United Liberty
Texas Woman Visited by the “Thought Police”
Mon, 10/13/2008 - 11:28am | posted by Shana Kluck
I have to admit that I was skeptical when my mom sent me an email with this story in it. Since the kind of jack-booted behavior described seems too sensational to be true, I first verified the story at The Lufkin Daily News and also spoke to Jessica Hughes’ friend and neighbor, Connie Wells, who confirmed Jessica’s existence and story.
According to the email, Jessica Hughes, New Jersey native, but now a resident of Lufkin, TX, was called by an Obama volunteer on her cell phone and asked to support Senator Obama on November 4th. Jessica replied in the negative, citing Obama’s socialist tendencies and votes against an Illinois “born alive” bill as her reasons.
Jessica ended the call, probably assuming that was the end of it. Imagine her surprise, when two Secret Service Agents appeared on her front porch the next morning, telling her that she had been accused of saying, ” I will never support Obama and he will end up dead on a hospital floor”. Her actual words had been, “No, I don’t support him, your guy is a socialist who voted four times in the State Senate to let little babies die in hospital closets; I think you should find something better to do with your time.”
Her husband, Micah, confirmed her words, and since the Secret Service agents claimed to have no recording of the actual conversation, it was now a matter of she said/she said. Instead of apologizing for harrassing Mrs. Hughes, the agents then preceeded to question her about her “thoughts” towards Mr. Obama.
Fortunately, Mrs. Hughes is one of those true patriots still unafraid to stand up for her rights and let the government know they’ve gone too far. According to the email, Jessica answered them in this this way-
That was my limit. I told the Agent in no uncertain terms that my thoughts were not pertinent to their investigation, that this was America and the last time I checked I was allowed to think whatever I wanted without being questioned by the Secret Service.
Mrs. Hughes goes on to make a very true, and chilling, point.
The fact that the volunteer lied, the fact that the Secret Service came to my house to question me about my thoughts and feelings and threaten to embarrass me to my neighbors and go to court if I didn’t cooperate is not really the tragedy here. Because that girl on the phone doesn’t have the pull to send the Secret Service to my home. Someone high in the ranks of a campaign working for a man who may be the next President of the United States of America felt comfortable bringing the force of the Federal Government to bear on a private citizen on nothing but the word of a partisan volunteer.
I applaud and admire Mrs. Hughes for her bravery and having the strength of character to stand up for herself and for what’s right. I imagine others have also experienced similar circumstances and as our country steps closer to fascism and further from the Bill of Rights, many more will open their front door to find agents in dark suits waiting to interrogate and intimidate. But bullying only works if we cower down and submit to these absurd scare tactics. As Sir Edmund Burke said, “All that is required for evil to prevail is for good men to do nothing.”
It’s my hope that when placed in a similar situation, we all possess the courage of Jessica Hughes and decide that something must be done.
Listen here for a live interview.
*Update: Several people have questioned the veracity of the story, so just to set things to rest, I spoke to Jessica Hughes personally and can verify that she is real and that she sticks by this story. Whether you choose to believe her or not is, obviously, up to you, but I have no doubt that she’s quite genuine.
Snopes has reported this story as “undetermined” but probably false. Ms. Kluck should make sure a story is verified and and true before reporting it. Makes United Liberty look like a bunch of monkeys.
The update on my article answers this.
Yeah and snopes is really reliable. Good to have someone thinking for you.
http://www.snopes.com/politics/obama/secretservice.asp
“At this point, all we can ascertain is that the issue has been brought up to the Obama campaign and the Secret Service…Whether the substance of the phone call (and the subsequent conversation with the Secret Service agents) occurred as reported by Ms. Hughes, whether the matter was the result of malice rather than misunderstanding, and whether someone “high in the ranks” of the Obama campaign was involved in dispatching federal agents to visit Ms. Hughes are all questions that await further investigation.”
Where does it say “probably false?”
This is about the 4th subject that I have found on Snopes.com that they report as FALSE when it is without a doubt TRUE about Barack Obama. They are definitely bias on this subject, so bias that they would stake their name on it. I dont know how they expect us to trust them for anything now. I know I will never go there (snopes.com) again to try and find the TRUTH!!!!!!
Maybe it’s true, maybe not, but I had a similar run-in with the SS last month while covering the Republican National Convention, and they’re intimidating bastards.
My co-producer and I were in St. Paul to make a film about anarchists when we were detained outside Mickey’s Diner. The SS frisked us, separated us, and asked us about our views on anarchy, the second amendment, our nationalities, and much else. They took my phone and went through my text messages, then made me explain “suspicious” ones to them (I guess they’ve never sent a drunken text before). After about an hour they finally let us go, but then two military police (who must have been watching the whole time) appeared and tried to make us go through the whole thing again, but my co-producer told them off. They backed down.
