Hightower Lowdown

Doris 'Granny D' Haddock will remember May 24 for a different reason: That was the day she pled guilty in a District of Columbia federal court to the charge of demonstrating in the Capitol building last April.

The judge sentenced Granny and her co-conspirators to time served and $10 in court costs.

Granny's statement to the court speaks for itself.

"Your Honor, the old woman who stands before you was arrested for reading the Declaration of Independence in America's Capitol building. I did not raise my voice to do so and I blocked no hall. The First Amendment to the Constitution says that Congress shall make no law abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances, so I cannot imagine what legitimate law I could have broken."

"If your concern is that we might have interfered with the visitors' rights to a meaningful tour of their Capitol, I tell you that we helped them have a more meaningful one. If your concern is that we might have been blocking the halls of our government let me assure you that we stood to one side of the Rotunda where we would not be in anyone's way. But I inform you that the halls are indeed blocked over there. They are blocked by the shameless sale of public policy to campaign contributors, which bars the doors and the halls to the people's legitimate needs and the flow of proper representation. We Americans must put an end to it in any peaceful way that we can. Yes, we can speak when we vote, and we do. But we must also give our best effort to repair a very broker system. We must do both."

(Granny's complete statement is on her web-site at www.grannyd.org)