Tag Archives: Truckers

Politics, US

Truckers Descend On DC Amid Low Turnout And Media Coverage

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A group of truckers descended on Washington, DC today to protest the government’s “corruption against the Constitution.” Their movement is called “Truckers Ride For The Constitution.”

The media, both on the left and the right, was rabidly reporting on the event prior to its happening, building up considerable hype.

It is strange, then, that when you Google “Truckers Ride For The Constitution” today, virtually no articles reporting on the event pop up. Without doing some real digging, the only write-ups that surface are purely anticipatory (written prior to the event’s actual occurrence).

The few photos that are posted of the event look underwhelming, and show a few trucks driving along a rainy DC freeway:

 

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Earlier this afternoon, I spoke with Pete Santilli, one of the event’s main organizers.

Santilli described a carefully planned strategy, claiming that it was “always the plan” to have fewer trucks turn out on the morning of the 11th. “We did not want to send all of our best guns out right away. We wanted to test the waters out, and see how media and law enforcement treated us,” he said.

Santilli said that the media coverage of the event was underwhelming thanks to Fox News. He said that prior to “Truckers Ride For The Constitution” actually happening, Fox News “overwhelmed” the truckers with phone calls, “begging” for exclusive all-day coverage during the event.

According to Santilli, the truckers promised FoxNews special coverage all day. However, the morning of the event, Fox pulled out of all coverage at the last minute. Santilli believes that this was done on purpose to “take away the hype,” and that the motivation might have been due to pressure from major corporations.

He said, “We wanted to shut down commerce, and major corporations are trying to use the media to take the sting out of it. By not providing that media coverage, corporations keep the system running.”

On the bright side, however, Santili said law enforcement has been very accommodating and friendly towards the group. “The police have been great, they just told us they want a peaceful and don’t want anything silly. They love it and they want to communicate with us,” Santilli said. “The media failed our test, but law enforcement passed.”

Another issue for the truckers, in terms of creating hype, is the fact that their website was down for over 12 hours before Friday morning. The site was offline starting at 9pm on Thursday due to overwhelming traffic plus several cyber attacks.

Now the site is up and running again.

Looking forward, Santilli said we can expect to see the truckers’ protest grow. He said Sunday will likely be the biggest day in terms of turn-out.

On Sunday, the truckers will join with the “Million Vets March” in DC to peacefully protest. Santilli said large convoys will head down to DC from a variety of places, such as Alaska and South Carolina, and that 1,000-2,000 truckers are expected to show up.

We’ll keep you updated on the “Truckers Ride For The Constitution” protest  here at BenSwann.com, so keep checking back.

Politics, US

The Justified Complaints Behind the Truckers Protest

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Obama’s “corruption against the Constitution” will be challenged by a massive group of truckers in Washington, D.C. this Friday.

The description on the “Truckers Ride For The Constitution” Facebook page says, “The American people are sick and tired of the corruption that is destroying America! We therefore declare a GENERAL STRIKE on the weekend of October 11-13, 2013! Truck drivers will not haul freight! Americans can strike in solidarity with truck drivers!”

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It all sounds exciting and meaningful, but what, specifically, are the truckers protesting? What exactly is the “corruption that is destroying America?”

A simple online search of “Truckers Ride For The Constitution” brings up dozens of write-ups about the protest, but almost none of them go into detail about trucker-specific grievances that protestors plan to bring to the attention of D.C.

Predictably, the vagueness of the event and its purpose has prompted knee-jerk assumptions and spin from the right and the left.

Leftist media outlets continue to put out negative headlines like, “Right-Wing Truckers Plan To Jam DC’s Major Commuter Highway, Arrest Members Of Congress.” (Ben Pam, an organizer for the protest, has since said there are no plans to arrest members of Congress.) Similarly, right-leaning media are pushing sensational headlines like, “Patriotic American truckers and consumers to strike against corrupt government.”

After reading multiple articles about the protest, it is still unclear what, specifically, the truckers are angry about.

We spoke with Zeeda Andrews, one of the protest’s organizers. She shed some light on the complaints behind “Truckers Ride For The Constitution.”

“Truckers are concerned about their livelihood,” said Andrews.

According to Andrews, the Department of Transportation (DOT) is currently pushing a law that would require every trucker to have a tracking device in his or her vehicle. This device keeps track of mandatory breaks, idling time, and driving speed. “This is a privacy issue,” insisted Andrews. “[The Feds] can see and hear everything. They can even control how fast the truckers are driving at all times. It’s the trucking nanny.”

