"With Malice Toward Nuns, Arnold's Army Marches On
Biography:
Steve Lopez
Recent Columns:
With Malice Toward Nuns, Arnold's Army Marches On
October 4, 2003
Arnold Fesses Up and People Are Mad -- at the Messenger
October 3, 2003
Just Who Are These People Who Support Schwarzenegger?
October 2, 2003
Defeat Closes In on a Cold Cookie as Campaign Leaves Bad Taste
October 1, 2003
Will Arnold Still Follow the Script During His First Days in Office?
September 28, 2003
Arnold's Army came to Arcadia Friday morning, and the scene was like
nothing I can remember in recent political history.
As I tried to park, and realized that one lot after another was
jammed, the teeming masses streamed by me on foot, marching,
marching, marching, trance-like, as if to a revival.
Old folks, young folks, moms and dads pushing strollers. Arnold
Schwarzenegger, great terminator of evildoers, was coming to the Los
Angeles Arboretum to vanquish sorrow, discomfort and the car tax.
A plane circled overhead, dragging a sign:
"Hasta La Vista, Davis."
Upon entering, I noticed a striking blond woman in tan leather chaps
and cowboy hat. She was a Coldwell Banker real estate agent, and, of
course, an actress.
"I was the lead bad girl in 'Octopussy,' " said Kristina Wayborn, who
held a poodle named Honey Bear.
Honey Bear wore a red, white and blue kerchief.
Why Arnold? I asked Wayborn.
Fresh ideas, she said.
Name one, I said.
Yanking driver's licenses out of the hands of illegals, she said,
going on to add that she'd like to see a conservative change, and
Arnold's just the man.
Wayborn said she's known Arnold for 20 years, and was never groped by
him. "And I had a certain gropability factor in those days," she
said. I told her she still did, catching a bit of the Arnold spirit.
The actress Tia Carrere ("Wayne's World") also came to Arnold's
defense in the wake of a Thursday L.A. Times story in which six women
say they were groped and humiliated by Arnold between 1970 and 2000.
"I had a kissing scene with him," said Carrere, "and he was never
anything but a gentleman."
At times, I pinch myself these days. Am I watching a gubernatorial
campaign, or dreaming about an episode of "The Love Boat"?
A man carried a sign imploring people to cancel their subscription to
The Times, and the talk radio hosts who introduced Carrere also
bashed us.
The truth is available only on AM talk radio these days, and I think
a couple of recruits in Arnold's Army did what they had to do. They
spotted protest signs in the crowd and goose-stepped over to take
care of business.
Not that they could have known, but the signs were carried by two
Catholic nuns in their 60s. According to the nuns, their attackers
snatched them away.
The silencing of dissent, coming just a day after Arnold denied
reports that he once said he admired Hitler, had the nuns trembling.
"A sign was ripped from my hands," said Jo'Ann DeQuattro, a Holy Name
sister whose sign said, "Groping Equals Sexual Harassment."
"I was assaulted physically," said Sister Jo'Ann.
She and Sister France White, of the Holy Child order, were headed for
the exits when I saw them. Sister France had taped a sign to herself
that said "Grope Free Zone." Sister Jo'Ann had her arm around Sister
France to protect her.
Sister France said she gave a "groping" protest sign to a man who
held a "Recall Arnold" sign, and watched as he was set upon and had
the sign ripped away from him.
"People began fighting with him, and he was escorted out," said
Sister France.
As for her own sign getting swiped, Sister France said:
"I believe a woman standing behind me grabbed it. A whole group of
people were around us saying, 'Go home' and things like 'Get a life.'
"
Sister France still had the "Grope Free Zone" sign taped to her when
they decided to leave the rally, so Sister Jo'Ann suggested an exit
strategy.
"She was afraid there was going to be more of it, so she said, 'We've
gotta get out of here,' and walked behind me, real close behind, so
Schwarzenegger followers wouldn't be hitting me as we left."
I'm happy to report that the nuns made it home safely to Pasadena.
I'd also like to report that Arnold of Arcadia delivered another
brief yet flawless performance — cathartic, perfectly scripted,
spiritually liberating
And content-free."
http://tinyurl.com/pqfl
--
"If the administration said the Earth was flat, Fox News would say
that the Earth was flat, and anyone who said otherwise hates America.
The rest of the media would say 'Shape of the Earth-- Views Differ.'
And quote one Democrat saying that the Earth was round."
--Paul Krugman
Tim
"Fair and Balanced"
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