Friday, October 29, 2010

Stomping on the First Ammendment

While Paul Joseph Watson condemns the "thuggery" of the two men who shoved a MoveOn.org supporter to the ground during a Rand Paul rally, and admits they should be prosecuted, he also contends that the woman tried to assault Rand Paul. A video posted at Prison Planet shows Lauren Valle, in red hoodie and blonde wig, breaking ahead of the crowd surrounding his vehicle as it pulls to a stop. She was portraying a corporate executive as part of a satirical MoveOn.org campaign. In the video, Valle holds her Rand Paul sign very close to Paul's open passenger window before he exits the vehicle. This is when an actual Paul supporter grabs her and pulls her away from the vehicle.
Watson even states that Valle's actions were "clearly more aggressive" than the actions of the man who shoved her to the pavement and the man who jammed his foot into her shoulder to help prevent her from getting to her feet.

This is an attempted assault? Holding a sign up to someone's face? While I question Valle's judgement in getting so close to the vehicle, it doesn't look to me like she was threatening Paul, nor was she in any position to harm him. Both of her hands are on the sign.

Watson also wrote an article about an incident that occurred the same night, pointing to it as evidence that the "establishment media" selectively covered the night's events. It seems a woman with an injured foot was also stomped on by a supporter of Rand Paul's rival, Jack Conway. But I think there could be other explanations for why this other incident received little coverage:

- The woman's name is unknown.
- The alleged perpetrator's identity is unknown.
- The circumstances of the alleged stomping are unknown.
- Having your foot stepped on in a crowd could be an accident (though the woman is reportedly pressing charges).
- The encounter was apparently not recorded, as the assault on Valle was.

As further supposed evidence that the media turns a blind eye to leftist violence, Watson mentions that an Obamacare supporter had his finger bitten off by a MoveOn.org activist at a rally last year. This case is more complicated than that, however. First of all, Bill Rice punched the unidentified man in the face and knocked him to the ground. The man got up and the two struggled before Rice's finger was bitten. In other words, we're not talking about an unprovoked assault. Capt. Ross Bonfiglio, a public information officer with the Ventura County Sheriff's Department, said that while Rice was certainly a victim, he was also the "primary aggressor". Also, because the biter remains unidentified (he fled), there is no way of knowing for certain that he was a MoveOn.org supporter.
The mainstream media did not ignore Rice's story, either. He was interviewed by a sympathetic Neil Cavuto on CNN.

Thuggery is thuggery. It should be unconditionally condemned regardless of who perpetrates it, and it should not be exploited for political ends. Alex Jones routinely castigates law enforcement for thuggery, but when it comes to thugs connected with a political candidate who has been a guest on his show, the tune changes. Then the thuggery, while still deplorable, becomes acceptable - even justified.

31 comments:

the_last_name_left said...

supposed evidence that the media turns a blind eye to leftist violence
-------------------

TADA - that is Alex Jones!

And people call him a leftie.

It's brilliant rightwing propaganda. And how can he do it so successfully without being conscious of it?

But then, as he's so obviously stooopid how he can possibly be so conscious (and smart) such as to pull it off?

God, I hope he sells fewer DVDs this year than last - please god let the recession do something?!

Anonymous said...

Jones is spearheading the resistance to the TSA thuggery and perversion. He's gaining on the Mormons, thank God.

Anonymous said...

Alex Jones pushed the TSA issue until the Drudge Report picked up the story- now its everywhere. Hooray!
Those pervs at TSA and higher up need to be removed. Jones aims the infogun and here someone tries to knock it out of his hand. Down with TSA naked body scanners. This is just an attempt to break our will. Saviour Jones beats up on the molester gang, if you are against him you are for the perverts, if one had been wildly successful awhile back and knocked Jones down then the TSA thuggery would be marching on largely unopposed, we might win due to Jones and despite you. Shame on you TSA enabler.
They cant make us safe - five or six jujitsu kung fu terrorists can take a plane with just their bare hands

Paul said...

"Jones is spearheading the resistance to the TSA thuggery and perversion."

In his own imagination.

Anonymous said...

Wow, Paul is an idiot.

Jones battles Hitler everyday

Paul said...

Well Anonymous,

obvious troll is obvious.

Anonymous said...

Obviously, Paul is oblivious

Paul said Jones wasn't battling the TSA and so Paul is 100% incorrect

Anonymous said...

And furthermore, Paul, since you have 100% discredited yourself by making stuff up because it made you feel good, , no one wants to see your nonsense up here anymore, you are a time waster and TSA molester enabler. Now is the time for all good people to unite to stop the naked body scanners and the criminal sexual molestation of our wives and children at the airports....Obama could end this with just one phone call but he will never make that call-puppets have to follow orders.

