So some guy at the SOTU address looked like someone on the Secret Service watch list was detained for “close to an hour” and then let go because it was a case of mistaken identity. I see nothing at all unreasonable about this action, and yet Time is howling about his rights being infringed upon.

But on the same evening that President Bush was lauding democracy and freedom, there was one other person in attendance whose rights were infringed upon. The man, who did not want his identity revealed after the disturbing incident, was a personal guest of Florida Democrat Alcee Hastings. He is a prominent businessman from Broward County, Florida who works with the Department of Defense-and has a security clearance. After sitting in the gallery for the entire speech, he was surrounded by about ten law enforcement officers as he exited the chamber and whisked away to a room in the Capitol.

For close to an hour the man, who was born in India but is an American citizen, was questioned by the Police, who thought he resembled someone on a Secret Service photo watch list, according to Capitol Police Chief Terrance Gainer. Eventually, the police realized it was a case of mistaken identity and let him go. Gainer has assured Hastings that the Capitol Police, Secret Service and FBI will investigate why the man was detained for so long, and try to “sharpen our procedures.” But the man was “very, very scared” by the incident, says Fred Turner, a spokesperson for Hastings. On Tuesday night, he told the congressman that the experience was “maybe just the price of being brown in America,” Turner says.

“Close to an hour.” It only took them, say, 45 minutes to figure out they had the wrong guy. Not bad if you ask me.

“The price of being brown in America.” No matter what color you are, if you look like someone on the Secret Service watch list of those that would harm the president, I don’t think it’s unreasonable that they stop you for a brief bit of time to find out if it is you or the bad guy.

This is hilarious. Fox shows cartoon of Mohammed, but…

CNN, on the other hand, has only broadcast images of the cartoons with Mohammed’s face digitally distorted beyond recognition.

Digitally distorted beyond recognition… like anyone knows what Mohammed looked like. What a riot (No pun intended). They have to be kidding. It’s a CARTOON for crying out loud. It’s made up. It looks like it could be any Arab running around the middle east or Europe for that matter. Gee now I won’t recognize that it’s Mohammed. Hoy. Who’s running that organization anyway?

As I recall, it was CNN that agreed to distort the news coming out of Hussein’s Iraq so they could maintain a bureau there. CNN hasn’t exactly been a harbinger of truth… but a cartoon… distort beyond recognition… hilarious!

CNN is probably doing that with Piglet too.

Go Fox and Brit Hume.

It’s interesting to note that the vast majority of signs being held by these so-called outraged Muslims are in English. Clearly this is being orchestrated by an organized hierarchy intent on a marketing campaign to incite violence and evil. It is being cast as the popular image of jihad. It is designed to get publicity in the western press; to elicit both sympathy and fear.

What isn’t readily known, at least by this observer, is how many of these so-called “protesters” are being forced to participate in this protesting. I have personally seen this kind of forced participation in a communist culture. It is characteristic of tyrannical regimes. And I think it is fair to characterize the Muslim adventure, if you will, as a tyrannical regime of a religious hierarchy.

As has been noted by others, this is not just a simple exercise of protest because of some hurt feelings. This is marketing; one course in the attempt to conquer all those who won’t bow the knee to religious fanaticism.

***

UPDATE by MZ 2/6: CHT picks up on this theme of coordination and marketing.

I have seen photos of signs with slogans written in exactly the same handwriting–in both London and Istanbul. Also, hundreds if not thousands of Danish flags have been burned. Where did they come from? You can’t exactly go to an Arab market and pick up a Danish flag along with your bread and meat. Someone has been supplying the flags. Someone has been mass-producing the signs. These aren’t random acts of protest–there is serious logistical work going on behind the scenes. This is organized on the international level.