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What Constitutes a Conspiracy?
The root word in conspiracy is conspire and for the purposes of this piece, I intend for conspiracy to refer to the action of secretly plotting unlawful acts as well as the act of conspiring among conspirators.
On February 22, 2008, the Star-Telegram reported that on February 20, 2008, Dallas Deputy Police Chief T.W. Lawrence, head of the Dallas Police Department’s Homeland Security and Special Operations divisions, said to be acting on orders thought to have originated from the United States Secret Service, halted the security procedures that had been in use that included using metal wands and searching purses and laptop bags, as people waited in line to be seated to hear Senator Obama.
It was said that the procedures were halted to expedite the movement of some 17,000 people waiting to be seated at the rally in Dallas, Texas.
From the Star-Telegram article:
“ Sure, ” said Lawrence, when asked if he was concerned by the great number of people who had gotten into the building without being checked. But, he added, the turnout of more than 17,000 people seemed to be a ‘friendly crowd.’ ”
I pondered the possible motivations for these actions that might have jeopardized Senator Obama’s life and decided there are two ways to characterize an order of that nature, an order whose origins seem to have been issued as a whisper on the wind.
Dallas Homeland Security says the order was “ apparently made by the U.S. Secret Service”, which indicates Dallas Homeland Security didn’t know or isn’t saying where the stand down order originated. When viewed in the broadest terms, the actions are lax and negligent. When viewed with a more sinister eye, it is an action to be studied within the framework of a conspiratorial canvas.
Because of Senator Hillary Clinton’s status as former First Lady while her husband, William Jefferson Clinton, was in office as President of the United States, protection for the Senator would already be provided for her by the Secret Service.
I watched the news all weekend for any word of this action, that is, the stand down order being issued. With the exception of the two Star-Telegram articles, no news network provided any coverage regarding this incident, with no mention of the incident occurring, that is to my knowledge, during this period.
As of March 5, 2008, it has been two weeks since the events unfolded in Dallas, Texas that resulted in security measures being used by the Secret Service detail to be halted, allowing approximately half of a crowd of 17,000 to enter the venue for Senator Obama without being checked by security.
As of February 21, I have heard no mention of any story, other than the original stand down story provided by Star-Telegram, nor has any news agency, again, that I am aware of, picked up the second story provided by the Star-Telegram, which features the Secret Service standing by it’s decision to stand down.
Surely discontinuing search procedures and removing security from the first African American hailed by most pundits to truly have a real chance at getting his party’s nomination for president, merits more air time and is more news worthy than allegations of professional swooners being hired at Obama rallies or, that other story, whipping many into a frenzy, that being Senator Obama’s non credit of the source of words he uttered during the delivery of a speech. And, please, let’s not forget the latest furor over a photo of the Senator wearing a turban!
Add to the growing list of nonsensical observations, pursuits and minutia engaged in by the media regarding Senator Obama, the need for the senator to clarify, ad nauseum, that he was not sworn into the Senate, as he placed his hand on a Quran. Senator Obama says he used his family’s Bible. And yes, the Senator does say the pledge of allegiance to the flag, often leading the pledge.
No, he is not and has never been a Muslim, stating nor does he embrace Nation of Islam leader Minister Louis Farrakhan. He says that he and Minister Farrakhan are both located in Chicago, Illinois so, they would both know of each other, being in the same city.
Because Minister Farrakhan praised the senator’s efforts and campaign, praise completely unsolicited by Barack Obama, the senator has spent hours rearticulating previously dealt with subject matter, with all of these subjects circulating at hourly intervals.
Meanwhile, no major news source media has provided any news or story about security measures being relaxed for Barack Obama’s rallies. Since this report first appeared late evening on February 21, 2008 at Star-Telegram, there have been at least two additional alleged reports of a similar nature said to have occurred in Boston, Massachusetts and Cincinnati, Ohio.