Anonymous said...

And furthermore, Paul, since you have 100% discredited yourself by making stuff up because it made you feel good, , no one wants to see your nonsense up here anymore, you are a time waster and TSA molester enabler. Now is the time for all good people to unite to stop the naked body scanners and the criminal sexual molestation of our wives and children at the airports....Obama could end this with just one phone call but he will never make that call-puppets have to follow orders.

Paul said...

Anonymous,

No. I didn't say Alex Jones wasn't "battling the TSA." I do dispute the notion that he is "spearheading" it. Jones has an exaggerated sense of self importance. If he was as much of a threat as he believes he is... well.. he'd be dead.

Alex Jones claims the army follows him around.

Anonymous said...

Jones has been on this story since it got big right after the underwear bomber saga 11 months ago- Drudge pick up the story recently, mainly from Jones and his sites articles or broadcasts. Drudge was what made this an even bigger story, thanks to Jones. Jones spearheaded this, whether alone or not.

The claim is that there is now too much attention on Jones to simply wipe him out, as this would underline or highlight his message, proving him correct , to many.

spearheading or leading or battling- seems like quibbling to me

Anonymous said...

Alex Jones is a Fed agent, shielded by the government.

Would you like his precise home address? Hmm? I have it. You can stop by and chat about the naked body scanners, the TSA molesters, or maybe chemtrails floats your boat?

Paul said...

I'm not in favor of naked body scanners or pat downs. However, I don't think Jones' bringing attention to this story has been helpful. His rhetoric is shrill and obnoxious and frankly I think its dangerous in that it can inspire people to act violently against TSA agents. This is politicians overreaching. This is not the moral equivalent of "Just following orders" like at Nuremberg. What is need is intelligent discussion of these issues which unfortunately Alex Jones is not capable of because he cannot divorce it from the discredited narrative of "THEY'RE CONDITIONING US FOR THE NEW WORLD ORDER."

S.M. Elliott said...

Jones was not instrumental in the criticism of TSA pat-downs and body scanning. Mainstream news outlets were all over that from the beginning, and there has been public opposition from Day One. If Jones had (His Dad forbid) died before the controversy broke out, it would still be a controversy.

IMO, the TSA "molesters" themselves will spell the end of body scans and patdowns. You try patting down obese farting men and women day after day and see how long you decide to stay in the airport security industry...

But srsly, dude, "molesters"? If you work as a security guard at a big box store - and I'm guessing by your grammar that maybe you do - and your boss tells you to check the jacket pockets of kids who lurk in the toy department too long, does that automatically make you a child molester? No. You're invading the kids' privacy and perhaps breaking some laws and you should consider finding another job, but you have not become a pedophile predator overnight.

Anonymous said...

How wrong you are- you said Jones wasn't instrumental in the public revolt against TSA, when in reality he has talked about this from day one, unlike the mainstream media as you ridiculously claim. This revolt went mega viral and worldwide the moment when Drudge Report started posting Jones InfoWars articles on Drudge report. That was the moment, that is what happened....from Drudge it got picked up by a wider audience.

And your analogy sucks. Security guards are generally wannabe cops or military, while pedophiles seek out jobs that allow access, like TSA.

S.M. Elliott said...

Major UK dailies and the CBC were complaining about body scans two years ago.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/3252098/Airport-body-scanners-will-expose-personal-dignity.html

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/british-columbia/story/2008/06/20/bc-virtually-naked-airport-scanner.html

Anonymous said...

That may be true, but you fail to see how some of the Infowars articles, amplified by Drudge, caused the issue take off like a rocket. This did not dominate the news and generate a widespread revolt until about a month ago, just as Drudge was posting Infowars articles on this issue in volume and near the top of his page. From there, other media seized upon the naked body scanners-gropers.

What you describe security guards doing isn't an everyday or even an every week thing, compared to the TSA's daily hands -in -our pants policy. Bad analogy due to scale, for one thing. A security guard jumping the gun and doing a search on a kid due to the guards lousy suspicion isn't the same as all of the opt out people being guilty until proving their innocence by being groped by TSA molesters.

TSA has nothing to do with 'security.' I had to go through a police unit/ court house today and I went through a metal scanner and beeped it off with my belt. The deputy never felt the need to even lift my shirt up- he just waved the metal detecting baton near my back, etc., and he relied upon his psychological profiling and common sense to determine that I didn't mean any harm, so he let me go in the building.
Don't go around saying we need TSA creeps putting hands up our pants or that they they need to fondle our wives and children.
The world would be better off if you had a blog opposed to the Chertoff- TSA molester child porn gang instead of a blog that barely criticizes the police state thugs who devour naked body images for pay and fun.

S.M. Elliott said...

