11 replies to this topic

[Iam Empathy]

[biknut]

Secret Service says "Kill him" allegation unfounded

By Andrew M. Seder aseder@timesleader.com
Staff Writer
Updated: Today at 10:14 AM

SCRANTON – The agent in charge of the Secret Service field office in Scranton said allegations that someone yelled “kill him” when presidential hopeful Barack Obama’s name was mentioned during Tuesday’s Sarah Palin rally are unfounded.

The Scranton Times-Tribune first reported the alleged incident on its Web site Tuesday and then again in its print edition Wednesday. The first story, written by reporter David Singleton, appeared with allegations that while congressional candidate Chris Hackett was addressing the crowd and mentioned Obama’s name a man in the audience shouted “kill him."

News organizations including ABC, The Associated Press, The Washington Monthly and MSNBC’s Countdown with Keith Olbermann reported the claim, with most attributing the allegations to the Times-Tribune story.

Agent Bill Slavoski said he was in the audience, along with an undisclosed number of additional secret service agents and other law enforcement officers and not one heard the comment.

“I was baffled,” he said after reading the report in Wednesday’s Times-Tribune.

He said the agency conducted an investigation Wednesday, after seeing the story, and could not find one person to corroborate the allegation other than Singleton.

Slavoski said more than 20 non-security agents were interviewed Wednesday, from news media to ordinary citizens in attendance at the rally for the Republican vice presidential candidate held at the Riverfront Sports Complex. He said Singleton was the only one to say he heard someone yell “kill him.”

“We have yet to find someone to back up the story,” Slavoski said. “We had people all over and we have yet to find anyone who said they heard it.”

Hackett said he did not hear the remark.

Slavoski said Singleton was interviewed Wednesday and stood by his story but couldn’t give a description of the man because he didn’t see him he only heard him.

When contacted Wednesday afternoon, Singleton referred questions to Times-Tribune Metro Editor Jeff Sonderman. Sonderman said, “We stand by the story. The facts reported are true and that’s really all there is.”

Slavoski said the agents take such threats or comments seriously and immediately opened an investigation but after due diligence “as far as we’re concerned it’s closed unless someone comes forward.” He urged anyone with knowledge of the alleged incident to call him at 346-5781. “We’ll run at all leads,” he said.

http://www.timeslead...unfounded_.html

[Zenob]

Secret Service says "Kill him" allegation unfounded

By Andrew M. Seder aseder@timesleader.com
Staff Writer
Updated: Today at 10:14 AM

SCRANTON – The agent in charge of the Secret Service field office in Scranton said allegations that someone yelled "kill him" when presidential hopeful Barack Obama's name was mentioned during Tuesday's Sarah Palin rally are unfounded.

The Scranton Times-Tribune first reported the alleged incident on its Web site Tuesday and then again in its print edition Wednesday. The first story, written by reporter David Singleton, appeared with allegations that while congressional candidate Chris Hackett was addressing the crowd and mentioned Obama's name a man in the audience shouted "kill him."

News organizations including ABC, The Associated Press, The Washington Monthly and MSNBC's Countdown with Keith Olbermann reported the claim, with most attributing the allegations to the Times-Tribune story.

Agent Bill Slavoski said he was in the audience, along with an undisclosed number of additional secret service agents and other law enforcement officers and not one heard the comment.

"I was baffled," he said after reading the report in Wednesday's Times-Tribune.

He said the agency conducted an investigation Wednesday, after seeing the story, and could not find one person to corroborate the allegation other than Singleton.

Slavoski said more than 20 non-security agents were interviewed Wednesday, from news media to ordinary citizens in attendance at the rally for the Republican vice presidential candidate held at the Riverfront Sports Complex. He said Singleton was the only one to say he heard someone yell "kill him."

"We have yet to find someone to back up the story," Slavoski said. "We had people all over and we have yet to find anyone who said they heard it."

Hackett said he did not hear the remark.

Slavoski said Singleton was interviewed Wednesday and stood by his story but couldn't give a description of the man because he didn't see him he only heard him.

When contacted Wednesday afternoon, Singleton referred questions to Times-Tribune Metro Editor Jeff Sonderman. Sonderman said, "We stand by the story. The facts reported are true and that's really all there is."

Slavoski said the agents take such threats or comments seriously and immediately opened an investigation but after due diligence "as far as we're concerned it's closed unless someone comes forward." He urged anyone with knowledge of the alleged incident to call him at 346-5781. "We'll run at all leads," he said.

http://www.timeslead...unfounded_.html

Well, not so much... Link

[Iam Empathy]

Full of hate?
Was George W. Bush the best president in history?
Scared of being "anti-American"?
Love higher taxes?

Then vote McCain / Palin '08!