The Secret Service’s removal of their protection, in Dallas, Texas, was reported by Star-Telegram late on February 21. The follow up article entitled, Secret Service Defends Security at Obama Rally in Dallas, a title, by the way, which is misleading, given its contents, was posted on February 22, 2008, reads in part:
The U.S. Secret Service on Friday (February 22) defended its handling of security during a massive rally in downtown Dallas for Barack Obama, saying there was no “lapse” in its “comprehensive and layered security plan”, which called for some people to be checked for weapons, while others were not.
Whether we, as United States citizens or world citizens, are comfortable with the reality or not, there do exist individuals and possibly groups of individuals that do not relish the idea of an African American appearing to be gaining substantial ground toward becoming the Democratic Party’s presidential nominee.
NowPublic’s Politisite reported in January 2008 that he’d spoken with the Secret Service regarding death threats made against the Senator’s life, with the Secret Service responding the threats had been investigated and that they represented no credible threat.
That Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg, the daughter of America’s most beloved president, John Fitzgerald Kennedy, along with her uncle, Senator Edward Kennedy and other members of the Kennedy family, bestowed accolades upon Senator Barack Obama’s run for the presidential nomination, with Mrs. Schlossberg proclaiming him to be inspiring hope in so many individuals during this time, like the feelings of hope that have been recounted to her, through the years, by so many who spoke fondly of her late father, is phenomenal.
I shudder when I hear Barack Obama anointed to be a man like John F. Kennedy, being an unlikely heir apparent to the carefully crafted legacy of the 1,065 day period christened Camelot by the keepers of the Kennedy legacy, a tale of a magical ‘kingdom’ ruled by a youthful ‘king’ who was struck down in his prime on November 22, 1963 by an assassin’s bullet.
The fact that an order was received in Dallas, Texas, reported as “apparently made by the U.S. Secret Service”, with the Secret Service detail having been requested by Senator Obama, reported by FOXNews.com on May 3, 2007, it would seem unless the Senator himself asked the detail to stand down, these sets of events make this story too eerie to ponder what might have been.
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Comments (11)
Karen Hatter, I like this story. It’s good stuff. I agree with your observations about the lack of media coverage of the events at the rally. You can’t help but see it as something that was pushed under the carpet deliberately. to avoid a big media frenzy about it, when really more attention should have been paid to it, and more questions needed to be asked.
Nice work. A story like this is too troubling for most to carry, whereas stuff like the turban photo is easier to get one’s head around.
I attended Obama’s rally in Cincinnati on Feb 25th, and the same “security collapse” happened. I filmed it and have been trying to upload that video to this site all morning – with no success.
Here is the YouTube link.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S5nD7X0N67I
here is the link to my blog about it.
http://itsacoldwind.blogspot.com/2008/02/obamas-confusing-secret-service.html
I’m obviously too stupid to figure out how to use this site, but not so stupid that I can’t see a “terror strike” being enabled by the Secret Service. I have a plan to force the SS to stop this deliberate activity. Pass this on and let’s get control of this situation.
A new report from a non-profit, non-partisan California think tank finds that immigrants, both legal and undocumented, have lower rates of incarceration and criminal activity in California than the U.S.-born population–enough said……
Hillary lied in debate, saying she will release tax returns immediately, and now she will delay until who knows when??? at least after March 4…I am so sick and tired of all her lying……
Why are all the major news networks refusing to even report on GA and now IL major explosion in shopping centers???
They will not even speculate on causes, which makes one wonder if they already know and are just refusing to release it to American public…..that is called “a police state”, not a democracy…..
While I can’t speak to this issue at large, I can tell you what happened when Obama and Clinton were in Southeastern Wisconsin before the primary there.
Everyone in the Obama rally (Racine, Wisconsin) had to go through metal detectors. The crowd was quite irate with having to wait in the cold because the security set up was running late. When the candidate entered and left the rally it was through a side door not accessible to the audience.
