Presidential Assassination No Joke

I hoped you CC'd... (4.00 / 1)

...the Secret Service.  They tend to have a zero tolerance approach to this kind of "humor".

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by: Stark Blue @ Mon May 12, 2008 at 09:37:46 AM CDT

McCain, Sununu and Gregg need to take a stand (4.00 / 1)

They need to take responsibility for the words and actions of the person who is the official face of the NH Republican Party.  As Republican nominee, McCain is the de facto leader of the national Republican Party, and as the two senior elected officials, Sununu and Gregg are the two de facto leaders of the state Republican Party. If they don't disavow this kind of behavior, they are countenancing it.

Especially in this case; it was going to be a race between Fran Wendleboe and the fellow who was the party vice chair, but the Republican establishment (i.e., Gregg, Sununu, et al) didn't want them, so they got Fergie to run.  

"When you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on."  Franklin D. Roosevelt    

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by: Kathy Sullivan 2 @ Mon May 12, 2008 at 10:10:29 AM CDT

This degrades the military (4.00 / 7)

Our service members serve America not a party or ideology. To suggest that any of those Marines would act in such away detracts from their code of honor.

Clearly Mr. Cullen does not get how our nation maintains the strict balance of civilian control over our military forces.

www.KusterforCongress.com  

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by: Jack Mitchell @ Mon May 12, 2008 at 10:20:17 AM CDT

Thank you. (4.00 / 2)

(And thank you for your service.  Because of some issues with a vet I know and don't want to get into publicly, I'm feeling unusually irritated by the way the GOP has treated the armed forces in recent years. It's a disgrace how vets have been treated under Bush and his enablers.)

I think Fergus' sick joke deserves far and wide attention, don't you?

I've got some crossposting to do.

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by: Dean Barker @ Mon May 12, 2008 at 17:43:59 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

With the utmost sincerity (4.00 / 6)

You're Welcome.

I am accustomed to the honors and civic gratitude bestowed upon those that are serving or have served under arms. As a member of The Old Guard, 3rd US Infantry, it was my honor to pay respect to those that had passed.

Please accept my thanks for providing a forum that allows for vibrant engagement of community matters from the routine to the most critical. The freedom of speech is one of our most hallowed rights. This forum, and those like it, carry on the great traditions set by our founders in the living work of our Constitution.

PS. I got Blue Mass Group covered:
Presidential Assassination, No Joke in NH
by: John from Lowell
Mon May 12, 2008 at 12:45:26 PM EDT  

www.KusterforCongress.com  

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by: Jack Mitchell @ Mon May 12, 2008 at 18:37:33 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

Right back at you. (0.00 / 0)

dKos

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by: Dean Barker @ Mon May 12, 2008 at 18:54:31 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

Interesting comment (4.00 / 1)

from a kossak over there:

I got this same e-mail joke from my repub father in law about a month or two ago.  He just retired from the NH house of reps

I hope he/she can track down the cc's on that email list.  Would be a whole other degree of wrong for it to be circulating on state house email addys, I should think.

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by: Dean Barker @ Mon May 12, 2008 at 19:06:18 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

To Kos Hampsters! To Kos! n/t (0.00 / 0)

www.KusterforCongress.com  

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by: Jack Mitchell @ Mon May 12, 2008 at 19:25:51 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

Blue what ? n/t (0.00 / 0)

"Poetry is not an expression of the party line. It's that time of night, lying in bed, thinking what you really think, making the private world public, that's what the poet does." Allen Ginsberg

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by: JonnyBBad @ Mon May 12, 2008 at 19:28:54 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

Do you remember your Kos PW? (0.00 / 0)

Give Dean a rec, yo.

He's no mbair, but he's alright.

www.KusterforCongress.com  

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by: Jack Mitchell @ Mon May 12, 2008 at 19:56:03 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

That's not funny, (0.00 / 0)

it's sick. It's really, really sick.

I hope Ray's letter and info on this makes it into the dailies, so NH voters can see how low the Grand Old Party has sunk.

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by: Jennifer Daler @ Mon May 12, 2008 at 11:17:13 AM CDT

If a collge or high school student did this (0.00 / 0)

by email, text, or IM, they would have a visit from the Service pronto...it happened in New Hampshire after some IM"s a few years ago...

