Should a protester be able to get so close to Rice?

I'm a democrat and I disagree with most everything the administration is doing, but this was way over the top. They were right to yank the woman out by her ear.

I too am a Democrat and I approve of everything she did. If this administration ever allowed itself to even hear the opposition voice, let alone see it, I would have a problem with Code Pink. But Code Pink is neccesary in the public dialogue. The administration has continuously barred an alternate perspective. So, I say, too bad Condi, reality can be scarey.

Those CodePink ladies are a peaceful organization. You may think it is impolite or invading a politician's space to put fakeblood on your hands. But this is so the the world can know that all of this state-sponsored war and death is not in our name.

If the mainstream media would have covered more of the dissenting voices as this war was getting sold, maybe protesters wouldn't have to pull stunts to make the news.

I think it is much more productive to worry about people whose lives are really in peril, not the cowards who sends others to die for oil and power.

This was mega scary. That woman could have had a knife in her hands. The question is not so much of Rice's security but that of the hearing rooms. I have tried in the past to enter hearing rooms at the Capitol but was barred because I did not have a pass. So, who gave passes to these Code Pinkos? Whoever did should be prosecuted, along with the woman who
assaulted Rice.

EIther side, either point of view, this can't happen.

Pathetic security. What the heck is going on here? If the most high-profile individuals in a security-crazed administration are this accessible, how screwed our shlubs like us?

If you are a liberal protesting a conservative it's is perfectly acceptable to use intimidation, violence, etc. Just ask any conservative speaker who has tried to speak on a college campus.

"If you are a liberal protesting a conservative it's is perfectly acceptable to use intimidation, violence, etc. Just ask any conservative speaker who has tried to speak on a college campus."

Yup...that is true...the only ones trying to stop anyone from "hearing the opposition voice" have been democrats. If you need examples I will give you a couple: Harry Reid led a not only illegal but slanderous attack on Rush Limbaugh with his letter to censor him(concerning the phony soldier story, one I heard live and have researched) He is a private individual and has a right to broadcast his opinions. On the same note, Congress tried to limit/stop consevative talk shows from
being heard, another effort to specifically target Rush Limbaugh.
Global Warming:
liberal environmentalists tried to shut down anyone that had a alternate view then the one Gore tried to present as fact, when it is nothing more than a political movement. Gore made many false conclusions in his movie....concensus is neither fact nor theory.
Do you need more?

What a quack.

Stop The Left Wing Violence.

Desiree Ali-Fairooz was practicing psycholigical violence, which is one component of terrorism. Terrorists kill people, that's direct violence and the fear they instill in the rest of the population is psychological violence.

Code Pink has gone from supporting terrorists (i.e., $650,000 contribution to Fallujah) to being a terrorist group themselves.

CODEPINK--the new face of the Democratic Party.

Along with Desiree Fairooz, who in an interview conceded: "My family thinks I've lost my mind".

I'd be running the other way if I ever got within a mile of the beast woman Condi!!! Fugly. She's a loser freak.

John D is right. Lefties like this lady are WAY more dangerous than Al-Qaeda. Would an Al-Qaeda operative have been so cruelly violent and intimidating if they were to manage to gain access to the US Capitol, a House hearing room and Condi Rice? God help us if Al-Qaeda takes copies these horrifying tactics. Thank you media for helping the enemy.

Cheap theatrical nonsense.

That lady is a nut and should be prosecuted for assault.

She's lucky Condi didn't kick her butt.

Posted by: sailor | October 25, 2007 12:04 PM

[quote]
Harry Reid led a not only illegal but slanderous attack on Rush Limbaugh with his letter to censor him
[/quote]

Please post links to any law sites that state what law or laws that Harry Reid's letter violated.

[quote]
(concerning the phony soldier story, one I heard live and have researched)
[/quote]

Rush Limprod called Rep. Murtha a "phony soldier", even though Rep. Murtha served in the US Marines for 37 years.

[quote]
Congress tried to limit/stop consevative talk shows from being heard, another effort to specifically target Rush Limbaugh.
[/quote]

Many members of Congress believed that Rush Limprod insulted the troops, so why should the US taxpayer pay to have his show on taxpayer-paid airwaves in Iraq? Let the multimillionaire pay to have his show on some other radio network that his available to the troops.

[quote]
liberal environmentalists tried to shut down anyone that had a alternate view then the one Gore tried to present as fact
[/quote]

That's BS and you know it. Unless you can PROVE the "tried to shut down" part of your allegation.

