MANCHESTER, New Hampshire (CNN ) – Columnist and author Eric Alterman has been released after being arrested Sunday night inside the debate spin room. He was charged with criminal trespass after police say he refused repeated orders to leave.
Goffstown, N.H. police said Alterman was in the spin room as a guest of the Creative Coalition and went to an area reserved for a private reception for WMUR-TV. Police said he was asked by an executive at the party if he was invited to the private area and was asked to leave. A police officer was called after a verbal altercation ensued. According to police, Alterman was asked seven times to leave and became increasingly loud as he refused. After ignoring a final request, police said he was handcuffed and taken from the building.
Alterman spoke with CNN after being released. He called the arrest a “misunderstanding” and claimed he did not refuse orders to leave.
He told CNN he was waiting in the spin room for the debate to end but there was no place to sit. He claimed he saw an area upstairs and was not stopped when he walked up there. He said he saw a bar area and asked if it was an open bar. Told that it was, he ordered a wine and a water. He then said he was approached by a man and asked if he was invited to the party. Alterman said he asked for the man’s name because he had been treated “brusquely”. He said the man declined to give his name and called for an officer.
Alterman said he “never raised his voice once” and identified himself as a journalist. When he asked for the police officer’s name, the office threatened to arrest him. Alterman said he asked for a supervising officer to come over and tried to explain the situation. He claims he was cut off and acknowledged he may have been argumentative when he said, "could I please finish a sentence here?”
He was booked and released after paying $30. Alterman said he will fight to get the charges dropped.
Alterman writes a column for “The Nation” and writes the “Altercation” blog for Media Matters. He also has authored several books, including WhyWhen Presidents Lie.
– CNN Political Desk Managing Editor Steve Brusk
From CNN Politics
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GO ERIC GO!!!!
Yeah for the cops
Sounds like a loonie lefty. I'm sure Bush had something to do with this.
They have a spin room? This isn't shameful enough?
It's way past time to stop calling these shows "debates".
Why doesn't someone find out what Mr. Alterman wanted to communicate since he was so intent on speaking or listening? Or being who he is they could just dismiss him as another liberal something-or-other.
Liberals don't like following the rules, so what is the big deal here?
what can you do about the saftey of people when natural disasters occur in some parts of the country like what happened when hurricane katrena came
This kind of activity can be expected to give Alterman brownie points with the daily kos/ alternet crowd, if not an actual promotion on CNN.
Here's to the cop doing the arresting. I'll open a beer in your honor.
http://bitsblog.florack.us
A "private" party in an area of a larger room where the press had gathered, and into which Alterman, as a credentialed member of the press, had evidently been invited - and he's being charged with criminal trespass??? It doesn't pass the smell test. Sounds like a misuse of the criminal trespass laws to me, in order to effectuate a removal and not seriously to lead to criminal prosecution, and I will bet you the charges are tossed out. My educated guess is WMUR-TV had hired off-duty police to provide "security" at the event, and the police got over zealous. Alterman's goatee, and questions he might likely have been asking, probably raised their and WMUR-TV's suspicions. I'm just guessing here. But it's ridiculous. WMUR-TV should have been honored to have him there.
and in less reported news, CNN arrested Truth in order to sell us the war.
Blitzer? Oh, come on. If Iraqis hadn't died in the Gulf war, he wouldn't have a job.
@ Tom Dalglish. Did you read the article? Mr. Alterman was asked to leave the area seven times after he was questioned by an executive at the party if he was invited to the private area. If he had permission or credentials required to enter that area he would not have been asked to leave!
Mr. Alterman was apparently to stupid to follow directions from the officer at the scene, all he had to do was leave the area and he would not have been arrested.
This guy's a crackpot!
The ACLU has taken his case and is suing for the right for anybody to be permitted anywhere at any time since this is a free country and no one should be excluded from anything for any reason. And I like his chances.
Media Matters belongs to Hillary Clinton for all practical purposes.
Need more be said of Eric's motives?
Lock him up and throw away the key!
"Top of the World, Ma"
Ok, here's what happened.
I came to New Hampshire with the Creative Coalition for a panel tomorrow morning and was supposed to be in the auditorium for the debate but because I am a journalist, they were told I would have to wait in the spin room. When I got to the spin room, which was an empty gymnasium, I noticed that there were chairs located on a balcony above us. So I went up there–no one asked me for my ID or anything–and went over to the bar and asked if it was a cash bar, because I had no idea what kind of event it was. I was told it was an open bar so I asked for a glass of wine and a glass of water and went to sit down and wait for the event to begin.
A guy came over and asked me who I was and I told him I was a colmunist for The Nation and he told me I had to leave. I thought he was kind of rude, so I asked him his name, thinking it might go into Altercation the next day. He refused to answer me I asked again. He refused again. But I was following him out when he went to get a cop. The cop told me to leave the room and I did. We left the room, past where the people were handing out badges to go into the reception and I figured the entire drama was over. But the cop kept yelling at me to leave. I didn't understand. I thought I had left. I asked him to stop yelling, I had left. He kept telling me to leave. In retrospect, I guess he was kicking me out of the building and I didn't understand, but it was really mystifying and annoying and I told him I wanted to speak to his commanding officer.
We went over to the commanding officer and I, calmly and politely, sought to explain that I didn't know why this cop was continuing to hassle me. The first cop kept interrupting me as I tried to explain myself and finally I turned around and said, "Can I please finish a sentence here?" That's when the first cop decided to arrest me. He handcuffed me behind my back and took me outside.
(A funny aside, Congressman Ed Markey happen to walk by then and came over to say hello to me and stuck out his hand for a shake. I had to say, "Sorry, Ed, I'm being handcuffed." He laughed, and told the officers that he would vouch for my character and walked away.)