"Poetry is not an expression of the party line. It's that time of night, lying in bed, thinking what you really think, making the private world public, that's what the poet does." Allen Ginsberg

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by: JonnyBBad @ Mon May 12, 2008 at 11:41:42 AM CDT

half of america sends jokes like this every day (0.00 / 0)

My grandmother probably sends me jokes like this once a week.  I dont see the secret service harrassing her.  I think they have a bit more important things to do.

Seriously guys this is a bit lame.  It's a joke.   People have been telling jokes like this for as long as there have been presidents.  Lighten up a bit.

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by: Derek @ Mon May 12, 2008 at 13:13:59 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

If so, (0.00 / 0)

then the religious right has got a point about the decline of moral values.

BTW, it's probably a waste of time to contact Senator John.  After all he thinks it's funny to sing "bomb, bomb, bomb Iran."

"Birds of a feather" and all that.

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by: hannah @ Mon May 12, 2008 at 13:27:25 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

Your grandmother (4.00 / 6)

Your grandmother isn't the chairman of the NHGOP -big difference. Your grandmother is not the face of the state party hand, hand picked by the establishment.  As for this being lame?  No, it is a "joke" about assassinating a president and first lady.


"When you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on."  Franklin D. Roosevelt    

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by: Kathy Sullivan 2 @ Mon May 12, 2008 at 13:31:14 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

Yo D! (0.00 / 0)

There is a higher standard for party chairs. They are the public face of the party members.

He can't shoot from the lip like that.

Maybe we shouldn't get him canned. They may find someone better.

www.KusterforCongress.com  

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by: Jack Mitchell @ Mon May 12, 2008 at 13:34:36 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

A joke? I'm not laughing. (4.00 / 2)

This is from the state Party that uses assault weapons practice as a fund-raiser.

This is from the Party whose Congressional candidate campaigns at gun shows and tells us:

All the vendors were pleased with their sales for the day, telling me that business was unusually good. One suggested that it was because of fear that a Democrat might take the White House...

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by: elwood @ Mon May 12, 2008 at 14:39:08 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

Secret Service does not take such jokes lightly (4.00 / 1)

if directed at a Repug.

Subject: Joke lands eccentric in prison

http://www.diggers.org/freecit...

Federal Prosecutors Run Amok: joke about Bush lands eccentric in prison

From: Connecticut Law Tribune
Date: 07 Dec 2002

September 16, 2002

Forget The Biblical Allusions; Crucified For Crazy Talk
By Norm Pattis

I don't know which is more frightening: The fact that a South Dakota man was convicted of the crime of threatening the president by talking about a "burning bush," or that federal prosecutors pursued the charges.

It took a federal jury in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, little more than an hour to find Richard Humphreys guilty of threatening to kill or harm the president. What did he do to face five years of federal time and a hefty fine?

Humphreys, who calls himself Israel, views himself as a latter-day prophet cut from an Old Testament mold. It seems Israel was spreading the word one March day in Sioux Falls. "Don't be surprised if you see George Bush on TV and someone runs by and throws something on him and lights a match," Israel sneered. God had once before spoken through a burning bush, he noted.

But I guess if you threaten a Dem it's OK.

...the Doo Dah Man once told me you've got to play your hand. Sometimes the cards ain't worth a dime if you don't lay 'em down.

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by: rambler american @ Tue May 13, 2008 at 05:06:01 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

kidspace (0.00 / 0)

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15...
updated 4:38 a.m. ET, Sat., Oct. 14, 2006
SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Upset by the war in Iraq, Julia Wilson vented her frustrations with President Bush last spring on her Web page on MySpace.com.

She posted a picture of the president, scrawled "Kill Bush" across the top and drew a dagger stabbing his outstretched hand. She later replaced her page on the social-networking site after learning in her eighth-grade history class that such threats are a federal offense.

It was too late.

no she wasn't treated to waterboard tactics, but,

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15...
Federal authorities had found the page and placed Wilson on their checklist. They finally reached her this week in her molecular biology class.

The 14-year-old freshman was taken out of class Wednesday and questioned for about 15 minutes by two Secret Service agents. The incident has upset her parents, who said the agents should have included them when they questioned their daughter.

On Friday, the teenager said the agents' questioning led her to tears.

They put the fear of Secret Service in her. I wonder how they knew ???

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15...
"I wasn't dangerous. I mean, look at what's (stenciled) on my backpack - it's a heart. I'm a very peace-loving person," said Wilson, an honor student who describes herself as politically passionate. "I'm against the war in Iraq. I'm not going to kill the president."

Her mother, Kirstie Wilson, said two agents showed up at the family's home Wednesday afternoon, questioned her and promised to return once her daughter was home from school.