I was disappointed - I wish the woman had punched Rice right in the chops.

Why why why doesn't somebody do SOMETHING to the monsters in the Bush/Cheney/Israeli killing machine???

This was outrageous and points to how misplaced radical protests in the long run harm our freedoms. You can rest assured that protective barriers will go up in Congress during high profile hearings.

The terrorists hate us because of our freedom...and so do a lot of conservatives at times. While the breach in security is alarming, I love it when our conservative friends on the post board get uncomfortable with what sometimes happens in our democratic society.

Rice is the criminal here, not Code Pink.

I missed their protest of Saddam Hussein.

While I think that the Code Pink protesters have every right to SAY whatever they want (although as it happens I think they say it in a very hysterical, ranting way that makes their message more ineffective), they ought not have the opportunity to get that close to a public official like Ms. Rice. Indeed, as other posters have pointed out, the lady could have had a knife or gun in her hand rather than red ink.

It doesn't matter whether it's liberals protesting conservatives or conservatives protesting liberals -- protesters have every right to speak their mind, but public officials should be kept safe from harm.

This woman has the right idea but she's over the top.

I will say this though, I believe Bush and Cheney should get an up close and personal look (like this) at what people really think of their "war of choice" in Iraq.

HAHA, RepugliKKKans confronted with fake blood, and they act like this peaceful protest is worse than the killings they encourage in Iraq?

What moral, physical, and ideological cowards the RepugliKKKans are!

Code Pink is a rent a mob organization and are far out leftists.Liberal Democrats are dangerous. They caan't argue in the arena of ideas they have to cut conservatives off or get ad boculum to prove they are the nuts they are.The Capitol Police are charged with protecting people in the nation's Capitol were where they ?This Amazon might have killed Condi.Jerry White, Springfield, IL

Rice is definitely the criminal in this case. I don't like how the author (Frank James) writes how Codepink's "immediate goal is to gain publicity" as if it's a bad thing. You can't sit there and tell me that Americans were fooled by this gov't without publicity, because thats ALL it was. NO FACTS. ALL PUBLICITY. THANKS TO THE GOVERNMENT'S PUPPETS, THE MEDIA. otherwise there wouldn't be so many innocent women and children dying in iraq right now and iraq wouldn't be a giant cesspool of terror as is created by bushy/dick.

Obviously, some on the Left have no imagination. Otherwise, they would see what a huge security risk this is.

Let's change the scenario from Condoleeza Rice to a a esteemed older and frail civil rights activist and Code Pink to a white supremist organization. Are you beginning to see the problem here?

Let's change the scenario from Condoleeza Rice to a a esteemed older and frail civil rights activist and Code Pink to a white supremist organization. Are you beginning to see the problem here?

Posted by: MnZ | October 25, 2007 1:47 PM

Yeah, but back in reality Bush, Cheney, KKKarl Rove etc ARE part of a white surpremist organization and code pink IS a peace group, nice try Dope.

Because they are unable to compete in the arena of ideas, Code Pink, and other lib terrorists resort to their own terrorist tactics. They insult our troops, seek to protect terrorists, and worry about global warming, while the world slides toward WWIII. What blind fools!

Let's change the scenario from Condoleeza Rice to a a esteemed older and frail civil rights activist and Code Pink to a white supremist organization. Are you beginning to see the problem here?

Posted by: MnZ | October 25, 2007 1:47 PM

Yeah, but back in reality Bush, Cheney, KKKarl Rove etc ARE part of a white surpremist organization and code pink IS a peace group, nice try Dope.
http://s86.photobucket.com/albums/k88/Duke_S/?action=view¤t=Condoleezza_Rice_ds_150.jpg

MnZ,
Should a Condi Rice supporter be allowed to get this close? Think hard now and let me remind you we have a Bill of Rights.

Ahh, being a whack job lefty......what a life it would be.

Never have to make a difficult decision or judgement. Never have to intellcutally wrap your thoughts around much of anything.

Just blame the easiest and closest person to you. NO consequences for assigning the "safe" blame during difficult circumstances.

Hey, you might even become a hero to other whack job lefties.

How simple.

The real story is that USA Today wrote yesterday that the estimated cost of the war is 2.4 Billion--that is the Bush/Cheney invasion/occupation. Also GWB's brother, Niel Bush, is responsible for the Savings and Loan Crisis of 1988--as he was the director of the Silverado Savings and Loan when it collapsed, ultimately costing Americans 150 Billion dollars. Does anyone see a pattern here?