[Iam Empathy]

Question: Who are the "terrorists" now? Answer: McCain supporters

McCain/Palin Supporters Slash Tires and Heckle Early Voters in North Carolina

http://www.talkingpo...ers-slash-t.php

McCain/Palin Supporters Slash Tires and Heckle Early Voters in North Carolina
October 20, 2008, 11:45PM

Attendees at a Barack Obama rally Oct. 19 in Fayetteville, North Carolina, had their tires slashed apparently by supporters of John McCain and Sarah Palin. Following the rally, early Obama voters were heckled by McCain/Palin supporters outside at least one polling place in Fayetteville.

According to the Fayetteville Observer, some person or persons unknown slashed the tires of at least 30 vehicles parked outside Fayetteville's Crown Coliseum during the Oct. 19 Obama rally, leaving attendees including a single mother and her baby stranded and upset. At least four tow trucks had to be called for stranded vehicles at a cost upwards of $100 for each vehicle. One Obama supporter quoted in this report expressed the belief that the slashed tires were an effort to intimidate her and others like her, but insisted that she wouldn't be deterred from supporting Obama.

Following the rally, Obama supporters taking advantage of early voting were met by hecklers outside at least one Fayettevile polling place. Unlike the anonymous tire-slashers of earlier in the day, the hecklers outside this polling place left no doubt as to who they were and why they were there. As shown in two videos posted to the Washington Times, many of the hecklers were holding McCain/Palin campaign signs; and all were white while most of the voters they were heckling were black. Reporter Christina Bellantoni described the McCain/Palin forces here as "a group of loud and angry protesters who shouted and mocked the voters as they walked in" to vote, their shouts including the usual claims that Obama is a "socialist" or a "terrorist," and even that the voters themselves were "cheaters."

A report by the Institute for Southern Studies in Durham NC suggests that the heckling incident may be a violation of the Voting Rights Act of 1964, which states: "No person, whether acting under color of law or otherwise, shall intimidate, threaten, or coerce, or attempt to intimidate, threaten, or coerce any person for voting or attempting to vote, or intimidate, threaten, or coerce, or attempt to intimidate, threaten, or coerce any person for urging or aiding any person to vote or attempt to vote."

John McCain and Sarah Palin did not tell their supporters to slash the tires of Obama supporters or to heckle voters at a polling place. In view of their continued insistence on the use of fear and hate to manipulate voters, however, and in view of the similar types of hate-based behavior we have seen at McCain/Palin rallies across the United States, I would argue that McCain, Palin, and the GOP are as responsible for these acts as the perpetrators themselves. McCain and Palin need to be held accountable for the lynch-mob mentality they have knowingly cultivated among their supporters with their own divisive rhetoric.

[Iam Empathy]

McCain Supporters Plotting To ASSASSINATE Obama:

[Iam Empathy]

^^

John McCain created these monsters.

[luv2increase]

Love higher taxes?

Ever heard of the Bush Tax cuts? Your buddy Clinton raised our taxes, Bush put into action legislation that cut our taxes, and the said legislation is set to expire in 2010!!!


I can't stand when people post stuff in which they obviously, sadly know nothing about.

[niner]

Love higher taxes?

Ever heard of the Bush Tax cuts? Your buddy Clinton raised our taxes, Bush put into action legislation that cut our taxes, and the said legislation is set to expire in 2010!!!

I can't stand when people post stuff in which they obviously, sadly know nothing about.

Ironic... For the vast majority of voters, a vote for McCain is a vote for HIGHER taxes. Most people get a larger tax cut under Obama's plan than under McCain's plan.

[Iam Empathy]

McCain is no longer taking any questions from his increasingly angry and frightening mobs

http://www.mlive.com...e_from_vol.html

Saturday November 01, 2008, 7:06 AM

First, there was the angry man who told John McCain to hit Barack Obama "where it hurts."

Then came the woman who called the Democratic nominee "an Arab."

And don't forget the man who stood up before a packed crowd and said he was "scared" of an Obama presidency — nevermind the racially tinged cat calls and rounds of boos from McCain's other gymnasium crowds.

The town hall format was supposed be the Republican nominee's favorite campaign forum, highlighting his shoot-from-the-hip style, his broad knowledge on a slew of issues and his irreverent wit. He loved it so much that he challenged Obama to a string of town hall debates.

But with their potential for unscripted outbursts and attention-diverting disasters, the microphones at high school gymnasiums and basketball arenas across the swing states have gone silent during the final stretch of the presidential campaign. McCain, a man who has prided himself on discussions with the common man, has not entertained a single question from audience members since Oct. 10, when he faced a belligerent crowd in Lakeville, Minn., that at times turned against him.

The disappearance of the town hall format from McCain's campaign is striking, political observers said, offering a vivid example of how a signature strength became a potential liability and was abandoned. (Obama, too, has done away with the town halls, last taking questions from voters on Sept. 12 in New Hampshire.)

"The town hall format proved to be a little embarrassing for the campaign, and it built a negative picture about what this campaign is all about," said Julian Zelizer, a professor of history and public affairs at Princeton University, adding that the encounters were "too costly."

