2006-04-03

A tiny bit late...

but this *really* takes the cake. Lemme set this up, and then offer more commentary:

The incident started with this: A woman pushes by Capitol Security, bypassing a metal detector. One of the officers repeatedly ask her to stop. He reaches to stop her. Something happens between these two.

Other facts remain to be said: The woman was House Representative Cynthia McKenney, GA, D.
All Congresscritters are given an ID pin of some sort that is supposed to make them easily identifiable to Capitol Security. I don't have an image of this to show that I can be certain of.
McKenney didn't have hers on.

Those are the facts as we know it. The rest is kinda fuzzy.

Please be forewarned, the rant tag is now ON, and turned to 11.

(Gee, a good use for the blink tag. Whodathunk?)

This congresscritter has the audacity to say this on her website:
Earlier today I had an unfortunate confrontation with a Capitol Hill Police Officer. It is traditional protocol that Capitol Hill Police Officers secure 535 Members of Congress, including 100 Senators. It is the expectation of most Members of Congress that Capitol Hill Police officers know who they are. I was urgently trying to get to an important meeting on time to fulfill my obligations to my constituents. Unfortunately, the Police Officer did not recognize me as a Member of Congress and a confrontation ensued. I did not have on my Congressional pin but showed the Police Officer my Congressional ID.

Please note the lack of apology, and the "well, he should have known" mentality. This being the USA, I don't really expect much more. The real thing that set me off was this from the Associated Press via The Ledger-Enquirer, a newsrag out of Columbus Georgia:

McKinney held a news conference Friday in Washington in which she said -- quote -- "This whole incident was instigated by the inappropriate touching and stopping of me, a female black congresswoman."

Allright girl, where do you get off bringing gender and race into this subject? If it had been some no name white male senator, that the officer didn't recognize (and I'd imagine it's even *easier* to forget those guys faces... more than half of the congresscritters are older white males), this would have had the *exact same ending*. Being late for a meeting does not give you a free pass by protocol. All the times you got a free passes from Capitol security before don't count either. Those guys were slacking. The guy was doing the one thing he gets paid for: his JOB.
The irony of this is, if someone actually gets by security, and nukes the hell out of the place, whose fault is it? Capitol security. Funny how she feels that she should get to break the rules, when it's *her* life on the line if other people who may want to do harm to the nation may also get to break the rules as well.
This just makes me fume. Almost as much as the Pat Robertson deal. Almost. It also makes me sad for the state of our nation's government. There was a time where this would have been a non-story. I don't remember this time first hand, but I've read about it. I wish for less government in our lives, for my sake, and the sake of my generation's children.

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