Don't have a wreck with Karen Hughes!

[Gruenemann]

Unless you have a whole day to waste.

My son’s world history teacher was enroute to work Tuesday morning and had a very minor accident, rear-ending a Mercedes. She and the other driver got out to exchange information for insurance purposes.

It turns out the other driver was none other than Karen Hughes.

In very short order a vanload of Secret Service agents arrived and the teacher’s interrogation began.

The SS notice she has written down Ms Hughes’ license plate number.

“Where did you get this number?” the SS demanded.

She explained she wrote the number down after the accident—standard procedure--but the SS continued to evince paranoid suspicion. “Were you following her?”

She tried to explain she was only driving to work, and now she was going to be late.

“Why were you on THIS street?” It wasn’t until she pulled out a map of San Antonio and showed the SS where her house was and where the school was that they seemed to understand.

“Listen, I need to get to work.”

“You’re not going anywhere” was the SS reply.

“Then let me borrow your phone to call in. I’m supposed to chaperone a field trip, and without me they can’t go unless they find someone else.”

“You can’t use our phone. Give us your work number and a contact person and we’ll leave a message.”

Fortunately another driver stopped and lent her a phone, so the field trip was saved. But the questions continued, nothing to do with the accident. Personal questions. Questions about college activities decades ago. Questions about political affiliations. The SS kept repeating, “We only have a few more questions.”

“You said that 300 questions ago!” was her retort.

After several hours of this they let her go. She finally arrived at school during last period. Perhaps to mollify her, the feds said they’d pay for the damage to her car, even though it was her fault. But it didn’t shut her up.

Sooo…y’all drive friendly now, heah?

[Catch22Dem]

1. Jesus H.

What a crock!

[Gruenemann]

18. Just remember this is the administration that believes teacher

unions are terrist organizations.

On top of that, she had two stickers from FRANCE on the car.

[DoYouEverWonder]

2. Sounds like another example

of this misadministrations abuse of power.

I heard Karen was a real bitch when she was playing soccer mom too.

[Political_Junkie]

3. Holy sh*t!

That's unbelievable. You know if they'd stop screwing people over they wouldn't have to be so paranoid.

[spotbird]

4. She needs to contact Jon Stewart.

He might find the humor in the story.

[Gruenemann]

25. Jon would do a brilliant piece on this!

[Touchdown]

He'd give it to Stephen Colbert of Samantha Bee.

They'd do an expose about it. That would be funny!

[Wickerman]

5. I would think the Express News would be interested in that story

They aren't incredibly liberal - not by any stretch - but they love a story that could get syndicated :evilgrin: I mean, Secret Service protection? Is she truly employed by the Govt? I thought she was jsut a consultant - and, I thought that was currently for the campaign... :shrug:

[Gruenemann]

24. You gotta give the E-N credit for running columns by

thinking folk like Mike Greenberg. I stopped reading Jan Jarboe when she said she'd give up her SUV when they 'pried her cold dead fingers off it' (which, reading the accident death rates, is rather likely). T the the balance sure seems to me to be tipping to the right lately. I miss my neighbor Maury Maverick and friend Julio Noboa. And they demoted Melissa Fletcher Stoeltje. I think we should kidnap Rick Casey and bring him back.

[JaySherman]

6. What the hell is the SS doing protecting Karen Hughes?

Am I missing something here? Since was it their job to act as bouncers for presidential quasi-cabinet members? Actually, nevermind. The answer is to that is obvious. A better question would be is this Constitutional? Not that it really matters to the Bush fascists.

[Eye and Monkey]

8. Private contractors.

The teacher just "thought" that their IDs said "Secret Service". Cough. Cough.

[DUreader]

61. bush* re-election campaign hired some mercs for $200,000

I read about it here on DU.

Wish I had a link

[tkulesa]

13. My thoughts exactly

Why the hell are our tax dollars paying to provide her with private thugs?

[indepat]

7. F*****g brown shirt mentality? Why the F is the SS protecting Karen Hughes

the author as if she were some high-ranking public official?

