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Two videos: A pushy minister tries to enter a Senate hearing with an anti-war button pinned to his coat, is swarmed by half a dozen police officers, taken to the floor, and arrested. An obnoxious student tries to question Sen. John Kerry at a public forum, is swarmed by half a dozen police officers, taken to the floor, and arrested.

Are our public officials so delicate that they need to be protected, with this kind of force, from impolite behavior? Why are the police wired so tight, so these days? (Senator, can you explain why you -- DON'T MOVE, YOU'RE UNDER ARREST!) The bubble of force surrounding our politicians is becoming absurd.

And man, do they love that taser.

ADDED LATER: Here's another video of the Florida arrest from a different angle and with a different starting and ending point. Pretty clearly the kid is an incredible idiot, but I'd say the same for the officer who tells him he was "inciting a riot." And note how the whole thing begins: Kerry saying "That's all right, let me answer his question," while the police decide that it's their job to regulate questions asked in public.

Posted on Monday, September 17, 2007 at 10:45 PM | Comments (15) | Return

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