When Hillary visited (Kenosha, Wisconsin) to the best of my knowledge there were no metal detectors. The candidate had to walk the gauntlet actually going through the crowd to make it to the stage. And she and her security had no clear walkway on the way out – they literally walked through the crowd.
One further note on Clinton security – they did not check press credentials at the press entrance. I was not able to get mine updated in time for the rally but was still allowed unchecked through the press entrance.
Mikasi, thanks for your on-the-scene perspective. Your comment raises some questions: how would people react if Clinton supporters raised a ruckus, saying that her security was less than, say, Obama’s, because she’s female and hence isn’t being adequately protected?
Obama is just another political candidate. They all deserve protection–and equal protection.
Karen Hatter, I like this story. It’s good stuff.
The Secret Service has the reputation of being intelligent and well-organised. It is interesting to see, as NoEaster remarked (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S5nD7X0N67I) that the security checks flip-flops between detailed checking and no checking with mass entries.
One would think that intelligent screening for a large crowd, such as that which takes place at music concerts, that is organised by the Secret Service would include a system that does not seem to be negligent in its approach.
And the question you raise (Dallas Homeland Security says the order was “ apparently made by the U.S. Secret Service”) regarding the lack of verification about the source of a security order is disconcerting. Is this how security is run between the police and secret service?
NorEaster has a pdf he recommends printing and distributing at rally line-ups to pressure for minimum standards of security – it is a good idea, but i do not like the negative image of the “target” icon, which further fuels the negative idea in one’s mind – though something else along the same lines i think would be effective, with a positive imagery.
Karen, I have a question for you, OK? I notice that you continually re-publish your articles for days, sometimes more than a week, at a time. The stories haven’t changed or been updated, but they keep getting republished, frequently.
Yes, this gets them back on to the front page, so it does benefit you in getting more viewers. But “news”, I think is just that–and I haven’t had seen any newspaper republish the same story day after day after day after day, and on the front page too.
This isn’t a comment on quality, or good topics, but simply one of procedure. Is doing this something that you would recommend all NP contributors do frequently?
Your assessment that my work has not changed or has not been updated is incorrect, as relates to almost all of my stories that I have revised within the last several weeks. I am not republishing every few days.
I noticed over a week ago that, for some reason, although it seemed to be related to the recent ‘slimming down’ of posting categories, a number of my articles were missing tags, photos and videos were out of sequence and the format was messed up, spacing off etc. I’ve been doing housekeeping for these various issues.
In the case of articles where the previous category no longer exists, it was required that I choose a new category.
As far as my most recent post, What Constitutes a Conspiracy?, I have been continually updating this story, adding links and changing copy.
As far as my stories being displayed on the front page day after day, that is not under my control.
Karen, thanks for your reply. You noted that you have been changing the original article and adding links. Given that most of us don’t really have great memories for everything we read, wouldn’t it be a good idea to signal your faithful readers that you’ve made a change, and where? Otherwise, we’re kind of clueless as to what’s going on–and if we comment on original copy, and then it gets changed without anyone knowing, then our comment can look stupid and out of context. (Not that I need any help in looking stupid, of course!)
I so agree with you on problems with tagging, spacing, etc. Sometimes I hve the time to deal with it, sometimes I don’t. Exasperating, isn’t it?
PEP, it has never been my intent to cause anyone to appear foolish by amending any content in my pieces after a comment has been posted. I myself, if a poster’s article changes after I’ve commented, I have amended my comments accordingly.
I can’t envision any way to highlight changes without the process becoming confusing, as in writing, “I’d previously written this but now, this is an update” or whatever the case.
My style of writing, for me, allows for easy rewrite so, I am not usually only adding information, I am reconstructing my piece.
Hopefully, any faithful readers I have, and I thank them all, if they’ve noticed that I’ve updated something, if they’re fans, they will check it out and forgive my inability to easily provide them a guide to which material is the most recent.
I’m sure the tag, spacing and other issues will have some really old stuff popping up, now and again, as I house clean. I’m not quite a Monk type but, as far as my work being on view, I am!