posted September 17, 2007 09:29 PM            

Disgusting. America needs to wake up, before the police state gets any worse.

posted September 17, 2007 10:57 PM              

Did you see the Video responses?
Watch #1
Watch #2
Watch #3

posted September 18, 2007 12:35 AM            

Here's another disgusting video. Fox censors Sally Field's anti-war Speech at the Emmys tonight: http://mparent7777-2.blogspot.com/2007/09/fox-censors-sally-fields-anti-war.html

So blatant it's almost funny. She gets to the part about "If mothers ruled the world, there would be no war" and then they cut off the sound and remove her from the picture. "Fair and Balanced," you say? Oh really?

posted September 18, 2007 01:05 AM              

i can say, what's the difference???

15 to 20 armed police were subduing the student, he was screaming in pain from the taser, and kerry stood there in complete nonchalance, and answered his question, as the student getting tasered.

what an ass!

if he had any backbone whatsoever, he would have got down there with the student, calmed him, and taken over. apparently, he expected that behavior of the police. and really, they must have known that. they must have known that kerry would only be concerned about himself, and expected them to take extreme measures.

if kerry were honestly 'afraid' of the student's behavior, he could have left the stage with armed escort. the student wasn't anywhere near him. but kerry was perfectly fine to let the police, no, he probably let them know that he expected the police to, behave in such a manner.

and they'll be the ones investigated for inappropriate behavior.

kerry knew the student was getting tasered, and he stood there and let it happen. if anyone should be investigated, it should be him. the police were just following his expectations/orders.

what a win/win situation -- bush vs. kerry for pres.

posted September 18, 2007 08:57 AM            

Unless he was threatening someone's life and/or had been warned about the consequences of his behavior (which I both highly doubt) this was excessive use of force, absolutely. And if it takes that many trained professionals and a taser to handcuff an unarmed guy then it's a wonder any real criminals are ever apprehended.

Kerry's behavior was inexcusable but what about all the other people just sitting there? "Hey, look that guys' getting tasered ... who's got the popcorn?" *IF* this is a sign of a police state takeover for us, I'm not surprised people will be herded like cattle to a slaughter. Pacifism to a disgusting degree ... you won't help yourself or anyone else in need. And yet some of these same the-police-state-is-here-now people want to ban or "control" weapons for use by civilians ... because there will never be a time that we may have to face a tyrannical government ... like, you know, a police state takeover.

Riiight.

Forgive me but I'd rather die trying to help people in need, yes, with a dreaded weapon if there was no other recourse, than walk with my tail between my legs toward unjust imprisonment or death while I watch innocent people around me suffer a similar fate. (Again, refer to the big, italic, bold if.)

posted September 18, 2007 05:18 PM            

These days, tasers have been refined. They're small enough to fit on a belt. They actually put out more power than the primitive tasers did decades ago, too. So what you were seeing in the John Kerry video is someone asked John Kerry if he belonged to the same secret society as Bush did (which he does, that much at least is a matter of public record) and he was essentially strapped down to a chair and tortured with a car battery...except that a chair wasn't needed, and the tasers used today hurt even worse.

And in the banana republics, they took place out of site. These days they're done publicly and many will even say, "At least they don't shoot you." (I wonder if those tortured in banana republics were told the same thing?)

Just one more thing to put this in perspective: Condi Rice has faced far worse than this and she had multiple hecklers removed by security without a single tasering or even anyone in jail.

posted September 18, 2007 08:26 PM            

quote:

---

Is there a video that shows just how "disruptive" that guy was being before this clip? Seriously? Was he in anyway warned about his behavior before the cops rushed in?

---

I didn't see one. But I think arrest is a little harsh; he didn't have a weapon or anything. Is Kerry not up for some non-scripted questions?

Looked to me like he was bringing up just the sorts of issues these plutocrats need to be confronted with.

posted September 18, 2007 10:50 PM              

updated 1 hour, 3 minutes ago

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Cops on leave after Taser incident, student's behavior under scrutiny

* Story Highlights
* NEW: Student was "lighthearted" once cameras were not in sight, police say
* Florida Division of Law Enforcement to investigate arrest of student
* University spokesman: Andrew Meyer was "being disruptive"
* Some students protest arrest, call it unacceptable in the United States
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(CNN) -- Two University of Florida police officers were placed on leave with pay after using an electronic stun gun to subdue a student who was questioning Sen. John Kerry at a campus forum, the school's president said Tuesday.
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Student Andrew Meyer is surrounded by university police in Gainesville, Florida, on Monday.

