Kerry supporters turn to violence

[Exile_In_SJ]

from powerline blog...

September 16, 2004
A Sign of the Times

In the photo below, three-year-old Sophia Parlock cries while sitting on her father's shoulders. Her Bush-Cheney sign was grabbed by Democratic thugs and ripped to pieces, reducing the child to tears. We are picking up more and more reports of this kind of behavior by Democrats on the campaign trail. A week or two ago, this partisan violence, once unheard of in Minnesota politics, occurred at the Minnesota State Fair when Democratic thugs roughed up a couple of Republican college students.





The Democrats' violent tactics don't seem to be doing them much good, however, as the latest Gallup poll has the President leading by fourteen points. That isn't right, of course, but it indicates how the race is going, and why Kerry supporters are increasingly resorting to violence.

[Rohirrim]

Let's see, some jerk rips up some sign because he's a moron - and all the Democrats are to blame - Welcome to Exile's World of Logic.

[Exile_In_SJ]

Hey it's for brevity sake, just like newspapers would make a headline. So the world I'm living in is the same as journalists.

Just like if Bush vetoed a 'civil rights bill' the headline would say, Bush is against civil rights...Everyone with a modicum of sense would know Bush isn't against civil rights. Just as anyone with a modicum of sense that I didn't say all kerry supporters were violent. Get a clue.

[Exile_In_SJ]

It's a shame that some stupid Kerry supporters can't take political opposition and try and oppress others with physical violenc

[Nuggets4]

Yeah, because at the rallies I've been at I've never had a Bush supporter throw stuff at me, or spit at me, or push me.

Get real Exile. In no way am I excusing what they did, but it's both sides.

[Nuggets4]

Could this be staged? Doubtful, but apparently this guy has a history of staging stuff like this to get national attention for his causes:



If you read the news on the ‘net last night, undoubtedly you came across a couple of very disturbing photographs, which were carried by AP and featured on Yahoo news, and which later found their way to Drudge Report and many internet web logs and discussion boards:

http://us.news2.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/ap/20040916/capt.wvrs10309162250.edwards_wvrs103.jpg

http://us.news2.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/ap/20040917/capt.wvrs10109170018.edwards_wv_wvrs101.jpg

Photo caption: Sophia Parlock, 3, cries while seated on the shoulders of her father, Phil Parlock, a supporter of President Bush (news - web sites), after a Bush-Cheney sign she and her father were holding was torn up by another person standing in the crowd that had gathered to greet Democratic vice presidential nominee Sen. John Edwards (news - web sites), D-N.C., Thursday, Sept. 16, 2004, at the Tri-State Airport in Huntington, W.Va. At right, is Alex Parlock, 11, Sophia's brother. (AP Photo/Randy Snyder)

At the Democratic Underground forum, Several people expressed skepticism about the photos, and they did a little internet research. After reading what these DUers uncovered, it appears that Phil Parlock has a near decade-long history of “victimhood,” which he incited by taking his children to Democratic rallies and creating skirmishes—the stories about which have been reported in two West Virginia newspapers.

In 1996, Phil Parlock attended a Bill Clinton-Democratic rally in Huntington, West Virginia, not to support Clinton, but to display his anti-Clinton sign. According to a 27 August 1996 article in the Charleston, West Virginia, Daily
Mail:

They obtained their tickets by promising those at Democratic headquarters they would be having signs during the president's visit, but they did not reveal their signs would be in support of Dole. "Clinton thinks he can just come here to Huntington and get a crowd, but we're here to show not all West Virginians share Clinton's values," said [Clint] Gillespie, a senior at Marshall University. "We always try to give them a warm Republican welcome," said [Robert] Painter, a recent graduate of Marshall University.
Phil Parlock's experience was less calm. The Huntington man said he was knocked to the ground by a Clinton supporter when he tried to display a sign that read "Remember Vince Foster," the deputy White House counsel who committed suicide in a Washington, D.C., park. His death has become the
subject of much debate among Clinton opponents."It must have been a strict Democrat who did this," Parlock said, feeling the red abrasions on his face. "Everyone with the exception of him was real peaceful about our protest." Parlock said some of the crowd tried to make other anti-Clinton demonstrators feel unwelcome. He estimated that about 150 Dole supporters attended the rally, but their signs couldn't be seen for most of the rally. "I came to show that not everyone from Huntington is going to vote for
Clinton," Parlock said. (1)

