Just in case anyone has forgotten the mindset of Big Bro in the Land of the Freeh. Who knows? Maybe we could be judged insane. ------- Forwarded Message Follows ------- By WebToday Staff Writers Sunday, September 28, 1997 ROBY, ILLINOIS (Sept. 28, 1997)-- Illinois State police fired metal balls into the chest of Shirley Allen Friday, September 26, thus escalating the violence at the "Roby Ridge" Illinois government siege. Miraculously, the 51-year-old widow did not drop to the ground as did Vicky Weaver when shot through the head and killed by a federal sharp shooter while holding her infant daughter. During a 10:30 a.m. Saturday news conference in Springfield the Illinois State Police Czar Terry Gainer changed his story once again. In an apparent irrational justification of his assault squad's aggressive behavior, he made several extemporaneous disjointed statements including: "We're here to help" and "We are looking out for her best interests" and "It's our hope that she (Shirley Allen) will grow to understand that we . . . are looking out for her..." (All three quotes taken from the September 27 issue of the State Journal-Register, the dominant newspaper of record in Springfield, Illinois. Staying consistent with his continually contradictory statements Gainer claimed it was widow Allen who first fired at police. Puzzled journalists questioned how that could be since all official prior statements from Gainer and the Illinois State Police attested to the fact that Mrs. Allen had never fired on any of the police orders prior to Friday. A growing number of Mental Health observers are now comparing and contrasting the extreme tactics taken by state authorities with the rational and controlled self defense measures taken by the 51-year-old woman authorities believe may be "mentally ill." Perhaps stranger still are reports that the earlier estimate of $125,000 for the widow's estate have now grown to current appraisals in excess of a million dollars. It has also been confirmed that there are two oil wells on her large rural property. Yet unresolved is the question of who would control the estate if the court order for mental evaluation succeeds in keeping Mrs. Allen separated from her property. Questions also remain unanswered as to the intentions of Mr. Allen's out of state relatives who initiated proceedings for the court order for involuntary psychiatric commitment. The siege began Monday when Christian County Sheriff Deputies attempted to have the widow Allen involuntarily committed into a hospital for "psychiatric evaluation." Under current Illinois laws upheld by the soon retiring Governor Jim Edgar, it is remarkably simple for virtually any family member, no matter how distant, to commit someone against their will. Once papers are signed, family members are extracted from their homes and involuntarily committed. One mental health commentator coined the phrase,"Crazy until proven (by the state) otherwise." This writer asks: "Is it any wonder that anyone who is about to be "taken away" might be somewhat less than eager to comply?" According to the State Journal-Register, Illinois State Troopers fired six bags at Mrs. Allen from their shotguns, with three bags hitting her in the chest, stating that, "Normally, that's enough to knock somebody down so police can run up and arrest the person. But Allen's bulky clothing apparently absorbed some of the shock, and she quickly fired her gun in the direction of the shooting troopers." Terry Gainer told reporters in Springfield that he hoped the woman would hear his message of peace through the media, especially since he gave her the concession of turning her electricity back on last Wednesday. Gainer seems to epitomize the mind set of advocates of big (brother) government. He just doesn't get it. He's clueless as to why Mrs. Allen didn't respond positively to his "I'm from the government and I'm trying to help (commit) you" rhetoric. Furthermore he probably can't compute this unrepentant widow's gross lack of appreciation for his generous concession of turning her electricity back on. Perhaps he presumed that this "mentally ill" woman also had a bad memory. Or maybe he has forgotten the fact that it was his police who cut off her electricity in the first place-- not to mention the other minor inconveniences, not the least of which was the lobbing of a tear gas hand grenade into the window of the belwildered widow. Regarding the gassing of this resilient woman, Christian County Sheriff Dick Mahan made this astounding admission: "Mrs. Allen lessened the effects of the gas by putting petroleum jelly on her face and running water over her head." (Editor's not: Not too crazy.) Meanwhile our government continues their headlong frenzy to fan the flames of the tax-dollar eating furnace by maintaining 12 tactical team members to surround the Allen home 24 hours a day, while reinforcements are retained to keep the watchful eyes of concerned citizens virtually blindfolded. Even members of the news media have been pushed farther and farther away from the scene. Once allowed to report on the story from up to 450 feet away from the scene, now police have completely banned all news reporters within a half mile of the home, in flagrant violation of foundational First Amendment rights of free speech and freedom of the press. Predictably, members of the news media were only all too willing to comply. Staying consistent with the precedents set at Waco and Ruby Ridge, police have just succeeded in "evacuating" the last of the widow's closest neighbors. Mind you, these neighbors say there is nothing insane or dangerous about Mrs. Allen. This writer finds nothing "crazy" about Shirley Allen's amazing skills at implementing consistent common sense while under what is by most any measure would be considered to be an enormous amount of stress. That may be more than can be said about some of the actions levied by police. The State Journal-Register reported: "Friday's use of bean-bag bullets was the most direct action by law enforcement agencies since tear gas was fired into the home Monday by deputies," and went on to say, Christian County Sheriff Mahan agrees stating Mrs. Allen is "not a stupid person." So what exactly is the compelling reason Illinois authorities have that justifies their obsession to violently disrupt the peaceful existence of a widow who neighbors say is quiet, sane and not troublesome? Perhaps it is this widow's past crime record. After exhaustive background probes made into Mrs. Allen's past, authorities were finally able to unearth one token offense to which Mrs. Allen was guilty. Court archives indicated that she once ran a stop sign. If these extreme measures were being implemented in the former Soviet Union rather than in the American rural town of Roby, we may have condemned the actions of "The Evil Empire." Had this been the act of Saddam Hussein it probably would have surprised us even less. But in the United States of America, our citizenry seems to treading water not unlike the perverbial frog in the saucepan. A rogue minority within government keeps slowly turning up the heat until we boil and burst without knowing what hit us. Political spin doctors have fine tuned their craft to the point that millions of citizens are now desensitized to these escalating govenmental abuses (some say tyranny). These usurpers have succeeded in hypersensitizing the masses, addicting many to sports, O. J., or any other strategic diversion that blinds eyes and deafens ears to the cries for help from the widows and the defenseless. We simply relegate them to the government for "help." As governments gets bigger and the world get madder, all this writer can conclude is with this kind of "help" it's a good thing we don't get all the government we pay for! Top Cop Gainer seems to think otherwise. As stated publicly he maintains it's clear that "she's (Mrs. Allen) a danger" to either herself or somebody else and, "We intend to stay until we can get her the medical treatment she needs." With all due respect to Mr. Gainer, it appears he may have forgotten that the "court order" (remarkably not even a warrant) authorized the County Sheriff to bring Mrs. Allen into a hospital for evaluation. It never authorized Mr. Gainer or anyone in government to issue a medical determination prior to an examination. Zeal and good intentions aside, there are plenty of other government agencies that there to "help" widow Shirley Allen.
For further information you may contact the following agencies and
organizations:
Christian County Sheriff Richard Mahan's office: 217-824-4961
Illinois State Police, District 9, Springfield, Media Spokesman Mark
McDonald: 217-786-7109
Office of Mental Health, Dr. Steiner, Associate Director: 217-782-7555
Christian County Senior Citizens Center: 217-824-4263
State Journal-Register:
St. John's Hospital, Springfield: 217-544-6464
Christian County Clerk: 217-824-4966
Film footage is available from CBS Affiliate WCIA Television of Illinois at
217-782-2216.
To schedule interviews members of the news media may call: 616-924-1000.
Jim Burnes Engineer, Western Security, SSDS Inc jim.burnes@ssds.com ---- When the world is running down Make the best of what's still around - Sting