r25288.com Blog

R25288/Christopher Eckhardt

Clearwater Beach, Florida

February, 2006

Dear Family, Friends, and Gentle Readers,

I was born free in the United States of America.  God bless America, and the Democratic, Independent, & Green patriots that live here, and the Republicans too.

I helped win a United States Supreme Court case for Student Rights, as a plaintiff, in Tinker v Des Moines, 393 US 503, 1969, 7-2.

I registered with the United States Selective Service as a Conscientious Objector, on moral and ethical grounds, in 1971.

I covered the violent, Indian, attempted establishment of an independent nation at Wounded Knee, South Dakota, as a reporter for Pax Today, in 1973.  Requests from the FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigations) for my taped interviews were denied by me, on our First Amendment rights of Freedom of the Press.  George Orwell’s, 1984,  will soon become a reality, if we allow it.  Systemic violence is insideous.  If we do not protect each other now , how can any of us be around to protect you, me, our Constitution, and our country tomorrow?

We live in perilous times.  How much freedom are you going to give up for safety and security.  And, if we are so concerned with everyone’s safety and security, then why do we have such elaborate security for those who can fly on an airplane, but say basically. “fuck you.”  if all you can afford is a bus ticket?  The answer, my dear gentle reader is  quite simple:  the rich get richer, and the poor get prison;  the rich get to live, and the poor get to die.  Does not the Constitution guarantee freedom of equality, or as in the beginning , does that just refer to rich white boys?

Subsequent request by me, on numrous occassions after my Supreme Court case, and covering Wounded Knee, under the Freedom of Information Act, I was told that the existance  of such an agent that had interviewed me, even though I met with him twice in the FBI headquarters, listed in the phone book in his Des Moines, Iowa, office, did not exist.  The Director of the FBI even denied any existance of any files regarding me, by the FBI, even though my neighbors were interviewed by them about me.  How often does the Director of the FBI answer your Freedom of Information request? 

Of course, all of the above could be true, maybe they transferred my files to Army Intelligence, or CIA, or today’s Homeland Security, or whatever it may have been named back then.  Yes Virginia, the concept, and principles of Homeland Security has been around alot longer than the events of September 11th, 2001.

I was host of “Eckhardt’s Enquiry”, on cablevision, in Des Moines, Iowa, 1979-1980.

I have been trained by the United States Department of Justice, as a Mediator, and I mediated for the Polk County Attorney, Des Moines, Iowa, from 1978-1983, on call.

I was a Visiting Scholar at Theodore Roosevelt High School, in Des Moines, Iowa, 1992.

I was the proud recipient of the Earl Warren Civil Liberties Award from the ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union) Foundation of Northern California, in San Francisco, in 1993.  Former recipients of this award included Rosa Parks, Joan Baez, United States Supreme Court Justices Thurgood Marshall, and William O. Douglas.

I graduated from the University of South Florida-St. Petersburg, in May, 1994, where I majored in Political Science;  received an ethical scholarship;  and served as Chief Justice of the Student Government my last semester.

I was one of the major characters of John W. Johnson’s book, The Struggle for Student Rights-Tinker v Des Moines and the 1960’s, published in 1997.

I was one of the three recipients (John & Mary Beth Tinker being the other two) of the Champion of the Student Press Award, from the Student Press Law Center, in Washington, DC, in 1998.

I am currently, in earthly terms, the brother of Edward and Steven, and formerly of attorney William Eckhardt, son of mother, Margaret Eckhardt, and son of, William E. Eckhardt, before their passing.  I am still the brother of William, and son of Margaret and William E. Eckhardt.  Their spirit, blood, love, and values travel through me, and inspire me every earthly hour. 

I was imprisoned in Florida prisons, 2001-2006, for being a former Vietnam War protester, Conscientious Objector, lifetime pacifist, and current gay Democrat.  Violent criminals received less time than I did by the same system.  I am an Americn patriot, and I had voted in every election (usually Democratic) prior to my conviction.  I was never charged with treason, and the judge confirmed I was not a threat to the public.  I had lived the previous eighteen years in Florida without as much as a speeding ticket. 

The alleged charge, which I never had criminal intent of;  which did not involve drugs, sex, or violence, nor did I profit a dime from, resulted in a maximum sentence of fifteen years, five in prison and ten on probation.  It was my first lifetime felony charge, at age 51.  The DOC (Department of Corrections) Probation Officer who interviewed me, even told me I would probably get a sentence of two years of probation.

The Judge was a Vietnam Veteran, family man, and a Republican.  It was less than one month after September 11th, 2001.  He was aware of my Democratic politics, where I was on the Pinellas County Democratic Executive Committee.  He was aware of my anti Vietnam War protesting, and gay liberal leanings, and I believe I was the closest thing to a terrorist that he thought he may ever meet.

Life is a fascinating gift.

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