Many independent truckers like to keep their records by hand. This government-imposed tracking device merely limits truckers’ choice to keep hand-written records while stripping them of privacy.

The DOT is also trying to enforce idling laws, which prohibit truckers from idling unless they keep a pet inside their vehicle. These laws can be enforced using the tracking devices mentioned above. Andrews points out that idling restrictions become a health hazard when it’s 10 below zero out, and truckers need to warm up their cabs before hitting the road.

Obamacare is also having a drastic negative impact on truckers, according to Andrews. Many trucking companies are reducing workers’ hours to under 30 per week because they cannot afford to provide full health coverage (which, under Obamacare, will be mandatory for all full time employees). In the case of the trucking industry, this part of the new healthcare law hurts the trucker by limiting the hours he can work, and subsequently, lowering his pay. It also hurts employers by forcing them to either hire more part time employees (which is inefficient in the trucking industry), or provide expensive, full health coverage for all full time employees.

It’s a lose-lose situation.

These issues detailed by Andrews are just a few of the ways that truckers feel there is “corruption against the Constitution.” But you won’t read about them in the mainstream press.

Too often, the left/right paradigm limits information put out by media.

It is doubtful that the media will start focusing on the real causes of the protest anytime soon. Let’s face it — it’s just so much more fun to discuss impeachment and corruption than it is to talk about idling laws or healthcare mandates. Not to mention, it is easier to push political agendas when stories are wrapped around partisan headlines.

The media often does not care about giving us substantial information, so long as we click on their sensational headlines and make them more ad revenue.

Ironically, the same left/right paradigm may also have had an influence in shaping the truckers’ protest itself, which was initially spurred by seemingly justified complaints. The group’s initial Facebook page was banned from the web because part of its description said, “No amnesty, remove all Muslims in our government that do not uphold the Constitution.”

Some Facebook users were offended by the sentence about Muslims. To them, it seemed like the truckers were singling out Muslims. Why remove only Muslims who violate the Constitution? Why not remove everyone, regardless of faith, who violates the Constitution?

It is easy to surmise, given the initial event description, that “Truckers Ride For The Constitution” could have been influenced by the left/right paradigm when it included that sentence into their general description.

We have seen several marches of this kind over recent years by different groups in Washington, D.C. Even if the march reached the million-man mark, or even if it slowed down traffic in D.C. for a day, is the protest likely to bring any real reform if those involved are not focused on the substantial, justified complaints that brought on the truckers’ protest in the first place?

Politics, US

Twitter Bans “Truckers Ride For The Constitution” – Is Social Media Unfairly Targeting The Group?

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This Friday, a large group of truckers intend to shut down the nation’s capital.

The truckers will be in DC for three days to challenge Obama’s “corruption against the Constitution.”

The “Truckers Ride For The Constitution” Facebook page says, “The American people are sick and tired of the corruption that is destroying America! We therefore declare a GENERAL STRIKE on the weekend of October 11-13, 2013! Truck drivers will not haul freight! Americans can strike in solidarity with truck drivers!”

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The Ben Swann team reported on this event in September and conducted an exclusive interview with one of the protest’s organizers, Zeeda Andrews. Since that writeup, the event has gained a great deal of attention, especially after U.S. News & World Report covered “Truckers Ride For The Constitution” on Monday morning in a detailed report. That article was also linked to on the Drudge Report, giving it even more publicity.

On Monday, just as the event was picking up immense steam, Twitter unexpectedly shut down the truckers’ account.

At this time it is unclear why Twitter did this. The account was pulled down almost immediately after the U.S. News & World Report article was published.

As reported by InfoWars, “Twitter’s targeting of ‘Truckers for the Constitution’ is yet another reminder that the social media giants have total contempt for the First Amendment and any form of political activism that is anti-Obama.

Despite the fact that Twitter routinely fails to shut down accounts that directly threaten violence, and is even slow in removing accounts belonging to terrorist groups (it took 5 days for them to shut down an Al-Qaeda account), its targeting of Truckers for the Constitution is ruthless in comparison.”

The InfoWars article accurately points out that Twitter banned the trucker’s page within hours of the U.S. News & World Report article hitting the web, but took five entire days to ban the Al-Qaeda page.

It seems possible, then, that Twitter could be infringing on the truckers’ First Amendment rights by pulling down their account in a seemingly partisan move. However, more information is needed  to make such assumptions.

For instance, the group’s original Facebook page was also shut down — but after some further investigation, it was revealed that the page was pulled for an arguably legitimate reason.