You're right, Anon, my toy-aisle analogy wasn't quite apt. Kids don't typically try to blow up or hijack toy aisles.

Now, since you haven't even bothered to ask how I view the whole scan-and-pat issue, I'll tell you:

I'm not crazy about the idea, but I'm also not crazy about the idea of being blown up in mid-air.
So I'd love to see a solution we can all accept. What do you propose we do instead of scanning or patting? (I haven't heard the Saviour of Mankind, or anyone else for that matter, bring up any useful suggestions.)

the_last_name_left said...

There's a kind of irony in Jones' complaining about airport security - he's been screaming for a decade now how the United States "stood down" its defences against 911. Now he's complaining that they have some.

Pretty typical from an opportunist (and fantasist) whiner.

If they "stood-down" the body-scanning and pat-downs, and then there was another attack, Jones would be saying the stand-down was on purpose so as to allow the perps the opportunity.

And look how he treats border security - saying it's "wide open" to terrorists and demanding "an Israeli style security fence across Mexican border"?

And how he reacted to proposed sale of Ports to Chinese or MidEastern firms?

Jones characterises these as extreme failings making the country vulnerable to terrorist attack. But body-scanners and pat-downs are "an infringement on civil liberties" - as is everything else which is tried.

And here we see Jones' scheme -- whatever actually is tried to combat terrorism Jones characterises as a 'crackdown on civil liberties' - for him it's all action by 'the Police State' preparing for 'the final take-down of America' and the dawn of 'the Globalist dictatorship.'

Anything that isn't done Jones characterises as a failing - making the country more vulnerable (and done on purpose too, at least according to Jones)

And just think about it -- are machine gun emplacements facing "travellers" from "an Isrtaeli style security fence" really so much less of a threat to "civil liberties" as bodyscanners at arports?

The border-police should be militarised and be busy pointing machine-guns at everyone - that's fine. But don't scan me bro!!!! Pathetic.

the_last_name_left said...

here's Alex Liberty-Jones speaking about security at a land border. What's the big difference between the Mexican border and an american airport?

MS: Well I was very impressed with the way the IDF ran check-points. I talked to a check-point commander in Jenin, for example, very impressed with what I saw; very impressed with the security fence which is clearly having an impact in those sectors of the West Bank where it’s been erected.[Inaudible]

AJ: Well I know this. We sure need one of those on the southern border of the US.

MS: [Laughs]

AJ: And I want one. That thing’s beautiful.

MS: Well I think your southern border is a bit porous and as we’ve seen on 9/11, porous borders can present dangers. And er –

AJ: Well I’m not kidding, I’ve literally seen photos of that thing and I start salivating on it.
….
MS: Well I’m a big fan of the IDF. I was very impressed meeting and talking with erm, from soldiers up to generals. I think the IDF are doing a good job. I think the Israelis know far more about counter-terrorism than we do in Britain or in the United States. My general line with Israel is I think, we in the west, the rest of the west – Israel is part of the west – we need to get off the Israelis’ back and let them go and do the job. They do know what they’re doing.

AJ: Well certainly they know how to build a fence and I wish we had one of those.

MS: [Laughs] The fence is very impressive. It’s more than a fence of course, it’s a, you’ve got a ditch, you’ve got a roadway that allows regular patrolling, easy access to any terrorist incursion, good surveillance, some good, high-tech stuff there. The security barrier is a very impressive development.
http://seanbryson.com/articles/dr_david_kelly_michael_shrimpton.html

Anonymous said...

Oh, I see. So Alex Jones rants and raves against the TSA naked body scanners and their molestations almost every day for a full year, then that means he didn't contribute to the rise of the public revolt over this issue...I see , its crystal clear to me now, thanks.

the_last_name_left said...

And here's Alex claiming "The Palestinian Hezbollah" (SIC) are "on the border advising (mexican) drug cartels":

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2PsMpUk8eY0

Hezbollah are from Lebanon, Alex.

Nevertheless, if they can find their way to the Mexican border by land, perhaps one day they will hear about airports and planes?

On the next vid, at 4'25" Alex says he's "all for tanks and A10s to attack mexican columns of trucks and personnel - wanna kill them all? I'm all for that!! That's what militaries are for!!" etc

http://projectwakeupcall.blogspot.com/2010/11/alex-jones-coming-border-wars.html

Presumably when the Mexicans (like Hezbollah) notice that airplanes and airports already exist they might turn their attention there too?

Jones says the Mexican border is "the real problem", and advises a full-on war and an Israeli-style security fence to deal with it.

In such context, it's contemptible that the same Alex Jones can exploit issues about body-scans as being an infringement on liberty, rise of police/military state etc.

His position is also an irrational one because 911 really did happen and planes and airports were a central weakness in American defence from it. That's why it was chosen as a method. Duh!!