Anyway, I never refused to leave and the only time I raised my voice was when the first cop would not let me explain what I had thought was a massive misunderstanding to his commanding officer. Once I was arrested and brought to the Goffstown station, I actually had a pretty nice time with the cops there, who were very friendly and understanding of my situation. When they learned I was a writer and planned to write about this incident, they wanted to make sure that I knew that the cop who had arrested me was not one of theirs, but was from another town and had been working on an "reciprocity" arrangement.
I paid a $30 to be released and the whole thing took about 45 minutes. I filed a written report with the police explaining that I thought the arresting officer had treated me unfairly, and I do think this was the case, but I now think it was based on a misunderstanding on just where he wanted me to stay and where he wanted me to leave.
In any case, I spoke to CNN and I believe they will correct some of the misimpressions created by their first story. Just to be clear, I did not refuse to leave seven times and I did not, as far as I know, raise my voice, except for that last time.
For the record, I also don't remember anyone reading me my Miranda rights, though I don't know if that is ultimately going to matter. I have a court date in July but I am hoping to be able to clear it up before I leave tomorrow because it strikes me as mosty, a misunderstanding.
Why does Eric hate America?
Stick it to da Man, Eric.
Free the Goffstown One! Free the Goffstown One!Remember Mumia!
Why there was a "spin room" or whether Eric is a lefty loonie is all irrelevant. If I'm hosting a private party, I don't care if the Pope or the Dali Lama shows up...if they are not invited and we don't want them there, then you have no business being there. Out you go! Never mind all the political hyberbole
Why would a jounalist (who must have had press credentials to be at the debate in the first place) be barred from the press spin room? Sounds like an attempt to control spin to me.
"Liberals don’t like following the rules, so what is the big deal here?"
As unAmerican as can be. If conservatives had had their way, we'd still be an English colony.
Democrats are sooo brave. They'll debate in front of friendly CNN moderator, but FOX, noo tooo scary.
Never mind Republicans debated on MSNBC and will debate on all the news outlets, EVEN far-left ones like CBS, New York Times.
Democrats only comfortable with questions from other liberals though. If FOX scares them, wait till they run into real, live terrorists.
They can't lead or protect America, all they can do is gripe and complain.
Demoquits!
Holy Cow!
It's like the Chicago Convention in 1968 all over again! The Democrat party bigwigs always use the police to stiffle all dissent! I'll bet anything that Hillary was behind this. Her MO is all over this!
These Democrats will never learn. Once you encourage the looney left, then you must take them seriously!
Eric’s the kind of guy who asks the flight attendant for that empty seat up in first class because, damn it, he deserves to be up there.
Uh, baba durag, the revolution started because of taxation. So, no, under liberals, we would have been stuck under the crown's rule. Read your history.
No I think you have it wrong If liberals had it there way we would still be an English colony and then a colony of the USSR if it still existed.
That damn Ronald Reagan! Always trampling people's rights!
Oh... wait... No one trampled this guy's right. He acted te ass and got flagged for it.
Still Reagan's fault.
I don't care for Alterman's politics but his explanation sounds authentic to me. I *surely* hope that the first cop did not get aggressive simply because Eric works for the Nation.
The comment by "Howard Lee", however, is WAY over the top. I don't know whether he's on the Right and being ignorant or on the Left and trying to discredit Conservatives but how could such a vile comment possibly get by the CNN moderators? Someone needs to investigate this guy for terroristic threats.
I despise Alterman and his consistent covering for the left. This is as sweet to me as the Bill Moyers DUI arrest!
Just another immature, egocentric, angry, elitist, Leftist troublemaker doing what he does best: cause trouble. How DARE a mere cop ask him to leave!
The conservatives who write on pages like this are pathetic. They are uninformed and pointlessly aggressive, and thanks to their great fat drug-addled idol, Mr. Limbaugh (who never met an opiate he didn't like, the rich man's Will Rogers), they drown in contempt and seriously unfunny, unclever puns that are so stupid that they lose even the propaganda benefit (Democrat for Democratic, etc.).
Does a person have to be ignorant to be a conservative or is it just one of those stereotypes that is only 99.999% true? For you conservatives, that means less than all of you are stupid.
I see that despite the last 7 years, there are still some rightwingnuts alive and well in their genetic ignorance.
This guy's story sounds legit to me and sounds just like the cops I know. Give a punk a gun and a badge and.....he's still a punk with a gun and a badge. And incredibly ignorant and rude.
First they came for Eric Alterman, and I laughed because I was not Eric Alterman. Then.... well, that's about it.
Isn't it patriotic to trespass, just as it is patriotic to disagree with the government?!?
Mr. Big Time Columnist/Author had to ask if it was an "Open (read free) Bar" and helped himself to a glass of wine. If they had said a "Cash (You gotta pay) Bar" he would have left imediately... Class Act..Bet he left a big tip, too..
Wow, such frightened little righties, scared of the big bad lefties.
And according to history, the Tories were the conservatives of their day. So like I said, if the conservatives had had their way we'd still be an English colony. Deal with it.
Eric WHO????
I am waiting to hear the spin that Eric will place on his arrest. I don't mean what has been said up to this point, but what is said later, by both sides.
Shawn wrote: “Mr. Alterman was apparently to stupid to follow directions from the officer at the scene, all he had to do was leave the area and he would not have been arrested.”
What area? Which area? The private party area? Or the entire premises? Apparently the small-town cop just wanted to play jackbooted thug and was shouting vague orders and interrupting Mr. Alterman when Mr. Alterman tried to speak to the cop’s superior and inquire what the problem was and why he was still being hassled after leaving the private party area.
This nation doesn’t need idiot cops who only know how to demand that citizens and taxpayers and journalists “Respect mah autoritah!” Such cops don’t believe in the Constitution or the Bill of Rights
see how the war pig bush and they chaney nazis want to crush the people. they do not want the people to know what they do.
