AIr America to be Investigated by Secret Service

[Ogie Oglethorpe]

AIR AMERICA RADIO INVESTIGATED AFTER BUSH 'GUNSHOTS'

**Exclusive**

The red-hot rhetoric over Social Security on liberal talkradio network AIR AMERICA has caught the attention of the Secret Service, the DRUDGE REPORT has learned.

Government officials are reviewing a skit which aired on the network Monday evening -- a skit featuring an apparent gunshot warning to the president!

The announcer: "A spoiled child is telling us our Social Security isn't safe anymore, so he is going to fix it for us. Well, here's your answer, you ungrateful whelp: [audio sound of 4 gunshots being fired.] Just try it, you little bastard. [audio of gun being cocked]."

The audio production at the center of the controversy aired during opening minutes of The Randi Rhodes Show.

"What is with all the killing?" Rhodes said, laughing, after the clip aired.

"Even joking about shooting the president is a crime, let alone doing it on national radio... we are taking this very seriously," a government source explained.

Developing...

Its Drudge first off. Second has anyone on these boards actually heard first hand the skit. Thirdly from details provided by Drudge, I see no indication that this is a threat directed specifcally at the Presidency.

So if anyone actually heard the skit (thats prolly a huge stretch considereing the listenership Air America draws) can they comment on said skit and its context?

[Ogie Oglethorpe]

Come on there has to be one listener.

[GePap]

In this forum? Why?

[JohnT]

You'd probably find better success at the Straight Dope. The sample size here is likely too small to generate a single Air America listener - a larger, left-leaning forum will (well, probably) give you better results.

[MikeH]

Joking about killing the president is a crime?!

****ing hell. Glad it isn't a crime here.

[Lancer]

That's a crime, as well it should be. I hope they get thrown in jail and made examples of. The liberals have gone totally over the edge, off the deep end and out of their minds. Their unreasoning hate speech against the president has now moved into the realm of implied death threats for what they consider bad policy. If they can't beat him they're going to threaten his life. Well, they're about to find out its bad policy to threaten the life of the president of the United States.


...but the people who did this will have plenty of time to figure that out for themselves...

[MikeH]

Why should it be a crime.

1. It's a joke.
2. It's only a politician.

I'd have been locked up about a million times if joking about killing UK prime ministers, former prime ministers or heads of state was illegal. It's just normal behaviour.

Down with facist government oppression of free speech!

[Lancer]

The US has had too many good men killed while president.

[MikeH]

What relevance is that?

You Americans treat your Presidents with too much respect.

[Dinner]

I think that's just plane stupid to make political jokes a crime. It really is an attack on everyone's civil liberties and the White House is just using it as an excuse to go after a left leaning radio show it doesn't like.

[Odin]

Originally posted by Oerdin
I think that's just plane stupid to make political jokes a crime. It really is an attack on everyone's civil liberties and the White House is just using it as an excuse to go after a left leaning radio show it doesn't like.

[Lancer]

Every threat against the pres, any pres, is investigated and considered a crime. Any of us, left or right, that threatens the life of the pres will be prosicuted. I know, I saw it on TV.

[JohnT]

Originally posted by Oerdin
I think that's just plane stupid to make political jokes a crime. It really is an attack on everyone's civil liberties and the White House is just using it as an excuse to go after a left leaning radio show it doesn't like.

****, people, just check out what Wilson did during WW1... makes Bush and the Patriot Act look like a bunch of second-rate pikers.

Anyway, they didn't "make political jokes a crime" (as happened during WW1), they're investigating a potential (regardless how slight) threat to the President. As is their job.

And if the White House wanted to "go after" a left-leaning radio show, there are far more subtle ways to do it.

[Solomwi]

A listener apparently sent Drudge an mp3 of it.

Edit: And I agree with Oerdin. Isn't the general rule of thumb that the louder someone blusters about something like killing the President, the less likely they are to actually do it? We should make NOT joking about killing the President a crime.

JohnT: The Bush administration didn't, but somebody made it a crime, according to the government official quoted.

[Shi Huangdi]

You're allowed to make all the jokes about the president you want, so long as you don't joke about killing him. There is no reason why discussion of killing the president is important for anybody to be able to do.