Nobody whom fails to see airtravel as a major vulnerability to terrorism can have anything to contribute on the subject.

Jones' position on scanners is only sustained by his wider fantasy about 911 not 'really' happening in some way. He wants much worse measures taken where he believes 'the real problem' lies - Mexico. Therefore his stand is unprincipled and opportunist hogwash. (Shock!) Jones would happily "kill them all" in Mexico, but about scanners just getting felt-up for knives incendiaries or explosives is beyond the pale. Truly pathetic.

For me personally, anything which puts people off of flying is a good thing. Don't like it? Don't fly? Or have competing operations - safe airlines vs non-safe/liberty ones. Freedom Flies? I imagine insurance for non-safe ones would be prohibitively expensive by comparison.

Also, if I was to fly again, I'd be pleased and reassured to see the most extensive security measures in place - I would feel it was there to protect me - and the rest of the world, too. I hate flying, I don't do it. If you hate scanners, don't do it? Big deal.

the_last_name_left said...

anon: This did not dominate the news and generate a widespread revolt until about a month ago, just as Drudge was posting Infowars articles on this issue in volume and near the top of his page.

you should thank Drudge then, not Jones.

Jones had been (in your words) at it for a year - and yet it only broke when Drudge picked it up.

Kudos to Jones for his persistence (or is it obsession?) but what about Drudge's role, which even you appear to claim was instrumental? lol

anon also says:

anon: Saviour Jones beats up on the molester gang, if you are against him you are for the perverts, if one had been wildly successful awhile back and knocked Jones down then the TSA thuggery would be marching on largely unopposed, we might win due to Jones and despite you.

Saviour Jones? Oh dear. You have it bad?

Don't give me this "thuggery" crap - look at Jones' comments on "an israeli-style security fence" and how he's right behind "kill them all!!" in a supposed real war along Mexican border.

The Israeli security fence makes Jones salivate when he sees it - IT'S BEAUTIFUL he says. Not even the Israeli's whom built it would say that crass and gross statement?

And whilst Jones gets priapic about it, his guest explains how the fence is "...more than a fence of course, it’s a, you’ve got a ditch, you’ve got a roadway that allows regular patrolling, easy access to any terrorist incursion, good surveillance, some good, high-tech stuff there.

IT'S BEAUTIFUL - I WANT ONE!

good surveillance, some good, high-tech stuff

the TSA thuggery

IT'S BEAUTIFUL - I WANT ONE!

Shame on you TSA enabler.
They cant make us safe

good surveillance, some good, high-tech stuff there.

IT'S BEAUTIFUL - I WANT ONE!

--------------------

see?

Anonymous said...

I think someone has fallen victim to edited vids, sorry.

Anonymous said...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cSlFR541Uoo&feature=player_embedded

Jewish survivor of Auschwitz condemns Israel

Anonymous said...

Wait a minute- whats wrong with walls? I got one, China has a long one, Hadrian's wall needs to be repaired (last time I was there it looked, well, sorta non existent. I vote we invade Zimbabwe and repair the ruins there ...

the_last_name_left said...

So, let's get this straight?

Scanners at airports - no!

Scanners at border walls - alongside machine guns and all sorts of other hi-tech surveillance etc - yes, NOW GADDAMN!!

That's the sum of it? This is your principled stand for liberty, eh?

Brilliant, I must say.

But can you explain one thing - what's the difference between the land-border with Mexico and the customs area at an airport? What's the distinction that justifies scanners (and a military-wall and machine-guns and tanks and A10s) at the border, but not scanners at airports?

Why do you find it so offensive at airports yet demand much worse at the Mexican border? Where's the sense in it?

S.M. Elliott said...

Yeah, irony abounds. A police state at the border: good. Increased airport security: Bad.

Still waiting for some viable solutions here, Anon.

Anonymous said...

Guarding a border is normal and not a police state.

Anonymous said...

Here we have another example of how this blog confuses things- a leaky border where about one million people cross illegally every year is not comparable to forcing people to go through naked body scanners. Borders are not fictions and countries have a right to guard them. I myself was once caught crossing into Canada on foot, and I was detained and turned away-temporarily ( this was many Moons ago). The border patrol was within their right.

The naked body scanners is just a scam to make money for Chertoff's gang and humiliate the people into submission, violating the fourth amendment all the way. There are much better ways to secure our airports than the obviously ridiculous and perverse naked body scanners and invasive pat downs. This blog is an enabler of Chertoff and TSA's gate raping.

S.M. Elliott said...

There are much better ways to secure our airports than the obviously ridiculous and perverse naked body scanners...

Then what are they, Anon? Still waiting for some viable airport security solutions here. I have yet to see any. Jones hasn't provided any.

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