Below The Beltway

• Tea Partay, Gansta’ Style
• Joe Scarborough: Conservative Furor Over Obama’s School Speech Is “Asinine”
• None Dare Call It Hypocrisy
• William Shatner Reads Sarah Palin’s Tweets
• Comedy Gold: Sarah Palin Reads From Her Book
• For The Jedi Warrior Who Has Everything
• Sen. Jeff Sessions: We’re Gonna Do That Crack Cocaine
• So You Want To Be A Crazy Birther Lawyer Like Orly Taitz
• World War II Vet: Marriage Equality Is Part Of What I Fought For At Omaha Beach
• Death Panels Are Real

28 Responses to “Once Again I Ask, Does This Look Like America To You ?”

1. Shaun Kenney Says:
   September 26th, 2009 at 8:13 pm

   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_Draft_Riots

2. rightcoast Says:
   September 26th, 2009 at 8:14 pm

   Yeah. That looks like America to me.

   Perhaps it is because I read news sources – http://www.reddit.com/r/Bad_Cop_No_Donut/ – more likely to report on batons being shoved up rear ends, or toys being stolen by the truckload from the USMC Toys for Tots program … but I see multiple instances these abuses. Every. Single. Day.

   I’m far too much of an advocate of the non-aggression axiom to think so myself, but many are going to cheer the kid who inevitably firebombs a line of these thugs like they do everywhere else on Earth.

3. ShaunKenney.com » The Gangs of Pittsburgh Says:
   September 26th, 2009 at 8:27 pm

   [...] we get all teary-eyed about what’s going on with the anarchist demonstrations in Pittsburgh with cries of [...]

4. Doug Mataconis Says:
   September 26th, 2009 at 8:35 pm

   Your point being ?

5. newrouter Says:
   September 26th, 2009 at 10:41 pm

   yea

   these “protesters” have a seattle montreal et al track record

6. reliapundit Says:
   September 26th, 2009 at 10:52 pm

   love the unbiased headline: “riot police attacking…”

   police routinely use tear gas on crowds like this.

   trying to crank up the hatred of cops based on this reminds me of the “OFF THE PIG” era.

   sick.

   god bless the police. and ll uniformed defenders of the usa.

7. Fat Man Says:
   September 26th, 2009 at 10:57 pm

   There would be less of this if the cops would live ammo on those dirty hippies.

8. wolfwalker Says:
   September 26th, 2009 at 10:58 pm

   There’s context missing. Why did the cops tell the crowd to disperse? What happened between that order and the first tear-gas canisters being launched? Was there any kind of curfew in effect? Where did that “1st Amendment” sign materialize from, if there was no demonstration going on?

   But in answer to your question: yes, things like that have happened in America. Things like that happen anywhere you have dumb-asses deliberately stirring up trouble so that the cops can no longer tell what’s a simple gathering of citizens, and what’s an incipient riot. Remember, only two days ago many of these same cops were standing on streets not far away facing “peaceful gatherings” of people that quickly transformed into violent anarchists throwing rocks, smashing car windows, and rolling dumpsters at the police lines in attempts to kill or maim them.

9. frances vazquez Says:
   September 26th, 2009 at 11:22 pm

   Ask the cops why they ordered the crowed of dangerous unarmed students to disperse. There was no curfew in effect. Is holding a sign that says “1st Amendment” provocative much less a crime? If so, we are in real trouble. There was no violence in Oakland by anyone except the police. Check your facts.

10. JorgXMcKie Says:
    September 26th, 2009 at 11:58 pm

    Well, this crowd of students couldn’t possibly be as dangerous as those Tea Party types? Did you see them? Why they looked so ordinary that they must have been in disguise. And given how worried Pelosi, Reid, et al were, why take a chance with these rowdy students?

11. HMI Says:
    September 26th, 2009 at 11:59 pm

    “these “protesters” have a seattle montreal et al track record”

    These exact protesters? Or some other protesters that remind you of those protesters? In which case, of course they’re dangerous and should be rounded up. “Live ammo” is a great suggestion. What we really need in this country is cops firing into crowds; that’ll teach them damn protesters not to mess around with this Bill of Rights crap.

