"CAMDEN, N. J., May 20—A jury of five men and seven women today found 17 members of the Camden 28 not guilty of breaking into the Federal Building here in [August 22] 1971 and destroying draft files, even though the defendants admitted having done so and 80 Federal Bureau of Investigation agents caught them at it."
"The verdict was the first total legal victory for the antiwar movement in five years of such draft‐record incidents."
"The trend has now hit so many nations that the explanation has to be global. Social media are frequently cited as a driving force, but I would like to consider an alternative or perhaps complementary possibility for the breakdown of liberalism: As World War II and the Cold War recede in our collective memory, people in the West are simply becoming less cooperative."
"Think back to the years during and after World War II. Western leaders created an unprecedented array of multilateral institutions, including NATO, the World Bank, the IMF, the Bretton Woods system, the United Nations, and what later became the World Trade Organization. These institutions found widespread levels of support both at home and abroad, and they persisted."
"On 4/13/18, the Albany County Legislature voted in 23 - 13 favor of a bill to expand the ban on Styrofoam so that the ban will now cover all eating establishments in the county. Now we need Albany County Executive Dan McCoy to sign the bill. Please sign this petition so we can present it to him then forward the petition to everyone you know in Albany County and post on all your social media. Thanks--we are almost there!"
"Researchers from the University of British Columbia believe they can make blood transfusions easier for medical professionals and safer for patients thanks to newly discovered enzymes that transform blood type."
"Lead researcher Stephen Withers said his team discovered enzymes living in the human gut that can change blood into universally usable Type O. That could prevent immune reactions when patients receive the wrong type of blood."
"Early Sunday morning, August 22, 1971, then-FBI director J. Edgar Hoover and Nixon Attorney General John Mitchell announced that 20 antiwar activists had been arrested the previous night attempting to break in and vandalize a Camden, New Jersey draft board office. Five days later, eight more plotters were indicted. Charged with conspiracy to remove and destroy files from draft, FBI and Army intelligence offices, destruction of government property and interfering with the Selective Service system, members of the "Camden 28" faced up to 47 years in federal prison. Who were these dangerous radicals that America's premier law enforcement agency so proudly took down? They included four Catholic priests, a Lutheran minister and 23 members of the "Catholic Left."
"What happened in the courtroom after the arrests, however, may be the most astounding thing recounted by the film. In a trial that lasted 63 days, the plotters proclaimed their guilt. "I ripped up those [draft] files with my hands," declared the Rev. Peter D. Fordi, adding, "They were the instruments of destruction." In the best tradition of civil disobedience, and fully expecting to pay for their stand, the Camden activists asked the jury to "nullify the laws" against breaking and entering in this case, and to acquit them because citizens had a right to stop an "illegal and immoral" war. They also asked the jury to acquit them on the grounds that the raid would not have taken place without the help of an admitted FBI double-agent."
"After three days of deliberations, a jury of seven women and five men returned a verdict of not guilty on all charges. According to The New York Times, "the defendants . . . and 200 supporters . . . burst into cheers, wept, hugged one another and sang a chorus of 'Amazing Grace'," a moment reenacted with gusto at the reunion. The acquittals represented the first legal victory for the antiwar movement in five years of such draft board actions and prosecutions. The jury's verdict moved Supreme Court Justice William Brennan to call the proceeding "one of the great trials of the 20th century."
One last glance, before I head back to Albany. Sad.
Taken on Sunday August 15, 2010 at Point Au Roche.