[excon]

Hello Tea Partiers:

I thought the Tea Party revered the Constitution... The problem with that, is they only MOUTH those words, and have NO CLUE what's actually IN the Constitution...

Tea Party candidates are fond of slogans and one of their favorites is: Government of the people, by the people, for the people. Apparently, Alaska Senate candidate Joe Miller means government by his PERSONAL SECURITY GUARDS.

On Sunday, Miller's guards "arrested" and handcuffed Tony Hopfinger, the editor of the Alaska Dispatch website, as the editor attempted to interview Miller at the end of a public event in a public school in Anchorage.

So, if you are a Tea Party candidate or a far-right extremist, your vision of government is one in which you get to demonize people for relying on and your opponent for supporting a public assistance while you TAKE FUNDS from that public assistance for your own family, demonize government subsidies while ACCEPTING such subsidies, rail against unaccountable government while yourself remaining unaccountable, and extoll the virtues of personal freedom, except for women whose personal freedom is the one thing--the only thing--the government should be regulating.

Oh, and maybe religion because everyone should follow yours.

If you are a Tea Party candidate or officeholder, you don't have to answer questions, you just make up your own truths, such as branding the respected editor of a news outlet to be an "irrational blogger" if they ask questions you don't like.

Government for the people? Guard your democracy, citizens, or it will dissipate.

excon

[smoothy]

Yawn... funny how its fine to Bash Srah Palin at every turn, but left wing hacks are exempt from everything.

Just because he was an extreme left wing hack/reporter doesn't give him rights to do and go anywhere he pleases.

After all... the gun grabbers and the anti-free speech groups that want to silence the right are left wingers with no regard for the constitution or the Bill of Rights.

[tomder55]

As far as I can tell the "reporter " was acting more like a paparazzi than a legit reporter.He was sticking a camera in Miller's face and provoking him looking for him to slip up and say "macaca " .

No arrest was made .No charges filed He was cuffed and escorted out because he was unruly.He was harassing Joe Miller and impeding him from leaving AFTER the town hall meeting .Miller had to turn around and leave in the other direction.That is when his security detail got between Miller and "the reporter " .

The Alaska Dispatch is an on-line"newspaper" run by Lisa Murkowski loyalist ,blogger Tony Hopfinger (who is also the "reporter " in question ) .

Just like in NY ,the so called journalists are trying to make themselves the story .These clowns are a disgrace to their profession .
Is there a point in time in your mind where legitimate journalism crosses the line and a public figure's rights are violated ? Or is it a case where a public figure like Princess Di has to take the cr@p until the point they get killed in the pursuit ?

[excon]

Just because he was an extreme left wing hack/reporter doesn't give him rights to do and go anywhere he pleases.

Hello smoothy - Tea Party Constitutionalist.

Let's say this leftist WAS disturbing the peace. Does Joe Miller, and his gang, have the Constitutional RIGHT to arrest and detain him? He doesn't. Doesn't it bother you that, as a Senatorial candidate, he knows SO LITTLE about the Constitution??

excon

[smoothy]

Hello smoothy - Tea Party Constitutionalist.

Let's say this leftist WAS disturbing the peace. Does Joe Miller, and his gang, have the Constitutional RIGHT to arrest and detain him? He doesn't. Doesn't it bother you that, as a Senatorial candidate, he knows SO LITTLE about the Constitution????

excon

Well when you consider how the Messiah treated reporters that didn't bow and kiss his feet during the campaign. You do remember that he did that to anyone who was critical to his propaganda after all.

We currently have a president that doesn't have a clue... or care about the Bill or Rights and the Constitution. THAT is a far bigger threat.

[excon]

No arrest was made .No charges filed He was cuffed and escorted out because he was unruly

Hello tom:

Yeah, nothing UNConstitutional going on HERE! Dude. You carry his water too??

excon

[speechlesstx]

That's funny, the cop in the video backed up the security guards that it was a private event. So what's your beef?

[Wondergirl]

That's funny, the cop in the video backed up the security guards that it was a private event. So what's your beef?

It was a town hall event. Aren't they public?

[tomder55]

As public as the one where the President's staff hand picks the attendees .

[Wondergirl]

As public as the one where the President's staff hand picks the attendees .

Yeah, you're right. It's well known that former President Bush did that.

[NeedKarma]

Yeah, you're right. It's well known that former President Bush did that.

And McCain:

[speechlesstx]

Bush and McCain aren't the subject of this post. The subject is "Joe Miller ARRESTS reporter." It was a private event, crashed by a Murkowski sympathizer and security did their job. 'Nuff said.