Anyone familiar with Alterman's "style" as a Conservative critic & overall contrarian realizes how sanctimonious, shrill, uncharitable, & overall - generally lacking in breeding & couth Alterman comes off as.
Maybe he tried his blustering self-righteous know-it-all routine with a person who isn't moved by that inane kind of demagoguery.
In any event, we can only hope he accidentally gets shipped to Guantanamo through a paperwork mishap.
It must have been Kennedy who asked Eric to leave – the 'open bar' was provided for him only.
First, let me say that I vote Republican. Now in fairness, none of us were there; we don't know what really happened. Mr. Altermann may have been treated disrespectfully; he may have overreacted; these things have a way of spinning out of control.
Dear Leftists, those of us on the Right are not "scared". In addition we are not "stupid" because unlike the Left that deals in conspiracy theories and lies, the Right deals in facts. Silly little Leftists! Go figure...
More of the same. If he identified himself as press, and if he was in the wrong area, he should have been shown to a or the proper area period. You would really have to be there or see video to know all pertinent issues, which is necessary to form an opinion. In my opinion anyway.
Lance wrote:"Uh, baba durag, the revolution started because of taxation. So, no, under liberals, we would have been stuck under the crown’s rule. Read your history."
Conservatives would have been royalists, and pro-government. Just like the Republicans today support everything Bush does, whether it's reckless foreign policy blunders and needless wars, or massive new entitlement programs and reckless deficit spending or putting incompetent hacks in charge of important government functions. The GOP just loves it.
The Revolutionary liberals would have been the troublemakers, the free thinkers, the atheists and deists like Thomas Paine, Benjamin Franklin, and Thomas Jefferson. The GOP-style Conservatives would have been Anglicans, members of the official Church of England, happy to have the King in charge.
There's simply no way conservatives would have sought to overthrow the rule of a king. Even taxation would be suffered gladly, taxes being the king's prerogative.
Alex Campbell writes: "Why there was a “spin room” or whether Eric is a lefty loonie is all irrelevant. If I’m hosting a private party, I don’t care if the Pope or the Dali Lama shows up…if they are not invited and we don’t want them there, then you have no business being there"
By every indication there was little or no identification of what that part of the building, and thus the party was being used for. If you don't put up any signage to direct people, and your bartender doesn't know what's going on, it's bad form for your first move to be calling a cop to throw a journalist out.
There was quite probably a different open bar for Alterman and other journalists to use, and he was simply misdirected.
I dunno, seems pretty stupid to escalate to police action and get someone arrested over something so ridiculously petty and predictable. Must have been the local GOP. I can understand why they'd so jealously guard their open bar from accidental interlopers – I hear they're having trouble raising any money this cycle. Raging incompetence is not a big draw, I suppose.
The whole thing could have been avoided if the morons operating this open bar had said "I'm sorry, sir, this bar is for attendees of blah blah blah, I'm afraid you've been misdirected. Why don't you try downstairs."
You know, professional, polite, civil. Then again, the GOP keeps been telling us why torture is acceptable, so it should be no surprise that they don't know any other way to work with people.
Well Eric, I would be sympathetic, but I'm sure if this had happened at a GOP debate, The Nation and CNN would be screaming about brownshirt facists for months.
Anyone familiar with Eric Alterman's work knows that he's a nuanced thinker and historian, and is not deserving of the vitriol displayed here. If only you people took your angry energy and used it toward educating yourselves, we'd all be a whole lot better off.
Alright Dondrae. Face these facts:
Your president is at 28%
Your congress got thrown out on its' ear
Your president lied to his country to go on a military adventure he didn't prepare for, and our soldiers are killed every day because of it
Republicans place their party above their country, and make of themselves traitors,
I could go on, and on, and on, and on, and on.
Alterman is an arrogant Hillary Clinton agent who believes that rules do not apply to him. And he is a representative of Media Matters, which virulently opposes freedom of speech and media honesty.
"And according to history, the Tories were the conservatives of their day. So like I said, if the conservatives had had their way we’d still be an English colony. Deal with it."
Oh yeah, how could everyone have forgotten? The Tories advocated small government, low taxes, no government interference in business or in private homes and other capitalist ideas. Oh wait, no they didn't. I guess that is the problem with labels and a poor education. Please keep the internet a positive and free thinking place and keep your statist propaganda to yourself.
Hey, Ya'll:
I was noticing that bloggingheads.tv has some interesting comments about Eric's arrest:
http://bloggingheads.tv/video.php?id=296
and at Matt Yglesias's site too:
http://matthewyglesias.theatlantic.com/archives/2007/06/eric_alterman_fought_the_law.php
E.g., they dug up his ratings as a Professor at Brooklyn College (pretty funny): http://www.ratemyprofessors.com/ShowRatings.jsp?tid=508487
Jon H, you have a weird, revisionist manner of doing the famous Leftist trope, pretending all of the good things that have occurred in history are “Liberal”.
The “Big Government” people, ie Roundheads supported the King. These were loyalists & wanted big daddy King as divinely mandated, through a lazy, thoughtless misreading of Holy Writ.
The one-church model was papist-derived & repugnant to the patriots, who much desired many individual churches & free choice.
Contra, Conservativism has long been known as being interested more in local rule versus centralization (despite Bush's going off the reservation).
Conservativism had a British origin, but writers like Burke showed a unique style of thought wholly fitting for a new age.
Locke, as the greatest mind of the Enlightenment & a Puritan-reared thinker brought in the covenant-esque contract theory of government, but he was certainly progressive in that his Freedom of Religion, derived from Reformed election-logic.
The absurd notion that today's “progressives,” with their loathing of government limitation, lower taxes, and seething hostility towards free religious expression would have exemplified & embraced by the leading lights of the age is a staggering fiction.