12. Bruno Chojnacki Says:
    September 27th, 2009 at 12:03 am

    A narrow view of the incident. Context needed. Kids putting on kerchiefs around their face or carrying “1 Amendment” signs indicate there is more to this story.

    Also, when the police tell you leave and they are dressed in riot gear, you better leave pronto.

13. Fen Says:
    September 27th, 2009 at 12:13 am

    They did not have a permit to protest. Yes, you need one.

    They were in violation of the law. They were ordered to disperse. They refused. They were warned. They still refused. Some responded by throwing rocks.

    As for polcie violence, be grateful your police show such discipline and restraint. I would have shot all the punks down. Fricken anarchist parasites.

14. Peter Says:
    September 27th, 2009 at 12:14 am

    Durned shame the police couldn’t have used napalm.

15. Fen Says:
    September 27th, 2009 at 12:20 am

    You need to work on your propaganda tech. Maybe the NEA can help.

16. Poor Richard Says:
    September 27th, 2009 at 1:23 am

    “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”

    When the “peaceful” assembly turned for the worse, you lose the right to assemble temporarily. That is where the police then have to uphold their constitutional duties. It is also legal for the government to prevent you from associating with a group known to be purposely committing illegal acts. You are not protected under the freedom to associate provision any longer.

    When you are a peaceful student just checking out the “Anarchist”, you have put yourself in a situation with only one end means. The “Anarchist” mixing with YOU have taken YOUR freedoms away. Don’t get pissed at the cops. Did the police cross some lines? I’ll say yes to that. But NOT looking at the whole picture of what had been going on in that city leading up to the confrontations is just plain ignorant bordering on stupidity.

    We seem to confuse antagonistic behavior with freedom of expression. There is a line there. In different situations it has different boundaries. Who fired the first shot? Do any of you really know? I doubt it. Both sides will say it was the other. I see overreacting on both sides. But, when it got out of control, the rule of law must be upheld! Those who were not legally detained have the right to petition the government for redress of grievances. If you truly feel you were wronged then use it.

17. greginsewa Says:
    September 27th, 2009 at 2:16 am

    The fact that any of those douchebags lefft in anything other than a body bag is an outrage.

18. whyyes Says:
    September 27th, 2009 at 2:24 am

    Why yes, yes it does. It looks exactly like Barack Obama’s America, where the Constitution is being shredded; where only the police have weapons; and where lawful assembly has been outlawed.

    Thanks Hope and Change crowd!

19. makan Says:
    September 27th, 2009 at 3:49 am

    Interesting editing in this video. Definitely not raw complete footage. And if the po-po are in riot gear blasting orders to leave COMPLETE with legal disclaimer, I wouldn’t challenge their authority just to impress the girl I was with. Such idiots!

20. egoist Says:
    September 27th, 2009 at 6:48 am

    Strictly a techno perspective here: Imagine the day they close banks for a week or month… In comes all of these cosmic toys we’ve heard of over the years, to be used on us. I wonder if they’ll be re-poed before deployment.

21. Zach Says:
    September 27th, 2009 at 7:53 am

    Large crowds are dangerous and unpredictable. If the point of this video was to show that we live in a police state, it failed miserably. What is clear to anyone who has a passing familiarity with police states is how UNAFRAID the spectators were. They just stood there as a line of riot police slowly marched toward them. They looked more curious than cowed, with cell-phone cameras out. Do you think people in, say, North Korea or China ask the police to explain what they are doing? Do you think people the USSR would stand around as the police tell them to disperse? Do you think that it is the smartest thing to read the cans of tear gas in the middle of the street as the police are approaching? All these indicate a complete lack of fear, or even respect of the authority of police.

