by Deb Cupples | To the left is a photo of the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment -- etched in stone on the outside of the Newseum in Washington, DC. Among other things, the First Amendment secures the right of a free press. That said, ABC News Reports:
"Police in Denver arrested an ABC News producer today as he and a camera crew were attempting to take pictures on a public sidewalk of Democratic Senators and VIP donors leaving a private meeting at the Brown Palace Hotel."
"Police on the scene refused to tell ABC lawyers the charges against the producer, Asa Eslocker, who works with the ABC News investigative unit...."
"A cigar-smoking Denver police sergeant, accompanied by a team of five other officers, first put his hands on Eslocker's neck, then twisted the producers arm behind him to put on handcuffs.
"A police official later told lawyers for ABC News that Eslocker is being charged with trespass, interference, and failure to follow a lawful order....
"During the arrest, one of the officers can be heard saying to Eslocker, 'You're lucky I didn't knock the f..k out of you.'" (ABC)
To be clear, it appears that the police officer actually said "fuck." You can see the video here.
Eslocker was working on a story about the role of lobbyists and big donors at the Democratic National Convention. The ABC crew was trying to film corporate donors leaving a meeting with some Democratic senators (Washington Post)
An ABC Spokesperson commented:
"'We expect to see this kind of behavior in Myanmar, not in Denver, Colorado, at a national political convention where a reporter is trying to videotape big-money donors trying to meet with elected officials.'" (Washington Post)
Apparently, some of those lobbyists and donors roaming Denver's streets are severely camera shy. A few days ago, Firedoglake's Jane Hamsher and Salon's Glenn Greenwald were trying to interview people arriving at the Blue Dog Party in Denver, funded by AT&T. Very politely, they asked what the party was about.
A private security person and a Denver policeman repeatedly tried to get Jane and Glenn to stop. Jane's conclusion:
"The stuff in front of the cameras is kabuki. The video above, which includes the Denver Police using their badges on behalf of the lobbyist cabal to keep us away from their guests, is really your government in action."
See the video here. I see a theme emerging, and I hope -- especially given the arrest of ABC's producer -- that the media might actually focus on it during the coming months.
Memeorandum has commentary.
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* Hillary Calls for Unity: "No Way. No How. No McCain"
* Progress on those White House Subpoenas?
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* Another Bail Out: Car Companies Want More Money, Fewer Strings
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The Obama Campaign's clumsy attempts to exert thought control over the media are not being covered by NBC & CBS or even CNN. Brian Ross is truly a real journalist & is raising a paramount issue. Here is a great quote from a commenter named "punditius:"
I have a Cuban refugee friend who escaped Castro in the early 60s. He told me a few months ago that Obama reminded him of Castro, and was acting the way that Castro did back then. I told my friend that America is not Cuba. But now I am beginning to wonder. Obama's netwing supporters appear to be behaving like internet brownshirts. I expect we'll be having denial of service attacks on pro-McCain websites soon, if they haven't started already. Someone asked earlier in the thread, " "Wouldn't the whole Ayers story need to be 'false' before it's a smear?" The answer to that is no. Negative information about Obama is a smear even if true. That's what the Democratic party has come to since it went off the tracks in the 2000 election. And that is a totalitarian mindset.
I personally knew Bill Ayers and Tom Hayden & other SDS types in the late '60s & they would have heartily endorsed the Gestapo tactics of the Denver police against the accredited press.
The MSM & celebritard apotheosis of Obama is in danger of becoming a complete shambles....
Posted by: daveinboca | August 28, 2008 at 03:28 AM
I got so sick of media control under GW Bush: the free speech zones, the freezing out reporters who dare ask real questions...
What do do?
Posted by: Deb Cupples | August 28, 2008 at 07:40 AM