Best article on "The meaning of that Kerry fracas in Fla." [IMHO] by P.C.Roberts

[flordehinojos]

why did a United States senator just stand there while Gestapo goons violated the constitutional rights of a student participating in a public event, brutalized him in full view of everyone, and then took him off to jail on phony charges?

Kerry’s meekness not only in the face of electoral fraud, not only in the face of Bush’s wars that are crimes under the Nuremberg standard, but also in the face of police goons trampling the constitutional rights of American citizens makes it completely clear that he was not fit to be president, and he is not fit to be a US senator.

Usually when police violate constitutional rights and commit acts of police brutality they do it when they believe no one is watching, not in front of a large audience. Clearly, the police have become more audacious in their abuse of rights and citizens. What explains the new fearlessness of police to violate rights and brutalize citizens without cause?

The answer is that police, most of whom have authoritarian personalities, have seen that constitutional rights are no longer protected. President Bush does not protect our constitutional rights. Neither does Vice President Cheney, nor the attorney general, nor the US Congress. Just as Kerry allowed Meyer’s rights to be Tasered out of him, Congress has enabled Bush to strip people, including American citizens, of constitutional protection and incarcerate them without presenting evidence.

full article at link:
http://onlinejournal.com/artman/publish/article_2434.shtml

and yes ... "How long before Kerry himself or some other senator will be dragged from his podium and Tasered"

[SecularMotion]

1. I can't decide whether there are too many people

on DU who totally miss the point of this story or there are too many people on DU who use this story to distract from the real issues.

In a way, I hope it is the latter because I don't like think that a true member of DU would be that ill-informed.

[crud76]

3. Please clarify your point of view

I see an American citizen being brutally denied his right to free speech. Am I ill informed?

[SecularMotion]

7. Please take the time to read the posts that have made

it to the Greatest page. While much discussion here has become polluted by trolls. There are still enough real Democrats here to recommend and push the truth to the Greatest page.

The fact that this guy went to the event specifically to disrupt and create a scene on film overrides any other issues.

[NavyDavy]

13. he was given the chance to ask his questions, actually more

time than others did, and he did not give the Senator a chance to answer.....and it was the people who were throwing the event that called for him to be removed

[Heidi]

2. While I believe that Tasering a handcuffed person is abusive

and I don't believe public disruption is necessarily inappropriate, I have some grave concerns if Andrew Meyer ever makes a career of journalism. He's a journalism major; and I certainly hope he wasn't acting as a journalist during his "appearance" at the Gainesville forum with Kerry.

By every indication, ranging from Andrew Meyer's behavior, past writings, his website's domain name and his email address, I'm inclined to believe Andrew Meyer was at the Kerry forum to advance Andrew Meyer, rather than any discussion of the war in Iraq, Florida voters disenfranchised in 2004, or even Kerry's alleged association with Skull and Bones. I'm also inclined to believe the questions Meyer asked were simply a platform for a public performance aand notoriety, which he certainly achieved.

Still, I just can't see Tasering a handcuffed person unless that person is threatening the safety of others. First-person accounts linked to here at DU indicate that the guy was rude and obnoxious, but not a danger.

Here are a couple of interesting links about the Meyer incident:
Editor & Publisher: http://www.mediainfo.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003642743
Attywood: http://www.attytood.com/2007/09/meet_the_future_savior_of_jour_1.html

[Demeter]

5. And How Was Mayer Different From Any Politician or Other Journalist, Then?

And since when was self-promotion grounds for tasering and arrest?

[Heidi]

9. Perhaps you should go back and re-read my post.

I condemned the Tasering. Nor do I believe he should have been arrested; although he had exceeded the allotted speaking time, a more peaceful resolution would have been to let the situation play out, as long as Meyer didn't pose a threat to anyone else's safety. As I said in my post, I don't believe disruption is necessarily inappropriate.

However, if he was acting as a journalist, it's fair to question his credibility, as public accountability (as well as impartiality, objectivity and truthfulness) are ethical considerations that journalists must weigh when they're doing their jobs. Good journalists do not stage news events, and all indications are that Andrew Meyer was very much involved in staging/escalating the situation at the Kerry forum.

http://www.spj.org/ethicscode.asp

[lateo]

4. Here is the money shot from this piece...

"Kerry’s meekness not only in the face of electoral fraud, not only in the face of Bush’s wars"

Forget about Myers for a second...this is really the main issue for me. It is just too bad that Kerry never got around to answering this question about why he gave up in 2004 so quickly in the face of electoral fraud. Kerry even said he read Palast's book and didn't comment on what he thought about it. This is the very definition of a spineless punk. He wouldn't stand up for us in 2004.

[yurbud]

10. and Edwards wanted to keep fighting--a reason to give him more attention now

[lateo]

11. Indeed...and I think this is why so many...

Kerry supporters are so happy this person became the sideshow. Because had this kid not created a ruckus Kerry would have had to FINALLY answer why he fucked over everyone who voted for him in 2004. So instead of staying on the subject of electoral fraud we are discussing the tazing of some college student.

[Demeter]

6. K&R for the Truth

[yurbud]

8. I keep wondering what happened to the Winter Soldier, Iran Contra & BCCI investigating Kerry

Maybe they threatened him like McCain, or maybe the whole business of having an opposition party is kibuki play and he just phones in his lines.

[lateo]

12. He sold out...