August 08, 2009
Tale of a Texas Town Hall
By Susan Prince
This is a 100% true accounting of my experience at the Lloyd Doggett Town Hall
meeting at Veterans Building, Austin, Texas, 8/6/09
- Susan Prince
Just to set the scene:
I am a white woman, 67 years old, 5'2" tall and weigh 115 pounds. I am usually
very healthy.
I was at the first Town Hall that Doggett gave, but didn't have a sign; just my
voice... and just yelled. He called us (all senior citizens) "an angry mob".
Today, I guess I was an Angry Mob of One.
At 3:15 p.m. when I arrived back at my home, I was still trembling and flushed
from the heat and took my body temperature. Normally my temp. is 97.8. RIGHT
NOW, it is the same degree that I was walking in for an hour and a half - 106
degrees Fahrenheit!!! That translates into a heat stroke. And my husband served
our country, was terribly wounded and I couldn't stand on federal property with
my sign.
My experience at the town Hall meeting with Lloyd Doggett August 6, 2009
It was on the news this morning that Doggett would be having another Town Hall
meeting today at the Veterans Affairs Center. Since my husband has used that
Center (as a retired General with 90% Viet Nam disability), I had my ID military
card and proceeded to go in. I was not carrying any type of bag or purse -- only
my sign.
In the sign in area, the clerk behind the counter looked up my card, found me on
the computer, and told the policeman that it was "o.k" for me to go in to the
small auditorium. I had my poster with me. On one side was a blown up photo of
my husband graduating from West Point and shaking the hand of John F. Kennedy..
it's a great picture! On the other side, I had written: "NO MORE LIES!!!"
As I entered there were about 4 police officers in the blue uniforms and a lot
of other people walking around talking on their walkie-talkies and checking
everyone before people were allowed in.
I went into the small auditorium, (more like a small movie theatre with 2
aisles) and sat down on the back chair facing 3 men who were my generation and
had on their Army caps. And we began to talk.
Within 5 minutes a police officer (blue uniform) came and got me and told me I
had to leave with my sign because I was on FEDERAL property. I asked "where can
I go?" His answer was "come on out with me and I'll ask my supervisor". So I did
and a few minutes later (all the while people are coming in and I'm standing
there in the lobby holding my sign), he came back and said "you will have to go
outside". I said "It's 106 degrees outside"! I knew that because I had just seen
it in my car which tells the temp. I couldn't hear his reply so I leaned in a
little and his response was: "back up, don't get close to me"! Now, here I am
trying to hear and do what I was asked and he is afraid of me! I backed up and
asked him again where was the closest place I could stand and could I stay in
the air conditioning". His answer was "No, you have to go out on the sidewalk
with your sign". In front of the building there are several rows of cars and a
wide cement area when you first come out of the building. Near one of the
arches, I saw some shade and so I walked over there and stood with my sign.
Within 5 minutes, another police officer came over to me and told me I had to go
out on the street sidewalk. This is a very wide 4 lane street with an old
sidewalk. There is absolutely no shade.
I told him I would obey and for the next hour and a half I walked up and down
along the highway in front of the building with my sign. The temperature was at
least 106 degrees - which is typical for Austin in August.. For the first hour
there was no one else walking or in the sun. Just me and then 3-4 people came
out with small signs for Obama and they just wanted to fight... I'm too old to
fight, so I just kept on walking. I got a lot of thumbs up and horns... and one
car stopped with 3 people in it that I declare I have seen on the street
panhandling here in Austin, and they called me a delusional old woman". Since
I've been called worse, I just kept on walking.
Give me Liberty or give me death.
Page Printed from: http://www.americanthinker.com/2009/08/town_hall_in_texas.html
at August 08, 2009
Westpoint 2006 Distinguished Graduate
Award
BG HOWARD T. PRINCE II '62
For more than thirty years of selfless service to the Nation, Brigadier General
Howard T. Prince II has been at the forefront of leadership studies and
leadership education. His groundbreaking work is a signal achievement that truly
exemplifies the West Point motto, "Duty, Honor, Country."
