Some Barred From Bush's North Dakota Speech

I can't figure why anyone would ban someone from attending a political event, except for making a direct threat, but it seems the Bush machine is carrying on with the tactic of "no dissent" it used in the campaign.

Of course the list "didn't come from the White House"

Wow,
Imagine that

another example of Bush's neo-fascist tactics.
tactics that have been used for over four years now to repress all those in opposition to him.....

....and there is not a single comment in this thread!!!!

Fucking amazing.

Long Live Freedom!!!

There is not a single comment in this thread because this may or may not be actual news.

The articles on this website are always ridiculously slanted left, which is fine, because there is no presumption that this is a news site. The articles posted will usually fail to mention some crucial detail that makes the "news" item out to not be news at all.

That damn liberal bias in the media.

No, I don't mind it here, because it's not a news site, and they don't claim to be impartial or unbiased.

Was that just a PSA/FYI or did I miss the point? I've actually seen this story growing some legs in several media venues because most Americans believe that quashing dissent, free speech and access to government is unconstitutional, unpatriotic and downright fascist.

On a side note, I went to tape Bush's talk earlier the same day in Great Falls, Montana because I'm doing a lot of work to keep the White House from pirating our Social Security and found out I was on that event's black list. Guess it wasn't a surprise having worked for the last three cycles for Democratic candidates but it kind of felt like a badge of honor.

I was being sarcastic.
The 'liberal bias' is a myth. I'd love to see how far right the media have to go before they are considered 'balanced' by the right.

"News Article"

Now, in the article itself, a person claims that the people were going to be pulled aside and told that it wasn't a political rally and not to disturb things.

But they still apologized to Coates for putting her name on the list, which suggests there was something to apologize for. And stumping speeches, by their nature *are* political...mayhap not a strictly Republican rally, but a politlca rally.

Please go to your free speech zone, conveniently located out of sight, out of mind.

No, Liberal bias is a fact. And so is the right wing bias of Fox News. So the solution is simple: Watch/Read a lot of different sources of news, and draw your own conclusions, instead of just sitting around satisfied that the news you watch agrees with your viewpoints. I mean, I am a conservative-leaning libertarian, but I still come here because it keeps me honest.

the liberal producer in question is ed schultz's producer (his show is based in fargo). ed was talking about this last week, i have to say i trust the man to not be making this up. when the administration was asked about the banned list in question, the claimed it was the work of an overzealous secret services agent.

If Bush was truly a facist who wanted no dissent, SuicideGirls.com would not exist. Due to the proliferation of media there's no such thing as out of sight out of mind. This is a "free speech zone." Treasure it.

I started off with the assumption that the events that were described DID happen, but I approached it with the mindset that it probably isn't a massive right wing conspiracy, and that there was likely a fairly benign explanation for the events, and that maybe the facts from both sides were distorted.

Maybe it is due to the fact that a lot of these people banned from these types of events tend to start screaming stuff in the middle of Bush's speech? It happens all of the time.

Yeah, some of those stunts are ridiculous, and can be even percieved as real security threats, like when a Princeton student climbed over a wall to get close enough to Cheney to yell at him.

The liberals were in an uproar when his actions got him some special attention from the Secret Service. They expected the SS to treat him differently because he had such a good GPA at Princeton or Yale or whatever WASP school he went to. You just don't do that kind of shit, because a protestor in that situation is indistinguishable from an assasin.

Along with requiring people entering campaign events to sign
"loyalty oaths", there have been multiple cases of people being either denied access or forced to leave Bush events for some purported infraction - from wearing a shirts that said "Protect Free Speech" and "Give Peace a Chance" to simply standing near a suspected democrat.

Doesn't sound benign to me.

A campaign event is not the same as a speech performed as the President of the United States.

A campaign event is a private affair, and a speech would at least in theory be a public event.

Do you have a source for this?

Yeah, I googled it, It was a while ago. This article mentions it. I will take the liberty of quoting the relevant part:

The assault part references how he resisted the SS agent's attempt to detain him. He didn't like punch them in the face or anything. And it was a Yale student, not a Princeton student.

[Edited on Feb 06, 2005 by skankzor]

Wow - look at you spin!

These were campaign events where the people removed had obtained tickets through proper channels to attend. They were denied access either while entering or made to leave during the speech - not for protesting or shouting or making a scene, but for wearing a shirt.

How am I spinning? I merely stated that a campaign event is a private function usually, and thus, they would have the right to make you sign a loyalty oath to get in.

As for this, they attempted to get tickets but were denied because they were on a watch list.

They are really two different issues. One is in the performance of the duties of the Office, and one is something extra cirricular. Two entirely differnet sets of rules would be in effect.

The "illusion" of freedom is an amazing thing.

Give them a little here, take everything else away there.

pretty simple really!

If you said the right thing on this web page, you would be targeted, and investigated. Trust Me.

Is that free speech?
Is getting put on a black list everytime you fly as a result of being politically active freedom?
what about not being allowed into an event because you are a "known" activist?

Fascism didn't just turn into Nazi Germany, and Fascist Italia over night! it took several years, and several small steps taken by those in power. Most people that didn't speak out directly were never harrassed! Then the next thing they knew, they were living in a fascist State.

How many times does it take before you decide enough is enough?

Do we need gas chambers before you resist this?

Bingo!...

You people are ridiculous.

Yeah, you could say the wrong thing and be "targeted and investigated", but it would have to be a serious threat to the President or the Country. They don't have the resources to investigate every dissident even if they WANTED to. Maybe if you were a prominent figure speaking out on Bush I would buy it, but the sheer number of random people on the internet badmouthing Bush is way beyond any CIA/NSA/FBI effort to monitor.

It's a black list, and they subject you to extra security. I have only heard of a few activists being put on black lists anyways. I agree they suck, but they have used them as part of their plan to reduce the possibility of another attack, and as part of an effort to maximize the effect of their limited budget and personnel resources. You can't strip search everyone. It makes sense to submit people who are likely to be a problem to extra security. Add to that a certain percentage of purely random extra screenings, and you have a decent security program.

Blame the other activists who have done stupid shit to ruin it for the rest of you. It is said that freedom of the presses belongs to those who own the presses, and it is not the Bush administration's job to provide you with a public forum to badmouth or otherwise protest him. If you want to protest, don't be lazy about it, start a protest down the street from where he is speaking. You have the right to do that. You just have to get out and organize.

If you realy feel that strongly about that, why not start a revolt? Murderously retaliate for oppression. If you believe in something as strongly as you seem to, you should have no problem dying for your cause if it comes to that. Words are worthless when not backed up by action. Make a stand if you feel strongly enough. That's how you get things done. If the politicians see how many stand with you, they will acknowledge you.

Why yes, yes we are. Thanks for noticing.

What exactly would I have to say to be put on a list and targeted?

We should get the fuck out of Iraq, we should get the fuck out of Iraq We should get the fuck out of Iraq. If people want democracy in other countries let them get it themselves. This war is a stupid waste of time. I hate the Texas Rangers. Cheney is a little scary.

[Edited on Feb 06, 2005 by PsychoMagnet]

[Edited on Feb 06, 2005 by PsychoMagnet]