Instead, you all would have simply been dismissed by the Framers as crackpots and dangerously anti-authority, ie antinomians opposed to the true authority derived from the Anglo-American common law tradition, that of Yahweh above, directing & judging the affairs of men.
The liberal mentality...I should have a free drink.
As far as who would support the crown, think centralized power, aka democrats and republicans. We independents are the ones who fought so you sorry crybaby types could argue over which party was the evil one. You fail to see the only difference is the timeframe for conversion to outright communism (for examples read Hil's recent speech, bush's handouts to foreign nations to fight aids)
Now, with that said, how does this qualify as real news that matters?
Eric, you are the typical little twerp who is a freeloader and thinks because he is a liberal writer for that rag "The Nation" he is above the law. You were not invited. It was a PRIVATE party, don't you get it.
Conservativism has Nothing to do with the philosophy of the colonies' Tories, and only someone utterly and bombastically ignorant of the two could confuse the them. There is your leftwing ignorance of the day, par excellence.
Knowing whom Eric works for, and knowing what his business is, makes me distrust him as a source. So all of a sudden he is "Mr. nice guy"? Really now. He may be innocent, but as leftists routinely disclaim any knowledge of a shared, objective truth, why in the world would Eric's words be trustworthy at first blush?
You can't at once preach the ethics of combatative progressive revolution and then wax eloquently on the decline of civility in society, guys. I'm not surprised that the so-called "progressives" have never figured out the fundamental conflict there.
Eric Alt. has a huge EGO... nobody can tell him what he can and can't do. Libs always think they are above everybody.
George Washington was a conservative.
How do you explane that?
"They’ll debate in front of friendly CNN moderator, but FOX, noo tooo scary.
Never mind Republicans debated on MSNBC and will debate on all the news outlets, EVEN far-left ones like CBS, New York Times.
Democrats only comfortable with questions from other liberals though. If FOX scares them, wait till they run into real, live terrorists.
They can’t lead or protect America, all they can do is gripe and complain.
Demoquits!
Posted By Mike, Denver, Colorado"
Mike–
Er, no. Democrats won't debate on Fox
because they're smart. Fox *actively supports the Republican party;* the last time the Dems appeared on Fox, Fox stopped broadcasting the debate before it was over so their panel could start making fun of the Democrats–not normal behavior for a news organization. Not gonna make that mistake twice.
Have you ever heard of the "memo of the day"? It's a set of talking points that everyone who works at Fox News reads. Anyone on air is supposed to recite as many of the talking points of the day as they can. All the talking points usually lean conservative.
You've got to understand that this is *not normal behavior* for a news organization.
As for the Times, well, it published hard-core conservatives William Safire, John Tierney, and David Brooks, in addition to *numerous* guest op-eds by righties. How many feisty liberals do you see on FOX?
And, judging from the way your party's behaved, it sounds like *you're* the guys who are scared of terrorists. Too scared to defend the Constitution. Doing exactly what Bin Laden wants. Ready to lock up American citizens who haven't been charged with anything (at least, Giuliani is.)
You might do yourself a world of good by reading "The Republican Noise Machine" by David Brock. I read NR's "The Corner" every day for balance. Do you actually check out honest-to-goodness left-leaning sources so you can get a clear picture of what's going on, or do you just mindlessly regurgitate what Limbaugh tells you?
Good Lord, whoever this moron is, the fact that he writes for the Nation should be enough grounds to get his commie ass arrested!! Ha ha ha....what a loser!!
commumists don't understand the concept of private property
What are the odds on one of the Republican canidates getting a divorce before the debate on Tuesday?
Greg Machlin: "Mike– Er, no. Democrats won’t debate on Fox because they’re smart...Have you ever heard of the “memo of the day”? It’s a set of talking points that everyone who works at Fox News reads...You’ve got to understand that this is *not normal behavior* for a news organization."
In the name of Zeus, listen to this pathetic, self-serving, piously deluded sniveling!!!
Q: WHY did Fox vault beyond anyone's wildest imaginings? A: Market Opportunity!!
Q: If Dan Rather's pouncing & celebrating faked, unchecked, anti-Repub documents was not evidence of a vast unspoken commitment to Leftism across the old media, what else could it be? A: DOH!!
Q: Why do Liberals snivel about Fox's bias, when Conservatives just philosophically took their lumps for decades? A: We had no choice.
Q: Why is Liberal, default bias in media acceptable, but moderate or Right-leaning persons execrable? A: It's NOT!!
Q: If Liberal ideas are stronger, more logical & truer than Conservative convictions, then WHY must Leftists always be given a friendly venue or a TV panel weighted 3-1 of Libs v. Conservatives?
A: The question answers itself.
OOo ooo I want to say something witty and mean and useless too! After reading through all this I am laughing my head off. Are Americans really argueing over who would have supported King George in 1776. HILLARIOUS!!!!!!! Why don't we draft George Washington for 2008? Can we all go back an throw tea in the harbor too?
how come we can't take responsiblity for our own actions without always blaming GW..I for one think it's time we all in this great country grow up and smell the roses...united we should all be ..supporting our commander in cheif of our great country and all in harms way.......
When he identified himself as a "journalist", they should have pulled the sticks and worked on him for a while...
It's really sad that, other than the "Who won the debate?" blog, THIS is the blog entry with the most comments. Wake up people! Who cares? A guy crashed a party! Big deal!
I have little faith in the voters in this country when I see stuff like this. Same people who probably can't name our Vice President but can name every contestant on American Idol since its first season. It's no surprise we get the government we elect.
So sick of the us vs. them crap too. This is what happens with a two party system, when 65% of the country probably all want the same thing.
Pathetic.
