Patterico's Pontifications

6/15/2012

Charges Against Aaron Walker Dismissed

Filed under: General — Patterico @ 7:31 pm



You mean they’re not going to prosecute him for blogging?

Capital Hill can confirm that the criminal case against Aaron Walker has been dismissed by the Maryland State Attorney.

Walker, you will recall, was led away in handcuffs after a June 4 peace order hearing. The charge, filed by Brett Kimberlin, was that Walker has violated a temporary peace order.

Of course, Kimberlin can still walk into a Maryland commissioner’s office any old time he likes and perjure himself to swear out a warrant against anyone. Also, there is still a blatantly unconstitutional order in place telling Aaron he can’t blog about Kimberlin.

So the notion that they’re not going to try to throw him in jail again for blogging is sort of cold comfort. I’ll save the celebrations. But I figured it was worth passing along.

75 Responses to “Charges Against Aaron Walker Dismissed”

  1. Speak for Aaron, since he can’t speak for himself.

    Patterico (feda6b)

  2. I’m stunned that the order has NOT been lifted yet.

    For anyone just joining the topic, this is all about truthful posts drawing attention to the activities of a public figure. Am I correct that most of Aaron’s posts were based upon online posts tweets and public information about the “domestic terrorist and Speedway Bomber Brett Kimberlin???” True information drawing attention to a public figure.

    The story gets confusing — with multiple characters. But the Aaron stuff centers around a judge who would prefer that Kimby and Aaron settle this like men — with violence. (Yup, the judge suggested that sort of thing.)

    Aaron “vioated” an order by writing. Writing truthful things which DID NOT encourage people to commit actual violence or even to threaten violence. And now he can’t even write about Kimby because of a judges order.

    Oh, and somebody keeps sending cops to the doors of people who criticize Kimby and Co. They fake a 911 call, and people are in danger.

    Feel free to correct me anybody.

    ukuleledave (5f2a17)

  3. teh stumblebum judge
    really proved Law is an ass
    seems MaryLand sucks

    Colonel Haiku (7c3fd4)

  4. It is very good to know that Aaron won’t be going to jail anytime soon,, it is important that the fight continues for free speech..

    Alissa Dirks (a95d6f)

  5. Maybe one of BK’s stooge’s caught Aaron on tape jaywalking or littering near the Courthouse and can file a trumped up complaint based on that or something. How many years does that kind of stuff get you in the Peoples’ Republic of Maryland?

    daleyrocks (bf33e9)

  6. Do you mean to say that the current charges have been dropped, but he still is under the court order to not blog, tweet, google, email, send smoke signals, use tin can and string phones or anything about BK that was made during the hearing where the now dismissed charges were admitted? Or was the order not linked to the case that was dismissed?

    If this nonsense started in NC with nifong and has been slowly creeping up and down the east coast then I guess it’s time to move soon.

    But thanks for letting us know and good for Aaron and his wife.

    MD in Philly (3d3f72)

  7. Perjury?

    Yeah, but not felony perjury like that woman if FLA blundering through Paypal.

    steveg (7c66bf)

  8. OK ‘from FLA”

    steveg (7c66bf)

  9. MD in Philly – Throw in Morse Code, semaphore signal, sign language, burping, and more.

    daleyrocks (bf33e9)

  10. Messages in a bottle, Fortune cookies.

    daleyrocks (bf33e9)

  11. But but but… He was arrested! And charged! Doesn’t that mean he’s guilty?

    Seriously, though, glad at least this part of the nightmare is over for Aaron.

    Ghost (6f9de7)

  12. It’s a little,bit of good news, and glad to have it.

    Sarahw (b0e533)

  13. “He was arrested! And charged! Doesn’t that mean he’s guilty?”

    Ghost – Under the Surls system of law you are correct.

    daleyrocks (bf33e9)

  14. It’s a little,bit of good news, and glad to have it.

    I can’t help but wonder if that’s really true.

    I own the audio version of Martin Luther King, Jr’s autobiography. It’s a stirring tale of how a man used civil disobedience to fight injustice.

    You know who sent that to me, as a present? Months ago?

    Aaron Walker.

    I am not making that up.

    Patterico (feda6b)

  15. You know what? That comment needs to be a post.

    Brb.

    Patterico (feda6b)

  16. I don’t think he was “really” charged: as I understand it, Maryland has what strikes me a completely insane system where a citizen can go to a judge or on weekends and maybe after hours (this service is available 24×7) a commissioner and convince him to issue an arrest warrant. Apparently only later does a member of the executive, i.e. a prosecutor, look at the whole thing and decide whether to pursue it as a real criminal prosecution.

