Man tasered, arrested for asking good questions of Sen. John Kerry
I just found on youtube this video of a young man at a University of Florida q and a session with Senator John Kerry. The man, Andrew Meyer, congratulates Kerry for being (in his view) the real winner of the 2004 election, asks Kerry why he doesn’t support the impeachment of Bush and then asks is it true that he and Bush are both members of Skull and Bones. Whereupon the uniformed officers grab him and begin to try to manhandle him out. He is shouting that he didn’t do anything. The officers wrestle the young man to the ground and taser the poor fellow. A member of the audience then begins shouting, “police brutality! police brutality!”
This video is shocking, and horrible. It depicts Nazi-like behavior from those who are sworn to uphold the law. And the man’s questions are good questions and deserve answers, not torture and abuse.
The Andrew Meyer
Search on “taser” at Digg.
Skull and Bones (wikipedia)
Student Tasered at campus forum for Kerry
Kerry Responds to Taser Incident
CNN: Your e-mails: Reaction to police using Taser on student
Students stunned — and tired — about Taser incident
College cop: After being shocked, student said we ‘didn’t do anything wrong’
Instant Political Martyrdom via YouTube
A interesting comment on the subject posted by Benjamin Wood:
“When a person, being without fault, is in a place where he has a right to be, is violently assaulted, he may, without retreating, repel by force, and if, in the reasonable exercise of his right of self defense, his assailant is killed, he is justified.” Runyan v. State, 57 Ind. 80; Miller v. State, 74 Ind. 1.
“These principles apply as well to an officer attempting to make an arrest, who abuses his authority and transcends the bounds thereof by the use of unnecessary force and violence, as they do to a private individual who unlawfully uses such force and violence.” Jones v. State, 26 Tex. App. I; Beaverts v. State, 4 Tex. App. 1 75; Skidmore v. State, 43 Tex. 93, 903.
“An illegal arrest is an assault and battery. The person so attempted to be restrained of his liberty has the same right to use force in defending himself as he would in repelling any other assault and battery.” (State v. Robinson, 145 ME. 77, 72 ATL. 260).
“Each person has the right to resist an unlawful arrest. In such a case, the person attempting the arrest stands in the position of a wrongdoer and may be resisted by the use of force, as in self- defense.” (State v. Mobley, 240 N.C. 476, 83 S.E. 2d 100).
“One may come to the aid of another being unlawfully arrested, just as he may where one is being assaulted, molested, raped or kidnapped. Thus it is not an offense to liberate one from the unlawful custody of an officer, even though he may have submitted to such custody, without resistance.” (Adams v. State, 121 Ga. 16, 48 S.E. 910).
“Citizens may resist unlawful arrest to the point of taking an arresting officer’s life if necessary.” Plummer v. State, 136 Ind. 306. This premise was upheld by the Supreme Court of the United States in the case: John Bad Elk v. U.S., 177 U.S. 529.
Comment by Benjamin N. Dictor, Student, University of Florida
google news comment
Google Comment – 10 hours agoThe conduct of the police officers at Monday’s forum with John Kerry is nothing short of an embarrassment for both the University of Florida and the City of Gainesville as a whole.
We will not be quick to recover from the wounds that we all suffer as a result of the complex betrayal on behalf of the University of Florida Police Department. As if the suppression of thought is not in itself, heinous enough a crime, the unabashed abuse of physical force by those sworn to protect us leaves trust broken and wounds open.
This incident will be remembered as a physical assault as well as an assault on reason itself. How dare law enforcement act in such a manner! We, the students of this university, must not allow this aggression to stand!
Benjamin N. Dictor
skull bones & bush & kerry a WIN WIN for the skull & bones
Another case of alleged police overkill: Death Squad in Delaware: The Case of the Murdered Marine
Submitted to The Lede blog on nytimes.com:
In the case of the Tazing of the Bro, I am reminded of the words of Frederick Douglass:
“Those who profess to favor freedom, and yet deprecate agitation, are men who want crops without plowing up the ground.”
Andrew Meyer, whatever his motives, was asking reasonable and legitimate questions which the speaker had agreed to address. This is not a police state; the police may not use force to subdue someone for saying “blowjob” or “Skull and Bones” or taking 90 seconds to ask three questions in a row.
The democratic system of government is dependent on the free market of ideas. The widest possible range of views, correct and incorrect, must be aired and debated, so that the people may choose the best policies and the representatives to implement them. In the United States, it is We the People, not the government, which is sovereign. In the words of our first Republican President, Abraham Lincoln, in his First Inaugural Address:
“This country, with its institutions, belongs to the people who inhabit it. Whenever they shall grow weary of the existing government, they can exercise their constitutional right of amending it, or their revolutionary right to dismember, or overthrow it.”