Howard Princeīs remarkable active duty military career spanned twenty-eight
years beginning in 1962 when he graduated in the top five percent of his class
as a Distinguished Cadet and was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant of
Infantry. His initial assignment was to the 1st Airborne Battle Group, 187th
Infantry, 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, NC, where he served as an
infantry platoon leader, scout platoon leader, company executive officer,
aide-de-camp, and staff officer in the division G3 section. His troop leading
skills emerged early in 1963 when his scout platoon outperformed all other
infantry scout platoons and the scout platoons of the divisionīs 17th Cavalry to
win the Beach Trophy as best scout platoon in the division. In 1965, he was
selected for the Olmsted Scholar Program and completed studies at the University
of Bonn in Germany. Following those studies, he was assigned to the 1st Cavalry
Division in Vietnam where he was twice wounded during intense combat. The first
time was in October 1967, while serving as a battalion staff officer. Following
his recovery from the wounds he incurred at LZ COLT, he returned to his unit
where he was soon assigned to command B Company, 5th Battalion, 7th Cavalry of
the First Cavalry Division. During the Tet Offensive of early 1968, his unit was
heavily engaged during the fight to recapture Hue City and relieve the pressure
on the Marines fighting in and around its Citadel. While leading his company in
an attack against a heavily fortified enemy position that controlled the main
avenue of approach into Hue, he was wounded again. These life-threatening wounds
required a medical evacuation to the United States where he was hospitalized for
almost a year. For his gallantry in combat, he was awarded the Silver Star, the
Distinguished Flying Cross, and two Bronze Stars with "V" device.
During an extended convalescence after leaving the hospital, he attended the
Infantry Officer Advanced Course in 1968, completed a masterīs degree in
International Relations at American University in 1969, and then served as an
instructor and assistant professor in the Department of Foreign Languages at
West Point from 1969-1971. From 1971 through 1975, he completed his doctorate in
Clinical Psychology at the University of Texas at Austin. Once again he sought
an assignment to West Point, this time in the Office of Military Leadership as
the Director of the Cadet Counseling Center. In this position, he applied his
Army experiences and his clinical skills to develop a solid counseling program
for cadets at a time when the Academy was addressing post-Vietnam tensions and
conducting a major examination of the cadet Honor System in the aftermath of a
widespread cheating scandal. He was instrumental in integrating women at USMA,
masterfully maintaining the Academyīs warrior ethos while valuing the
contributions of both genders. A true progressive, he spoke personally and
passionately to the cadets, establishing himself as a significant and
enlightened leader at a critical time in the Corpīs history. Following his work
in the Cadet Counseling Center, he was the obvious choice as the first Professor
and Head of the Department of Behavioral Sciences and Leadership. He oversaw the
reorganization of the Office of Military Leadership into the new Department of
Behavioral Sciences and Leadership, establishing standards of academic rigor and
developing a nationally recognized center of expertise in combat leadership,
leader development, stress management, engineering psychology, and small unit
psychology. He also personally led the creation of the first and only graduate
program at the Military Academy. The Eisenhower Program of Graduate Studies in
Leader Development (now known as the Tactical Officer Education Program)
provides a way for the Military Academy to prepare tactical officers for their
important role in cadet leader development. As testimony to its quality,
programs in leader development similar to West Points have been adopted by both
the Naval Academy and the Air Force Academy.
After a distinguished career in uniform, General Prince retired from active Army
service in 1990. His contributions to leadership development did not end with
his retirement, however. At the University of Richmond, he founded the Jepson
School of Leadership Studies, the first undergraduate degree-granting school in
leadership, a program that has prospered and become the best civilian program of
its kind. In 2001, he was chosen to be the founding Director of the Center for
Ethical Leadership at the University of Texas, which became UTīs first official
center to focus on leadership education, research, and public service. Once
again he found himself building another leadership program, this time at one of
the Nationīs largest and most highly regarded public universities. As
recognition of his service to the LBJ School and the University of Texas and his
potential for continued contributions to leadership education at the University
of Texas, Howard Prince was appointed to the Loyd Hackler Endowed Chair in
Ethical Leadership on 1 September 2005. His significant contributions to
leadership development have not been limited to the Army or the school campus.
Since moving to Texas in 1997, he has been the principal architect of a major
leadership development program for the International Association of Chiefs of
Police (IACP), which represents over 17,000 law enforcement agencies in the
United States and other countries. For several years he has conducted leadership
seminars at the FBI Academy for senior law enforcement executives from the FBI,
the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and
Firearms, and senior executives from the CIA.
Brigadier General Howard Prince is above all a man of character and a scholar
who has contributed a "lifetime of selfless service to the Nation." His ideas
about leadership development and the enduring service of his students will
continue to influence the Military Academy, the Army, and the Nation throughout
the 21st Century.
Accordingly, the Association of Graduates of the United States Military Academy
takes great pride in presenting the 2006 Distinguished Graduate Award to Howard
T. Prince II.
Posted by: EnemyoftheState
Aug 08, 10:09 AM
Mrs. Prince,
The way you were treated was inexcusable. It deserves national attention and you
deserve a sincere apology from the barbarians responsible for the incident. I
would recommend you contact Governor Perry, he seems to be on our side; contact
Glenn Beck to have your story told; and contact a good lawyer to obtain some
justice.
I used to be stationed in/lived in Austin. I now live near Dallas. I am a
retired USAF officer and a disabled veteran of Vietnam. I did not have as
significant a career as BG Prince, but I can empathize with you.
God bless you both.