The description of the event on the original Facebook page (the one that got banned) said:

“It does not matter if a million or 50 roll through DC in this effort. Congress will listen to We the People. Which is remove Obama from office for crimes of treason and misdemeanors. We want Congressional hearing on Benghazi and Seal Team 6. Louis Learner [sic] put in jail. No amnesty, remove all Muslims in our government that do not uphold the Constitution. [Emphasis added] Remove Eric Holder from office for crimes against the people and the Constitution. Last but not least is Fuel prices.”

Some Facebook users were offended by the sentence about Muslims. To them, it seemed like the truckers were singling out Muslims. Why remove only Muslims who violate the Constitution? What about Catholics who violate the Constitution? How about Atheists? Buddhists?

Facebook’s Community Standards is a self-policing system; when people see something on the site they object to, they can “report” it. If enough people do this, Facebook responds by shutting down the page. According to Andrews, substantial numbers of people reported the page, ensuring that it was shut down.

The truckers’ new Facebook page was created shortly thereafter, where Andrews and her partners are currently recouping the followers they lost when the first page was shut down.

Whatever the case, with or without a strong social media presence, the truckers plan on being in DC on Friday to carry out their plans.

“If anyone can help save the country, it’s truckers,” said Andrews. “Just like the truckers, Americans are sick and tired of what’s going on in this country. It’s time to get up there and make a change. If something happens, it’s because we all let it. We have a right to address these issues and bring them to Washington, D.C. in a peaceful manner.”

Interviews, Politics, US

EXCLUSIVE: Organizers Of Truckers’ March Reveal Plans For Massive Protest In DC

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On October 11, the very people who keep America moving will use the day to stop traffic in the nation’s capital.

If one group of laborers in America is too often overlooked, it may be truckers.

Many Americans think they rarely come in contact with truckers. But when is the last time you bought a soda? How about a gallon of milk? A tank of gas?

We have truckers to thank for those conveniences.

Given that truckers are an essential part of the American infrastructure, yet are so easily forgotten, it is no surprise that they would be bringing their own grievances to the attention of Washington, D.C.

A large group of truckers is planning a protest in Washington on October 11 for three days, to challenge Obama’s “corruption against the Constitution.”

The “Truckers Ride For The Constitution” Facebook page says, “The American people are sick and tired of the corruption that is destroying America! We therefore declare a GENERAL STRIKE on the weekend of October 11-13, 2013! Truck drivers will not haul freight! Americans can strike in solidarity with truck drivers!”

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It all sounds exciting and important, but what specifically do the organizers mean by “corruption that is destroying America?”

Predictably, the vagueness of the event and its purpose has prompted knee-jerk assumptions and spin from the right and the left.

In an effort to cut through the right/left paradigm, I spoke with Zeeda Andrews, one of the protests’ chief organizers, to learn what “Ride For The Constitution” is really about.

Andrews helped put together the initial Facebook page to support truckers and draw attention to “regulations that are unconstitutional.”

“Truckers are concerned about their livelihood,” said Andrews. She mentioned multiple ways in which truck drivers feel their rights are being infringed upon.

According to Andrews, the Department of Transportation (DOT) is currently pushing a law that would require every trucker to have a tracking device in his or her vehicle. This device keeps track of mandatory breaks, idling time, and driving speed. “This is a privacy issue,” insisted Andrews. “[The Feds] can see and hear everything. They can even control how fast the truckers are driving at all times. It’s the trucking nanny.”

The DOT is also trying to enforce idling laws, which prohibit truckers from idling unless they keep a pet inside their vehicle. These laws can be enforced using the tracking devices mentioned above. Andrews points out that idling restrictions become a health hazard when it’s 10 below zero out, and truckers need to warm up their cabs before hitting the road.

Obamacare is also having a drastic negative impact on truckers, according to Andrews. Many trucking companies are reducing workers’ hours to under 30 per week because they cannot afford to provide full health coverage (which, under Obamacare, will be mandatory for all full time employees). In the case of the trucking industry, this part of the new healthcare law hurts both the worker and the employer.

These are just a few of the ways that truckers feel there is “corruption against the Constitution.”

Shortly after Andrews and her colleagues launched the initial Facebook page, it went viral, receiving over 86,000 “likes.”

Although the initial protest concept was specific to truckers’ needs, Andrews says these are issues that the entire country can gather around and support. In Andrew’s view, Americans have grown exceedingly tired of their rights being trampled on by politicians.

