Why is the Seattle University School of Law Aiding Anti-Military Law-breakers?

| July 20, 2011

Cross Posted from Burn Pit.

Last week or so I was contacted by a veteran who is attending the Seattle University School of Law.   Anyway, he told me about something that was going on at the school, and I asked him to draft me up something.  Here is what he wrote, followed by some more info that I’ve found in my research:

Seattle University dishonors veterans by organizing protestors on campus and actually asking students to volunteer their time to help!

After being asked by student veterans to not bring war protestors on campus, Seattle University School of Law employee Diana Singleton did just that.  Last month Ms. Singleton disregarded student veterans and invited members of the Seattle Draft and Military Counseling Center (SDMCC) to give a presentation on campus which asked students to volunteer their time for the organization. 

In a misleading email to the entire student body Ms. Singleton wrote:

“Passionate about issues facing veterans in our community? Interested in educating active service members about their rights? Looking for a concrete way to support the men and women who join the military?

“The training covers rights and resources for active service members and their families such as types of discharges (Conscientious Objector, Hardship, etc), Family Plans (for caring for children while service members are deployed), and Court Martial and AWOL procedures.”

The paid school employee then used university classrooms conducted a two day conference in order to train student volunteers to “help” veterans and military personnel by volunteering for the organization.  In reality the school employee Ms. Singleton and the SDMCC were recruiting unwitting students to volunteers for a thinly disguised war protesting organization which routinely participates in illegal activities. 

The SDMCC is its sister organization to the Iraq Veterans Against the War were responsible in 2007 for attempting to block shipments of military gear for an Army Stryker brigade that returned to nearby Fort Lewis from Iraq, over forty members of the organization were arrested by police. 

Today the anti-military, Vietnam era organization (SDMCC) operates a hotline which encourages teenagers to not register for the Selective Service and active duty military personnel to go AWOL. 

_______________________________________________

Although I haven’t ever heard of anyone being prosecuted for it, there is a federal statute on the books which would seem to implicate what they are doing, it is 18 U.S.C. § 2388 : Activities affecting armed forces during war:

(a) Whoever, when the United States is at war, willfully makes or conveys false reports or false statements with intent to interfere with the operation or success of the military or naval forces of the United States or to promote the success of its enemies; or Whoever, when the United States is at war, willfully causes or attempts to cause insubordination, disloyalty, mutiny, or refusal of duty, in the military or naval forces of the United States, or willfully obstructs the recruiting or enlistment service of the United States, to the injury of the service or the United States, or attempts to do so – Shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than
twenty years, or both.

(b) If two or more persons conspire to violate subsection (a) of this section and one or more such persons do any act to effect the object of the conspiracy, each of the parties to such conspiracy shall be punished as provided in said subsection (a).

(c) Whoever harbors or conceals any person who he knows, or has reasonable grounds to believe or suspect, has committed, or is about to commit, an offense under this section, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both.

The SDMCC really is a rather wacky group, with the usual ties to organizations like “Military Law Task Force” of the “National Lawyers Guild” which itself has some seriously shady ties to terrorist groups.  But most of SDMCC’s stuff really doesn’t rise to that level.  Take this pamphlet for instance entitled: Getting Out: A Guide to Military Discharges (pdf) .

They are also tied in with “Coffee Strong” which bills itself as Pro-GI, Anti-War, Veteran Owned Coffee shop:

 Veterans provide a safe place for soldiers to share the effects of disastrous wars, within 300 meters of the gates at Ft Lewis. The unique coffeehouse welcomes soldiers with a free cup of coffee. There is access to the Internet, an informative library, and many referrals are available to community resources, including GI Rights counseling and Veterans Benefits. Free legal and educational resources are available.

Among the “Pro GI” Board are folks like:

Noam Chomsky, who of our all volunteer force once stated:  “In my view, if there’s going to be an army, I think it ought to be a citizens’ army. Now, here I do agree with some people, the top brass, they don’t want a citizens’ army. They want a mercenary army, what we call a volunteer army. A mercenary army of the disadvantaged”

Marjorie Cohn: Former President of the National Lawyers’ Guild, and the author of the worst book I ever read: Rules of Disengagement: The Politics and Honor of Military Dissent 

Eva Golinger: Avisor to Venezuela President Hugo Chavez,

Anyway, you get the idea.

It’s just sort of baffling that a private, Jesuit Law School would purport to want to help veterans by bringing in a group that actively fights against the military.  Maybe if it was part of some larger program wherein they brought in folks who could train the law students on how to represent veterans with claims before the VA, or sought to provide free legal aid to deployed troops and their familes (as my law school does) or even just tried to help homeless veterans.

Instead they apparently felt the best thing they could do for veterans was help those who want to avoid having to complete their contracted service.  It truly is a shame, but hopefully at some point someone will suggest a correction of course, and they’ll start representing all veterans, not just ones who think the military is some evil patriarchal vehicle of oppression.

Category: Politics

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UpNorth

Good luck trying to get a US Attorney, or the DoJ interested in actually enforcing 18 U.S.C. § 2388. They won’t do anything to the NBPP when they were video’d, do you think Holder would actually do anything about a bunch of smelly hippies doing what smelly hippies do?

Old Trooper

“It’s just sort of baffling that a private, Jesuit Law School would purport to want to help veterans by bringing in a group that actively fights against the military.”

The Jesuits have been doing this since Vietnam, so I’m not surprised at all that a Jesuit Law School would give cover to a bunch of worthless derelicts like SDMCC.

DirtyMick

TSP myself and operator Dan went to the same Jesuit highschool and hebwould agree with me that this is par for the course. Our Highschool sends students every year to ft. Benning to protest WINSEC and has sent students to students to study abroad programs in south America where they have protested in Marxist rallies. So the above stated article is not shocking at all

DirtyMick

I’m sure Operator Dan would love to elaborate more on what a Jesuit education is like with a post

Susan

TSO,

Really? You are surprised? The last bastion of communism is legal academia. Anyone who has been to law school knows that. They “support” the US military by protesting everything and attempting to bad mouth military service at every turn. While disappointing, this is not remotely surprising.

Arrow

“but hopefully at some point someone will suggest a correction of course, and they’ll start representing all veterans, not just ones who think the military is some evil patriarchal vehicle of oppression.”

TSO,

It’s a generous thought but as someone that has watched these yahoo’s for more years than I care to remember a change of mind will come to them when the wind stops whistling through the plains of Oklahoma.

Doc Bailey

I guarantee that if was actually prosecute these organizations, (Subversion is NOT protected speech) Colleges would be less likely to do this idiocy.

gschmitt

Riddle me this. Does this group provide therapy for the people whom they convince to run away and are stricken later in life with massive amounts of guilt due to the fact that they turned their back on the people who need them when they were called to their duty?

CarlS

Re 18 U.S.C. § 2388 : Activities affecting armed forces during war:

You do realize Obama can and should be charged under this law?

Along with almost every other member of the District of Criminals?