geez

what has happened to the freedom of speech... and the use of tazers? thats extreme. i would be so enfuriated if this happened to me. absolutely enfuriated

Sick.

What I saw was so sick. And cowardly. 
 
Mike

http://mozilla

Push back

Some liberals and others are pushing back with the assertion that this guy was a provocateur looking for trouble from the get go and that not only is he giving legitimate dissent a bad name but that also \"he got what he deserved.\" 
 
Here is my response: 
 
When I wrote my original piece about the U of F tasering, I did so with the full understanding that THE Andy Meyer just might have been an hysterical A-hole who set out to deliberately create a scene. The only thing I am contending here is that it is very sad when diplomacy is unable to defuse rather benign situations like this one. It is pretty hard to remember that diplomacy, once upon a time, actually was a time tested means of resolving most conflicts public and private, national and international. Unfortunately, I have not seen any video of exactly what happened just before the police began to descend upon Herr Meyer, so I have no way of gauging just how violent or threatening he was. Let’s say, for the sake of argument, that he did push ahead of those standing in line and began asking belligerent questions of Kerry. Are people so intimidated by loud, aggressive speech that they feel it can only be quelled by deadly force. To me it sounds a lot like trying to remove a small stain on your dress shirt with a quart of concentrated sulfuric acid. If indeed, as some suggest, the whole thing was a self aggrandizing set up, the rent-a-cops sure rose to the bait. In a system where the civilized rules of discourse apply and are respected, disruptive people usually don’t stand much of a chance. Not to give Kerry too much of his due, but like any good standup comic, he can take the heat of hostile questions. I saw the tape from Boston that the 9/11 Truth movement was gleefully distributing over the internet not too long ago where they prated on and on that “…finally Kerry had admitted that the WTC/9/11 collapse was an inside job!” Of course there was nothing on the video of his Q&A that even remotely hinted at such an admission on Kerry’s part. There was just a lot of not-so-deft banter back and fourth between Kerry and the 9/11 truthie with Kerry diplomatically trying to get off the hook with the old bromide, “I’ll be sure to look into that.” He wasn’t about to admit that 9/11 was an inside job. Neither was he willing to call the questioner the ass that he was. Kerry could have handled the University of Florida guy without the benefit of the campus boys in blue. Even his peers could have handled him - unless they are even bigger sheep than they appeared on the tape. The only relevant issue here is that the campus keystone cops had NO business handling it AT ALL - and certainly not by employing the Chicago Police school of law enforcement methods they used. Its been a while since I’ve been to the Windy City but I trust the police force there is still not ready for reform.  
Bob