“If anyone can help save the country, it’s truckers,” said Andrews. “Just like the truckers, Americans are sick and tired of what’s going on in this country. It’s time to get up there and make a change. If something happens, it’s because we all let it. We have a right to address these issues and bring them to Washington, D.C. in a peaceful manner.”

It is easy to imagine why the page when viral so rapidly.

Just as the movement was picking up steam online, Facebook unexpectedly shut the page down. Under Facebook’s “Community Standards” policies, “political enemies” were able to target the truckers’ page.

The original description of the event, which mentioned Muslims, did not sit well with some people. It said:

“It does not matter if a million or 50 roll through DC in this effort. Congress will listen to We the People. Which is remove Obama from office for crimes of treason and misdemeanors. We want Congressional hearing on Benghazi and Seal Team 6. Louis Learner [sic] put in jail. No amnesty, remove all Muslims in our government that do not uphold the Constitution. [Emphasis added] Remove Eric Holder from office for crimes against the people and the Constitution. Last but not least is Fuel prices.”

Political opponents of the truckers fixated on the sentence about Muslims and used it as a basis to shut down the Facebook page. Even though the truckers were genuinely angry about violations to the Constitution, and the event has nothing to do with race, opponents used the Muslim sentence to “spin” the protest into a “racist” rally.

Facebook’s Community Standards is a self-policing system; when people see something on the site they object to, they can “report” it. If enough people do this, Facebook responds by shutting down the page. According to Andrews, substantial numbers of opponents to the truckers reported the page, ensuring that it was shut down.

As a result of being banned from Facebook, the truckers started their own website called RideForTheConstitution.org to promote the event. A new Facebook page was created shortly thereafter, where Andrews and her partners are currently recouping the followers they lost when the first page was shut down.

For the most part, people have received the protest positively, Andrews said.

“Most Americans are 100 percent on board with this,” she said. “It takes everyone coming together to say: ‘No I do not consent to this lawlessness. I don’t support your taking away my rights.'”

The protest encourages people from “coast to coast” to show their support by taking the day off from work, or simply choosing to not spend money that weekend.

While the truckers certainly have articulated reasonable grievances, what is the likely outcome of a march? We have seen several marches of this kind over recent years by different groups in Washington, D.C. Even if the march reached the million-man mark, or even if it slowed down traffic in D.C. for a day, is the march likely to bring any real reform without its coinciding with a well-organized lobbying effort to influence legislation?

Will anything really get done?

*Special thanks to Peter Santilli for information and insight regarding this event. 

Politics, US

Truckers Shutting Down DC To Protest The Federal Government And Its “Bulls**t”

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A group of truckers plans to shut down DC to protest the government and its “bulls**t.” The rally, happening on October 11 for three days, will question the Obama administration’s “corruption against the Constitution.”

The truckers were initially gathering attention using social media, primarily Facebook.

But now the group’s Facebook page, “Truckers to Shut Down America,” has been pulled off the web. The page’s admins were banned for using “God Bless America.”

The group’s Facebook page used to say, “The American people are sick and tired of the corruption that is destroying America! We therefore declare a GENERAL STRIKE on the weekend of October 11-13, 2013! Truck drivers will not haul freight! Americans can strike in solidarity with truck drivers!”

As a result of being banned from Facebook, the truckers started their own website called RideForTheConstitution.org to promote the event.

Freedom Outpost pointed out that Facebook allows pages promoting jihad, but “will pull pages like Truckers to Shut Down America and Uncle Sam’s Misguided Children for promoting conservative and/or Christian beliefs. That makes sense when the owners and admins of Facebook are in cahoots with government and in bed with big money men.

With the social networking page nowhere to be found, it is now up to the old-fashioned, hit the pavement, door to door grassroots effort.”

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Here is more information on the protest from the group’s Facebook original page (the one that got pulled from the web):

“My fellow patriot this effort is to support the truckers in a major shut down of America ion [sic] a 3 day strike October 11th thru 13th. Obamacare will be in effect and most people will be ready to take action. No commerce on those days stock up on items that you will need. No banking no shopping no money transactions.

It does not matter if a million or 50 roll through DC in this effort. Congress will listen to We the People. Which is remove Obama from office for crimes of treason and misdemeanors. We want Congressional hearing on Benghazi and Seal Team 6. Louis Learner [sic] put in jail. No amnesty, remove all Muslims in our government that do not uphold the Constitution. Remove Eric Holder from office for crimes against the people and the Constitution. Last but not least is Fuel prices.”

Do you support these truckers? Also, do you think Facebook had a partisan motivation from pulling down the group’s page? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.