    I would assume the latter just happened, and the prosecutor exercised prosecutorial discretion and dropped it.

    Lina Inverse (8620c2)

  17. He may not have been “really” charged, but he was “really” arrested, and “really” handcuffed.

    JD (95e569)

  18. 11.But but but… He was arrested! And charged! Doesn’t that mean he’s guilty?

    Seriously, though, glad at least this part of the nightmare is over for Aaron.
    *********************************************

    But but but…BK is a CONVICTED CRIMINAL! And by CONVICTED, I mean CONVICTED in a court of law by facts in evidence. But I guess (at least in his superior mind) that doesn’t mean HE’S guilty.

    Seriously though, this guy and his league of myrmidons need to be shut down and thoroughly schooled in the consequences of their actions.

    O’Boogie. OUT

    Winston O'Boogie (b132af)

  19. surls thrown under bus
    attention KMart shoppers!
    clean up on Main Street

    Colonel Haiku (b8a395)

  20. JD and Linda are both correct.

    It’s outrageous that Aaron was subjected to an arrest, which frankly is a mar on his reputation, based entirely on the word of Kimberlin, when this is the second time charges brought turned out to be bunk.

    Maryland is a ridiculous place.

    Dustin (330eed)

  21. I’m more concerned about the magistrate who bought the story.

    Sarahw (b0e533)

  22. He’s not supposed to rubber-stamp. The abiility to bring charges to a magistrate is one thing. The magistrate signing off is another.

    Sarahw (b0e533)

  23. Beyond the fact that Kimberlin’s affidavit was filled with lies, it still did not create probable cause on its face for an arrest. The commissioner who issued the warrant should be disciplined.

    SPQR (26be8b)

  24. “…The commissioner who issued the warrant should be disciplined.”
    Comment by SPQR — 6/16/2012 @ 9:13 am

    Careful, he might enjoy it.

    AD-RtR/OS! (2bb434)

  25. 13. “He was arrested! And charged! Doesn’t that mean he’s guilty?”

    Ghost – Under the Surls system of law you are correct.

    Comment by daleyrocks — 6/15/2012 @ 9:30 pm

    Don’t forget, under the Surls standard of justice the probable cause affidavit doesn’t have to be true and complete. It only needs to be effective. From an “I want to jail you” POV.

    Steve57 (c441a6)

  26. Aaron can’t speak for himself, but there is plenty of speaking going on:

    https://www.google.com/search?q='brett+kimberlin'&tbs=qdr:w

    Google results for the last week

    Another Steve (924007)

  27. It helps if you format the link right!

    https://www.google.com/search?q=%22brett+kimberlin%22&tbs=qdr:w

    Another Steve (924007)

  28. Maryland has what strikes me a completely insane system where a citizen can go to a judge or on weekends and maybe after hours (this service is available 24×7) a commissioner and convince him to issue an arrest warrant.

    Geez, is anyone here familiar with TRO’s. OF course, magistrates and cops have quick triggers on people who allegedly violate a TRO. The alternative to issuing the warrant is allowing someone’s ex-husband to violate the TRO and end up killing or hurting the person who sought the TRO.

    Y’all are just to close to the “who is right and who is evil” part of this question. The law only cares about that in a hearing when emotions are cool. During a time when one person can show he/she is afraid of harm from another, TRO’s are handed out at the drop of a hat.

    Aaron didn’t deserve to be arrested, but the system is set up to protect situations more analogous to the violent drunk who beats up his ex. It is, as is apparent from the transcript, the sort of thing Judge Vaughey was seeking: a cooling off period, so these two guys who hated each other would stop wasting the Court’s time.

    He had no idea that both of them are obsessives who see this as a way to better themselves financially AND who seem to think they can get vindication from past wrongs in the Court.

    Patterico can keep reporting this constantly and, he hopes, hide his relationship to the David Sengretti, Jr, errrr O’Keefe, but the fact remains that the justice system ain’t gonna solve Aaron and Kimberlin’s fight, but it will them apart if one of them says the other one is trying to get people to kill the other.

    Oh, and Pat’s wrong. Walker could blog as much as he wants to about Kimberlin as long he doesn’t go back into Maryland. I’ve managed to avoid Maryland for decades and I’m unsure why Walker thinks he needs to go to Maryland, except you know to get Dustin to cry his tears here from him.

    timb (8f04c0)

  29. timb, which is why Vaughey wistfully recalled people punching each other as the more fondly remembered and possibly preferable way of settling civil matters.