Since when does the host at a private party have to identify himself to have a crasher removed.
What a joke. All they had to do is charge the jerk for his drink and he would have left so fast their heads would have been swimming.
I agree, Bush's fault.
Is this kind of force needed in this situation? Maybe it's time to coach police officers in diplomacy. I saw a similar situation arise at a high school graduation recently. The police officers there found it prudent to haul off a mother of one the grads in handcuffs because she used a noise maker when her son's name was called.
Typical left wing liberal nut. One set of standards for mainline Americans and a different for himself.
Greg: Democrats won’t debate on Fox
because they’re smart. Fox *actively supports the Republican party;* the last time the Dems appeared on Fox, Fox stopped broadcasting the debate before it was over so their panel could start making fun of the Democrats–not normal behavior for a news organization.
LOL. What rock have you've been living under? GOP has gotten the same treatment from ABC/CBS/NBC/CNN/MSNBC for the last few decades. Its hysterical how Left pouts when the shoe is on the other foot.
Bottom line, Brit Hume would ask fair and tough questions, unlike the softballs thrown around last night. Dems are cowards for boycotting – if they're terrified of Brit Hume, how can we trust them to handle Ahmadinejad later?
I have not the least doubt that Eric Alterman's account of what happened (politely asking names, not raising voice) is correct and unexaggerated. Shameful that people write in to abuse him. Ernest Werner.
Greg:Do you actually check out honest-to-goodness left-leaning sources so you can get a clear picture of what’s going on, or do you just mindlessly regurgitate what Limbaugh tells you?
Funny how you tell people what they should read. Propaganda books attacking the Right. Required reading. Your totalitarian impulses are coming through again.
And I get all my left-leaning sources from NYTs, WaPo, LA Times, Newsweek, etc. Can you rec a good left-leaning website? All I can find are moonbats like DU/HuffPo/FDL who constantly vomit the bush lied! lie whenever they're asked a tough question.
Here's one I would have asked last night: What real evidence do we have that Iran has a WMD program, and how is that evidence any better than what we had re Iraq
Greg [will say]: uh..er..Bush Lied!
"The Tories advocated small government, "
They did! They didn't want the US to have any government. How could it be any smaller?
"low taxes, "
On the British, certainly they did. That's why they taxed the colonies.
"no government interference in business"
How can the operation of government not influence business? Or do you think Haliburton and Enron operated in a vacuum? That's nonsense. Do you mean low taxes on business? The reason the Torys didn't support that is because businesses weren't running their party, the king was. So they wanted the money to go to the king/empire, not to businesses, which is all low taxes mean: business operating costs are altered so they can use their money in other ways (such as advertising).
"or in private homes"
Sorry, we're talking about the anti-choice, abstention only, Republican party here?
" and other capitalist ideas."
They certainly were capitalists. You're talking about specific ideas of capitalism that benefit America, not capitalism per se.
Concerning whether the Founding Fathers were liberal or conservative...Are you saying that liberals are not against slavery? Because there is nothing in the Constitution about it, and it wasn't abolished until the Republican Party was started.
Or do you have evidence that Thomas Jefferson was in favor of gay marriage and Sam Adams in favor of abortion?
I'm so confused.
Knowing whom Eric works for, and knowing what his business is, makes me distrust him as a source. So all of a sudden he is “Mr. nice guy”? Really now. He may be innocent, but as leftists routinely disclaim any knowledge of a shared, objective truth, why in the world would Eric’s words be trustworthy at first blush?
I have to agree. I'm sure that, as Eric writes, there was a misunderstanding that got out of control. However, note the disqualifers in his own statement: I did not, as far as I know, raise my voice, except for that last time. Reading between the lines, I'll bet Eric played the "Do You Know Who I Am!" role and was confrontational and irrational with police. I've seen the same revisionism from perps in court [just before they show the Police video of the perp being an uncooperative asshat].
He should be thankful he wasn't covering a Chavez or Castro function.
free speech is dead and so is america!!
Another self important PIA gets his comeupance.
Good riddance
I hope he takes it to trial
This is the same guy who said "it is a shame Rush did not go completely deaf" Just showing more of his lack of class I guess.
They are trying to shut down Eric and CNN. This is all about the First Amendment. After all, censorship is becoming America's favorite past-time. The US gov't (and their corporate friends), already detain protesters, ban books like "America Deceived" from Amazon and Wikipedia America Deceived (book), shut down Imus and fire 21-year tenured, BYU physics professor Steven Jones because he proved explosives, thermite in particular, took down the WTC buildings. Free Speech forever (especially for CNN).
He claims he never refused to leave, But he hung around to argue with the cops.
He then trots out every liberal's favorite get out of jail free card. Nobody read him his Miranda Rights.
Boo hoo.
Guess what, crybaby?
They don't have to unless they're going to question you.
This whole thing is Eric's fault. 1st of all,He did not belong in the VIP room. 2nd, his big mouth started running. If I was that cop I would have tazed his ass.That would have been funny.
And to those of you who insist that everytime a Liberal doesn't get his way that somehow it is Bush's fault, this event was hosted by liberals for liberals. You are all brainwashed.
Baba, the only recent President we know lied served from 1993-2001. When Clinton lied, Serbians died, and Muslim fascists gained toeholds in Europe. More Democrats in the House lost in 1994 than Republicans lost in 2006. As a tidal wave, it's lacking. Congress' poll numbers are as low as the President's. This President hasn't run the war full out as it should be, but I don't think he knew exactly how deeply the military had been corrupted by lawyers. Free men should fight only as a last resort, and then should kill rather than arrest their enemies until free men are safe again, but saying that is different from the oh-so intellectual "Bush Lied!!"
Wasn't this however a story about a trespassing arrest?
Too bad he didn't get tasered.