Over the past few weeks, McCain has replaced his beloved town halls with large rallies, press statements delivered at factories and in hotel ballrooms, "town square" stump speeches given in the center of small towns, and stops at restaurants and other local landmarks.

That could change on Sunday. Down in the polls with just a few days remaining before Election Day and apparently willing to risk the uncontrolled format, McCain is scheduled to hold a town hall meeting in New Hampshire, where independent-minded voters gave him victories in both the 2000 and 2008 primaries. The most recent polling shows Obama with a sizable lead in the Granite State.

"We think New Hampshire has always been a battleground. We wouldn't go there just for nostalgia purposes," campaign manager Rick Davis said in a conference call with reporters. "We are pretty committed to finishing the campaign in New Hampshire."

Town halls are typically smaller events than rallies, making them less than ideal forums to reach large numbers of independent and undecided voters, said one senior McCain aide, who explained that only the most dedicated McCain supporters got tickets.

But the angry crowds — including people who screamed "terrorist" and "liar" in reference to Obama — worried McCain and his campaign aides, who feared a backlash from undecided and less partisan voters. McCain himself on occasion sought to soothe his crowds' emotions after media reports started focusing on their out-of-control comments.

"We want to fight and I will fight," McCain told supporters earlier this month in Minnesota. "But I will be respectful. I admire Sen. Obama and his accomplishments. I don't mean to reduce your ferocity. … I just mean to say, you have to be respectful."

The crowd largely ignored his plea.

"I can't trust Obama," one woman said, rising to her feet and staring into McCain's eyes. "I have read about him … and he's an Arab."

McCain quickly denied it. Obama was "a decent family man," McCain said, and a "citizen that I just happen to have disagreements with on fundamental issues, and that's what this campaign is all about."

After another man told McCain he was scared of an Obama presidency, McCain replied: "I have to tell you, Sen. Obama is a decent person and a person you don't have to be scared of as president of the United States."

"Come on, John!" a man in the crowd yelled out as others booed.

The next day, Mark Salter, McCain's senior adviser, promised more town halls to come, saying the candidate "loves town halls … and he'll continue to do them. He's doing a couple next week."

But two town halls scheduled for the following week were scrapped.

Observers say it's not surprising the McCain camp shed the format.

Susan MacManus, a political science professor at the University of South Florida, said the McCain campaign purposely pulled back to avoid negative commentary.

"They were taking disproportionate hits for the questions being posed," MacManus said. "If you can avoid that kind of negativity, you certainly do so, especially when you're trying to close the gap."

McCain "has the political instincts to know that wasn't going to look good and play well to a national audience," MacManus added.

But Zelizer and MacManus said the campaign also changed tacks because McCain was down in the polls.

"When you're this far behind, you need larger crowds," Zelizer said. "I'm not sure that if he had more town halls it would change the dramatic fall in the polls that we've been seeing."

"The final weeks are all about volume, volume, volume," MacManus added.

So for McCain, town halls were out and more traditional campaign rallies were in.

On Thursday, several thousand people waited in the cold to see McCain, his wife, Cindy, daughter Meghan, and close friend Sen. Lindsay Graham (R-S.C.) launch a two-day Ohio bus tour with a rally in Defiance, Ohio, in the northwest corner of the state.

High school students in varsity letter jackets huddled together to stay warm, while adults listened enthusiastically as the McCain entourage addressed the group outside of the town's junior high school.

Even though no one had the chance to ask a single question, Graham attempted to warm up the freezing crowd with some jokes.

"Anyone see the infomercial last night?" he said, referring to Obama's half-hour commercial. "Thank God for cable. If we had played that at a prison camp, it would have violated the Geneva Convention."

Later, several dozen people lined Market Street in Tiffin, Ohio, cheering and clapping as the Straight Talk Express passed. McCain jumped off the bus, shook some hands and made his way through the crowd into a local coffee shop, aided by the town's mayor.

At another stop, in Sandusky, Ohio, McCain gathered a modest-sized crowd for a short stump speech around a large wooden gazebo.

All of this without taking a single question from supporters.

I happen to believe McCain is genuinely shocked by the shouts from his crowds. I think Palin is absolutely comfy with those shouts.

I do think John is a decent person. I think he also lusts after power and does what he must do to reach the most powerful position on Earth. And man has he tossed his standards into the shitcan to get there.

Edited by Iam Empathy, 01 November 2008 - 06:30 PM.

[luv2increase]

I think the media is getting desperate. It is too late. The more they run crap like this, the worse it'll be for Obama. See, people are dumb; they realize the non-stop negative publicity that McCain is getting. Do you really think the people at Obama's rallies are saints. You would have to be the most ignorant person on Earth to believe that. Anyways, you can really see the good character traits McCain has from this article. I guess there is one good thing about it

[biknut]