‘Don’t Tase me, bro’ student breaks silence
The second question I asked was why haven’t Kerry and the Democratic Congress made any moves to impeach Bush, considering he has led us into two wars of aggression in Iraq and Afghanistan, and wasn’t even legitimately elected (as Kerry knows since, as he told me, he has read "Armed Madhouse.") If Kerry is so concerned about the aggressive posturing the administration is taking towards Iran, why don’t he and the Democrats running Congress do something about it? They have the impeachment power. Millions of Americans believe they should use it.
The third question I asked Kerry, which Tim Russert of NBC’s Meet the Press also asked Kerry (and Bush), is was he a member of Skull and Bones in college. Some people treat this question as a joke, but Kerry and Bush never denied the assertion. Perhaps their involvement in the same secret society (once known as the Brotherhood of Death) has something to do with the answers to my first two questions.
MSNBC
TODAYshow.com: What do you think of John Kerry’s reaction to your arrest?
A University of Florida student is shocked by police with a Taser stun gun after persistently questioning Sen. John Kerry.
Meyer: Kerry intervened and stopped the police from taking me away initially. It appears he tried again after I questioned him, but he wasn’t so effective. Later, he said Taser use was not necessary. I definitely agree with him there.
TODAYshow.com: A lot has been made of your Web site, particularly a video of your friend (which has been incorrectly reported as you) standing on the side of the road holding a sign, “Harry Dies,” after the release of the last Harry Potter book. Is your site in any way connected to what you were trying to accomplish at the Kerry event?
Meyer: It’s funny you should mention “Harry Dies,” because that more than anything else epitomizes how my character has been misconstrued by the media. “Harry Dies” is a video two friends of mine shot on the day the seventh Harry Potter book was released. They are standing on a busy street corner holding a sign that says, “Harry Dies.” I am not in this video. I did not shoot this video. All I did was post it on my Web site. And yet this, according to the media, is the smoking gun that proves I am a “well-known prankster” and my questions to Senator Kerry were not serious. There are no other cited instances of me pulling a practical joke.
My Web site was and is intended to be a forum for me to express myself, but I was not looking to promote it in any way by attending the Kerry forum. I did plan to post the video of me asking Kerry questions on my website, the same way I posted the videos of Validus and Quigley & the St.Pete Players, a couple of local bands I had filmed. I did not, however, have a pocket full of business cards ready to pass out after the event. If I were promoting my Web site, passing out my card is exactly what I would have done. A police officer did find one of my business cards, which read “TheAndrewMeyer.com.” I was using it as a bookmark for "Armed Madhouse."
TODAYshow.com: Your original point may not have been about free speech, but your name has now been mentioned alongside Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s in recent First Amendment debates. What has your experience taught you about free speech in 2007?
Meyer: Politicians are not used to being asked the hard questions. I think free speech has been willfully discarded to an extent by American journalists. They have stopped asking questions that matter. Maybe their refusal to be vocal is what makes my outburst look so surprising in contrast.
TODAYshow.com: How has this experience changed your life? Has it affected your post-graduation plans?
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