Greg, if Fox "actively supports the Republicans," what does CNN do? How does CNN's founder vote? Why is that okay, while Fox News executives having differing political loyalties makes them un-American?
Send him to Gitmo and beat the crap out of him !!! Oh wait, he's a journalist, don't waste your time with him. He doesn't know ANYTHING of value, anyway.
Wow! While thankfully there are still a few folks for whom the truth matters, it appears to me the majority advocate "sentence first, trial latter", and have no interest in the "accused's side of the story" ???
"When a pickpocket meets a saint, all he sees are his pockets"
Stupid, pompous and pampered baby. Suck it up, and take your punishment like a man.
Your "freedom of the press" doesn't cover you on this one...take responsibility for your actions!
I went to St. Anslem and can speak from experience that the Goffstown cops are the most pigheaded group of hack policemen in the US. They are even worse than the Chicago cops, which is saying something.
This is the friendliest news article I have ever seen. I think it was written exactly how events like this should be covered. Now if Eric was a conservative writer his side of the story would be "could not be reached for comment".
Only a liberal would think you need to be marandized when you are arrested. A miranda warning is only needed when obtaining a confession. The cops didn't need a confession, they witnessed the offense.
So I was walking into this bar with all these signs in it saying "Bachelor Party for Johnny" even though I didn't know anybody named Johnny and I sat down and asked how much for a drink and the bartender said open bar and I said WOOHOO gimme a drink and so I was drinking and this big bouncer guy comes up to me and says this is a party for Johnny who are you and I told him my name (I'm pretty well known around town) and he says nope, you're not on the list get out and I asked him politely (didn't raise my voice a bit) who was he and what authority did he have kicking a well known guy like me out so he goes and gets his boss and his boss told me to get out and I politely ask (not raising my voice one bit) can I just finish my drink please and so the guy RUDELY says no get out now and turns around to leave so I follow him to the back of the bar where there's no drinks and said see? I left the bar I can't get anymore drinks and then he had the bouncer guy PHYSICALLY RESTRAIN ME AND THROW ME OUT ISN'T THAT TOTALLY UNFAIR?!
Had Mr Alterman been a "conservative" author, I am sure that would have been used to identify this journalist. Funny how "liberal" authors are never labeled as such...Just conservatives...Maybe that says more about CNN if one thinks about it??
How appropriate....a 'spin room' at a democrat debate!
CNN needs to do his homework. Eric Alterman’s book is titled WHEN President’s Lie, not WHY President’s Lie.
Quite the freudian slip, that!
Funny how reality changes when you filter everything through a liberal or a conservative brain. Either he pitched a fit, or he did not. If he did, and he is lying about it, then he fits right in with those who were in front of the podiums last night.
The Nation and Media Matters. what can you expect from these people? I put them all in the same grouping, NO CLASS OR DIGNITY! Very Arrogant.
"Alterman said he asked for the man’s name because he had been treated 'brusquely'."
Poor baby. I would have given him a tast of my night stick.
A guy gets thrown out of a party that has an open bar. Tomorrow Sen. Ted Kennedy will file legislation to prevent this outrage.
now eric is going to get a big red lapel pin from katrina! Yes he will; big as an apple, it will look just dandy on that grey flannel shirt Katrinas own design department is working on.
dont we just love and need our elites.
Publicity stunt. Then again, people like Alterman – on both sides of the political fence – feel as if they're some kind special group, chosen to be above all others, and they should be treated with the respect due the masters of the sheeple of this country. They need to be brought down to earth and taught they are in fact not special, not better than everyone else and not above the law.
Did the Democrats have a debate?
I love that someone left of center gets arrested at a left of center debate and the person who is blamed is Bush/conservatives....like the conservatives are gonna be hosting a private party at a democratic event....hate bush all you want for what he has done but come on lets try to stay in reality just a bit. As far as Alterman goes, his colunm is called "Altercation" shouldn't that be a small clue into how he approaches journalism....
another typical lefty...even too far left for the lefties he is covering
Sounds like this guy has an elitist attitude and wanted special treatment. Reminds me of Glen Beck's funny airport story about fellow elitist Al Franken, "Don't you have a special line for people like me?" Men of the people, indeed.
I see the right wing lunatics are engaged in their favorite pastime, erecting strawmen that have no semblence with reality so that they can attack same. Why is the 'right' so incapable of perceiving things as they are. Why must they always insert ideological phantasy into the most trivial and inconsequential happenings?
This is the way police operate. Quite often they will not let you say anything, and arrest you just for asking permission to speak to a supervising officer. You can be arrested no matter how polite and respectful you are. Too many police officers get a thrill from ball busting. You treat them with respect and you expect them to act professional. But too often you find they are just looking for an excuse to arrest people. Police often turn try to turn a simple misunderstanding into a major crime.
Right on Sean from Miami! Did anyone notice the first sentence of the CNN official story, "Columnist and author Eric Alterman..."? Can they not designate "LIBERAL" columnist and author as they would if it was George Will or any CONSERVATIVE columnist and author?
see how the war pig bush and they chaney nazis want to crush the people. they do not want the people to know what they do.
Posted By mrs. liberty : June 3, 2007 11:15 pm
Um, this was a Democrat's debate. Bush wasn't there. And it's Cheney. With an "e" Some people shouldn't try to participate where they don't belong, just like Altergoof.
I think the Open Bar is the
most important fact reported
in this story. What do you think?
Police don't have to read a defendant their Miranda rights unless they are going to question him and use his words against him in court.
Police often lie and claim they read a defendant their Miranda rights, when they did not. They often claim Defendants made a confession when no confession was made.
Many police follow the law, many police act above the law. Many bullies become police because it allows them to bully others and to vent their pent-up, repressed anger with impugnity.