Andrew Meyer acted in the finest patriotic tradition of Paul Revere, Crispus Attucks, Tom Paine and Patrick Henry. Bravo, Sir. Bravely and well done. Bravo!
HENRY EDWARD HARDY
Ann Arbor, MI
scanlyze.wordpress.com
Dahlem memorial tagged with Meyer quote
Comment: Florida cops were out of line Tasering student at speech
Interesting poll on Washingtonpost.com, at this writing, 42% of respondents say along with Benjamin Dictor (quoted above), “This incident is ‘an assault on reason itself.’ America has become a police state and this is evidence of that.” An additional 11.5% opine, “If you have to Tase anyone bro, Tase John Kerry. FREE SPEECH RULES!”.
Note the snide photo caption (probably falsely) attributed to AP: “Could public forums benefit from more Tasering? (AP)”
How can this caption possibly be considered appropriate to the circumstances by the Post?
It seems that the Post is exploiting this incident for its “entertainment” value. How sick and wrong of the once-respected Washington Post.
Andrew Meyer, Free Speech and the Joy of Tasers: Were the Police Justified Or Should They Be Punished?
Florida Student Is Shocked at Kerry Forum
Beck said he “enjoy[s] watching” Taser videos; O’Reilly rolled out “Don’t Taze me, bro!” bumper stickers
Google “Andrew Meyer” (276,000 references on google 2007-09-20)
Hentoff on the Tasering of the First Amendment
Why are students getting Tasered on video?
THE SHOCK HEARD AROUND THE WORLD.
Andrew Meyer, John Kerry and Campus Security: Clusterfuck Royale.
Emotional Responses to the Andrew Meyer & John Kerry Incident: A Psychological Study in Issues of Power, Anger and Authority
University comes away shocked, burned
Copyright © 2007 Henry Edward Hardy
The Surge is Working?
The Surge is Working?
The Opinionator by Tobin Harshaw on the New York Times has a peculiar article suggesting that US Democrats are under attack due to the supposed success of “the surge”. The piece leads with a quote attributed to Karen Tumlty, which says, in part, “It’s the Democrats who are being put on the defensive over the war.”
The column goes on to quote a number of selected statements from obscure “moderates” closing with: “Where the strategy was first to argue that the military surge would not work, the Democrats seem to be ready to acknowledge — behind closed doors that is — that they were wrong,” from Michael van der Galien. If you have access to Times Select, you can read this compendium of preposterousness at http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/08/22/spinning-the-surge/
There are a number of logical refutations submitted to the column. One, by ‘Rosemary Molloy’, reads,
Gee, all this “republicans did this,” “democrats said that” is confusing. Guess the only thing I quite understand is that we’re killing people. We. Are. Killing. People. These aren’t wild dogs we’re talking about–they’re PEOPLE! And we’re killing them.
My response follows:
The surge is working? The evidence would seem to suggest to the contrary. Consider the top headlines which come up upon searching, newest first, on the Times website on ‘Iraq’ today: ‘Times Topics: Iraq‘, ‘Black Hawk Fails and Crashes, Killing 14 U.S. Soldiers‘, ‘Cue the Film Awards Season and Strike a Somber Note‘, ‘Armored Trucks’ Delivery Delayed‘, ‘Army Officer, Others Indicted on Bribery‘, ‘25 Killed in Clash Northeast of Baghdad, Iraqi Police Say‘. You reported today that the capital, Baghdad, is receiving 2-6 hours of electricity per day as opposed to 24 hours per day before the war. The ‘surge’ is not sustainable; if this is success, what will the inevitable failure look like?
See: Democrats Refocus Message on Iraq After Military Gains
Militias Seizing Control of Iraqi Electricity Grid
Copyright © 2007 Henry Edward Hardy
CNN: Family cites conspiracy in Tillman death inquiry
More is slowly trickling out about how the US Army, including four general officers, allegedly lied and covered up the death of US Army Ranger Cpl. Pat Tillman in Afghanistan three years ago. Here’s part of what CNN had to say today:
Family cites conspiracy in Tillman death inquiry
WASHINGTON (CNN) — The family of Cpl. Pat Tillman said Monday the Army investigation into the former NFL player’s death by friendly fire in Afghanistan suggests a “conspiracy” and vowed to pursue a congressional investigation into how the death was handled.
Military officials had said earlier that nine officers, including four generals, will face “corrective action” for making critical mistakes in the aftermath of Tillman’s death.
The NFL player was killed in Afghanistan in 2004 after giving up a professional football career to fight as an Army Ranger.