    Sarahw (b0e533)

  30. timb,

    I am not trying to hide anything. Your next published comment will either prove your false statement or apologize for it.

    Patterico (df747d)

  31. I agree with SarahW that the problem isn’t the peace order system as much as the magistrate/commissioner who signed off on it. I believe Kimberlin’s application was filed in Rockville MD. The Rockville commissioners’ office is open 24/7 and the County’s website says a commissioner is always available. Similar information is at the Sheriff’s website (scroll down about 3/4 to “District Court Commissioner”).

    The administrative commissioner is the only commissioner named, but there are almost certainly several commissioners on staff since the facility is open 24/7. As I recall, the commissioner who signed Kimberlin’s application seemed to have a first initial “C” and commissioner’s ID #6610. Elsewhere, I found another form with a commissioner’s ID of 6618. Maybe other commissioners have similar/consecutive numbers.

    Here is a 2010 job listing for the position of district court commissioner. At that time, the position paid $43,309 a year and required a college degree, but the skills were more like a paralegal or a secretary who could apply regulations:

    Skills/Abilities: Demonstrated experience using a personal computer and the ability to type efficiently. Excellent interpersonal skills as well as a professional demeanor. Candidate must have the ability to make decisions based on criteria set forth in the Law and Administrative regulations. In addition, candidate must have the ability to work day, evening, or night shifts including weekends. Must be able to travel to various court locations in District 6. Ability to perform all essential functions of the position.

    I suspect commissioners sign any complaint that has a specific allegation that a peace order has been violated. “Better safe than sorry” could be their philosophy, since in most jurisdictions peace order cases involve domestic disputes. The number of times the government is successfully sued for false arrest is probably a lot less than the number of times someone gets hurt while subject to a peace order.

    DRJ (a83b8b)

  32. “He was arrested! And charged! Doesn’t that mean he’s guilty?”

    “Ghost – Under the Surls system of law you are correct.”

    Do you people ever get tired of telling malicious lies about me?

    Two things that I’ve said here…

    “I want a trial where all facts can be laid out on the table, as best we can do it under our legal system, before its decided whether or not he’s guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.”

    “IMO, he is, but there could be information not yet known or released that could contradict my opinion. And, I don’t want my opinion to decide the issue, in any case. I want a jury to do that, as per usual.”

    “Comment by Dave Surls — 3/25/2012 @ 10:04 pm”

    The above was in reference to George Zimmerman.

    “Well, the local authorities don’t always get it right.”

    “Sometimes they deliberately don’t get it right.”

    “Comment by Dave Surls — 3/26/2012 @ 10:58 pm”

    I’d say it’s pretty obvious that I don’t believe what wee lil’ Ghost says I believe.

    Now, I’m spending all my internet time countering lies told about me, and complaining about people making blatantly vile and defamatory statements about me or statements attacking my children, instead of talking about the issues.

    Oh well, no big deal, I suppose…as long as I get to blather.

    Dave Surls (46b08c)

  33. Btw, speaking of Aaron.

    I have $100 burning a hole in my pocket, that I’d be happy to slide his way, in order to help cover the expenses of all this Kimberlin nonsense, but I’m not going to give it to Ali Akbar and/or the National Bloggers Club (an organization that I’ve been unable to find out anything about…other than its fundraising operation appears to be run by a convicted felon/thief).

    What’s the problem with setting up a PO Box so that I can send a check made out to Aaron?

    Anybody?

    Dave Surls (46b08c)

  34. Paypal

    JD (318f81)

  35. Tim has shown a strange level of hostility towards me.

    I think it’s amusing how angry Tim is that I call for Aaron to have the free speech right to truthfully blog about Kimberlin. That must be what he’s calling “crying”.

    The government doesn’t get to demand people take a ‘cooling off period’ from truthfully blogging about crimes that Kimberlin has committed as they petition the state of Maryland to prosecute them.

    Tim’s wrong on the facts here: “one person can show he/she is afraid of harm from another”

    Kimberlin never showed reason to fear harm from Aaron. Tim’s insinuation that’s what he showed to Vaughey is either ignorant trolling or deliberate lying.

    I don’t know if Tim is just so insanely partisan he has decided that conservatives don’t deserve their freedom of speech, or if he’s a support of Kimberlin, convicted perjurer/bomber. Either way, Timb has zero credibility and is no friend to freedom of speech.