But the student's behavior and past activities are prompting questions about whether the incident was part of a stunt.

The Florida Division of Law Enforcement will investigate Monday's arrest of Andrew Meyer, said University of Florida President J. Bernard Machen. Machen called the incident "regretful for us."

"The thing that I regret is that civil dialogue and civil discourse did not happen," Machen said. "That's fundamental to a university campus. Why it didn't happen is what we're trying to sort out."

During Monday's forum, Meyer came to the microphone to question the 2004 Democratic presidential nominee from Massachusetts. Video Watch the incident unfold »

"You will take my question because I have been listening to your crap for two hours," Meyer told Kerry, according to the police report of the incident.

He then turned to a woman and said "Are you taping this? Do you have this? You ready?" the report said.

Clarissa Jessup, who contributed I-Report video of the incident to CNN, said Meyer gave her his camera and asked her to shoot video of him posing his questions to Kerry.

Organizers had cut off questioning before Meyer went to the microphone, she said. Watch Jessup describe the incident Video

Meyer asked Kerry why he did not contest his loss to President Bush in the pivotal state of Ohio over allegations that African-American voters were disenfranchised.

Meyer also questioned Kerry about why he did not support impeaching Bush and whether he belonged to the Yale University secret society Skull and Bones, as Bush did.

One of the police officers on the scene observed that Meyer was "yelling as loud as he could as to sensationalize his presence," according to the police report.

Meyer had about a minute and a half at the microphone before police stepped in to haul him away. As he tried to escape their grip, Kerry protested, "That's all right, let me answer his question."

But as Meyer repeatedly questioned why he was being arrested, officers dragged him to the back of the auditorium and then used a Taser on him when he continued to struggle.
Don't Miss

* Police Report
* WKMG: Tasered student has history of taping jokes

While Kerry pleaded for calm, officers warned the student he would be shocked if he did not stop resisting.

Meyer responded, "What did I do? Get off me ... get the f--- off me, man, I didn't do anything. Don't Tase me, bro, I didn't do anything."

Police noted that his demeanor "completely changed once the cameras were not in sight" and described him as laughing and being lighthearted as he was being driven to the Alachua County Detention Center.

"I am not mad at you guys, you didn't do anything wrong. You were just trying to do your job," Meyer said, according to the police report.

At one point, he asked whether there were going to be cameras at the jail, according to the report.

Meyer was charged with resisting arrest with violence -- a felony -- and a misdemeanor count of disturbing the peace. He was released without having to post bond Tuesday.

Machen said the clips posted online paint an incomplete picture of the scene. Watch the university's reaction Video

University spokesman Steve Orlando said before police moved in, Meyer was asked to relinquish the microphone because he was "being disruptive."

But the arrest triggered a protest by a group of University of Florida students Tuesday. One of them, Benjamin Dictor, called the arrest "an assault on reason itself."

"For a question to be met with arrest, not to mention physical violence, is completely unacceptable in the United States," Dictor said.

Some students cheered Meyer's removal, and others looked on quietly. But several screamed in protest when officers prepared to shock him.

Meyer was carrying a business card advertising "TheAndrewMeyer.com 'Speak My Mind,' " the police report said.

The Web site features videos of Meyer taking part in several practical jokes. It also includes a "disorganized diatribe" that criticizes the war in Iraq and the media.

The Web site said his friends had posted coverage of his arrest.

In a statement issued Tuesday, Kerry said he didn't know a Taser had been used on the student until after he left the event, and said he hoped no one was injured.

"In 37 years of public appearances, through wars, protests and highly emotional events, I have never had a dialogue end this way," he said.

"I believe I could have handled the situation without interruption, but again, I do not know what warnings or other exchanges transpired between the young man and the police prior to his barging to the front of the line and their intervention."
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Machen said authorities have not determined whether Tasers were used improperly.

In addition, he said a student-faculty review panel will examine "all of our protocols relative to student dialogue and faculty interaction" in the wake of the incident. E-mail to a friend E-mail to a friend

CNN's Patrick Oppmann contributed to this report.

posted September 18, 2007 11:11 PM            

Love that part about his "disorganized diatribe" against the war. Good thing them cops tazered the little pinko commie b@stard!

But yeah, it must have just been a "practical joke." After all, he wasn't asking serious questions or anything.