Anti-abortion display at UMass destroyed

An anti-abortion display outside the Student Union at the University of Massachusetts was destroyed by vandals Wednesday night, police said.

The display of 160 white crosses, representing the number of abortions every hour in the United States, had previously been the site of vandalism and an alleged assault. It had been up for three days.

UMass police received a call reporting the incident at 11:10 p.m. Wednesday, said Deputy Patrick Archbald. When officers arrived at the south side of the Student Union, they found the crosses broken and strewn around the area, with some in a nearby garbage can, he said.

The incident happened after 8:45 p.m., when an officer on foot patrol noticed that the display was intact, Archbald said. There are no suspects, and the incident is under investigation, he said.

The idea for the display came from David Peterson and Matthew Progen, two members of the UMass Republican Club. They said they saw similar displays in Florida during spring break.

Progen, a senior from Leominster, was standing at the site of the display this morning with tape over his mouth and a sign reading "Silenced by the Radical Left," he reported by cell phone.

"This made me pretty angry," he said. "I spent a lot of time putting this together, and it's opened up a lot of discussion. For people not mature enough to engage in conversation to take out their juvenile aggression this way is disheartening."

Here is a recent email I sent to W.

Dear President Bush, With the Surpeme Court session getting ready to close, it may well be time for perhaps the most important domestic decision of your presidency: the appointment of a Supreme Court Justice(s). The main reason why I supported you in 2000 and why I wanted Daschle out of power in 02 (and 04) has to do with the courts. I want America courts to interpret law, not write law. During your presidential campaign you said Thomas and Scalia were your two model justices. Those are excellent models. The High Court needs more like them. Clarence Thomas recently said to students that the tough cases were when what he wanted to do was different from what the law said. And he goes by the law. This should be a model philosophy for our justices. Your father, President Bush lost his reelection campaign for 3 main reasosn, as far as I can see. 1. he broke the no new taxes pledge 2. David Souter 3. Clinton convinced people we were in a Bush recession (which we had already come out of by the time Clinton was getting sworn in)

I urge you to learn from all three of these: 1. on taxes, you're doing great. Awesome job on the tax cut. 2. good job so far on judicial appointments. I want to see more of a fight for Estrada, Owen, and Pickering, but I commend you on your nominations. 3. by staying engaged in the economic debate you'll serve yourself well

I have been thoroughly impressed with your handling of al Queida, Iraq, and terrorism. You have inspired confidence and have shown great leadership.

But I want to remind you that your Supreme Court pick(s) will be with us LONG after you have departed office. I urge you to avoid the tempation to find a "compromise" pick. Go for a Scalia or Thomas. Don't go for an O'Connor or Kennedy. To be specific, get someone who is pro-life. Roe v Wade is one of the worst court decisions I know of, and it's the perfect example of unrestrained judicial power.

I know the temptation will be tremendous on you to nominate a moderate. But remember who your true supporters are. I am not a important leader or politician. I am "simply" a citizen who has been an enthusiatic supporter of you. I am willing to accept compromise in many areas of government but I will watch your Court nomiantions extremely closely. What the Senate Dems are doing right now is disgusting, but as the President you have the bully pulpit to stop it. Democrats will back down if you turn up serious heat on them.

Moreover, I think public opinion is shifting towards the pro-life position. Dems will want you to nominate a moderate, but almost all will vote against you anyways. Pro-choice Repubs will likely still vote for you if you nominate a Scalia, after all, you campaigned on it. So Mr. President, I urge you to stick with your campaign statements and nominate justices who believe in judicial restraint, like Scalia and Thomas.

Happy Memorial Day and may God bless you and your family.

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.