be careful what you say online . . . they're listening! . . .

[OneBlueSky]

read about this poster who made some humorous comments about Bush on the Live Journal website after one of the debates . . . and who came calling . . .

http://www.livejournal.com/users/anniesj/331112.html

a word to the wise

For all my LJ-loving friends, this is a word of warning, a word to the wise, and a word of utter exhaustion after the wringer I've been put through in the last twenty-four hours.

A couple of weeks ago, following the last presidential debate, I said some rather inflammatory things about George W. Bush in a public post in my LJ, done in a satirical style. We laughed, we ranted, we all said some things. I thought it was a fairly harmless (and rather obvious) attempt at humor in the face of annoyance, and while a couple of people were offended, as is typical behavior from me, I saw something shiny and forgot about it, thinking that the whole thing was over and done and nothing else would come of what I said.

I was wrong.

At 9:45 last night, the Secret Service showed up on my mother's front door to talk to me about what I said about the President, as what I said could apparently be misconstrued as a threat to his life. After about ten minutes of talking to me and my family, they quickly came to the conclusion that I was not a threat to national security (mostly because we are the least threatening people in the entire world) and told me that they would not recommend that any further action be taken with my case. However, I do now have a file with the FBI that includes my photograph, my e-mail address, and the location of my LJ. This will follow me around for the rest of my life, regardless of the fact that the Secret Service knows that I am not a threat.

- more . . .

http://www.livejournal.com/users/anniesj/331112.html

[fortyfeetunder]

1. Hope is on the way?

Y'all think Kerry, if elected, will repeal this Patriot Act crap?

[TheDebbieDee]

4. This doesn't have anything to do with the "Patriot Act"..........

It has to do with make a threat against the *Resident of the United States.

The Secret Service could do and have done what was done even before the "Patriot Act" came into existence.

[fortyfeetunder]

6. Possibly

Depends on how low their surveillance bar is....

[sendero]

24. True......

..... but do you really think the SS hounded all of the freepers who threatened Clinton 24-7? I don't remember hearing about that.

[3.14luvr]

5. Kerry as president = PATRIOT act gone

Yeah, Kerry will repeal the unconstitutional parts. an then all the republicans will call him "soft on defense":eyes:

[Norquist Nemesis]

2. Word of advice...

ALWAYS be careful what you are putting on the internets.

Yes, these things can come back to haunt you. I've known people who have been stalked for things that they have posted. I've also know people who have been harrassed because someone gets a bug up their ass.

You never know. The smart thing to do is 1) NEVER EVER EVER post personal information about yourself and 2) NEVER EVER EVER trust people you know solely on-line.

[napi21]

3. I'm sorry to hear that, but I've said it before and I'll say it again.

If the govt wants to watch me and my emails and my posts, that's fine with me. It will sure give some agenta some very boring time off of dangerous duty. I suspect they will need a lot of caffine just to stay awake most of the time.

[Gyre]

7. What if I call Bush a cocksucker?

Not that there's anything wrong with that!

Gyre

[RaleighNCDUer]

14. Only if you name names.

[Hello_Kitty]

20. Victor Ashe. n/t

[RaleighNCDUer]

31. Uh-oh. Now you've done it.

Watch who come a-knockin at your door.

[kysrsoze]

29. He he. That was pretty funny.

[Zorra]

37. The government has absolutely no right to watch me or anything that I

do. They are not supposed to watch innocent people, and it used to be illegal for them to do that.

It is nothing but Stalinism.

[murielm99]

My daughter sent me this link in an e-mail earlier today.

The only thing I wonder about is this:

We know all the crap the right wingers have said about Bill and Hillary when Bill was in office, and even now.

Did they investigate each and every little thing that was said then? I don't think they did.

Of course it is stupid and illegal to threaten the President. But this crew seems more paranoid than most.

[MaraJade]

8. I just posted this also in my Live Journal. . .

http://www.livejournal.com/users/brensgrrl/5610.html

It's a dirty rotten shame! What else can I say.

What will probably happen is that the free-wheeling community that
is LJ will close. Postings will be "friends-locked," and communities will turn into invitation-only enclaves. This is the
only way to keep idiots like the stoolpigeon who turned anniesj in
from getting at people's posts.

Sad but true.

[The_Casual_Observer]

9. Do you believe that this really happened?

It sounds like a tale to me.

[OneBlueSky]

12. I tend to believe it only because I've heard other stories . . .

of people being visited by the Secret Service for seemingly innocent comments . . . even if it is a tale, it's still very plausible and very possible . . .

[Hatalles]

16. It's happened before...

About ten years ago, some kid in a chatroom in my school district got busted for the same thing. My class was told this by a teacher and he was never one to make up something like that.

[Cleita]

10. See y'all at the Gulag.

:hi:

[wordout]

38. I am reminded of the words of an elderly Jewish man

speaking of the lesson learned from the holocaust.

NO MORE will we go peacefully into the gas chambers; when they come for my family, i will kill him, and he will kill me. Our #'s are greater than their #'s, and eventually we will win.

