Posted on 10/24/2004 5:08:47 PM PDT by Ex-Dem
Washington D.C.'s Secret Service is investigating Charlie Brooker of the UK Guardian. The entertainment writer's weekend, anti-Bush tantrum, ending with the words, "John Wilkes Booth, Lee Harvey Oswald, John Hinckley Jr.--where are you now that we need you," was picked up by the Drudge Report,--using Brooker's provocative last words as the main headline.
Citing federal statute 18 USC 879, Florida attorney John B. Thompson, called in the Secret Service Protective Intelligence Unit. "Please do whatever is necessary to punish the UK Guardian and to educate Matt Drudge on the meaning and scope of statute 18," Thompson wrote in a letter faxed to the SS on Saturday.
Thompson's letter indicates that not only was his complaint being taken seriously by the SS, but that it had already been tipped off about the Guardian story before receipt of his letter.
"I am relieved to find out that you were alerted to this danger last evening and are working on it."
Following a telephone call to the Unit, Thompson registered surprise that the Secret Service seemed unaware of the magnitude of the Drudge Report. "(But) in calling you today, I find that you did not know that one of the most visited sites on the Internet, with more than 10 million hits every 24 hours, is highlighting this call for the assassination of President Bush by placement of it as a headline, as follows: "UK Guardian: "John Wilkes Booth, Lee Harvey Oswald, John Hinckley Jr.--where are you now that we need you?"
"This is to be found this morning at www.drudgereport.com. The owner of the Drudge Report is Matt Drudge, who lives on South Beach (Miami Beach), Florida. I would encourage the Secret Services Miami office to pay Mr. Drudge a visit to tell him he needs to comply with the law and take down that screaming red headline."
Thompson's concern is that the combined circulations of the Guardian and Drudge Report manifest a siren call to whackos among the millions of readers reached by the publications.
"As I noted in our call, my friend, who is an Assistant United States Attorney, successfully prosecuted some numbskull who was talking about killing Dan Quayle in a bar. It would seem that an American journalist who puts a threat of the above kind on his website seen by millions is being at least as reckless as the aforementioned drunk," Thompson said in his letter.
In his anti-Bush tirade, Brooker wrote: "On November 2, the entire civilised world will be praying, praying Bush loses. And Sod's law dictates he'll probably win, thereby disproving the existence of God once and for all. The world will endure four more years of idiocy, arrogance and unwarranted bloodshed, with no benevolent deity to watch over and save us" before ending with his call for a would-be Booth, Oswald and Hinckley Jr.
The television entertainment writer seems to have his knickers in a twist about the "Bush-wears-a-wire-to-televised-debates theory.
"The internet's abuzz with speculation that Bush has been wearing a wire, receiving help from some off-stage lackey. Screen grabs appearing to show a mysterious bulge in the center of his back are being traded like Top Trumps. Prior to seeing this debate footage, I regarded this with healthy skepticism: the whole "wire" scandal was just wishful thinking on behalf of some amateur Michael Moores, I figured.
"Quite frankly, the man's either wired or mad. If it's the former, he should be flung out of office: tarred, feathered and kicked in the nuts. And if it's the latter, his behaviour goes beyond strange, and heads towards terrifying."
Brooker criticizes the American media for purportedly ignoring the wire theory. "...And then I start hunting around the internet, looking to see what the US media made of the whole "wire" debate. And they just let it die. They mentioned it in passing, called it a whacko conspiracy theory and moved on."
The American website, www.rense.com, which leans heavily on UFO and alien abduction stories, made the most of the wire theory.
Answering media inquiries about his "mysterious bulge", President Bush identified it as "my spine."
Meanwhile, at press time, Brooker's calling all assassins story was still being carried by the Guardian and Drudge Report.
Canada Free Press founding editor Judi McLeod is an award-winning journalist with 30 years experience in the media. A former Toronto Sun and Kingston Whig Standard columnist, she has also appeared on Newsmax.com, the Drudge Report, Foxnews.com, and World Net Daily. Judi can be reached at: cfp@canadafreepress.com.
Why is Matt Drudge in trouble?
Good. Those Leftists need to be taken into a dark, dank room and have some sense beaten into them. I'm tired of seeing Leftists get a pass when they threaten the life of my President.
Because the Leftists need a scapegoat to draw attention away from the Leftists who made the original call for assassins. That's just how the Leftist media works: can't take the heat for their own stupidity, so they finger Drudge, Fox News, and/or Free Republic as the "real" culprits.
Yeah, I don't get that either. Drudge was reporting the story because of how outrageous it was...(alerted to it by a Freeper I'm sure!)....not to boost circulation of the story.
Seems like this lawyer is more concerned about Drudge than he is about the Guardian article.
I smell a rat.
Apparently this attorney thinks that by Drudge displaying the Guardian assassination headline front and center, it's going to serve as a call to arms to various nutjobs out there...
So Matt Drudge reports the story and he is at fault for the contents of the Guardians story?
He's great. Gotta have four more years.
I wonder if this is the Jack.Thompson who used to post here before he was banned (multiple times).
maybe its illegal to reprint a threat to the POTUS
See my post (#14). Does this fit his MO?
Strange all the way around. At the end of the article they quote President Bush as saying the wire was his "spine." Wasn't that from Scrappleface?!
Someone explain to me the diference between this guy and the muslim clerics.
I like Drudge but I do think he edged a little too close to the "line" on this. It is like yelling fire in a movie theater. Drudge just did it as a surrogate for the bonehead who originated the idea. He will probably just get a explanation as to why this can be dangerous and maybe a warning
As long as Jack Thompson is on a jihad against people other than the numbskull who wrote the article and the Guardian, which originally published it, Thompson might as well turn in FR and all the other internet sites such as Powerline that linked to the Guardian story.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.