch said. But he warned that Mattlage can't just ''shoot across the road." ''Everyone needs to use restraint in this situation out here," the sheriff said.

<snip>

''Look," said Mattlage, who has a longstanding deal with NBC News for a view from his property of the president's ranch, ''when they first came out here, I was sympathetic to their cause. They, as American citizens, have a right to march and to protest." But ''they're just like company," he said. ''If you had had your brother-in-law in your house for five days, wouldn't it start stinking after a while?" In a statement, Sheehan said protesters had not infringed on Mattlage's property. ''As to the neighbor's suggestion that we go home, we suggest he talk to his permanent neighbor, President Bush. We are not leaving until President Bush meets with us and answers our questions about why our sons are dead."

more.......

[nookiemonster]

1. Larry, if the POS would see Cindy,

you would get your wish.

Sorry for the fucking inconvenience. Free speech is a such a pain in the ass.

:sarcasm:

[Waya]

2. Well....

...I'm sympathetic to the man to a point. It must be annoying to have all these people around. But as long as they are on public property - ain't much he can do about it. If he was smart he would arm himself with a 'Bush, Talk to Cindy' sign and join them. It's in his best interest. The sooner Bush talks to Cindy (yea, I know, he won't) the sooner all the people will leave. Tell Bush to do it for the neighborhood - if nothing else.

[meganmonkey]

3. It's all about Larry, right?

:puke:

It's not about the thousands of US dead and wounded, the 100,000+ dead Iraqis, and the destruction of any relationships we have with credible allies around the world.

It's about him and the damn porta-potties.

[moodforaday]

4. Every moron bully's mantra:

"I don't want nobody getting hurt." Or, as Bush would put it, "We use force only as a last resort." Sickening.

[Libby2]

5. Fuck Larry

and the white horse he rode in on.
He's trying to intimidate, plain and simple.
Something the cowards of crawford county seem to be quite proud of.

[stopbush]

6. 5 years of bushdisaster is OK, but 9 days of war mom looking

for answers is unbearable. He's OK with the media camping out on his property to cover *, but not OK with Cindy. Wouldn't the media be there even if Cindy wasn't?

Priorities noted.

[Book Lover]

7. I feel for him, but his rights only extend to his property line

No one wants their lives disrupted, of course, but he needs to clam down and take in the big picture. The "ranch" he lives next to will not be owned by a president come 2008, which is not that far off. I feel more sorry for Sheriff Lynch, having to balance everybody down there.

[progressivebydesign]

8. Larry doesn't mind taking NBC's money...

.. that says so much about him. He's happy to put up with all of this, for a price. He's got a 90 acre spread, it ain't like they're camped out on his suburban home's lawn. That man needs to express his displeasure without firearms.

[ultraist]

9. That's just tough shit, Larry!

Larry isn't inconvenienced when Secret Service dudes, extra police, and massive security rolls in to surround the Lazy W Ranch.

He doesn't complain about the money he makes off of leasing his property to NBC to get closer to the Lazy W Ranch.

It's hard to take his complaints seriously. He's obviously pissed off that anti war DEMOCRATS are getting some attention and wants to shut down the protest to suit his own political beliefs.

Seems to me, the Secret Service should keep a close eye on Larry, the pissed off trigger happy dude. What if one of Larry's stray bullets hit something at the Lazy W Ranch?