Anyone has the right to say whatever they please. But if I were to put my hands around someone's head, I doubt they would listen to any of the words coming out of my mouth. And if I did such a thing in my workplace I would be fired and perhaps arrested. Whether or not CodePink is a peaceful organization should have no bearing as to whether such an action is right or wrong.

"Yeah, but back in reality Bush, Cheney, KKKarl Rove etc ARE part of a white surpremist organization and code pink IS a peace group, nice try Dope."

If you reaaly believe what you just said, you need mental help. If you don't, you're just a typical raving liberal extremist like the lunatic who accosted Rice.

How could Capitol Hill Security miss the Code Pink activists? It isn't like they're hard to pick out of a crowd! Is anybody investigating this security breech and prosecuting those involved?

Capitol Security

"AMERICA SPEAKS"

Secretary Rice shouldn't be alarmed by this, they obviously let her in and didn't taze the lady.

But if my son was in Iraq with no body armour and no bullets. I WOULD BE SEEKING IMPEACHMENT OF THE SOMEONE THEY CALL THE COMMANDER AND CHIEF.

NO BULLETS, FAULTY BODY ARMOUR. go with the army you got. Well that was the last SECRETARY OF DEFENSE.

SHE DOESN'T HAVE A CHILD IN THIS MILITARY, SHE DOESN'T HAVE A MOM, OR A DAD OR SON, OR A DAUGHTER FIGHTING NEXT TO BLACKWATER GETTING PAID SQUAT WHILE THE GUY WITH BULLETS, WITH ARMOUR FROM OUR TAXPAYERS DOLLARS JUST CONTINUES TO SMOKE HIS CIGARS AND FEW IRAQIS DURING THE DAY.

IT MAY BE TIME WHERE PEACEFUL MOVEMENTS MEAN NOTHING BUT THE AMERICAN SPIRIT.

WE ARE DEALING WITH THE DEVILS SPIRIT, AND 2.4 TRILLION DOLLARS LATER, HE DOESN'T CARE.

JUST GET BACK TO WORK SLAVE!

Condi Rice is a war criminal. I am glad Desiree confronted her. Good job!

The reality is that in a free society there is no way to prevent incidents like this from happening. Unless we become a society in which the public is never allowed in the presence of our rulers, there cannot be 100% security.

What legal meaures could have prevented this? Outlawing ink? (remember ink doesn't kill people, people kill people)? Banning the public from the US capitol? What?

No Vivian, what is the pattern?

That 2.4 billion includes Afghanistan too. Are you against that invasion/occupation as well?

I see a pattern of left wingers making weak arguments when thier BDS is flaring up.

To the idiot who said she could have had a knife.

They search you and you go through a metal detector before you go in.

Duhhh

No.

I don't like Rice but that was plain stupid.

The protester just made it that much more difficult for the people to attend hearings.

I was quite struck by the power of this protest. It was fitting.

Matters are so tightly controlled in the U.S. that even people with the wrong slogan on a t-shirt or the wrong bumper sticker are not allowed to attend Bush and Cheney speeches.

It's genuinely starting to resemble fascism.

There cannot be much democracy without protest.

Hey iknonklast, you idiot, they checked the planes for anything dangerous on 9/11 too.

hey brian, you IDIOT, don't you know you can't hijack a hall with an audience and fly it into another building? don't you know there's armed security guards there to stop anybody who tried?

Pathetic security. What the heck is going on here? If the most high-profile individuals in a security-crazed administration are this accessible, how screwed our shlubs like us?

Posted by: Distrust and Verify | October 25, 2007 11:49 AM

We've been screwed for 7 seven years, Bub. Where you been? Supporting the screwers, it sounds like.

I think protestors should be allowed to enter all public venues, but Ms. Rice's security should not let anyone within 25 feet of her. They really dropped the ball on this one. A free society does not mean people are free to threaten others. The protestor could have had a plastic letter opener or something invisible to the metal detectors. There are crazy people out there who are hostile to public figures on both sides of the isle. The reasons range from fact to fiction.

(From an earlier blog)

Re. protests;

If you want see a great little cult classic, featuring ChiTown pre-Trump, and most other 'scrapers except Hancock, and get some of the most compelling scenes from the '68 Demo-Convention, go to your video store and rent 'Medium Cool' (Wexler)

It's a time machine.

He posed as a journalist, put his actors in the protests, then filmed. Un-real reality.

Pay attention to all of it. The motorcycle film courier during the credits at the start of the film is a tour of the old loop/Mag Mile, sans glitz.

