Post #282,173
4/17/07 2:23:36 PM
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Unless they actually said
"we're throwing you out because of your bumper sticker" then I think that might be a stretch by the prosecution that would be desperately hard to prove and incredibly easy to defend.
Defense..we didn't see the sticker. Case closed.
I certainly hope they have more than that and they probably do...as the article is somewhat light on what the evidence of the case is.
Its a true "thought police" case though. I hope the judge writes a very clear opinion in support of the plaintiffs.
Of course, if they do...they might give the Hillary heckler grounds to sue also.
Too much of today's music is fashionable crap dressed as artistry.Adrian Belew
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Post #282,176
4/17/07 2:50:09 PM
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Without the sticker, how did they know?
Two people coming in to an event. Goon says to himself, "These are troublemakers. I just *know* it". Kicks 'em out.
Yeah, right.
The only clue they had that these people might end up "expressing discordant viewpoints" was the bumper sticker. This wasn't after they had entered and caused a disruption. They were prevented from entering. If it wasn't because of the bumper sticker, what was the reason they believed these two would unfortunately expose Bush to public opinion?
----------------------------------------- You can fire an at will employee for good cause or no cause, but not bad cause.
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Post #282,188
4/17/07 4:53:30 PM
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Making up facts
Article says they were "ejected".
Too much of today's music is fashionable crap dressed as artistry.Adrian Belew
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Post #282,190
4/17/07 5:12:29 PM
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Uncharitable interpretation (Why am I not surprised?)
A more charitable one would be, "you illitterate Colonial baboon!" -- it's easy (especially for an ICB) to misread "ejected" as "rejected".
[link|mailto:MyUserId@MyISP.CountryCode|Christian R. Conrad] (I live in Finland, and my e-mail in-box is at the Saunalahti company.)
Ah, the Germans: Masters of Convoluted Simplification. — [link|http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/?p=1603|Jehovah]
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Post #282,191
4/17/07 5:13:15 PM
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Irony?
Peter [link|http://www.no2id.net/|Don't Let The Terrorists Win] [link|http://www.kuro5hin.org|There is no K5 Cabal] [link|http://guildenstern.dyndns.org|Home] Use P2P for legitimate purposes! [link|http://kevan.org/brain.cgi?pwhysall|A better terminal emulator] [image|http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h262/pwhysall/Misc/saveus.png|0|Darwinia||]
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Post #282,203
4/17/07 6:04:08 PM
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Using memory.
From the original article about this by the NY Times. They were detained and "ejected" before they got into the seating area. I don't have a subscription to the Times so I can't pull up the original article. Here's a copy [link|http://www.commondreams.org/headlines05/1122-06.htm|Link].
Notice that no where in any reporting of this is a disruption of the event in any manner described. They were stopped before entering the actual speaking area of the event and then forced to leave before they were able to carry out their DFHness in the presence of the President.
----------------------------------------- You can fire an at will employee for good cause or no cause, but not bad cause.
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Post #282,207
4/17/07 6:54:44 PM
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Denver Post articles.
[link|http://www.denverpost.com/spencer/ci_5357001|Jim Spencer commentary]: Friday, in depositions, two White House volunteers charged with unconstitutionally suppressing speech finally explained why Leslie Weise, Alex Young and Karen Bauer were asked to leave before the president arrived.
James O'Keefe, a senior White House advance representative, and Steve Atkiss, then-deputy director of the White House advance office, separately told volunteer Mike Casper to ask Weise, Young and Bauer to leave, Casper testified Friday.
The reason why Weise, Young and Bauer had to go, according to Casper and fellow volunteer Jay Bob Klinkerman, was because others identified the three as having disrupted prior Republican events, said Casper's attorney, Sean Gallagher.
Gallagher said Klinkerman named Andy Merritt as one of the people who fingered Weise, Young and Bauer. Merritt is Sen. Wayne Allard's state director and the Republican chairman of the 5th Congressional District.
Merritt denied saying Weise, Young and Bauer had disrupted prior events.
"I was not thinking they were going to kill somebody," he added.
Merritt said he arrived at the Social Security forum at the same time as a car with bumper stickers that said, "No Blood for Oil" and "Save the Environment, Plant a Bush."
"Five people got out of the car - two older people and three younger ones," said Merritt, who until Friday had never revealed his involvement in the scandal, even to his boss. "They split up. The older couple went to one entrance, and the three younger people went to another. They didn't interact with other people."
An older couple arrived with the three, Young responded, but in another car.
Still, Merritt told Klinkerman about the bumper stickers and the "suspicious behavior." Merritt also warned event officials that they "might want to watch" Weise, Young and Bauer.
Behold the Bush administration's partisan dirty tricks laid bare.
For two years, the president's press staff, including former press secretary Scott McClellan, blamed this mess on overzealous volunteers. "We welcome diversity of views at the events," McClellan once said of the Denver Three.
Stop, drop and roll.
"We thought there was a practice and policy coming from the highest levels of the White House to expel people from public events if they disagreed with the president," said Mark Silverstein of Colorado's American Civil Liberties Union.
Now, Silverstein said he has the proof.
Atkiss and O'Keefe will be added to a federal lawsuit, Silverstein said.
Martha Tierney, another of Young's and Weise's attorneys, said no decision had been made about suing Merritt. Weise, Young and Bauer have denied protesting at earlier Republican events. State Republican officials, meanwhile, had heretofore denied any role in the Denver Three debacle.
"All I did was point out suspicious behavior," Merritt insisted.
He didn't need to disclose his role, he added, because nobody cared.
Stop, drop and roll.
Weise, Young and Bauer came to the Social Security forum wearing T-shirts under their clothes that said "Stop the Lies." They never showed those shirts. They did nothing disruptive. They were shown the door on the suspicion that they might upstage the president.
Atkiss told Denver Post reporter Bruce Finley that this was White House policy. Here's [link|http://www.denverpost.com/ci_5341085|Denver Post] story with a few more details. It seems clear they were kicked out before the event started. How far they got inside the building, and whether it fits with a definition of "ejected" isn't clear. Cheers, Scott.
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