The U.S. Secret Service ordered Dallas police not to screen for weapons an hour before a recentDallas Obama rally not only putting Barack at unnecessary risk but raising grave concerns about his safety ~ as his populist movement continues to gain momentum: Allen L Roland
My one growing concern as the Obama movement continues to gain momentum is that the Military / Industrial complex will do anything in their power to remove threats to their power ~ and that certainly would include political leaders who do not believe in Bush's illegal war, occupation and economic rape of Iraq.
The Secret Service apparently ordered the Dallas police to shut down their weapons screening an hour before a major Obama rally on Wednesday putting Obama at risk ~ which obviously surprised many police officers.
The order to put down the metal detectors and stop checking purses and laptop bags came as a surprise to several Dallas police officers who said they believed it was a lapse in security.
Jack Douglas, Dallas-Star Telegram reported yesterday that " Several Dallas police officers said it worried them that the arena was packed with people who got in without even a cursory inspection."
"How can you not be concerned in this day and age," said one policeman.
For myself and millions of Americans this raises grave concerns about Obama's safety as his populist movement continues to gain momentum.
Barack Obama speaks Wednesday at a Democratic rally in Dallas' Reunion Arena. Police were told to stop screening people for weapons before the rally began.
DALLAS 02/21/08Security details at Barack Obama's rally Wednesday stopped screening people for weapons at the front gates more than an hour before the Democratic presidential candidate took the stage at Reunion Arena.
The order to put down the metal detectors and stop checking purses and laptop bags came as a surprise to several Dallas police officers who said they believed it was a lapse in security.
Dallas Deputy Police Chief T.W. Lawrence, head of the Police Department's homeland security and special operations divisions, said the order ~ apparently made by the U.S. Secret Service~ was meant to speed up the long lines outside and fill the arena's vacant seats before Obama came on.
"Sure," said Lawrence, when asked if he was concerned by the great number of people who had gotten into the building without being checked. But, he added, the turnout of more than 17,000 people seemed to be a "friendly crowd."
The Secret Service did not return a call from the Star-Telegram seeking comment.
Doors opened to the public at 10 a.m., and for the first hour security officers scanned each person who came in and checked their belongings in a process that kept movement of the long lines at a crawl. Then, about 11 a.m., an order came down to allow the people in without being checked.
Several Dallas police officers said it worried them that the arena was packed with people who got in without even a cursory inspection.
They spoke on condition of anonymity because, they said, the order was made by federal officials who were in charge of security at the event.
"How can you not be concerned in this day and age," said one policeman.
Freelance Online columnist Allen L Roland is available for comments , interviews and speaking engagements ( allen@allenroland.com)
Allen L Roland is a practicing psychotherapist, author and lecturer who also shares a daily political and social commentary on his weblog and website allenroland.com He also guest hosts a monthly national radio show TRUTHTALK on www.conscioustalk.net
Allen L Roland is a practicing psychotherapist, author and lecturer who also shares a daily political and social commentary on his weblog and website allenroland.com He also guest hosts a monthly national radio show TRUTHTALK on Conscious talk radio www.conscioustalk.net
Firstly, many websites are reporting that the lack of screening was at the behest of Barak Obama himself who said that it was too inconvenient for the audience to put up with the bottleneck it was causing. Do you have any different information?
Secondly, what makes you think that Senator Obama is perceived as a threat by the MIC? He has voted for every funding bill for the military, has shown little inclination to interrupt the massive expenditures for that purpose.....
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ardee D. (6 articles, 4 quicklinks, 1 diaries, 2377 comments)
on Friday, February 22, 2008 at 12:45:52 PM
...did the Secret Service start listening to the protectee?
If Obama requested it himself, the only reason I can imagine that the Secret Service went along with it was because it was so near the start of the event.
Anyone with evil intent in mind wouldn't have a clue that there would be a lapse in security, and rush in at the last minute with a secreted weapon. By now most everyone is well-aware of all the security precautions that are in place, and would have to have a much more elaborate plan.
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Sandy Sand (165 articles, 0 quicklinks, 220 diaries, 1490 comments)
on Friday, February 22, 2008 at 2:01:39 PM
that your a ... oops Rob wants polite discourse....By your own standards neither of us knows what we are talking about. I need more intellectualism and less of what you offer...thanks for trying though.
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ardee D. (6 articles, 4 quicklinks, 1 diaries, 2377 comments)
on Sunday, February 24, 2008 at 11:26:39 AM
Early, early this morning I heard a third version added to the first two versions of the lack of security story.
If any of us ever thinks we get the absolute true version of any news story, we have another think coming.
Lastly, as much as I love K.O., he isn't always correct, nor is he always on the right side of an issue. He's the best of all of them at ferreting out the facts, but even he screws up occasionally.
