Social Political Rants
This is a report from Photopermit.org. This is a disgrace. So which one of you voted in Bush again??
I don’t usually have that much nice things to say about the Hong Kong government, but I can say this. They don’t bother me, and I know they won’t for a while. Can’t say that about the China one, but at least my current adminstation in the SAR will very nicely leave me alone for both this blog and my art.
Also if you didn’t know. Flickr is also owned by Yahoo! They like to give government home addresses of their users who put political content on their sites it seems. Chinese Journalist Jailed by Information Provided by Yahoo!
—
Secret Service Art Investigations on flickr
Filed under: Federal
On
Tuesday last week, and probably before, the Secret Service decided it
was time to investigate un-administration-friendly art on flickr. Specifically, they were investigating Anti-Bush art created by member Jeremy Lassen, a member of the flickr groups Bush Bash and Anti-Bush League.
He had posted a set of photos entitled “Bush and Guns,” made from
random photos culled from the web, in protest to a recent Secret
Service investigation into art at a gallery showing at Columbia College in Chicago. Lassen writes:
On June 7th, Two Secret Service agents showed up at my place of employment…“You post a lot of stuff online, don’t you?”
…Then they started asking if I’ve ever been under psychiatric or psychological care or counseling…
After
speaking to me, they asked to interview my boss. They also asked me to
help put them in touch with my wife, who was out of town – They would
need to interview her also. They also mentioned the possibility of
interviewing members of my family… my mother in particular.I’ll
admit it. I was very freaked out. The first thing I did when I got back
to my desk was delete the pictures from Flikr. Then I deleted my
LiveJournal account, because in it, I talk a lot about politics, and
how unhappy I am with the Bush regime.
While Lassen has removed his set, apparently another flickr user has set up their own.
Also among the responses was this brief report on another LiveJournal user’s own run-in with the FBI.
Yan Sham-Shackleton Online 
Glutter,
49% of us did our best to keep Bush from another term. Wasn’t enough, obviously. Now, it seems that with daily declining approval ratings the administration is running scared. We in the U.S. are continuing the fight.
Joe Miller
National Coordinator,
Vietnam Veterans Against the War, Inc.
http://www.vvaw,org
LikeLike
I don’t know, Yan. I’m so pessimistic these days. It seems there is no good news in the US anymore. Every day brings more to worry about or be horrified by. I think I’m still in shock from seeing New Orleans abandoned those days after Katrina. The curtailing of our civil liberties is frightening enough, but coupled with our government’s warmaking and negligence, it’s making a lot of us feel completely helpless. Bush is losing support on the war, but part of his loss of support is because right wingnuts don’t think he’s right wing enough! Shocking, I know.
Take care — I can’t wait to see the tee. I’ll wear it proudly!!
LikeLike
Yan, I think Bush is a dolt, and not a very good leader, but I think that you’re a wee off in this post. It’s not fair, in my opinion.
By and large, the purpose of the Secret Service is to keep safe the US Pres, VP, and members of Congress. An investigation is not a criminal charge – it’s mining for information to determine whether said persons are a real threat. If the target of these investigations treat FBI and Secret Service investigators like shit, they should expect less courtesy. It’s not like the SS and FBI investigators get off on trampeling the rights of the little man, despite the popular dialogue. Just about every one I’ve met is very professional. I know this personally. But cops – state and fed – are human beings who, if you treat like garbage will be less willing to be courteous. They have a job to do, and no one likes it when someone else throws deliberate obstacles in the course of your work. And in this case, clearly Lassen’s a very political fellow, and probably wants to create as much fuss as possible about the Bush administration trying to intimidate him into conformance. Which I think is nonsense. Thus, when Secret Service agents show up at his door to find out whether his art – which sounds like it depicts violence and the president – is indicative of a real intent to do violence against the pres, and the fellow from whom they need information acts shady and recalcitrant and uncooperative, I think it common sense that the agents are a bit pushy in order to do their jobs.
It takes hardly any imagination at all to realize how much shit the Secret Service would have to take if they failed to follow up on people posting evidence in public fora of an intent to do the president harm, who then followed through.
I think your post is unobjective b/c you only cite Lassen’s comments, which lends the impression that his point of view is the only correct one. I don’t think it necessarily is – although I certainly think it’s calculated to be political.
I do agree with you about Yahoo!, however. Fkrs. Selling out freedom for profit. My offer stands to anyone who wishes to abandon their Yahoo! email accounts: I have 99 gmail invites to give away to anyone interested.
Hope you have a great vacation, by the way.
LikeLike
Hmmm. You have a point there Tom about visiting someone whose expressed violence towards Bush, (if he indeed do that), I think that we would have to look at his art to make judgement.
However, I believe the FBI and the CIA do intimidate people into conformance. I have met people who maybe somewhat odd characters, who do their work unconventionally in the US and they have been hasselled in an overt way beyond “investigation,” by those organization.
However, I think you’re not being objective to say all law enforcement agencies are professional. They are professional to you of course. You’re a lawyer. You’re a public Prosecuter or something similar right? You’re a lawyer on their side. They are not only professional towards you, you are a collegue who can make their life hellish if they are found to have broken the law to obtain information.
It is very different if you’re on the other side I can attest.
Look my dad was in law enforcement (retired). I wouldn’t say all of them are bad, I wouldn’t even say most of them are bad. But I know for a fact there are people in the force that shouldn’t be respected by the uniform they wear, and that government organizations to intimidate people as a tactic.
Bringing up objectivity, I am not sure whether you are either. 🙂
Yan
PS. Kate your shirt looks cool. I picked my favorite design to you.
PPS. Joe. I asked who, didn’t say it was you.
LikeLike
Fair enough. I spent a couple of years in uniform before law school, and learned that you’re right: there are a few officers who do shame the trust given them by the public. But by my observation, there are far fewer FBI and Secret Service “bad apples” than at the local level. US federal law enforcement agencies have extremely rigorous hiring processes, and recruit a higher caliber of person to perform the job. I trained at the federal law enforcement training center where Secret Service agents receive their basic training, and met quite a few of them. My observation that they carried a high level of personal integrity.
I think in this specific case, though, that there are enough suspect factors to seriously question the veracity of Lassen’s comments and point of view.
LikeLike
they’re not even allowed to hire people who smoke pot. that’s gotta change.
LikeLike
hahahhaaa..
That’s right. They don’t.
LikeLike
Every year, the Secret Service investigates over 1,500 reported or discovered threats against the President. [This is about 5 every day] While most people who threaten the President are just venting, even joking, all reported threats are taken very seriously and those who make them are in for, at least, a tough time.
http://usgovinfo.about.com/library/weekly/aa040398.htm
This doesn’t only apply to Bush, the Secret Service applies this directive equally to all of the Presidents, including well liked Clinton.
Remember, that 1 out of every 10 American Presidents have been assassinated and if there is someone out there, that is publishing material that may be construed as advocating a position to bring physical harm to a President, then it is the Secret Services job to investigate.
So if you think that this partisan Bush hater was being intimidated by Bush specifically due to his views, then you aren’t really looking at this in a balanced fashion.
LikeLike
An other example is something like this….
A Threat From the Pulpit
(From the Washington Times, 12/27/96, page A5.)
“God will hold you to account, Mr. President.”
“–Rev. Rob Shenck, to President Clinton during a Christmas Eve church service at the Washington National Cathedral, referring to the president’s veto of a ban on partial-birth abortion. After the service, Rev. Shenck was detained by Secret Service agents who accused him of threatening the President’s life. No charges were filed.”
LikeLike