In their statement, the Tillman family said they were not satisfied with the Army report.
“In our opinion, this attempt to impose closure by slapping the wrists of a few officers and enlisted men is just another bureaucratic entrenchment,” the family statement said. “Once again, we are being used as props in a Pentagon public relations exercise.”
The family statement also charged that the decision to award Tillman the Silver Star “appears more than anything to be part of a cynical design to conceal the real events from the family and the public, while exploiting the death of our beloved Pat as a recruitment poster.”
Looking at how the Army allegedly lied and manipulated the press and public emotion regarding Cpl. Tillman and Pfc. Jessica Lynch, one suspects that these are not isolated incidents; lying and manipulation have become acceptable tactics under the rubric of “psyops”, or “psychological operations”. Speaking of lies, lies, propaganda, and more lies, I’ve called the offices of US Rep. John Dingell twice asking about the status of the hundreds of women and children taken prisoner at Kufa Farms after the Najaf Massacre, but have received no reply or response.
See also: After Pat’s Birthday
Articles on Scanlyze tagged ‘Najaf’
Articles on Scanlyze tagged ‘Dingell’
Copyright © 2007 Henry Edward Hardy
Najaf Update: February 21, 2007
Interesting press release from the Multinational Forces in Iraq regarding Hilla, a town near An-Najaf, and the continuing suppression of heterodox Shia in the area. We must ask once again, what happened to the approximately 200 women and children captured near Najaf and Kufa in the “Battle of Najaf” on Jan 28, 2007?
Hilla SWAT captures 21 insurgent leaders
Saturday, 17 February 2007
Multi-National Corps – Iraq
Public Affairs Office, Camp Victory
APO AE 09342FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
RELEASE No. 20070217-05
Feb. 17, 2007Hilla SWAT captures 21 insurgent leaders
Multi-National Corps – Iraq PAOBAGHDAD – Iraqi Special Weapons and Tactics Team members of Hilla SWAT arrested 21 suspected insurgent leaders during operations with Coalition advisers Feb. 16 southwest of Hilla. The suspects are believed to be Mahdawiyah leaders who are threatening the lives of Iraqi Security Forces and civilians in the area.
The Mahdawiyah group was involved in the battle against Iraqi Forces Jan. 28 in Najaf. Since the battle, the Mahdawiyah leadership has made death threats to Hilla SWAT policemen and their family members.
There were Iraqi arrest warrants for all the suspects. Hilla SWAT also detained 13 additional persons for questioning.
The operation by Hilla SWAT resulted in minimal damage to the objective. There were no Iraqi civilian, Iraqi forces or Coalition Forces casualties.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT MULTI-NATIONAL CORPS – IRAQ, PUBLIC AFFAIRS OFFICE BY E-MAIL AT MNCI-PAO-VICTORYMAINJOC@IRAQ.CENTCOM.MIL
See also: Keyword ‘Najaf’ on scanlyze
Copyright © 2007 Henry Edward Hardy
My message of support for the troops
America Supports You is a propaganda site run by the US military in order to encourage public support for the war(s). They are providing the opportunity to post messages of ‘support’ for ‘the troops’. Following is my submission:
My message of support for the troops:
What passing-bells for these who die as cattle?
-Only the monstrous anger of the guns.
Only the stuttering rifles’ rapid rattle
Can patter out their hasty orisons.
No mockeries now for them; no prayers nor bells;
Nor any voice of mourning save the choirs,-
The shrill, demented choirs of wailing shells;
And bugles calling for them from sad shires.What candles may be held to speed them all?
Not in the hands of boys but in their eyes
Shall shine the holy glimmers of good-byes.
The pallor of girls’ brows shall be their pall;
Their flowers the tenderness of patient minds,
And each slow dusk a drawing-down of blinds.–Wilfred Owen, KIA, 1918
If you participate in an illegal, unauthorized armed action you are violating your oath to uphold the US Constitution and destroying the honor and integrity of our military forces. The use of torture is a capital offense under US law. It is the legal obligation of every US service member to refuse to obey illegal orders.
best regards,
Henry Edward Hardy
https://scanlyze.wordpress.com/
see also: Anthem for Doomed Youth
Copyright © 2007 Henry Edward Hardy
About Scanlyze
Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?
Scanlyze is an online magazine of essays, commentary, satire, and analysis. Were we half as clever, for inspiration we would take Mark Twain, Ambrose Bierce, Swift, Montaigne, or Seneca.
“The men who create power make an indispensable contribution to the Nation’s greatness, but the men who question power make a contribution just as indispensable, especially when that questioning is disinterested, for they determine whether we use power or power uses us.”
John F. Kennedy, October 26, 1963
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