The staff at Mickey’s saw the whole thing and hooked us up with free milkshakes.
You can see our film here:
http://current.com/items/89375810_lockbox_an_anarchist_tale#
Plenty of open desert around Lufkin, Texas.
King’s Men can disappear, without a trace.
Plenty of open desert around Lufkin, Texas.
People opposing the King’s Men can disappear, without a trace.
Last I checked Lufkin was in the Piney Woods, not the desert.
This is bull. Please anti-Obama racists, try something else.
Interesting that the only racist thing about this is the comments by the Obama supporters. That they claim this is a negative Obama article is incredibly rediculous! The only articles or broadcasts I have seen that have had anything to do with negativity toward Obama are articles critical of McCain done by Obama supporters! Every time I turn around I hear Biden say how negative the McCain campaign is to link Obama to terrorists. Doesn’t he say anything else? Or is this just the 10 second sound bite the media shows? Hellooo…
This is from -
Why I Can’t Vote For Obama
By Huntley Brown (a well-known African American musician)
Would you support a White President who went to a church which has tenets that said they have a:
1. Commitment to the White Community
2. Commitment to the White Family
3. Adherence to the White Work Ethic
4. Pledge to make the fruits of all developing and acquired skills available to the White Community
5. Pledge to Allocate Regularly, a Portion of Personal Resources for Strengthening and Supporting White Institutions
6. Pledge allegiance to all White leadership who espouse and embrace the White Value System
7. Personal commitment to embracement of the White Value System.
Would you support a President who went to a church like that?
Just change the word from white to black and you have the tenets of Obama’s former church. If President Bush was a member of a church like this, he would be called a racist. Jessie Jackson and Al Sharpton would have been marching outside. This kind of church is a racist church.
Obama did not wake up after 20 years and just discovered he went to a racist church. The church can’t be about race. Jesus did not come for any particular race. He came for the whole world.
A church can’t have a value system based on race. The churches value system has to be based on biblical mandate. It does not matter if it’s a white church or a black church, it’s still wrong. Anyone from either race that attends a church like this would never get my vote.
Kmuzu,
Why so much faith in Snopes?
The writer of this article states:
“I first verified the story at The Lufkin Daily News and also spoke to Jessica Hughes’ friend and neighbor, Connie Wells, who confirmed Jessica’s existence and story.”
Sort of sounds like she went to quite a bit of trouble to verify it. Moreso than just putting her faith in Snopes.
Did you listen to the Live interview with Jessica Hughes? She sounds quite real to me.
She’s wrong about that girl not having the pull to get the Secret Service to go to her door. That’s the scary thing about what’s happened to our country, now we _all_ have the pull to do that.
I called the SS on a person once. Can’t remember her name, she was a talking head on Fox. About 5-6 months ago she said it would be good it someone _____ Obama. The host just laughed and she acted like she was proud of her outrageous statement. I’m not the type to overreact, I felt this kind of behavior, joke or not, should never be tolerated. Just calling the SS is scary because you have to give your name and contact info. You’re also telling them what someone else said and you hope to they c o m p l e t e l y understand what you’re saying.
I never heard back and didn’t expect to, but her name is on a list. I hope she got a visit and came away with a better understanding of what it means to be civil.
The above “thought police” story seems like a campaign worker hearing what they wanted to hear. Calling the SS should never be taken lightly and making a false claim (which should be verifiable?) should carry a penalty. Why isn’t this poll worker downtown answering questions? Wasn’t a phone # available and a possible a recording?
You are obviously part of the problem. If anyone can call the SS at the drop of the hat, then nobody is safe from the jack-booted thugs. While the broadcaster may have been in error for allowing such a message to go out — I am certain the person was censured for saying it. You are no different than the millions of well-meaning fire alarm pullers who call the authorities under condition of anonymity. It is refreshing to see they actually wanted your name and location, because guess what? You are now in their database — permanently!
You status among the other Dachshunds did not improve — you master will never look down on you fondly and pat your head. No, the government you empowered will wait until you make a mistake, and throw you to the lions.
“This is bull. Please anti-Obama racists, try something else.”
Please don’t throw around a word like racist unless you’re dealing with racism.
“Timid men prefer the calm of despotism to the tempestuous sea of liberty.” - Thomas Jefferson
The fact that the author of this article states she confirmed this story with the Lufkin Daily News and also spoke to Jessica Hughes doesn’t mean anything. Neither of these resources sound credible and are most likely bias anyway. This is a rediculous article only trying to damage Obama’s campaign (which isn’t working, only an ediot would fall for this story). I’m sure the SS has better things to do than to visit some outspoken conservative.
Actually, the Secret Service is required to follow up on all reported threats of violence against the President. I suppose this diligence must now extend to preidential nominees as well. Not to be too glib, but you may have misspelled the word “idiot”.
