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talkpoliticsFrom The Texas Tribune:
DPS director Steve McCraw indicated he was frustrated about media reporting on the incident, and in a July 14 email he asked DPS officers to give the media photos of the suspected items.
“I’m tired of reading that we made this stuff up,” Steven McCraw wrote in an email. “Let’s get the photos we have to members and the media. Does anyone realistically believe we would fabricate evidence to support a political agenda. Amazing.”
Imagine. There are folks who think institutions are capable of posting misleading items in their press releases.
Why, that's just crazy talk!
Some of you may remember an item I posted a month ago about claims that eighteen (yes, count 'em, eighteen!) jars of suspected feces had been confiscated from pro-choice demonstratoes at the Texas State Capital building. My point was profound skepticism -- I've heard stories like this about the presumed propensity of liberal/leftist demonstrators to toss poo, pee, etc. during their demonstrations, but very little evidence of shit-throwing actually happening.
So now the Texas Department of Public Safety has released 144 pages of documents about the purported 18 jars of crap at the demonstration and -- surprise, surprise! -- it includes no actual photos of these items, and no official reports. There also seems to be a dearth of DPS officers willing to say they'd actually come across these objects.
So they got bupkes to back up that inflammatory and disgusting allegation they made shortly after being embarrassed by accounts of their officers confiscating feminine hygiene products.
It's interesting to compare the Tribune's coverage of this document release with the Houston Chronicle's. The Chronicle's headline reads, "DPS releases documents to back up its 'jars of feces' statements" and the text of this very short piece carefully avoids stating outright "that DPS documents does not back up those claims." Instead, the first part includes Steve McCraw's statement and a description about how the documents "show how state police prepared for the chaos that ensued the day the Senate took a final vote in mid-July to pass a sweeping package of abortion restrictions. The documents include security photos of activists, three photos of confiscated items and communication from DPS intelligence analysts highlighting potential threats." Only in the second to last paragraph does the Chronicle allow as "The agency never released photographs of the items, prompting lawmakers and activists groups to question the veracity of the claims." And it concludes with:
"If we have photos, let's push them out," Robert Bodisch, assistant director of the agency's Texas Homeland Security arm wrote to McCraw in a July 14 email.
IOW, the writers of the article seem to be standing on their heads to avoid saying what the Tribune states outright in its headline.
Yet another right wing myth fails.
*
(no subject)
Date: 29/8/13 18:34 (UTC)I am jack's total lack of surprise.
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Date: 31/8/13 05:36 (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 29/8/13 20:35 (UTC)This is all from the same time frame:
You get that, right? As the agency has now released photographs, the past tense of the paragraph makes sense.
(no subject)
Date: 29/8/13 20:53 (UTC)Do point us all towards the released photographs of some of those 18 jars of human excrement.
(no subject)
Date: 29/8/13 20:55 (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 29/8/13 21:02 (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 29/8/13 21:03 (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 29/8/13 21:32 (UTC)It holds a lot more water than the notion that, somehow, there were 18 jars of suspected human excrement but no photographs and no official record and no first hand accounts from the officers doing the inspections.
You've never heard of a government agency fabricating a claim against demonstrators?
(no subject)
Date: 29/8/13 21:54 (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 29/8/13 22:00 (UTC)The Texas DPS made the outrageous accusation against the demonstrators. No evidence has surfaced to validate it, even though it's something that would likely leave quite a bit of evidence.
(no subject)
Date: 29/8/13 22:02 (UTC)/sarcasm
(no subject)
Date: 30/8/13 01:07 (UTC)Or do we just blindly accept accusations when they're leveled at Democrats?
(no subject)
Date: 30/8/13 01:43 (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 29/8/13 21:59 (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 29/8/13 22:27 (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 30/8/13 02:05 (UTC)Clearly they are withholding those photos for reasons of..um..state security! Or maybe they just don't wanna gross people out.
Paft's a conspiracy theorist everybody! Shunnnn!
If you really think that since *they* made the outrageous claim, then its false until proven true beyond a shadow of a doubt, then could you kindly stop Obama from attacking Syria over unproven allegations of its regime's use of chemical weapons?
Hey I bet if they locked those protesters up and tortured them for awhile, they would actually confess to having the poo.
(no subject)
Date: 30/8/13 05:57 (UTC)(no subject)
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Date: 30/8/13 19:09 (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 30/8/13 19:15 (UTC)humans need new comedy material. blah.
'all is the same, nothing matters, knowledge strangles'
(no subject)
Date: 30/8/13 19:27 (UTC)(no subject)
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Date: 30/8/13 23:58 (UTC)So do you believe Osama Bin Laden is alive?
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Date: 30/8/13 23:57 (UTC)