I can almost see me walking to the Van Buren Street induction center.

If you want to stage a strong visual protest, fine, but I don't agree with threatening someone's personal space or person...no matter how evil they are.

Still, I hope Condi ponders this woman's message when she's trying to sleep at night. (Judging from the picture, I don't think she'll be fazed)

Great theatrics - do you think Condi was in on it? It sure elicited sympathy from those who would otherwise ignore our ineffectual Secretary of State. It's only a title without much power because Cheney has garnished all the power; it's his administation, not Bushy boy's.

I am on the Hill all the time--It would be very hard to get a knife into the congressional buildings. However this woman should be punished because she was out of line. Assault is too strong because she did not touch Condoleeza Rice. And also the others sitting in their seats should have been left alone because they did nothing wrong. Although I understand why they would have been concerned enough to throw them out, they should not have been arrested if they complied.

What a surprise: More rote, worthless, insipid histrionics by self-proclaimed Thinkers. Farooz's own dim bootlicking fans rave elsewhere that "she should be Secretary of State!" or "replace Tom Lantos!" for "her bravery!".

Farooq deserves similar treatment: Somebody craft a sphincter out of Play Doh and wave it in her face when - if - she's released from jail.

Deeeeeep, eh!!

John D is right. Lefties like this lady are WAY more dangerous than Al-Qaeda. Would an Al-Qaeda operative have been so cruelly violent and intimidating if they were to manage to gain access to the US Capitol, a House hearing room and Condi Rice? God help us if Al-Qaeda takes copies these horrifying tactics. Thank you media for helping the enemy.

Posted by: john | October 25, 2007 12:19 PM

Yep slience the media, thats the answer. This is not a news story, it's aiding the enemy. Know if we could just get rid of that pesky 1st amendment and we'd have the Cheny/Bush wetdream. May I take this time to say that you big tuff chickenhawk republicans sound like a bunch of whining babies!!!

Some chick got close to Mrs Rise with a statement of protest, one that is not far of the mark I might add. Well it only points out how lame her security is which should now be corrected. I think you sissys should be thanking the press for exposing the vulnerability.

Republicans quit making a federal case out of everything. Ruins you macho rhetoric. You may now go back to your pacifiers!!!

Condi is a war criminal and she needs to be confronted with that fact more often.

I have to agree with Mr. James. Regardless of the deep disdain that I feel for Ms. Rice, the safety of high profile federal officials needs to be preserved. Protesters should be allowed in the same room as these officials, but they should not be permitted to get in such close proximity.

JD-- the money spent in Iraq is much greater, and more irresponsible than the S & L scandal (150 B)--which was horrendous. And, again, what really has been the return on Afgan.-- bin L., the poppy trade, new al. Q. recruits, Tillman? (2.4 T combined occupation/invasion/war)? George and Niel Bush --Pappy must be so proud-- America would have been better off if he was sterile.

I may not agree with Condy's politics, but I don't think anyone has the right to approach another human being in that manner. Condy should have forgotten her position, remembered her heritage, and like any true GRIT (girl raised in the South) kicked her butt. This will serve as a deterrent to anyone else who feels just because she's educated, and coiffed she can be taken as a protester's target in close proximity. By the way - her security detail should be hung from a tree in Alabama.

i can't help but mirthlessly smile at the irony of the chicken-hawk pantywaists freaked out about a woman getting up close and personal (with red paint and open palms) to one of the chief architects of a destructive and destabilizing war that has killed and wounded millions.

it's always the case with the chickenhawk neos -- tough on tv, tough on the anonymous internet, but unable to stomach even a little in your face rabblerousing from a woman.

jeeze-louise

your irrational fear, and outright stupidity in the face of lies committed by your fearless leaders scares the heck out of me.

If only Condi had one of her Blackwater death squads, err..uh...I mean, "security" squads with her. Those guys could have blasted her out of that dangerous situation. So 12-14 innocent bystanders in the room would have been shot in cold blood as they tried to flee. No price is too high to pay for the "security" of the State Department!

If I was emperor, "Code Pink" would all be dead. Clean up the gene pool..

To call Code Pink non-violent misses the point. First, any organization, ANY ORGANIZATION, can have a nut or two in it. Second, just because this happened to be Code Pink doesn't mean that it couldn't have been any other person/organization. Protection of the SoS was absent and should not have been.

All I can say after reading all those comments is "Thank god I don't live in the U.S."

