Don’t tape me Bro - Part Deux

Yesterday I drove to Seymour, Indiana for a town hall meeting by 9th district Congressman Dumbocrat Baron Hill at the Seymour City Hall. Scott Fluhr, the Harrison County Republican Chair was also in attendance. The crowd was overwhelming, as you can see below.

From Scott’s blog at Hoosier Pundit:

(Read more after the leap)

Baron Really Does Have Something to Hide: “Don’t Tape Me Bro!” Town Hall Release Changed

Yesterday, I blogged about Baron Hill’s efforts to muzzle any Hoosier that wanted to record his upcoming town hall event in Seymour.

Baron’s restrictions were so absurd that they even drew a rare (and very pointed) press release from the 9th District Republican Chairman.

Here’s the Baron’s original press release

(Washington, DC) -

WHO: Congressman Baron Hill and interested members of the community.

WHAT: Congressman Baron Hill will give a brief update of legislative action in Congress, and then open it up to questions from the audience.

WHEN: Thursday, August 7, 2008, 6:00 – 7:00 p.m. (EDT).

WHERE: Seymour City Hall
Room 301
309 N. Chestnut St.
Seymour, IN.

*Press encouraged to attend this event. Only accredited media will be permitted to record the event .

Just what the heck is “accredited media”? As Scott reported late Wednesday, Baron’s office decided later in the day to remove the “accredited media” portion. Well, nothing like a blogger to dampen the event.

I had planned on a Jimmy Olsen type of entrance, complete with a Fedora with a little piece of paper tucked in the headband that said “PRESS”, but in my hurried rush to get out of town I left it behind. Hill actually had a local cop sitting in the back of the room but I “doubt” he was there to quash any attempt by bloggers to record the event as he was obviously only interested in getting some sleep.

Hill spoke for about 15 minutes, most of it on his plan to save the United States from the grips of evil foreign oil. Sound familiar? Seems to be the new democrat theme these days. On a poster board he had his list of fait accompli. Among them:

HR 2264 - Giving the Justic Department the power to bring legal action against countries who engage in market manipulation of oil.

How the United States take legal action against another country? Okay Saudi Arabia, increase your production of oil because we know you keep it low to inflate the prices so you can keep buying those Bentleys. Quit it, or we’ll sue you!

I asked Hill just how the United States would take legal action against a foreign country. His response (paraphrased), “ugh, well that’s to protect us from <evil> corporations that try to manipulate the market, not countries”.

You would think that Congressman Hill would know what HR 2264 really was, since he did vote on it.

HR 2264 Summary

No Oil Producing and Exporting Cartels Act of 2007 or NOPEC - Amends the Sherman Act to declare it to be illegal and a violation of the Act for any foreign state or instrumentality thereof to act collectively or in combination with any other foreign state or any other person, whether by cartel or any other association or form of cooperation or joint action, to limit the production or distribution of oil, natural gas, or any other petroleum product (petroleum), to set or maintain the price of petroleum, or to otherwise take any action in restraint of trade for petroleum, when such action has a direct, substantial, and reasonably foreseeable effect on the market, supply, price, or distribution of petroleum in the United States.

Denies a foreign state engaged in such conduct sovereign immunity from the jurisdiction or judgments of U.S. courts in any action brought to enforce this Act.
States that no U.S. court shall decline, based on the act of state doctrine, to make a determination on the merits in an action brought under this Act.

Authorizes the Attorney General to bring an action in U.S. district court to enforce this Act.

Makes an exception to the jurisdictional immunity of a foreign state in an action brought under this Act.

Okay Baron, whatever you say.

His speech fairly monotonous, (see the cop sleeping?), so I won’t bore you with it here. Hoosier Pundit should have the entire audio online later today.

I waited until close to the end to start filming and used my digital camera as I don’t have a real video camera. When I pulled it out one of Hill’s staffers approached me and asked if I was “accredited media”. That’s when I whipped out this.

The congressional aide then left me alone and went to the back of the room. I think the barcode is for dog biscuits. If any bloggers want one of these let me know, we’ll gladly print one with your picture on it. Then simply take it to Staples, get it laminated and buy a lanyard. Bingo! Your accredited.

Earlier in the day I contacted 3rd district Congressman Mark Souder’s (R) office and inquired about “accredited media”. I got this response from Derek Pillie, District Director:

Our office doesn’t have a list of “accredited media” or anything like that. I think each office has latitude to develop their own criteria if they want. More to the point, I know for certain that in the almost eight years I’ve been working for Mark that we’ve never had a policy of pre-screening or preventing anyone from recording what is said at a public event. In fact we couldn’t find a single example of it.

Democrats like Baron Hill can’t be transparent. He’s no different than Nancy Pelosi not allowing cameras on the House floor. Once I did start filming Hill got nervous and called an end to the meeting. You can see him clenching his jaw in this video, and now he seems distracted by me.

It’s nice to be accredited. LMAO

AWB

(Cross posted at )