I’m not sure you can really trust the word of someone who had the SS called on them. I’m pretty sure they’re not going to jump up and say they said something even if they did.
This is bullshit! If it had any truth to it the mainstream media would have picked it up by now.
This is isn’t a she said/she said. This is a sad woman who needs some attention. Most of those losers in Nacogdoches, TX and Lufkin, TX do. Hell you can’t even get a beer in Lufkin at the Red Lobster without signing some stupid contract.
Shane Coffey
I’m sorry to disagree with you, Shane, but the mainstream media is as liberal as they come and they are not going to report anything to the American people but what they want them to hear. The mainstream media doesn’t want you to hear the shoddy tactics of the Obama campaign. Obama will lie to your face….and the media will back him up and call anyone who opposes him a racist. My 20 year old son has a best friend who is black. I love this young man like he is my own child and he knows that deep in his heart even calling me “Mom”. Yet, the mainstream media labels me a racist because I refuse to vote for a socialist who wants to turn our country into a communist nation. Enjoy your victory, Shane. Because when elections roll around again we are not going to have a say. Obama and his scare tactics will be so deeply entrenched that you will no longer have a voice. You will be bowing before him and calling him your majesty.
This is a sad day in this country. I’m truly heart broken that we are going to face this kind of crap in this free nation….well, at least it used to be free.
Anonymous - You need to stop listening to the man behind the curtain, my son!
http://everyonesacritic.newsvine.com/_news/2008/10/11/1984691-the-federa…
“The fact that the author of this article states she confirmed this story with the Lufkin Daily News and also spoke to Jessica Hughes doesn’t mean anything. Neither of these resources sound credible and are most likely bias anyway. This is a rediculous article only trying to damage Obama’s campaign (which isn’t working, only an ediot would fall for this story). I’m sure the SS has better things to do than to visit some outspoken conservative.”
The uh…original person in question and their local news aren’t credible enough sources for you? Well pardon us “outspoken conservatives” for all our crazy talk there, upstanding citizen! You really put us in our place!
Grow a pair, try critical thinking for once (start with the Federal Reserve and we won’t sound so “ediot”ic or “rediculous”, and get a spell checker if you’re planning on trolling.
Doofus, the facts are that we have an ever increasing police state that is gearing up to put a lot of innocent people into the custody of fear-mongering corporatists with a monopoly on coercion. She was indeed a brave patriot when she re-asserted her right to think whatever she damn well pleased, and the reality is that America is where we aren’t supposed to have to fear another Gestapo. Things have gotten way out of hand.
And as for damaging Obama’s campaign, we’ll let him go ahead and take care of that for us. Even a little peek into his past in Chicago shows he’s going to have some things come back to haunt him, and we tend to prefer to put our efforts toward more reliable candidates, such as Ron Paul with his perfect voting record.
It must be sad; being a flaccid Socialist stuck in a dying system of perpetual debt, and only being able of concluding that the answer for need is to take from someone else…
“I’m a human being God-d****t! My life has value!” - Peter Finch
CS
It’s against the law for telemarketers to use automated dialing to reach cell phones, pagers or any other service in which the recipient has to pay for the call. Automated dialing is used by most telemarketers.
How likely is it that these people are manually dialing peoples phones to reach out to bug them about Obama? How many of you have been called on your cell phones to support a candidate? Not impossible just very unlikely.
Politicians, conveniently, excluded themselves from this law. And it’s very easy for them to obtain cell phone numbers- yours is probably on dozens of rentable lists.
I was a tele-fundraiser in 2000-2001. We hand-dialed. Each caller was given a stack of contact cards at the beginning of the shift. For four to six hours we cycled through the contact cards three, maybe four times in a night. I got paid $6/hr to dial hundreds of numbers with my very own pointer finger. The contact cards were pre-populated by way of a door-to-door opt-in campaign that had gone before the phone canvassers, so yes, there were people who listed their cell phones as their home phones. There are an infinite number of ways to get someone’s cell number. I hope this information helps to increase the plausibility of the story.
If this story hasn’t hit the major airwaves, it’s because it *sounds* unbelievable. In other words, our version of the truth is whatever we expect it to be.
In yet other words: People don’t believe what they see; they see what they believe.
I find it quite ironic how anyone claiming to be republican could have the audacity to complain about government officials interferring in personal matters of it’s citizens. Have you heard of the Bush administration, lady?
Besides if she just kept her mouth shut and only THOUGHT about killing Obama she would have been fine. Typical conservative hoo-hah I say.
I don’t know if the lady’s story is true or not, and I really don’t much care; there is a bigger point to be made here. That point being that we do now have a government that can threaten and harass its citizens for no good reason. That is beyond dispute. Since the enactment of the Patriot Act, we are really not fully participating citizens; rather, we are subjects who had better toe the line or risk being classified a terrorist and thrown in some hell hole for God knows how long. That possibility is far scarier to me than whether this incident actually took place.
