My friend's Live Journal entry was reported to the FBI

[Headache in a Suitcase]

people who blame this on the bush adminstration simply have no idea what they're talking about and need to do a bit of research next time... the secret service does not act on behalf of the president... they are not the president's personal police squad. they have one job and one job only, and that is to protect the president and his family (as well as other political VIPs... vice, SecDef, etc etc). The majority of the members of the current secret service were also members of the secret service durring the Clinton administration.

if you make a threat, even as a joke, against the life of the president, and that threat is reported to the secret service, it WILL be looked into, no matter how childish or stupid the comment may have been. that's the way it's always been... durring the bush admin, the clinton admin, etc. etc.

and for those who say this girl's freedom of speech has been violated... BS. no one's freedom of speech was violated. this girl is not in some secluded prison cell for speaking her mind. but she apparently made some sort of comment regarding the president's life, and it was checked into. once they concluded that the person was not a real threat to the life of the president, that was the end of it. period. free speech is not an end all to say whatever you want. if you make a threat against someone's life, it will be... and should be... looked into. if you scream out fire in a movie theatre, you will be arrested. your right to "free speech" will not help you there. if you harass somebody in an ethnic or sexual way, you will get in trouble for it. freedom of speech gives you the right to state your own opinion... it does not give you the right to cause harm to somebody.

 

[popacrobat]

people who blame this on the bush adminstration simply have no idea what they're talking about and need to do a bit of research next time... the secret service does not act on behalf of the president... they are not the president's personal police squad. they have one job and one job only, and that is to protect the president and his family (as well as other political VIPs... vice, SecDef, etc etc). The majority of the members of the current secret service were also members of the secret service durring the Clinton administration.

if you make a threat, even as a joke, against the life of the president, and that threat is reported to the secret service, it WILL be looked into, no matter how childish or stupid the comment may have been. that's the way it's always been... durring the bush admin, the clinton admin, etc. etc.

and for those who say this girl's freedom of speech has been violated... BS. no one's freedom of speech was violated. this girl is not in some secluded prison cell for speaking her mind. but she apparently made some sort of comment regarding the president's life, and it was checked into. once they concluded that the person was not a real threat to the life of the president, that was the end of it. period. free speech is not an end all to say whatever you want. if you make a threat against someone's life, it will be... and should be... looked into. if you scream out fire in a movie theatre, you will be arrested. your right to "free speech" will not help you there. if you harass somebody in an ethnic or sexual way, you will get in trouble for it. freedom of speech gives you the right to state your own opinion... it does not give you the right to cause harm to somebody.

again,

 

[BAW]

people who blame this on the bush adminstration simply have no idea what they're talking about and need to do a bit of research next time... the secret service does not act on behalf of the president... they are not the president's personal police squad. they have one job and one job only, and that is to protect the president and his family (as well as other political VIPs... vice, SecDef, etc etc). The majority of the members of the current secret service were also members of the secret service durring the Clinton administration.

if you make a threat, even as a joke, against the life of the president, and that threat is reported to the secret service, it WILL be looked into, no matter how childish or stupid the comment may have been. that's the way it's always been... durring the bush admin, the clinton admin, etc. etc.

and for those who say this girl's freedom of speech has been violated... BS. no one's freedom of speech was violated. this girl is not in some secluded prison cell for speaking her mind. but she apparently made some sort of comment regarding the president's life, and it was checked into. once they concluded that the person was not a real threat to the life of the president, that was the end of it. period. free speech is not an end all to say whatever you want. if you make a threat against someone's life, it will be... and should be... looked into. if you scream out fire in a movie theatre, you will be arrested. your right to "free speech" will not help you there. if you harass somebody in an ethnic or sexual way, you will get in trouble for it. freedom of speech gives you the right to state your own opinion... it does not give you the right to cause harm to somebody.

You are absolutely correct.

And on a sidenote...more people than we'll ever know about have a "file" with the FBI. Some of us here may have one and not even know about it. It doesn't automatically mean you've done something wrong or will be on some kind of watch list.

 

[Screaming Flower]

good for the secret service. i'm glad to see they're doing their job.

 

[GibsonGirl]

It's a nation run by fear. If Bush is elected again, expect more of the same for 4 years.
George Orwell was off a few years.
"1984" is now. Big Brother Is Watching!
Report everyone that is an enemy
of the State. Have a Nice Day!
However, If a person wrote about doing harm to the president, then the Secret Service & FBI have every right to investigate though.

I know this is off-topic, but I love that novel so much. Best I've ever read...and over the past four years or so, it has become even more relevant.

 

[Muggsy]

 

[Celticfc]

I'm sure this person got everything that was coming to him/ her. I am glad to see that the FBI are doing their job.

Please tell me you are joking

 

[kennerado]

Yep those disinformation spooks are assholes.

 

[Celticfc]

First they came for the Communists,
and I didn’t speak up,
because I wasn’t a Communist.
Then they came for the Jews,
and I didn’t speak up,
because I wasn’t a Jew.
Then they came for the Catholics,
and I didn’t speak up,
because I was a Protestant.
Then they came for me,
and by that time there was no one
left to speak up for me.

 

[meegannie]

And on a sidenote...more people than we'll ever know about have a "file" with the FBI. Some of us here may have one and not even know about it. It doesn't automatically mean you've done something wrong or will be on some kind of watch list.

I wonder if I have one.... In high school I was accused of hacking into the county public schools' website and replacing the school homepages with porn, and the FBI were supposed to question me about it, but I managed to convince the school that I had no indepth knowlege of computers. I still got banned from using a school computer for the rest of high school because I had changed the security settings on a couple of the computers so I could download AIM.

 

[MissVelvetDress_75]

Quickly usurped by the kid in Florida who put a screwdriver to his Kerry-voting girlfriend's throat.

I was so disgusted when I heard that story.

 

[melon]

Wake up, people. Write a series of death threats about a President--Republican or Democrat--on the internet or elsewhere, and, if someone reports you to the Secret Service, they will investigate it!

All you conspiracy theorists get over it. If you want to make a difference and speak up for a group whose rights are being threatened, then remember to vote against all these Orwellian "Defense of Marriage" amendments that are appearing in 11 state ballots on November 2nd (if you want to "defend marriage," then pass an amendment banning divorce; or, better yet, get government out of the business of "marriage" altogether and make all state contracts "civil unions," thus leaving "marriage" solely to religion).

Melon

 

[GibsonGirl]

I wonder if I have one.... In high school I was accused of hacking into the county public schools' website and replacing the school homepages with porn, and the FBI were supposed to question me about it, but I managed to convince the school that I had no indepth knowlege of computers. I still got banned from using a school computer for the rest of high school because I had changed the security settings on a couple of the computers so I could download AIM.

That's hilarious!

 

[melon]

they have one job and one job only, and that is to protect the president and his family (as well as other political VIPs... vice, SecDef, etc etc).

I'm just going to mention this on a technicality. The Secret Service is also in charge of investigating counterfeit currency. Banks that come across counterfeit bills send it to the Secret Service.

Melon

 

[BAW]

I wonder if I have one.... In high school I was accused of hacking into the county public schools' website and replacing the school homepages with porn, and the FBI were supposed to question me about it, but I managed to convince the school that I had no indepth knowlege of computers. I still got banned from using a school computer for the rest of high school because I had changed the security settings on a couple of the computers so I could download AIM.

If you don't have a file for that little incident, you certainly have one because of your prior employment in DC