[adadem]

9. With our tax dollars.

[PfcHammer]

10. Fk that sh*t. Should've just run 'em all over and continued to work.

[Gruenemann]

26. I'll tell her!

[squidbro]

11. Just more abuses of power

What is our country becoming? A gestapo-like state? Since when does a person like Hughes require SS protection? And why are my tax dollars paying for it?

Perhaps they were indeed private contractors dressed to look like Secret Service agents.

The abuses of power in this administration just never end.

[grasswire]

12. send this to some of the blogs

...and to Keith Olbermann. It's a story.

[saracat]

14. Yes Indeedy

Send it. Karen has to be protected by the SS because she really is the President!Shhhhh! Remember way back when they admitted she made most of the decisions? I just knew she wasn't really going home but would continue to pull strings from behind the scens. They're allegedly bringinging her back for the campaign.The reality is she never left.

[Gruenemann]

17. of course!

She's the puppemaster to Smirky's puppet. If the accident had involved * himself they probably wouldn't have mad as big a deal about it!

[Bozita]

22. This is made-to-order for Olbermann

[Jacobin]

45. Wow. Don't you know it.

I'm emailing him right now.

[Dookus]

15. From the Secret Service's website:

Authorization
Today, the Secret Service is authorized by law to protect:
the President, the Vice President, (or other individuals next in order of succession to the Office of the President), the President-elect and Vice President-elect;
the immediate families of the above individuals;
former Presidents, their spouses for their lifetimes, except when the spouse re-marries. In 1997, Congressional legislation became effective limiting Secret Service protection to former Presidents for a period of not more than 10 years from the date the former President leaves office.
children of former presidents until age 16;
visiting heads of foreign states or governments and their spouses traveling with them, other distinguished foreign visitors to the United States, and official representatives of the United States performing special missions abroad;
major Presidential and Vice Presidential candidates, and their spouses within 120 days of a general Presidential election.
----------------------------------------

I don't see "Part-time Presidential Advisor" in there

[Gruenemann]

16. SS?

Okay, I posted the original story. From the description I had of a van load of men in black suits, I assumed it was SS. Who else could it be? It certainly wasn't SAPD, who were never notified. FBI maybe? Heimatsicherheitsamt? They were some kind of feds.

[outinforce]

33. It Could Have Been

The Federal Protective Service, but not likely.

Within the District of Columbia, there are a whole host of police forces.

Including:

The Metropolitan Police (local Washington, DC cops)

The US Park Police (Federakl Police who patrol the National Parks and Monuments)

The Secret Service (Part of the Tresury Department -- they go after counterfeiters and the protect the President and others).

The FBI Police

The Capitol Police

The National Zoo Police

There are others...I just can't remember all of them now.

[Gruenemann]

34. waal, down her in Santone, we only got

SAPD
Bexar county sherrif's dept
US Border Patrol (and the border is 150 miles away!)
VIA transit police (i have NO idea what the fuck their duties are)
Park Rangers (smarter than you average bear but less affable)

At an antiwar rally in front of the federal building, I helpe make sure a blind DEA agent got on the right bus. I assume we have FBI here as well.

[outinforce]

38. Sorry

I don't know if I owe you an apology or not, but in case I do....

I am sorry if my post sounded like some arrogant Eastern snob talking down to anyone.

That was not my intention.

[Gruenemann]

67. Not at all!

No problem, no offense taken, no apology necessary! :D

[belle]

79. i vote National Zoo Police.

[outinforce]

20. Is John Kerry Getting SS Protection?

If so, then the SS would appear to be in violation of what its website says.

"major Presidential and Vice Presidential candidates, and their spouses within 120 days of a general Presidential election."

As far as I can count, the November election is more than 120 days away.

[GiovanniC]

59. Well, It's Claimed He Called

One of his Secret Service agents a "son of a bitch" when he was on his ski vacation... the right-wingers were harping on that one for a while because it's not like Chimpy ever called a reporter a "major league asshole"... oh wait, yeah he did.

Anyway, so it seems Kerry has SS protection.

[outinforce]

19. Welcome To Our World

This is news?

I sympathize with your son's teacher.

Nonetheless, stuff like this is an all-to-common occurance in and around Washington, DC.

It is not the fault of the current administration, or even the previosu administration.

It is the fault of the Secret Service.

The same Secret Service that is increasingly making Washington, DC into a fortified city.

It began in earnest about 10 years ago -- during the previous admininistration -- with the closure of Pennsylvania Avenue in front of the Wite House.

The guys in the Secret Service are not all alike, but the folks who run the SS (iinteresting choice of initials, no?) seem to suffer from an overlaod of testosterone and, as your incident clearly shows, a complete and total lack of respect for everyday citizens.

I hav eposted about this before.

Administrations come and go -- but the SS stays -- and k eeps getting more and more arrogant and less and less respectful of the fact that they are there to serve -- not to push poeple around.

It's already come to San Antonion, apparently.

This attitude, arrogance, contempt and disdain for people on the part of the SS needs to be stopped -- and soon.

Or we will all be treated like your son's teacher.

[vetwife]

21. If I were that teacher that story would be in Salon or anywhere !

Karen Hughes....Big deal? She is just the residen't mouthpiece. I guess not only do they not make mistakes, they don't have accidents either. Wonder what it is like to walk around on water?

[outinforce]

30. Much As I Dislike Karen Hughes

The focus of this story should NOT be Karen Hughes.

She did not treat the poster's son's teacher badly.

It is the SS -- The Secret Service -- that should be the focus of this story.

THEY are the abusive, arrogant ones.

If the focus this story is Karen Hughes, then the SS will slide.

And that would NOT be a good thing.

Karen Hughes should not have to answer for the way a citizen was treated in San Antonio.

The SS should have to answer for what they did.

Just as we want to hold the guads who violated all decency in Iraq accountable, we need to hold the SS accountable.

[Gruenemann]

35. Reread my post. I hardly mention Ms Hughes. It's all SS, and

as far as I know the teacher's intercations with Hughes were completely friendly. Maybe they weren't. But that's not what I wrote about. It was all about the SS. Or whoever the hell they were.

[outinforce]

39. Thanks

I certainly did not mean to suggest that you were, kin your original post, complaining about Karen Hughes.

My post above was more directed to the poster who said, "Karen Hughes....Big deal? She is just the residen't mouthpiece. I guess not only do they not make mistakes, they don't have accidents either. Wonder what it is like to walk around on water?"

It seemed to me as though that poster was suggesting that Karen Hughes was "the villain" in this unfortunate incident.

I was just trying to point out -- to that poster and to anyone one else -- that, in my view at least, the "villains" of this episode were the people who actually interacted with your son's teacher -- most likely members of the SS.

[vetwife]

40. I don't know Karen Hughes but I know we should not be protecting

her with our tax dollars. Can one person name any administration that
had to be so surrounded by Cops, SS, or whatever they are? Even before 911 I was at Egleston with my child and Bush had shooters from the roof and holding sick children in the hallways that had just come out of surgery to pitch his tax cut. I told that on The Guy James Show. She works for the resident and whether she was nice or not is immaterial to me. She is getting her salary from us and
the Body guards putting the teacher on the defense is inexcusable, especially since Rod Paige called the Teachers Uniion a Terrorist Organization. I don't know Karen Hughes. Nice or Jerk..But I will say this. She should not get any special treatment just because she has access to the world's biggest danger. The story should be told !

[outinforce]

41. After September 11

Most Federal Office Buildings in DC -- places where ordinary Federal Civil Servants work -- had metal detectors installed. Some even have x-ray machines to x-ray handbags and other satchels. The Building managers of some buildings hired additional guards.

All to protect Federal Employees.

Do you resent your tax dollars being spent that way?

Is that a form of "sepcial treatment" to which you also object?