[Nordic]

11. does this mean he really was in his mother's basement?

please tell me it ain't true

[FlemingsGhost]

13. A bearded fish in a sofa, plays chess in August.

Move the chair from the bedroom, Ellie.

[Laughing Mirror]

21. Afghanistan Banana Stand

Walk back the cat, Clark.

Clark??

[ahem]

28. Ah, you'll be wanting this thread...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=105x1887943

[StrongbadTehAwesome]

15. Yes, this was SUCH a good use of our national security dollars

here's the original post that got the girl in trouble with the Secret Service:

http://www.livejournal.com/users/anniesj/323349.html

10/8/04 09:26 pm
don't forget poland!

You know what would be awesome? If all of a sudden, George W. Bush were to stop in the middle of this debate, snort a mountain of cocaine, foam at the mouth and scream "RAAAAAAAH I FUCK DEAD NAZIS!!!!" and then swallow his own tongue. *eyes glaze over with the joy of that mental image*

Also, how much would you love to see the debate notes from these guys? *covets* I swear to God that every time Bush scrawls furiously on that little stack of paper, he's writing things like "OMG STFU I HATE U DIE!!!11!!1 *DEFRIENDS KERRY*"

Finally, John is TOTALLY kicking Georgie's ass. AGAIN. *loves my candidate*

Oh, and "That answer almost made me want to scowl"? *stabs Bush in face with spork*

That's it. "Stab with spork," clearly in jest as can be seen from the rest of the message. Does anyone believe that they honestly thought this girl was a threat from THIS? It's obvious that they're just using a little FearAndIntimidation(TM) for the hell of it.

Grr.

EDIT: I forgot HTML tags don't work here. Rarrgh.

[Chovexani]

17. Good thing I only post raunchy slash fics on my LJ (n/t)

[whirlygigspin]

18. think of it this way

it's good to know that at least one gov't agency is on the ball,
unlike the "we're tired of swatting flies" mentality of Rice, asleep at the switch and blaming everyone else.

[crickets]

19. The minute I saw this, I checked a fandom community

that tends to discuss many fandom kerfuffles of the day. Sure enough, there was a thread. As anniesj states in her journal, someone turned her in. Whether it was for some strange mean fandom reason that has nothing to do with politics wasn't clear. It wasn't a random "catch" from the FBI or Secret Service reading LJs. She was reported. Which really, really sucks. So, yeah, they are listening. So are some pretty vindictive passersby and/or acquaintances, apparently. :eyes:

I don't know anniesj personally, but I've been aware of her and some of her fandom writings for some time. I believe her.

Here is a Google cache of the actual entry that got anniesj in trouble, which has since been deleted from her journal. Scroll down to 10/14/04 09:25 am, a prayer for dubya.

My favorite comment from the other community was,

That being said, I wish they would find President Bush underneath a black male prostitute with lots of pornography very much alive and happy. Because the collective jaw-drop of the Christian right from that would be divine.

I laughed so hard my cat ran out of the room and hid under the bed.

[Media_Lies_Daily]

22. They can kiss my Bush-hating butt.

[vinnievin777]

23. Good

Maybe we could change their hearts and when they pull the curtain they will vote for Kerry.

Vinnie Vin
http://www.vinnievin.com

[devinsgram]

25. You they can find, Osama they can't.

What a bunch of bumbling idiots.

[BiggJawn]

26. Howdy Agent Mike!

Hey everybody, give a big, wet kiss and a hearty DU "Wilkommen" to Agent Mike, our OWN SS Mole! He's been here for a year now, the ultimate lurker.

Morning, Mike! How 'bout them Sox, eh?

[RaleighNCDUer]

34. Must be nice to be Agent Mike --

Imagine being paid to stay on DU 8+ hours/day!

[Evergreen Emerald]

27. BUSH SUCKS

that felt good.

[greyfox]

30. Been there, done that

Yes. I had a small swirling tag graphic that read
ELIMINATE BUSH
and some weirdo on a list such as this turned me in and I had that same experience. They even called my wife AT WORK and asked if I BEAT her!!!? (what was THAT?)
Republicans are so weird!

[Willy Lee]

32. Now doesn't this make you feel safer?

Damn Big Brother...

[porphyrian]

33. Fuck them. I fucking hate bush.

Bush is the worst fucking President ever. On top of all of his failures, someone in his administration outed Valerie Plame, and he is helping to hide their identity. As far as I'm concerned, that makes them all fucking traitors. Personally, I am outraged that we have traitors in our White House, and I want them out now. If my language seems a bit strong, I'd gladly discuss it with the Secret Service in person. This fear tactic shit is something I would expect from the Soviets, not Americans. Fortunately, I've already voted, and I am actually optimistic that Kerry is going to win this election by a landslide, barring cheating from the traitors.

[greyfox]

36. I am in agreement

Strong words, bt so true. I detest that slob and if he cheats his way in this time, we deserve what we get! (and that will be HELL).

[DinahMoeHum]

35. Hey, Agent Mike, you and your boys are pantywaist pussies

who can't kick a duck in the ass unless you stand on a brick; and even then, the odds are better than 50/50 you'd miss.

Your track record blows dead bears for a quarter - and spits out change.


:nuke: