Unlawful Arrest at the RNC

Amy Goodman of ‘Democracy Now!,’ was assaulted and detained while doing her job outside the Republican National Convention.

Here are some excerpts, but you can read the whole account here (Truthdig).

I was arrested with my two colleagues, “Democracy Now!” producers Sharif Abdel Kouddous and Nicole Salazar, while reporting on the first day of the RNC. I have been wrongly charged with a misdemeanor. My co-workers, who were simply reporting, may be charged with felony riot.

Behind all the patriotic hyperbole that accompanies the conventions, and the thousands of journalists and media workers who arrive to cover the staged events, there are serious violations of the basic right of freedom of the press. Here on the streets of St. Paul, the press is free to report on the official proceedings of the RNC, but not to report on the police violence and mass arrests directed at those who have come to petition their government, to protest.

I was at the Xcel Center on the convention floor, interviewing delegates. I had just made it to the Minnesota delegation when I got a call on my cell phone with news that Sharif and Nicole were being bloody arrested, in every sense. Filmmaker Rick Rowley of Big Noise Films and I raced on foot to the scene. Out of breath, we arrived at the parking lot. I went up to the line of riot police and asked to speak to a commanding officer, saying that they had arrested accredited journalists.

Within seconds, they grabbed me, pulled me behind the police line and forcibly twisted my arms behind my back and handcuffed me, the rigid plastic cuffs digging into my wrists. I saw Sharif, his arm bloody, his credentials hanging from his neck. I repeated we were accredited journalists, whereupon a Secret Service agent came over and ripped my convention credential from my neck. I was taken to the St. Paul police garage where cages were set up for protesters. I was charged with obstruction of a peace officer. Nicole and Sharif were taken to jail, facing riot charges.

You can read a transcript of Goodman’s arrest here and see video.  Over at FreePress you can sign a petition to drop charges against journalists who were simply doing their jobs.

What strikes me from Goodman’s article and the transcript is how violently they were treated when they asked respectful, basic questions of the officers or Secret Service personnel.  Goodman had her press pass ripped from around her neck and one of her producers, Sharif Abdel Kouddous, had the plastic cuffs tightened by a man whom he had asked to loosen them because they were hurting him.  Obviously, at a full-blown riot the whole ‘innocent until proven guilty’ standard is difficult to follow, but these were well-known, accredited journalists trying to cover the protests as part of their job.  Where is the outcry?

 

McCain Insults Vet for Correctly Questioning His Record

A man at a town hall meeting wants to know why McCain didn’t vote to increase health care funding for returning Vets. McCain first talks about the GI Bill, which he also didn’t support, but never gets around to answering the man’s question about health care for returning Vets. McCain goes on to claim he’s received every award from every major Veterans organization in America, a claim that the guest rebuts with facts and figures, and McCain proceeds to essentially call the man a liar in front of a room full of people.

McCain has made the exact same claim before — and it is just a false today as it was then. As ThinkProgress documented, McCain’s so-called “perfect” record has been roundly criticized by prominent veterans groups: He received a grade of D from the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America and a 20 percent vote rating from the Disabled Veterans of America; Vietnam Veterans of America noted McCain had “voted against us” in 15 “key votes.”

As for the American Legion and the Veterans of Foreign Wars — with whom McCain claims to have a “perfect voting record” — both groups vigorously supported Sen. Jim Webb’s (D-VA) GI Bill that McCain tirelessly opposed.

Later in the town hall, McCain admitted he does “not have a perfect voting record,” but then declared that questions about veterans issues were off limits: “I will be glad to debate a lot of things, but not that one,” McCain said. (Think Progress)

McCain never thanks the man, who appears to be a Veteran, for his service to our country, despite the fact that the man recognizes McCain’s service. Way to support our troops, McCain. Calling them liars when they bring up questions about your voting record, pretending not to know what they’re referring to because it will catch you in a lie, and not acknowledging their service after they’ve applauded yours isn’t the way you’re going to get their votes.

For a man who claims to thrive in the town hall format, scolding guests for speaking out of turn and suddenly declaring question topics “off limits” doesn’t make you seem very approachable or open.

And these are just the people that get in to the “public” townhall meetings. Imagine what kinds of questions McCain would be butchering if his townhall guests weren’t screened to make sure the dissenting 61-year-old librarians didn’t “trespass.”

 

Free Speech and Power

Veteran journalist Barry Nolan was fired for protesting Bill O’Reilly’s reception of the Governor’s Award at the Emmy’s. During the ceremony, Nolan passed around a document with O’Reilly’s own words on it. For that, he was fired. It’s got him reflecting on the myth of free speech in this piece at Think Progress.

I find this interesting in light of the current coverage of former White House press secretary Scott McClellan speaking out against the Bush administration. Many people have criticized him and wondered, “if he felt this way, why didn’t he say anything while he was in the White House?”

Because he would have been fired!

I believe this is just the beginning. As the Bush administration gets closer to its final days, more and more people in the media will speak out about their experiences in which the truth has been squashed, such as Jessica Yellin at CNN. In this article, she discusses the pressure she was under not to report criticism of Bush during the lead up to the Iraq War.