    Aaron and I both took up the cause for a liberal when Kimberlin tried to shut him down… because unlike timb, we actually do care about universal human rights.

    Dustin (330eed)

  36. Ali Akbar and/or the National Bloggers Club (an organization that I’ve been unable to find out anything about…other than its fundraising operation appears to be run by a convicted felon/thief).

    For the record, Ali’s National Bloggers Club has already begun helping pay Aaron’s legal bills.

    I think it’s fine to ask questions, trust but verify, and all that. I verified Aaron is getting the support from those donating via Ali.

    I don’t see how it helps to express your judgment in the ugliest way you can come up with, Dave. Ali came under attack from these SOBs because he actually did something effective that helped Aaron. BTW, you can send paypal funds to any email address. If you want to cut out the middle man, be our guest (but I note there are other Kimberlin targets who need the support… setting up a fund for any Kimberlin lawfare target is a very good idea).

    Dustin (330eed)

  37. Surls, your faux victimhood is as convincing as Kimberlin’s.

    SPQR (26be8b)

  38. timb is just another lying troll.

    SPQR (26be8b)

  39. Dave,
    Some other things you’ve said, usually when talking about Z’s injuries or witness accounts and showing how wrong you are, “and yet Z is in prison, charged with murder.” and “I told you his injuries weren’t important.” Oh, and your proof of that one was that the prosecutor didn’t include them in her affidavit. You can say you want a fair trial all you want; as long as you keep pointing to his arrest as proof that you’re right, you’ll continue to look like a hypocritical jackass and you will get called out on it.

    Quitcherbitchin

    Ghost (6f9de7)

  40. “Quitcherbitchin”

    When you Quitcherlyin

    I’ve NEVER said if you’re arrested and charged, you’re therefore guilty.

    Not even once.

    “You can say you want a fair trial all you want…”

    Well, that’s what I want. That’s why I said it.

    “as long as you keep pointing to his arrest as proof that you’re right…”

    I’ve never said it was proof of anything, other than my amazing predicitive powers.

    “IMO, he is [guilty of murder], but there could be information not yet known or released that could contradict my opinion. And, I don’t want my opinion to decide the issue, in any case. I want a jury to do that, as per usual.”

    Is there something about that you don’t understand, Ghostie?

    Dave Surls (46b08c)

  41. “Surls, your faux victimhood…”

    LOL.

    The only thing I’m a victim of is a bunch of rude remarks from a pack of hypocritical, dishonest halfwits.

    I reckon I’ll survive it o.k.

    Dave Surls (46b08c)

  42. Anyway, I’m glad the charges against Aaron have been dropped. That restraining order is a bunch of hooey.

    As for contributing to the cause: Apparently it’s too much trouble to set up an organization that looks even halfway legitimate, so I guess I won’t donate at this time.

    I’m pretty leary about doing transactions over the internet period, but this whole thing looks sketchy as hell.

    http://www.facebook.com/NationalBloggersClub/info

    That’s the ONLY information I can find about the National Bloggers Club.

    “Basic Info.”

    “Founded”

    “February 10, 2012”

    Gee, very illuminating. I’ll be sure to pour thousands of dollars into that one.

    Dave Surls (46b08c)

  43. ______________________________________________

    Also, there is still a blatantly unconstitutional order in place telling Aaron he can’t blog about Kimberlin.

    Until the ruling of the leftist judge is dealt with properly, Aaron Walker still won’t be free of the trap set by that of another liberal (or, to be fair, ultra-liberal), namely the Speedway Bomber.

    Mark (7154e5)

  44. timmah the great spaketh from on high (or perhaps he spaketh while high):
    It is, as is apparent from the transcript, the sort of thing Judge Vaughey was seeking: a cooling off period, so these two guys who hated each other would stop wasting the Court’s time.
    — And Aaron is “wasting the Court’s time” HOW?

    He had no idea that both of them are obsessives who see this as a way to better themselves financially
    — Aaron is trying to ‘better himself financially’ HOW?

    AND who seem to think they can get vindication from past wrongs in the Court.
    — And the ‘past wrong’ for which Aaron is seeking vindication is WHAT?

    Patterico can keep reporting this constantly and, he hopes, hide his relationship to the David Sengretti, Jr, errrr O’Keefe, but the fact remains that the justice system ain’t gonna solve Aaron and Kimberlin’s fight, but it will them apart if one of them says the other one is trying to get people to kill the other.
    — A college graduate wrote that sentence, folks. The future’s so bright . . .