[vetwife]

43. What in the devil does that have to do with protecting Hughes?

I don't know that we are any safer ! I know This bunch of GOP
War Criminals sure seem to get a Royal treatment at our expense.
I don't see your parallel. I do see where my Tax dollars are funding a war I do not approve of and could be used in better ways than fear tactics. Do you fell safer ? If you do, good. Seems like we need protection from the protectors ! Bush and Company have made us totally vunerable to the people they swore to protect.

[outinforce]

46. Parallel

Karen Hughes -- Federal Employee with a portfolio of Responsibilities

Jane and Joe Average Federal Worker -- Federal Employees with portfolio of responsibilities.

You stated earlier, I think, that you resented the expenditure of your tax dollars to protect Karen Hughes.

My questions was whether you also resent the expenditure of your tax dollars to protect federal workers more generally, especially in light of 9/11/01.

When John Kerry takes office next January, will you resent the expenditure of any of your tax dollars to protect anyone other than him, his wife, his children, and the vice president, her husband, and her children?

[vetwife]

50. Yes...I can't read anywhere that advisors get special protection

Yes..In a word Yes. I don't think a Federal employee unless they are prez/wife , kids , the VP/Wife and kids are supposed to be surrounded with all of this protection. Doesn't matter which party. It is the principle.

[outinforce]

53. And Your View of

protecting Members of Congress and Senators?

What would that be?

[vetwife]

57. Same thing..Special Enterage protection..NO!

Although they are elected officials and not appointed advisors.

[outinforce]

62. Let Your Senators and CongressPerson

know how you feel.

I'd be interested in their reaction.

[HFishbine]

60. Karen Hughes is a federal employee?

What is her position?

[JHB]

48. IS she a federal employee?

I don't think so. Unless I missed something, she's no longer a presidential staff member.

So where's the rule saying she rates high-handed SS protection?

[outinforce]

51. If She Is NOT A Fed,

then I sure would like to know who gave the order for her to receive protection from any Federal Police force.

I would also like to know the authority -- the legal authority - -for doing so.

If she is not a fed, that is one issue.

But I would not let that issue sidetrack what I consider to be the main issue here.

And that is the arrogant and almost degrading beahvior of the police who stopped the teacher.

[vetwife]

55. I agree with that..

I think it is an abuse of power plain and simple. If she or any other person who works at the west wing want or needs protection then let them pay for it. Think of it this way. High profile people do get protection but THEY pay for it. I hope. Who knows anymore what we are paying for unless we all research day in and day out !

[progressivebydesign]

71. Oh.. so EACH Federal Employee has an entire Sec. Service Team?

Your post is.. well.. ridiculous. yes, I fucking resent my tax dollars being spent to protect Federal Employees, I suppose if I resent Hughes getting thousands of dollars a day for protection. Those thousand a day would be really nice to provide health care for my sick mom.. or perhaps food or something for her... I've never seen your posts before.. but you have an odd attitude defending the likes of Karen Hughes.

[outinforce]

74. I Search In Vain

for where I said that each Federal employee should have an entire Secret Service team.

Perhaps you could show me where it is that I said that.

I just can't seem to locate it.

What another poster said, and what I was responding to was this:

"I don't know Karen Hughes but I know we should not be protecting her with our tax dollars."

Now, the poster's point may well have been that since Karen Hughes is not an employee of the Federal Government, she should not receive any protection paid for by tax dollars.

I would agree with that as a generla statement, but I would also point out that the law does authorize secret service protection for non-Federal employees.

Like Bil Clinton. Or Jimmy Carter. Or Roslynn Carter. Maybe even Amy Carter.

But if the poster's point was that we should not be protecting Karen Hughes with our tax dollars because she is a Federal Employee who is not the President, then I do think it fair to ask if the poster also feels that other Federal Employees -- who are also not the President -- are entitled to some protection paid for by us taxpayers.

That's all my question meant.

Sorry it was ridiculous.

And I do not think I was in any way defending Karen Hughes. I thought I was asking a question about the use of tax dollars to defend Federal Employees.

[progressivebydesign]

69. I disagree.

Hughes could have called those guys off right away. She allowed this to continue. No excuse for this.