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Sandy Sand (165 articles, 0 quicklinks, 220 diaries, 1490 comments)
on Saturday, February 23, 2008 at 10:02:16 AM
most of the sites you mention only suggest that "apparently" Obama gave the order himself. There is no clear confirmation of this. Secondly Obama did not support every funding bill for the military. Neither did Hillary. Granted they were both a little later than Chris Dodd or John Edwards would have liked, but in both cases Hillary followed Barrack's lead.
In the Senate, leading Democratic presidential contenders Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama were among the 14 members who opposed the measure. (Watch lawmakers discuss their views on the bill
They voted against the bill because it did not present a timetable for withdraw.
The Senate votes via a push button system and the votes are announced alphabetically, thus for Clinton to follow Obama's lead she would have to be dyslexic.....nothing more or less than a universe created by your own unique wishes.
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ardee D. (6 articles, 4 quicklinks, 1 diaries, 2377 comments)
on Sunday, February 24, 2008 at 11:24:44 AM
I didnt mention any sites specifically so how do you know that the sites I didnt name in the first place report what you claim? Very confusing old sport, not unexpected by still confusing.
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ardee D. (6 articles, 4 quicklinks, 1 diaries, 2377 comments)
on Monday, February 25, 2008 at 6:14:54 PM
I am not a conspiratorial person; however, it does seem suspicious. If nothing else, it is certainly a lapse in sound judgment and even perhaps gross incompetence by the Secret Service and the Dallas Police department.
I have often wondered, considering there is still a strong undercurrent of racism that exist in this country, if Obama, should he win the nomination and then the presidency, would he be at a greater risk than any other given president would.
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Frank J. Ranelli (66 articles, 143 quicklinks, 29 diaries, 383 comments)
on Friday, February 22, 2008 at 12:46:27 PM
I have often wondered, considering there is still a strong undercurrent of racism that exist in this country, if Obama, should he win the nomination and then the presidency, would he be at a greater risk than any other given president would.
I completely agree and his security detail should also be aware of that ~ which is precisely why I wrote this post.
Allen L Roland
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Allen L Roland (907 articles, 7 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 355 comments)
on Friday, February 22, 2008 at 1:15:56 PM
All that is needed is to schedule too few officers to do the security screening and thus have a ready excuse for letting everyone in due to the 'bottleneck'. Easy enough to even get the candidate on board with his own words, when presented with the bottleneck problem most candidates would opt for taking a chance and just letting everyone in. Either this was a dry run or the shooter got stuck in traffic or perhaps 'Just lost his bottle'... If the worst comes to pass, Obama's troubles will of course be over, but ours will just be getting started.
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Roger (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 388 comments)
on Friday, February 22, 2008 at 2:11:22 PM
This is America. And Texas. And Dallas. Although the candidate being black and the times being alike, I think the location hardly matters. If Obama creates hope and unity among working Americans and in fact stands up to special interests, there will be no shortage of locales with a lone gunman who just happens to position himself to assassinate our first African-American President. For Obama, its do and die, or don't and live. But then, that is true for any president: black, white, or--a little green alien controller.
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W.M.L. (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 387 comments)
on Friday, February 22, 2008 at 3:21:18 PM
I can't believe that the Secret Service would go along with Obama's request for such a lapse. The agents detailed to the President's protection certainly wouldn't obey such an order, even if issued by the President.
That being the case, the order had to come from pretty high up the food chain, where we know that there are plenty of people to whom murder is a small matter.
A second such lapse should be considered to be evidence of an attempted coup d' etat executed by elements of the government of the United States.
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John Sanchez Jr. (6 articles, 0 quicklinks, 12 diaries, 1266 comments)
on Saturday, February 23, 2008 at 7:46:38 AM
Oh, so predictable, good article, working on it myself
Several months ago, I stated in an article that ala JFK; there would be an attempt upon the life of Obama. The day JFK who hand selected me to work for him free-lance in Oak Park Illinois, I said that the dupe (Oswald) charged with the crime would be assassinated and then his assassin (Ruby) would die in Prison the result of a toxic dose, which would bring on a heart attack.
JFK was killed because Dallas police and the Secret Service did not occupy the roofs, did not deploy helicopters, did not search the buildings and in fact were nowhere to be found above street level.
He was killed by shots from the ROOF of the book depository and from the grassy knoll, as predicted.
As Woody Allen said so long ago, "I was quite busy working on the non-fiction version of the Warren report."
INDEED, my words were, "The Military, Medical, Industrial Complex will do to Obama what they died to JFK and allegedly, through Prescott Bush attempted to do to FDR."
I suggest that the Obama Campaign use some of those millions to hire expert security people for his protection.
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Professor Emeritus Peter Bagnolo (144 articles, 1 quicklinks, 95 diaries, 1311 comments)
on Saturday, February 23, 2008 at 9:04:33 AM
I figured that he was at risk. Prejudice in this country still runs deep in some ppl. I've seen his body guards beside him. They l;ook strong and alert. He was a Chicago boy so he knows the streets, especially because even as a well to do man, he went into those rough communities to investigate and help. If someone wants him gunned down, someone at the top, not a thing anyone c
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