The other thought that I have about this article is the reaction to it as some kind of racial attack. I don’t know the author - maybe she is a racist - maybe not, but there is not one word in the article to support such a conclusion. To make that kind of accusation without an objective basis in fact is no better than the person who does spout off racist language. Both people are beyond useless to intelligent discourse and should be not only ashamed of themselves, but should also be put to shame by the rest of us. That level of scrutiny is not possible when one posts as “Anonymous.” As such, I would suggest that such posts be removed unless the author has the guts to identify themselves.
She is absolutely wrong in saying that the “girl on the phone” could not send out the Secret Service, only someone with some “pull” “higher up”. I reported a person on a chat who said he would kill Obama, the Secret Service not only went to his house, the next day, but called me twice regarding the report. I am a private citizen, just an old granny, not high up with anything. So you cannot blame this on Obama or anyone “high up” The Secret Service will take any complaint as serious as threatening a life and investigate it. I might add, it is a little hard to believe, I might ad that something like this would be made up by the phone lady, but who knows?
Well - I now know who you vote for and what your ethnicity is congratulations for making a point
The only thing at issue here that everyone needs to hear is that our freedoms are being taken away brazenily and we just sit and let them do it
First of all, if the secret service came to her door, she said something she didn’t have any business saying and If you ask me, I think she said exactly what they said she said. Another McCain supporter, making racist and derogatory comments and then wondering why someone is saying something about it. Get over it. You make a threat towards someone, then you pay for it. She got what she deserved.
This is not the strangest thing I’ve heard. Who knows who actually made the initial call — ever heard of “Rove” politics?
You Obama supporters are really naive. How many times have you heard an Obama supporter say:
“You are being racist.” “I don’t want another four years of Bush.” “War Monger!” Obama supporters have to be the stupidest people in the country because they will believe any idiot with NO POLITICAL EXPERIENCE/ACCOMPLISHMENTS and shouts CHANGE at every issue. If you really believe this idiot is gonna fix the country’s problems, you are being naive and missinformed. How can a socialist support his Chicago hospital CEO making 28 Million a year? How can someone buddy around with terrorists and racists preachers and stop the friendships as soon as he runs for office? How could ANYONE support partial birth abortions??? Obama supporters need to take a look into what kind of person they are voting for.
It’s amazing anyone would have started saying anything about race here.
Give me a good candidate of any color who has my beliefs - and -
I will vote for that candidate.
There is no perfect candidate but I will not vote for anyone who believes in taking the lives of babies - whether they are two months and referred to as fetuses, or whether they are in the birth canal.
Wrong is wrong.
The artice:
Who knows the exactness of what took place and if they were the SS?
Neither sides had anything recorded.
News in general - Who knows how much of what we read and see on TV is true? It is mostly slanted and made from the eye of the corporations - and what their leanings are.
Lastly: God Bless America
May Freedom Ring
We still have more freedoms than most nations - things have been tightened up a bit
after 9-1-1, but so far not too bad in comparison to other countries.
This lady had as much right as any reporter would to write this or any other story.
Some people will enter anything - this is one of the most sensless ones here, besides throwing the race card - for no apparent reason.
Quoting Shane “This is a sad woman who needs some attention. Most of those losers in Nacogdoches, TX and Lufkin, TX do. Hell you can’t even get a beer in Lufkin at the Red Lobster without signing some stupid contract.”
Losers can be found anywhere - not all rural people are losers - many good folk in all counties of TX, and any other state in the US.
Shane and people like him need to get a life.
BTW: Spell check correction: Nacadoches.
Winners can spell. :) (or use a spell checker).
Peace!
please, this is texas, texans only see white, and are afraid of anyone who isn’t …
I suppose you aren’t counting the tens of millions of Latinos who are Texans? I would be shocked to learn that they only “see white”. As to fear, the majority of Texans I know and associate with have none regarding an individual’s race, fear is however a logical basis for posting anonymously.
Shane, just so you know Red Lobster doesn’t have to serve anything they do not want to (at least not yet- who knows after the election) you could have found a beer somewhere in Lufkin- In case you haven’t heard they are no longer a DRY county. As for your slur about Nacogdoches——We, the people who live in Nacogdoches, can live the rest of our lives without you so please feel free to stay away. As for the incident in Lufkin, I sure believe it because a similar incidence happened here in Nacogdoches ( I do not know who sent the secret service, but does it matter?
There are a lot of great folks in Texas, and you may not have noticed, but, there are a lot of black folk in Texas as well. I believe the person who is yelling “racist” the loudest is usually the one who is really racist. As far as this story goes, it is true. This lady is a friend to a good friend of mine.
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