[terrya]

23. I don't like my tax dollars going to SS protection for a nobody like...

Karen Hughes.

I may have to contact Senator Durbin's office about this.

Terry

[Bozita]

27. If she would allow an interview, we'd have a story

Would she?

[Gruenemann]

29. I don't know if she would or not.

I'm not even sure if I would. I'll ask.

Paranoia strikes deep
Into your life it will creep
It starts when you're always afraid
Step out of line
The Man comes to take you away.

[Bozita]

42. She must have been held for 6-7 hours ...

...based upon your description.

[Jacobin]

28. The corruption and arrogance of these bastards knows no

bounds.

Fuckers.

[outinforce]

31. You Mean the Secret Service , I Hope

They are very much like the prison guards in Iraq.

They (the SS) were arrogant and abusive towards another person.

Karen Hughes was not.

Let's insist that the SS clean up its act.

[Jacobin]

44. If she had had any class,

Karen would have intervened and pulled the brownshirts off this lady.

Karen Hughes has no class. She is simply an ass.

[outinforce]

49. The Problem

with this entire situation is the problem anyone -- classless Karen Hughes or classy Hillary Clinton -- has in a situation like this.

And that is this --

The Secret Service people are ther to protect you and your life depends upon them.

If you are being protected by a group of thugs, how do you call the thugs off?

To my way of thinking, what is needed is an outcry -- a BIG outcry -- from folks like you and me.

And that outcry should not be directed towards the Karen Hughes of the world.

It should be directed towards the thugs in the SS. We should demand that as the SS protects whomsever they protect they MUST treat ordinary citizens with respect and dignity.

[Jacobin]

52. Who's gonna listen to us? No one. Who would listen to

Karen? The people who are "protecting her".

I've watched her on TV. I've listened to her drivel and her bashing of Dems, her lies, her manipulation of the public for the monster in the WH.

She will get no sympathy from me.

If the SS doesn't have enough sense to know a fender bender from a terrorist then they are useless fucks and they should go flip burgers.

[theboss]

32. No one can beat Robert Byrd

In May '99, he rear-ended a driver in VA.

The Fairfax County police officer who investigated the accident had started to write the 81-year-old Senator a traffic ticket when Bryd pulled a copy of the U.S. Constitution out of his pocket and pointed to a section that he said the cop prevented the cop for ticketing him for anything because he, as a member of Congress "shall in all cases, except treason, felony and breach of the peace, be privileged from arrest" both while attending a session and traveling to or from the Capitol.


http://www.capitolhillblue.com/Aug1999/081999/criminalclass4-081999.htm

[outinforce]

36. Tom Harkin, Too

Tom Harkin of Iowa was pulled over, also in Virgina, for driving alone.

He was driving, during rush hour, in the Express Lanes of I-95 or I-395. The rules for driving in those lanes during rush hour are that you have to be an "HOV-3" vehicle -- a "High Occupancy with at least 3 people Vehicle".

He was only one person in one vehicle.

He said that he was in a hurry, so he had a right to use the express lanes.

I think he even asked the arresting officer "DO you know who I am?"

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[Jacobin]

47. What city did this happen in????

I want to email Olberman to see if his people will jump on this!!!

:evilgrin:

[DUreader]

63. The original post says a map of San Antonio

[DUreader]

64. from original post, San Antonio

[Toucano]

54. What a story!

Thanks for sharing it. Outrageous! If Clinton had given Streisand SS protection, there'd have been an outcry.

[vetwife]

58. You got that Right ! They would have had special investigations

It would be Star-Gate !

[Raster]

56. karen hughes: wetnurse to gee-dubya...

babs couldn't trouble her "beautiful mind" with proper parenting, so surrogates are in order. And some ARE STILL on the payroll.

[PfcHammer]

66. shut up and pour me another scotch you pansy !

[jackstraw45]

65. OUR tax dollars at work...

Since WHEN does KAREN HUGHES get Secret Service Protection?!?!? Do you guys know how much that costs per DAY?

Agent Mike, help us out here...