22. TheTaR(and feather)Czar Says:
    September 27th, 2009 at 10:59 am

    Funny! The left(including NBC,CBS,ABC,NYT,etc)have been wringing their hands for months,wondering not IF,but when the Tea-partiers/town hall protesters were gonna get violent.And then we get these left wing terrorists who show up to these types of protests like clockwork…and the media gets upset some of these lefties end up getting arrested….and aww a lil roughed up.Screw that…you come to my house and start smashing things,and setting them on fire,ill snap your neck!About time these left wing terrorists get their assess kicked

23. Let's Be Free Says:
    September 27th, 2009 at 11:12 am

    I remember from the student marches in the 1960’s and early 70’s — it was always carefully calibrated. A step by step racheting up of defiance and agression until the line was crossed that the pigs (police and national guard in those days) had no choice but to respond. There were always a few rabble rouser pockets full of rocks or other projectiles large enough to smash a window and/or bruise a pig. The goal was to goad the pigs into violence for the purposes of winning the PR war — if a few of the protestors’ heads were bloodied, or eyes seared, a small price to pay for the cause. All the while chanting “Ho Ho Ho Chi Minh, NLF Is Gonna Win”.

    It’s all staged and done for effect every bit as much as a political rally. And the leaders are some really smart, footloose, creative young men and women who are focused on a narrow idealogical objective, coming up against much lesser educated security, who are scared, and have real obligations in life to family and the community at large.

    It is a formula that almost always works. Nothing has changed.

24. Destructo Says:
    September 27th, 2009 at 2:18 pm

    Let’s see…. WTO happened in Seattle, run by Democrats. Pittsburgh is run by Democrats. These riots are generally anti-globalization / protectionist in nature. Obama just got through telling the world that we’re not so special and that the age of US dominance is becoming the age of international coalition. I’m willing to bet that the vast majority of the protestors vote Democrat as a matter of habit, in spite of the fact that Obama is a “globalist” on a level this country has never seen before. The protestors are walking contradictions. At least they have the satisfaction of knowing that they put the people who order the riot police into office.

    I’d bet they all favor gun control too, in spite of the fact that the only organization that has introduced real violence to their tender young lives would then be the only organization in possession of deadly force.

    To conservative commentors who like to think that the police ought to “kill the hippies.” Don’t forget who the police work for right now (the other side). Yes, the populace should be well armed, specifically to keep the police, polite. Fantasizing about deadly police action in *any* context is a recipe for the fall of our democracy.

25. thebronze Says:
    September 27th, 2009 at 2:32 pm

    It’s really simple, actually.

    When the police tell you to leave the area because you’re there illegally, you’d better leave the area.

    Leave the area as instructed or suffer the consequences.

    Is that too hard to understand?

26. Sean Says:
    September 27th, 2009 at 2:37 pm

    I really don’t see the problem here.

    If you are violent protesters, why be such babies when forced is used to stop you?

    Whiny kids. Can dish it out but can’t take it. Keep it up, coppers.

27. Waaaaah Says:
    September 28th, 2009 at 2:09 am

    Looked fine to me.

    Whiny little bitch ass students.

    F ‘em.

28. Mitch H. Says:
    September 28th, 2009 at 8:22 am

    thebronze: During last year’s presidential campaign in State College, PA, there was one of Penn State’s perennial football riots downtown. Two or three *McCain* supporters, kids from the College Republicans, came in complaining of tear gas hangover and chattering about the details of the riot. I told them they were damned fools, and that when the cops read the riot act and suit up, you get the hell off the street and go home. Hell, I had been manning the phone bank that night, and walked past a half-squad of the trucked-in cops waiting for the inevitable on the way to my car from the campaign office.

    In short, riot control is a minor fact of life in Pennsylvania college towns. Oakland just happens to be in a major metropolitan area, and in proximity to an economic event which attracts street-theatre bad actors like rotten meat attracts maggots. A friend of a friend was saying before the event that his downtown office was talking about telecommuting options to get out of the way of any prospective clash. Anyone who says central Pittsburgh wasn’t under effective curfew lives in a wonderland of political fantasy.