Luckily, our leaders in Canada aren't complicit in the deaths of hundreds of thousands of innocent people, we don't participate in the pursuit of empire, and our state-sponsored terrorism pales in comparison to that practiced by the U.S. abroad - in Latin America in the 70's, Indonesia just before, and now Iraq. Remember, the invasion was never sanctioned by the UN Security Council - thereby making it an illegal war, and all legal infractions stemming from it the sole responsibility of the Bush administration; thereby making Farooz a little less wacky.

If I were a U.S. citizen, I fear I'd be as 'crazy' as Farooz - hell, I'd probably already be in jail.

Can anyone say 'fascist police state'? It's when the corporations and the governments are the colluding to run the show - better get ready, my Yankee friends.

Im speachless at how low the left has sunk. If even for a split secon you attempt to justify this mad womans 15 minutes of fame you are probably just as lost.

Desiree is being punished as I'm sure she expected to be. I'd just like to know the last time a peace activist purposely hurt someone. I know of many pro-war people who have hurt peace activists, but I haven't seen anything the other way around. Being non-violent doesn't mean the activist won't get in someone's face. Condi doesn't even flinch. She knew she wasn't going to be hurt.

The shrieking harpie from code pink was invited into that hearing room by congressional democrats. Whoever gave that obviously unhinged nutcase her pass should be investigated.

Darren, perhaps you need to educate yourself on what fascism actually is. The attack by the Senate Democrats on a private citizen (Rush Limbaugh) in an attempt to silence him fits perfectly into the fascist mindset. The left in this country are suffering from mass insanity.

If the best you can come up with to defend Rice is what could have happened, you highlight your willingness to ignore what has happened (invasion, occupation, over a million dead Iraqi) and what is happening (more occupation, more death).

It's also sad to see how many people fall for trying to reframe the debate into how Rice could have been hurt (but wasn't except for her pride). But that's the same media which championed this war, either ignored or belittled the protestors, and apparently still think killing is an appropriate way to conduct foreign affairs.

Stanley Payne's Fascism: "Comparison and Definition" uses a lengthy itemized list of characteristics to identify fascism, including the creation of an authoritarian state, (Patriot Act, illegal wire taps); a regulated, state-integrated economic sector (military-industrial financed economy); fascist symbolism (where do you want me to start?); anti-liberalism (A lot of you); anti-communism (almost all of you); anti-conservatism, (again, a lot of you. Most Americans are dedicated centrists, but don't know it).

Semiotician Umberto Eco attempts to identify the characteristics of proto-fascism as the cult of tradition (rampant in US culture - football, lack of gun control, the 'cause of freedom'), rejection of modernism (science, schmience), cult of action for action's sake (fight them there, saves fight'em here!), life is lived for struggle (good and evil, anyone? Or Christian/Islamist?), fear of difference (Eek - scary muslims!), rejection of disagreement (same thing), contempt for the weak (almost the same thing, but add 'liberal'), cult of masculinity and machismo (Bush practically bleeds testosterone. I personally think that's what has inhibited his brain), qualitative populism (Hey, I'm a rancher from Texas - I'm one of you!), appeal to a frustrated majority (you're scared, we'll help), obsession with a plot (this is freedom versus terrorism, people! They hate us for our freedoms!), illicitly wealthy enemies (opium, anyone? How about millions of dollars of terror-fund money?), and speaking Newspeak (if you don't know what this is, you shouldn't have read this far to begin with), in his popular essay Eternal Fascism: Fourteen Ways of Looking at a Blackshirt.

The following elements are characteristics of a fascist state: nationalism - check, statism - check, militarism - BIG check, totalitarianism - okay, you're off the hook on this one, anti-communism - BIG check, corporatism - BIGGEST check and populism.

So yeah, I've educated myself a bit on fascism. The fact the Senate Dems attacked Rush proves nothing - no Senator is a member of the proletariat. They're a part of the structure. That case helps prove the point.

All comments in parentheses were mine, Sarah.

Ooh wah,

She didn't even touch her. She was making a theatrical point and it was a strong one. Don't you think people dying is even more shocking? Get over it - this is America - we do have some rights left - I think.

Serious Failure of security. As for CodePink: Do they honestly think that their touchy-feely message is going to stop violence? According to their website they are against "all future wars" but advocate "any means necessary" to end the suffering in Darfur. What are they going to do? Throw Flowers at the janjaweed and ask "pretty please stop killing people?"
This is my problem with hypocritical "peace" organizations like Code Pink...