[Quahog]

68. There's something I don't understand here

Where did this interrogation take place? On the side of the road? For several hours? No cops stopped by to see if they could assist?

If this teacher was taken away somewhere for an interrogation, she probably has grounds for a false imprisonment suit. If she was on the side of the road, she was foolish not to ask whether she was under arrest. If so, she had a right to contact legal counsel, and if not, she had a right to drive off. How were they holding her there?

[Gruenemann]

75. As far as I know she was on the side of the road. If any cops

came by they were shooed away. One thing I know for sure is she has retained legal counsel since this incident. As far as I know they were holding her there by intimidation. As you will no doubt recall from my original post, when she said she needed to get to work, they said "You're not going anywhere." If I'm standing in the middle of a bunch of men in black suits who may or may not have shoulder holsters on and they're interrogating me as a suspected terrorist in south Texas in 2004, I'm not gonna run for it.

[progressivebydesign]

70. WAIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

WHY are WE paying for Secret Service protection for HUGHES?????? She's a fucking staff member!!!!!!!!! She's NOT an elected official, she's not the President.. she's a COMMUNICATIONS WONK!!! Hello???? Does anyone else get this? Is she even officially back on staff? Or is she working on the campaign?

[KansDem]

72. During the Bush regime, the SS has expanded its duties...

Remember how the SS bailed one of the Bush daughter's friends out of the drunk tank and drove him home???

The Secret Service - It would appear that the Secret Service have acquired yet another new role under George W. Bush. Along with protecting the president and busting down the doors of junior satirists (see Idiots Week 6), they are also required to pick up underage alcoholics from the local drunk tank. After the recent TCU booze-up, Jenna Bush's "boyfriend" William Ashe Bridges (Nash to his friends) was thrown in jail for public intoxication. Four hours later, Secret Service agents showed up in a black Chevy Suburban, bailed him out, and give him a ride home. Now this may seem an unusual way of spending the public's tax dollars, but think about it - bearing in mind this guy's connections, it's entirely possible that the Secret Service were just protecting our future president! Nash Bridges in 2032!

http://www.democraticunderground.com/top10/01/top10_2001_08.html

[DUreader]

73. We do not yet know for sure that it was SS

bush* gang election campaign hired a private military firm

to the tune of some $200,000 . It could have been the mercs

[Gruenemann]

76. I hadn't heard about that.

Interesting. And they seem to be about as competent as the contractors we hired to run interrogations in Abu Ghraib.

I'll try to find out who the hell they said they were.

[DUreader]

78. I'll look for the link for the $200,000 'contract'

maybe I'll just start a gd thread asking for help with the link

[DUreader]

81. Vance International is the firm, maybe them and not SS

There are plenty of things a campaign must pay for, but the Bush campaign may be the first presidential campaign to employ a company that specializes in paramilitary protection.
In reports filed today with the Federal Election Commission, the Bush campaign showed February receipts of $13.7 million, and cash on hand of $110 million. Obviously much of that money will be spent on television advertising. But a quick look at Bush's FEC filing shows something curious--they paid almost $200,000 to Vance International for "personnel services/equipment."
Vance International may not be familiar to a lot of people, but they should be, because they are the Pinkertons of our era. Vance was founded and until recently run by Chuck Vance, a former Secret Service agent who at one time was married to Gerald Ford's daughter. Vance used his Secret Service background in security and investigation to specialize in providing security during labor disputes. From the strikes at Pittston Coal, to Caterpillar, to Detroit Newspapers, if there was violence on the picket line of a high-profile strike, it was most likely provoked by the maladjusted ex-soldiers, angry cop wanna-be's, and CIA rejects who wear the jack-boots of Vance's Asset Protection Team:
more:
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2004/3/19/22135/3823

[Jacobin]

77. Good, they'll be easier to sue

[Lisa]

80. the very thought of "rear end" and "Karen Hughes" in the same sentence ...

... is downright terrifying.

I'm glad your son's teacher is okay. (Personally I'm not convinced it WAS her fault -- for all we know, Karen's attention may have wavered because she was thinking about you-know-who at the time.)