I always had the highest respect for police until I got to personally know many of them. Many really are nice guys. But too many of them carry around a huge chip on their shoulders, and create trouble.
They should have charged him with petty theft for mooching off of the open bar.
He must have thought it was a government financed bar.
I am happy for all you neos for getting a chance to rail on Alterman, who by the way Aaron, didn't mention, let alone blame a bush/conservative. It's pathetic that you have to make stuff up to make you feel better. I mean you should feel great about Iraq, after all those WMDs we found. And really proud that Bush was warned over 50 time about an attack before 9/11 and he ignored them. What about his great response to Katrina, I'll bet watching people die at the Superdome was a real high point for you. And then there are the illegal wire tapping and signing statements, and you've got your perfect president. I suggest you read the constitution, and then have a 5th grader explain it to you.
MikeT is wrong on the facts...
"fire 21-year tenured, BYU physics professor Steven Jones because he proved explosives, "
Jones wasn't fired. He retired (with a settlement package) after being placed on PAID administrative leave.
It is totally amazing how both liberals and conservatives can post opinions about this alleged altercation when they weren't there. They haven't seen the police report or seen Altermans evidence for his action. It was a good conservative who said, "You have a right to your own opinion but you don't have a right to your own facts." It would seem to me that the opinions are biased upon your political leaning and not on FACT.
What do you exepect from the libs .. they had free wine.
I think everyone has missed the obvious here. He had a invitation, from the bar... Perfectly logical, lib journo, low tank, open bar. Let none stand between!
It was FOX news! Oh wait, all of the Dems are afraid to be asked real questions! how can the Libs kick out one of their Spin Meisters?
Like any of you inbreed rednecks can talk about anybody. If you all would spend less time trying to make it with underaged family members and more time book learin (e.g. Eric has written more books than any of you have read) you might have the cognitive capacity to form sentences. Instead we get more "Hillary and Eric are liburals and they like each other because they love terrorist". Please, red staters, please stop writing anything as you just embarrass the English language!
"Eric’s the kind of guy who asks the flight attendant for that empty seat up in first class because, damn it, he deserves to be up there."
Actually, Eric's the type who believes there should BE no first class, we should all be together in Comrade Class.
Wingnuts love this story. It's one of the only things going on in America right now that they can be happy about. Of course, if Alterman was a Republican and had pulled the cop's gun from his holster and killed him, the GOPers would be saying it's all the cop's fault! And Abu Gonzales and Geroge Bush would be voicing confidence in him as a right wing journalist cop killer. Go figure.
Who do those cops think they are? Don't they know he's a journalist, entitled to write and do anything he pleases? I'm sure he's telling the truth about not raising his voice. Only presidents lie. Never journalists.
presidents commit war crimes, engage in torture and defile the constitution. oh yeah, they lie too.
Is there anyone who doubts that if Alterman were a conservative columnist being foolish, CNN would not have included that description in the first line of the article???
Interesting...
The line between journalists and spin artists is so thin these days. It's absurd. I plan to write about it more in my satire/humor blog.
http://usss.wordpress.com
Check it out if you want.
Too bad they didn't arrest all of the debaters. The crimes against the Constitution should be the real story.
Liberals don’t like following the rules, so what is the big deal here?
The above post By Kelly, Piedmont, SD. is quite funny. Does this person watch the news?
Bush constantly breaks the law but its the 'liberals' that don't want to follow the rules. How about this one:
Bush sends his lap dog Gonzales to the hospital to get AG Ashcroft to sign off on an illegal wiretap plan. Or: Cheny harms our intelligence services by exposing an active CIA covert agent just to be vindictive against her husband who exposed their lies about WMD's. I suppose Kelly from SD only watches FOX news, the ALL-SPIN ZONE.
Andre Casanave: "Like any of you inbreed rednecks can talk about anybody. If you all would spend less time trying to make it with underaged family members and more time book learin (e.g. Eric has written more books than any of you have read) you might have the cognitive capacity to form sentences."
This astounding "sentence" is proof of Liberal intellectual superiority?
The best educated & most original minds I have met have been Conservatives & Libertarians, forced to cut their teeth in the wilderness while blinkered, group-think, collectivist Leftism raged for decades.
Liberal beliefs have barely any difference from bumper-stickers or catchy slogans. Then again, what IQ does a person need to still defend Marxism after it raged & sputtered within every country it was ever introduced?
Anybody can read Das Kapital for its 90 simplistic, hectoring pages. But when you spend a summer reading Wealth of Nations, War & Peace, and Decline & Fall then I think your put-downs will seem a bit more literate, Philistine.
If this were Anne Coulter refusing to leave a private party, she would have been skinned alive by ABC Radio News every 30 minutes by now. Oh yeah, Rudy and all the other Republican candidates would be asked whether or not they denounce her horrible activities, and we would be told the results. The truth is the media and the democratic party are the same thing – disgusting!
Nice clear explanation of both sides in this story. I would hope the same courtesy is extended for people that are not newspaper writers!
Wow. 149 comments, including Alterman's explanation. This all probably took longer than it took for Alterman to get handcuffed and hauled away.
Get a life, folks, instead of debating what happened in a place you were not and could not know what transpired. (But only if you're interested. If not, keep on babbling.
Someone please explain to me who the right wing nuts on this blog think they are impressing?
Please get off the computer and get to work.
Truth to Power
"It's not paranoia if it's true."
Q: WHY did Fox vault beyond anyone’s wildest imaginings? A: Market Opportunity!!
A market of imbeciles that are scared when they aren't told what to think and do. The 30 percenters...