    I’ve managed to avoid Maryland for decades and I’m unsure why Walker thinks he needs to go to Maryland
    — Which just goes to show how little you really know about this case. Color me Not Shocka.

    Icy (05a3d7)

  45. To timb and others extolling the benefits of 24×7 availability of restraining orders (what Maryland’s peace orders are), let me repeat a comment I made hwew three weeks ago:

    Ah, but what else can Maryland do in the really serious cases, where violence truly is likely to happen? They don’t let their subjects citizens bear arms outside of their homes (it’s a may issue state, and seldom does), so obviously the only solution is to have someone available 24×7 to hand a threatened individual a piece of paper making it even more illegal to murder him….

    And Mr. Surls is not the only one to wonder about the National Bloggers Club, or rather, the middleman they chose to process donations. It requires, in addition to the normal info required to responsibly process a credit card, stuff like your date of birth. I can’t think of any legitimate reasons for that and given its pervasive use in the health industry I’m not about to use them to donate.

    Lina Inverse (8620c2)

  46. PAYPAL people.

    JD (9f41b2)

  47. Utilizing her experience in that area Dianna has posted helpful observations and suggestions on several occasions about 501(c) non profit disclosures and the setting up of professional looking websites. Many well-meaning people have stated that the facebook page is inadequate and have questioned the contribution parameters and options. Still others have pointed out that the optics with respect to the middleman’s background or credentials, and an apparent lack of transparency with regard to the NBC oversight hierarchy seem rather poor for achieving fully effective fundraising–especially in this particular case. None of that has changed or been improved upon or been explained in the ensuing week to the best of my knowledge. Suggesting Paypal seems not to solve the broader issues.

    Several people have mentioned that young Ali seemingly came out of nowhere into a position of immediate prominence in the blogging community. He now has access to, and contact with, many high visibility bloggers and right leaning pols. Kind of interesting–or not, a commenter at the other mccain mentioned the date of the first post at the obsessive anti-Patterico/Worthing/Breitbart/Nagy site called Not Brett Kimberlin. According to the commenter that date was Feb. 12, 2012. (I have not independently verified that information)

    I don’t think that all these underlying issues should be hashed out publicly and ad nauseum on a thread such as this one. In fact they should not be. But I do wish there was assurance and some evidence that behind the scenes the affected people do recognize some validity to the blogger support donation concerns we people see, and are working to do something about them.

    elissa (5620ba)

  48. Elissa – AW confirmed to Dustin that they are doing what they have said they would do.

    JD (9f41b2)

  49. JD–I saw that, and I am very glad about it. Still– how many more donations might be flowing were it not for the reasonable concerns many potential and willing donors have been expressing? That’s really the point I had hoped to make.

    elissa (5620ba)

  50. Elissa, your POV is completely reasonable. And it’s not that I have a problem with Dave bringing his concern up so much as the way he did so.

    JD’s right. I confirmed that the National Bloggers Club is helping with Aaron’s legal bills. Unfortunately, Aaron’s gag keeps him from talking about it.

    Michelle Malkin is on the board of directors for the National Blogger’s Club, so I know they have someone with the savvy to get a website running that helps with these issues.

    For the record, Elissa, I think you’re right about this issue’s impact on “fully effective fundraising”.

    BU popped out of nowhere for a reason… to attack people who were exposing Kimberlin. Ali and his organization were not expecting to be needed in such a major way so soon after inception, so in a few ways they probably were caught flat-footed.

    I think the lawfare against blogger issue will persist, so I also don’t think paypal to any one blogger is the answer. We need an organization. And it needs to do a good/preemptive job handling donor concerns.

    But the bottom line is that Ali’s org is helping Aaron.

    Dustin (330eed)

  51. Lina, you’re quite right about MD’s upside down attitude about personal defense.

    I don’t think tim is merely a troll. I think he is advocating for Kimberlin. Telling Aaron to simply stay out of Maryland… I suppose drop his legal defense at the same time… I can imagine at this point that would make Kimberlin very happy. That way, he can do this again.

    MD’s citizens subjects should demand real reforms. Using the peace order process this way should be outlawed. SLAPP defense should be fixed (they had a bill to do this that recently failed to get enough support… just barely… and I think we could use this issue to turn the tide on that).