[tomder55]

OK so we agree both side do that . It only reinforces my point that these events are not always "public" .

Here is part of the statement released by the Miller campaign on the incident :
“While I’ve gotten used to the blog Alaska Dispatch’s assault on me and my family, I never thought that it would lead to a physical assault. It’s too bad that this blogger would take advantage of a “Town Hall” meeting to create a publicity stunt just two weeks before the election.”

The Miller campaign was required by the facility to provide security at the event. Even though Joe had spent more than 40 minutes answering questions from those in attendance, the blogger chased Miller to the exit after the event concluded in an attempt to create and then record a 'confrontation' with the candidate. While Miller attempted to calmly exit the facility, the blogger physically assaulted another individual and made threatening gestures and movements towards the candidate. At that point the security personnel had to take action and intervened and detained the irrational blogger, whose anger overcame him. It is also important to note that the security personnel did not know that the individual they detained was a blogger who was engaged in the campaign. To them, the blogger appeared irrational, angry and potentially violent.

Bottom line... there is a point where a 'reporter' (blogger) crosses the line and harassed the person they are pursuing . That happened recently here in NY where a NY Post reporter was stalking the daughter of Guv candidate Carl Palidino. He got angry at the reporter's boss and it came to a head when the guy got in his face and harassed him. All the world got to see was an angry Paladino... not the reporter who was shooting footage into his 10 year old daughter's home ;or rummaging through her mail.

[Wondergirl]

Bush and McCain aren't the subject of this post. The subject is "Joe Miller ARRESTS reporter." It was a private event, crashed by a Murkowski sympathizer and security did their job. 'Nuff said.

tomder went off-topic and led me astray.

This is from Joe Miller's Facebook page: Town Hall Meeting with Joe Miller Sunday, October 17th at 3pm Central Middle School, 1405 E St, Anchorage, AK 99501 Your friends, colleges, family, acquaintances, neighbors, need to be informed and hear Joe Miller speak for himself.

town hall meeting = informal public event featuring questions from the audience and answers from the candidate(s)

If it weren't public, it wouldn't be a town hall meeting.

[cdad]

Hello smoothy - Tea Party Constitutionalist.

Let's say this leftist WAS disturbing the peace. Does Joe Miller, and his gang, have the Constitutional RIGHT to arrest and detain him? He doesn't. Doesn't it bother you that, as a Senatorial candidate, he knows SO LITTLE about the Constitution????

excon

I disagree with this statement. They have the right. Its called citizen's arrest. And when being witness to the commission of a crime they can have arrest powers as governed by the state.

Citizen's arrest - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[excon]

Hello dad:

From YOUR link: United States

Each state, with the exception of North Carolina, permits citizen arrests if the commission of a felony is witnessed by the arresting citizen, or when a citizen is asked to assist in the apprehension of a suspect by police. The application of state laws varies widely with respect to misdemeanors, breaches of the peace, and felonies not witnessed by the arresting party.

As it turns out, they DON'T have that authority.

excon

[tomder55]

Then no doubt Tony Hopfinger will file a complaint or file a suit against Miller and the security agency he hired for the event.

But he won't . He accomplished his mission.He harassed the candidate and provoked a reaction . He got the Macacca moment... mission accomplished.

[speechlesstx]

town hall meeting = informal public event featuring questions from the audience and answers from the candidate(s)

If it weren't public, it wouldn't be a town hall meeting.

If Joe Miller rented the facilities, it's private, whatever he wants to call it and whoever he wants to have. Now if you want to address a different subject, perhaps you can be the first woman to weigh in on NOW's hypocrisy in their disrespect for Meg Whitman.

[cdad]

Hello dad:

From YOUR link: United States

Each state, with the exception of North Carolina, permits citizen arrests if the commission of a felony is witnessed by the arresting citizen, or when a citizen is asked to assist in the apprehension of a suspect by police. The application of state laws varies widely with respect to misdemeanors, breaches of the peace, and felonies not witnessed by the arresting party.

As it turns out, they DON'T have that authority.

excon

The common portion of it is the "felony" part. But it does state that for lessor crimes it varies by state. So you would have to defer to the state it is taking place in.

Here is a sample for Alaska.

http://rds.yahoo.com/_ylt=A0oG7n.87b...rrest_form.pdf


Added after post:


http://findarticles.com/p/articles/m.../ai_n32226288/

[excon]

Hello again, dad:

Look. I don't know if they really had the legal power to arrest him. That may, or may not ever be determined... Nonetheless, I think it's a little brown shirty. That's all.

excon