After they left, Kirstie Wilson sent a text message to her daughter's cell phone, telling her to come straight home: "There are two men from the secret service that want to talk with you. Apparently you made some death threats against president bush."

"Are you serious!?!? omg. Am I in a lot of trouble?" her daughter responded.

'They yelled a lot'
Moments later, Kirstie Wilson received another text message from her daughter saying agents had pulled her out of class.

Julia Wilson said the agents threatened her by saying she could be sent to juvenile hall for making the threat.

"They yelled at me a lot," she said. "They were unnecessarily mean."

Spokesmen for the Secret Service in Sacramento and Washington, D.C., said they could not comment on the case.

Do you think its safer on the blog because its all public? Can they monitor virtually every electronic communication in the name of security ?

"Poetry is not an expression of the party line. It's that time of night, lying in bed, thinking what you really think, making the private world public, that's what the poet does." Allen Ginsberg

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by: JonnyBBad @ Tue May 13, 2008 at 16:52:05 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

asdf (0.00 / 0)

Kinda inhibits comments doesn't it.


...the Doo Dah Man once told me you've got to play your hand. Sometimes the cards ain't worth a dime if you don't lay 'em down.

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by: rambler american @ Thu May 15, 2008 at 04:35:43 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

Kinda ginky (0.00 / 0)

When you stop and get scared American Idol helps you forget.
"Do you want rights with your fries ?"

btw ...please let me know which applies

asdf or ASDF may refer to

   * asdf, the sequence of letters that appear on the first four keys on the home row on a QWERTY or QWERTZ keyboard
   * Association of Synchronous Data Formats, an organization that advances the use of synchronous data transmission technology
   * Another System Definition Facility, the most commonly used build system for Common Lisp
   * Alabama State Defense Force, a military entity
   * Average Squared Difference Function, a mapping used in pitch detection algorithms
   * Hoverboard ASDF, a South Korean-developed online racing video game
   * Japan Air Self-Defense Force

"Poetry is not an expression of the party line. It's that time of night, lying in bed, thinking what you really think, making the private world public, that's what the poet does." Allen Ginsberg

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by: JonnyBBad @ Thu May 15, 2008 at 16:42:41 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

asdf (0.00 / 0)

asdf is what you type in the subject line when you have no subject.

http://asdf.com/whatisasdf.html

...the Doo Dah Man once told me you've got to play your hand. Sometimes the cards ain't worth a dime if you don't lay 'em down.

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by: rambler american @ Tue Jun 10, 2008 at 05:54:03 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

Never mind "resign;" (4.00 / 2)

the fellow needs to be canned.

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by: hannah @ Mon May 12, 2008 at 13:22:39 PM CDT

"Republican ? The End of A Brand" (4.00 / 1)

A book we are seeing written.

"Poetry is not an expression of the party line. It's that time of night, lying in bed, thinking what you really think, making the private world public, that's what the poet does." Allen Ginsberg

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by: JonnyBBad @ Mon May 12, 2008 at 16:44:25 PM CDT

I have a feeling NH Republicans agree with you (0.00 / 0)

Very few Republicans I know believe that they can successfully rebrand the party as long as establishment picked stooges like Fergie are running the party.  I hope make good use of this incident.

It's time we steer by the stars, and not the lights of every passing ship

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by: Andy Edwards @ Tue May 13, 2008 at 00:57:37 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

LTE? (0.00 / 0)

Anyone planning on writing a letter to the editor of the UL or Concord Monitor? If someone has the original email they might be best...  Time for this to go old-media.

Ugh, makes me sick.

Feeling hopeful since 2004...

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by: Kelly Nordstrom @ Mon May 12, 2008 at 20:45:51 PM CDT

Would be good to see this one hoist with his own petard! n/t (0.00 / 0)

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by: GreyMike @ Mon May 12, 2008 at 22:43:13 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

I'll bet any anti-Fergus letter to the UL gets published on a Saturday. (0.00 / 0)

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by: Douglas E. Lindner @ Mon May 12, 2008 at 23:08:39 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

UPDATE: Cullen 'apologizes' (0.00 / 0)

It's in the UL:

There is a place for humor in politics, but I can understand why some might find this joke in poor taste. No offense was intended, and I regret if any was taken. I personally apologize to President and Senator Clinton.

It's actually one of those faux apologies that flips the responsibility onto those who took offense.