    Dustin (330eed)

  52. Dustin, I went to the site but was put off by the amount of personal information that is required. I’m uncomfortable giving out that much personal information on the Internet. Why does the site need my phone number, birth date, employer and occupation? I’ve donated to this site and it required a minimum of information. Even though you’ve “confirmed that the National Bloggers Club is helping with Aaron’s legal bills”, I’m still uncomfortable giviing out that much personal information.

    I appreciate the information that I can donate directly to Aaron’s email address via PayPal.

    Tanny O'Haley (12193c)

  53. “As for contributing to the cause: Apparently it’s too much trouble to set up an organization that looks even halfway legitimate, so I guess I won’t donate at this time.”

    Dave – Instead of continuing to bitch and moan about the NBC you could get off your butt and email Aaron and ask him how to get money directly to him. His email address is on his blog.

    Maybe you just prefer whining to doing something.

    daleyrocks (bf33e9)

  54. Do you people ever get tired of telling malicious lies about me?
    — Did you ever want to hang out with the cool kids that have a sense of humor?

    Now, I’m spending all my internet time countering lies told about me, and complaining about people making blatantly vile and defamatory statements about me or statements attacking my children, instead of talking about the issues.
    — So just talk about the issues, then! Problem solved.

    Oh well, no big deal, I suppose…as long as I get to blather.
    — Please keep in mind: if you blather about Zimmerman being a skinhead, then it is YOU that is NOT talking about the issues.

    I’ve NEVER said if you’re arrested and charged, you’re therefore guilty. Not even once.
    — No, you have not. BUT, you HAVE implied it in nearly every single post that you have written about both Z and his wife; especially his wife. Playing coy only goes so far, ya know. When you say (and I’m paraphrasing) ‘she was charged with perjury because she lied under oath,’ it sure comes off sounding like guilty-before-you’ve-been-tried.

    The only thing I’m a victim of is a bunch of rude remarks from a pack of hypocritical, dishonest halfwits.
    — That’s our guy! The author of “How to Whine at Friends and Irritate People”.

    Icy (a3c527)

  55. Actually, he’d have to stay on his butt to email Aaron, but whatever. 😉

    Ghost (6f9de7)

  56. Tanny O’Haley: Your telephone number can be used for credit card verification; the employer and occupation is necessary for Federal and no doubt many state political donations, but is obviously not needed here (it could be a single purpose form for all types of donations).

    For me, the date of birth (DOB) is the red flag. There are some things that require you to be above a certain age (although not this as far as I know, but see below), but given the uses of the DOB nowadays I never supply my real one.

    It this was an issue I’d hope the site would be asking something like “are you 13 or older?”, there’s a nasty Federal law WRT to web sites with that as the threshold. For sites where they’re using the DOB as clumsy age verification I just put in 1/1/the year after I was born (so I’m not making a claim that I’m younger than I am). But for anything financial, nowadays one has to assume that’s illegal in one way or another. And therefore the NBC has yet to get a cent from me.

    Maybe their middleman is being super cautious … but I’ve never seen age verification required for generic donations. And as I keep saying, surely they could find a better middleman.

    Lina Inverse (8620c2)

  57. It would really be nice if this post about Aaron didn’t get turned into another Zimmerman-Surls thread. There have already been sufficient Zimmerman-Surls threads on this site to last a lifetime, IMO.

    elissa (5620ba)

  58. inBFkC Thanks for sharing, this is a fantastic blog post.Thanks Again. Much obliged.

    Seo Services (8984bc)

  59. Forgot to mention why the NBC’s middleman asking for your employer is amazingly and dangerously wrong: the worse victims of He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named and his Truth Eaters are Arron and his wife, because … the former were perceived to be a credible threat of domestic terrorism at their workplace, which they were summarily fired from.

    And the organization collecting money to help them is … asking for your employer. Which we’ve already seen used in general political donations, where it’s required info to legally donate, to harass people (even by the President), including getting them fired. At best this is insane insensitivity.

    At worst He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named could get the whole list of donors with all that info. One of his Truth Eaters brags about belonging to an organization infamous for breaking into computer systems and getting this sort of data (and that’s a credible threat, if you’re not in the field you have no idea how bad most outfits’ computer security is). Or there’s illegitimate legal action; who’s to say they won’t find a judge as contemptuous of NAACP v. Alabama as this one was of Brandenburg v. Ohio.

    (OK, that would get appealed, but still….)

    Lina Inverse (8620c2)

  60. I think he is advocating for Kimberlin.

    Finally a use of “advocating for” that doesn’t completely send me up the wall. I still would have written “he is being an advocate for Kimberlin”, but I can accept “advocating” as a substitute. What I cannot stand is “advocating for” some behavior or course of action. One can advocate such things; one cannot advocate for them.