Mr. Alterman has learned a valuable lesson: you DON'T mess with the powerful and the entitled of EITHER party! Those rooms and areas are set aside to separate the "approved" from the rest of us, and the lines to distinguish the two groups (the ones who will get all the spoils form the rest of us) have already been drawn. Mr. Alterman's major mistake was to have the hubris to think he could jump aboard the fast-moving train. But as he already learned at this seemingly early stage, there is official muscle already lined up to protect the next group of raiders of the candy store that we all are supposed to share in. This is no differnt than Venezuela or any of the countries that we criticize – it's just that the rape occurs with a modicum of supposed decorum.
Dennis Murphy
Detroit, MI
Alterman didn't like the rules that everyone else has to obey. Again he takes umbrage over being asked a question. Who does this man think he is? typical liberal. On top of that he is a freeloader of the worst kind.
Sean Miami FL : June 4, 2007 2:31 pm
Sean is that rare specimen of conservative that can not only form a complete sentence, but can use "big words" in the proper context more than half the time. No points on rationality, however.
A gold star for Sean.
Yo, Mort, you pronounce that we have spent too much time writing and that need to get a life. So, what are you doing on here? Who made you the hall monitor? Could it be that you can't get past the half court line? Next time, be sure and close the parentheses!
"Sean Miami FL : June 4, 2007 2:31 pm
Sean is that rare specimen of conservative that can not only form a complete sentence, but can use “big words” in the proper context more than half the time. No points on rationality, however.
A gold star for Sean.
Posted By Dylan"
As we say in Miami after receiving the daily colada, "Grassyass!"
People on the Right more than ever are proving what fascist-loving robots they really are with every comment they make. This country is so much better off when leaders left of center run things. Just today Newt Gingrich admitted openly that government has ceased to function under the Bush-Cheney autocracy.
conservatives are stupid cowards.
This country is so much better off when leaders left of center run things.
Posted By stevejbons : June 4, 2007 6:38 pm
You mean like Jimmy "Bimbo" Carter?
It took about 2 days after Jimmy attacked Bush that everyone was reminded what world-class failure really slooked like.
Who was the LAST successful, truly Liberal Democrat president? (Please don't tell me Clinton, since he actually balanced the budget & was fairly moderate on many levels).
conservatives are stupid cowards.
Posted By tom henry : June 4, 2007 7:05 pm
Tom, with a comment like that we have to assume you are a Conservative. Otherwise, you would have posted your address, a phone # or at least an email address to prove your fearless & upright bona fides.
Did this happen in Nazi Germany or in the U.S.?
hello,
I'm pretty much with Alterhead here – although I disagree with him on pretty much every issue.
However, I've witnessed the zealousness of certain police officers, how when they get something into their head, if you try to question or ask them about it, they simply repeat themselves...
I could see Alter-boy attempting to explain that he was a credentialed member of the press, whilst the officer simply repeated over him to go – hence the "seven warnings."
thanks
please look @ your republican elephant on the political ticker banner, the three stars should be pointing down so that the gap between points is facing @12 o’clock, anyway there is a meaning behind that, look it up!
You can be arrested no matter how polite and respectful you are.
When police tell you to leave, its not an invitation for a civil debate on the subject.
Too many police officers get a thrill from ball busting
Tell that to the cops that are putting their lives in harm's way for your candidates.
I don't know why they bother, its not like Al Queda would attack a democrat candidate anyway – Dems are Al Queda's last hope.
Once you are told to leave by somebody with the authority to do so, and you don’t leave, you are criminally trespassing. That includes standing there attempting to debate your right to be there.
I can certainly understand what happened to Mr ALterman since I have been manhandled and screamed at by stupid cops myself. I think the problem is, as part of their training they develop an exceedingly paranoid "them and us" sensibility and treat everyone who isn't in law enforcement like the enemy.
Obviously the cop misunderstood that Alterman was supposed to be removed from the ROOM, not from the show altogether. If the room was not clearly marked, Alterman can certainly be cut a pass for not realizing it was a private area. The wingnuts who have made obnoxious comments probably would have ended up arrested themselves, since not a single wingnut I have ever met could resist the pull of an open bar.
I think it is telling that Alterman was treated far more courteously (and apologetically) at the police station, where the individual cop's behavior was disavowed by the precinct.
Take THAT, wingnuts!
After reading the childish rantings of people like Mike in Colorado and other lowbrows, I'm struck at the limited imagination of these minions who base their rhetoric on hearsay and whatever they could memorize off of the bathroom walls. Being arrested at an event meant for credentialed reporters w/no apparent crime being committed is disgusting and unconstitutional. Anyone who finds glee at the misfortune of another American trying to bring you the truth has issues. It's a sorry individual who isn't apalled that one of their fellow citizens is having his rights stripped from him. He, who is trying to be part of the process that makes sure the right person takes the office of President. Maybe an officer will treat you this way one day. Would you care for the same response from your peers?
Tigerroar
So Eric Alterman ends up paying $30. for a free glass of wine with water. Expensive misunderstanding.
A message to the 'common herd' from Olaf Stapledon. I perceived that I was on a little round grain of rock and metal, filmed with water and with air, whirling in sunlight and darkness. and on the skin of that little grain, all the swarms of men, generation by generation had lived in labour and blindness with intermiten lucidity of spirit. And all their history, with all its folk wandering,its empires,its philosophies, its proud sciences, its social revolutions, its increasing hunger for community, was but a flicker in one day in the lives of stars. Starmaker 1937. Unless we begin to think and live as intelligent lifeforms then considering what the future holds for the human race, a most fitting epitaph!.
After watching Hilliary's emotional break this afternoon, I simply go back to a book which I am presently reading – titled 'Hillary"s Scheme ' published in 2003 simply shows to what extent Hillary will go to become President. The Clintons will do or say anyhting to keep them in the process. People ask 'is she genuine' absolutely not – she is a phony. Ask the Clintons to return the dishes, furniture they took from the White House when they moved to New York. Hillary – the 'chickens do come to roost'. Goodbye!!!