Chris Hedges
Truthdig
April 12, 2010
- A d v e r t i s e m e n t
- {openx:49}
I met Ernest Logan Bell, a 25-year-old Marine Corps veteran, as he walked along Route 12 in upstate New York with a large American flag strapped to the side of his green backpack. There was a light drizzle and he was wearing a green Army poncho. Bell was on a six-day, 90-mile-long self-styled “Liberty Walk” from Binghamton to Utica in a quixotic campaign to challenge Democratic incumbent Rep. Michael Arcuri in the 24th Congressional District. He camped out along the road for three nights and stayed in cheap motels the other nights and was accompanied by Kevin Barlow, an unemployed welder. Bell opposes the health care law, calls for an end to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, advocates the abolishment of the Federal Reserve, is against the bailouts for Wall Street and wants to see immediate government relief for workers trapped in prolonged unemployment, including his own. He carried a handwritten sign: “End the Fed.” In his backpack he had a copy of “The U.S. Constitution for Dummies” and a book on the Federal Reserve by Ron Paul that he planned to deliver to Arcuri’s office in Utica.
The Emergency Election Sale is now live! Get 30% to 60% off our most popular products today!