    Milhouse (312124)

  61. I don’t think that all these underlying issues should be hashed out publicly and ad nauseum on a thread such as this one. In fact they should not be. But I do wish there was assurance and some evidence that behind the scenes the affected people do recognize some validity to the blogger support donation concerns we people see, and are working to do something about them.

    Comment by elissa

    Quite right. Elissa’s laid it all out clearly

    Ali and NBC need more – much more – transparency, and to explain any information they collect. Further, I want to see segregated accounts and it should be explained that each and every donor, even small donors, have a right to designate where their funds go. Also, though it may be very low, there needs to be a clear statement about what overhead expenses are, and how they are being accounted for.

    As to Ali himself, I have seen nothing, and I’d like an explanation. Not in a comment thread, with a lot of emotion and ad hominem insults flying around, but in a front-page post by anyone at all.

    Now, I’m going to go deal with the horror of Cost Co. *Shudder*

    Dianna (f12db5)

  62. ________________________________________________

    Several people have mentioned that young Ali seemingly came out of nowhere into a position of immediate prominence in the blogging community.

    Even more so because of the matter of Nadia Naffe and James O’Keefe, and when surveys do indicate that over 90 percent of black America is of the left — or very, very squishy at best — generalizations and presumptions about someone of “immediate prominence” are not totally unfair. So a lack of confidence in Ali Akbar’s full credibility is not without reason—and I’m not even dealing with the contretemp over his past fraudulent use of a credit card.

    Moreover, when studies of human nature indicate that a larger number of liberals actually fit the most negative stereotype they have of their ideological opposites, and the reverse is true of those on the right compared with those on the left, the intrinsically rotten, corrupt nature of a Brett Kimberlin likely is more pervasive on his side of the political aisle, and not the other. So people like the woman below may be both disarmed by but also have a greater sense that their political opposites are “sitting ducks” and therefore easier to trick or harass, as demonstrated by Kimberlin.

    Jackandjillpolitics.com, Cheryl Contee (Jill Tubman):

    This is the story of how Elon James White of This Week in Blackness and Blacking It Up and I infiltrated the Right Online conference masquerading as black conservatives. Right Online was held at the same time and in the same place as Netroots Nation in Minneapolis this year.

    This year, not only was Right Online held at the same time in the same city as NN — it was in the same hotel! It was an aggressive move and beyond provocative. As a board member of Netroots Nation, I felt provoked. I wanted to know why they were dry-humping my conference with such determination and stamina.

    Yes, some of you may feel I’m playing into their hands and giving them attention they don’t deserve. Yet, I’d like to offer the notion that Elon and I were just giving them a little taste of their bitter James O’Keefe/Andrew Breitbart medicine. Why not take a page from their book and expose the true status of the right-wing internet movement — and how black conservatives are treated in that movement?

    To create a right-wing appropriate look, I dress conservatively in a black wrap dress and apply extra bling: a big pearl necklace and big pearl earrings. I meet Elon over at the convention center…

    Worked like a charm. Nervous, I joked about how Elon, who was attracting curious attention [at Right Online] from the ladies and a positive appraising look from the young man behind the desk, was into “that hip hop”. The young man printing our badges chuckled and said: “That’s ok! I listen to some of that too…” (!) I wanted to say — then why are you a conservative but more about the strange cultural cognitive dissonance later.

    Now all these kids [in charge of Right Online’s registration] are about to get in big trouble because of Elon and me so I’d like to say in their defense that if we’d actually been black conservatives who were invited guests of Michelle Bachmann, I’d hope that we’d be treated with the same warmth and deference to our specialness. They couldn’t have been nicer. I was relying on that too — the individual niceness of conservatives. They are almost always very nice when you get to know them personally.

    Mark (7154e5)

  63. It would really be nice if this post about Aaron didn’t get turned into another Zimmerman-Surls thread. There have already been sufficient Zimmerman-Surls threads on this site to last a lifetime, IMO.

    Comment by elissa

    Can elissa get an “AMEN!”?

    She can! AMEN! AMEN!

    From this corner of the internet.

    Dianna (f12db5)

  64. “Dave – Instead of continuing to bitch and moan about the NBC you could get off your butt and email Aaron and ask him how to get money directly to him.”

    Good point. I hadn’t thought about that because I NEVER use e-mail any more.