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by: elwood @ Tue May 13, 2008 at 07:43:09 AM CDT

completely blowing it out of proportion (0.00 / 0)

I think the apology fits the crime.  Yes, it was in poor taste for someone in his position top be masking the joke, but blowing stuff out of proportion like this is the type of stuff that turns people off. Seriously, you want the guy to lose his job over a stupid joke? Enough of the politically correct crap and bipsartisan bickering, we have much larger issues to deal with.  Unless we stop jumping on every faux paux the other side makes we'll never get anything done.

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by: Derek @ Thu May 15, 2008 at 08:00:06 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

Politically Polite (4.00 / 2)

Usually, when someone scoffs at political correctness, it is to excuse rude, crude, or otherwise unacceptable behavioir by attacking the critics of the rude, crude, or otherwise unacceptable behaviior.  What is wrong with polite, civil discourse, and what is wrong with standing up for it? But I don't want Fergie to lose his job (it is actually an unpaid volunteer position, unless the GOP has changed recently); he is so bad at it that every day he stays in is a good day for us.  I do want McCain, Sununu and the others to explain why gthey don't disavow this kind of behavior.

"When you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on."  Franklin D. Roosevelt    

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by: Kathy Sullivan 2 @ Thu May 15, 2008 at 08:14:55 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

Huckabee and NRA thought it was funny to make 'shoot Barack' jokes today (0.00 / 0)

eegads their stupidity know no bounds...

http://politicalticker.blogs.c...
(CNN) - During a speech before the National Rifle Association convention Friday afternoon in Louisville, Kentucky, former Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee - who has endorsed presumptive GOP nominee John McCain - joked that an unexpected offstage noise was Democrat Barack Obama looking to avoid a gunman.

"That was Barack Obama, he just tripped off a chair, he's getting ready to speak," said the former Arkansas governor, to audience laughter. "Somebody aimed a gun at him and he dove for the floor."

Obama supports extending the assault weapons ban, limits on gun sales, and a national law against carrying concealed weapons, with exceptions for retired police and military personnel. John McCain - whose legislative record was awarded a C+ rating by the NRA in 2004, but has received a perfect score - will address the group later Friday afternoon. His speech will include remarks "on the issue of unconditional negotiation with state sponsors of terror" that aides tell CNN's Dana Bash are a direct response to Obama's comments earlier Friday.

"Poetry is not an expression of the party line. It's that time of night, lying in bed, thinking what you really think, making the private world public, that's what the poet does." Allen Ginsberg

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by: JonnyBBad @ Fri May 16, 2008 at 16:00:40 PM CDT

Huckabee makes a 'shoot Barack' joke...n/t (0.00 / 0)

"Poetry is not an expression of the party line. It's that time of night, lying in bed, thinking what you really think, making the private world public, that's what the poet does." Allen Ginsberg

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by: JonnyBBad @ Fri May 16, 2008 at 17:13:29 PM CDT

What is with these Republicans? (0.00 / 0)

What is with first Fergie, and now Huckabee, making jokes about shooting Democrats?  Sick. Huckabee the minister.

Energy and persistence conquer all things.


Benjamin Franklin


 

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by: Kathy Sullivan @ Fri May 16, 2008 at 19:46:38 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

The end of a brand (0.00 / 0)

Flash: Republicans shoot selves in foot.
Foot in mouth disease? Something in the water ?
Death wish ? I mean they really are monstrosities.
I fear what they may do when they grasp the enormity of their
dilemna.  

"Poetry is not an expression of the party line. It's that time of night, lying in bed, thinking what you really think, making the private world public, that's what the poet does." Allen Ginsberg

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by: JonnyBBad @ Fri May 16, 2008 at 20:00:34 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

The thing that is (0.00 / 0)

almost as annoying as the fact that they're making these "jokes" in the first place is the lack of outrage. Could you just imagine if a Democrat said stuff like that about a Republican---"Fire on the roof!"

Also, Bush criticizing Obama in front of the Knesset? If he were a Democratic president, they'd start impeachment proceedings on the grounds of treason.

What's with this and why do we take it?

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by: Jennifer Daler @ Sat May 17, 2008 at 06:52:13 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

Good question (0.00 / 0)

We have a better upbringing perhaps, a basic respect for the rights of others. They talk out of both sides of their mouths...

"Poetry is not an expression of the party line. It's that time of night, lying in bed, thinking what you really think, making the private world public, that's what the poet does." Allen Ginsberg

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by: JonnyBBad @ Sat May 17, 2008 at 15:26:14 PM CDT

[ Parent ]