    I guess I’ll drag out my old computer, which actually has an e-mail account set up on it, and give it a whirl.

    Still, it would be better if a formal organization was set up (run by reputable people), with a PO Box attached to it that those of us who don’t trust on-line transactions too much could donate.

    Dave Surls (46b08c)

  65. Dave,

    The American Center for Law & Justice is representing Aaron, the National Bloggers Club, and others. Perhaps donations to ACLJ could be designated for Aaron’s benefit.

    DRJ (a83b8b)

  66. Even though you’ve “confirmed that the National Bloggers Club is helping with Aaron’s legal bills”, I’m still uncomfortable giviing out that much personal information.

    Truth be told, Tanny, I didn’t donate that way either, for that same reason. Lina is probably right that these questions are standard for *other* kinds of donations, but a 501c3 is not political and this is off putting as well.

    Here’s a paypal link to National Bloggers Club. You don’t need to provide so much info this way.

    I never heard of Ali or this club prior to very recently, and when I’ve asked Ali questions, even about apparently deceptive attacks from the BU site, he has responded politely and accepted that people will “trust but verify”.

    Anyway, I don’t know of many out there who have actually organized significant help for Aaron, and I’m grateful to everyone who has. Stacy Mccain’s made this mess easier to understand. Lee’s managed to get a zillion people motivated and aware. LC and Patterico have been awesome for ages. Malkin put real weight behind the issue. And Ali rallied financial support. I know none of these people are perfect, but I really appreciate that they care this much about freedom of speech.

    You can, as always, send paypal straight to anyone’s email address, but what Ali’s doing should prove a deterrent to future Kimberlin victims.

    Can elissa get an “AMEN!”?

    Yeah, Amen. Let’s not turn the serious threads about Aaron’s civil rights into petty arguments.

    Dustin (330eed)

  67. Forgot to mention why the NBC’s middleman asking for your employer is amazingly and dangerously wrong: the worse victims of He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named and his Truth Eaters are Arron and his wife, because … the former were perceived to be a credible threat of domestic terrorism at their workplace, which they were summarily fired from.

    Very very very important point.

    Dustin (330eed)

  68. “It would really be nice if this post about Aaron didn’t get turned into another Zimmerman-Surls thread.”

    That’s okay by me, but if folks are going to start in on me…then I’m coming right back at ’em, no matter what the subject of the thread is.

    That’s just the way I play.

    Dave Surls (46b08c)

  69. Kma

    Dave Surls (46b08c)

  70. I gotta go to the ER and get these ribs taped that I cracked laughing too hard.

    SPQR (26be8b)

  71. Too bad tape won’t fix your i.q. deficiency.

    Dave Surls (46b08c)

  72. Comment by Dustin — 6/16/2012 @ 9:48 pm

    If you want to cut out the middle man, be our guest (but I note there are other Kimberlin targets who need the support… setting up a fund for any Kimberlin lawfare target is a very good idea).

    I think someone who uses the middleman gets a tax deduction, if they itemize deductions. Is that right?

    Sammy Finkelman (d22d64)

  73. Patterico can keep reporting this constantly and, he hopes, hide his relationship to the David Sengretti, Jr, errrr O’Keefe

    timb,

    I am not trying to hide anything. Your next published comment will either prove your false statement or apologize for it.

    Comment by Patterico — 6/16/2012 @ 12:50 pm

    “hiding” was poor diction, Pat.

    Seems to me, Kimberlin became a big deal, and I will accept your correction on this timeline, about the same time Nadia walked away with those emails. Kimberlin and his friends’ interest is in voting issues (and obtaining funding from left-wing morons) and O’Keefe and his friends are interested in voting issues (and obtaining funding from right wingers). The two groups are on the opposite side of the issue and one roots on the NH AG’s office, while the other opposes the AG.

    This interest in Kimberlin, then, seems to me an interest in defunding the opponents of Mr. O’Keefe. That’s not to say anything which happened after the initial blogging about them is fake. Kimberlin is a perfect opponent in this sort of thing, because, as I noted above, he’s an obsessive lunatic, has an extensive criminal history (I remember him from the news when I was little), and is a freak.

    At any rate, I was trying to get to a bigger point and typed a word which connotes more sinister motives than I intended. I apologize for the insinuation. You are the alpha after all.

    timb (449046)

  74. Anyway he seems to have done for what he was accused…

    D-Aspartic Acid (e42246)


Powered by WordPress.

Page loaded in: 0.1090 secs.