Parlock’s confrontational, anti-Democratic demonstrations did not end as Clinton’s presidency came to a conclusion. During the 2000 presidential campaign, Parlock escalated his protests and even kept his son home from school to join him. Parlock, who worked for the Bush-Cheney 2000 campaign, and his then twelve-year-old son Louis smuggled 16 pro-Bush signs into a Gore rally in West Virginia: they stuffed the posters into their shirts and socks to sneak them in, even though the rally tickets that granted them entrance said that no signs would be allowed. Inside the rally, Parlock and his son
unfurled their Republican signs and ended up in a scuffle with United Mine Workers—supporters of Gore—who took the father-son duo’s signs away from them. According to a 28 October 2000 article in the Charleston Daily News:

Parlock said after all his signs were stolen, he got some more from a group of Bush supporters who had not been allowed into the rally. Though police said they were not ready to make official comment Friday evening, earlier Friday an officer said he had seen a scuffle during the rally. Charleston Police Patrolman R.H. Vinyard said the incident involved people with Bush-Cheney signs, though he could not identify them by name. He said Gore supporters got into a fight with the Bush supporters about 10 minutes before the
end of Gore's speech. He said the altercation lasted about 45 seconds, was over before the police arrived to break it up and no one was treated for injuries. Afterward, he said, the Bush supporters tore up their own signs and left the area.

As workers cleaned up the debris from the rally in front of the Capitol after the rally, Parlock sat next to a pile of ripped up Bush-Cheney signs he had collected. He said he thought the people who took his signs went too far. Still, he said he'd do it again. And he thinks it was a good educational experience for [his son] Louis, too. "You can't get this kind of a lesson in school," he said. (2)

Flash forward to 16 September 2004. Same situation, different place, different children—after all, Parlock only has a brood of ten children from which to choose to accompany him on his missions. At an Edwards rally yesterday in West Virginia, Parlock once again showed up, this time with his
three-year-old daughter perched on his shoulders and his eleven-year-old son by his side. Supposedly, the daughter and displayed held their Bush-Cheney signs, only to have the placards viciously ripped from their tender young fingers by an evil Democratic oppressor—a member of the International
Union of Painters and Allied Trades. (Funny how those union members are always handy to take Parlock and his progeny’s signs away!)

According to Parlock, in a description of the scuffle that in the Washington, DC, Times yesterday, “They just pounced on us. She was crying; they were pushing and shoving her. She was scared.” (3)

As the little girl’s photo circulated the internet, many members of Democratic Underground questioned the incident. After scouring the internet, they discovered that the photographer, Randy Snyder, who captured the image of the crying toddler, is chief photo editor of one newspaper that has frequently featured Phil Parlock’s conservative activism and interned with another newspaper that carried article about Parlock. Therefore, the photograph was not just a lucky shot by some AP photographer who happened to witness
the ugly scene. Could Snyder and Parlock have planned the nasty shot? Could they have been working in collusion? Would a true journalist stoop so low? (4)

But there’s an additional twist—a twist that demonstrates just how twisted men like Parlock can be. One very perceptive DUer found a photograph of the Parlock clan on the internet—at the Herald-Dispatch website, which employs
camerabug Snyder—and she noticed that one of the older sons bears a striking resemblance to the union worker who accosted Parlock’s shouldered daughter:

The Parlock clan:
http://www.herald-dispatch.com/photogalleries/Guard/images/photo16.jpg

A comparison of the “union worker” and the Parlock son:
http://img47.exs.cx/img47/323/disch.jpg

And, to demonstrate the familial similarities, a comparison of the “union worker” and Phil Parlock:
http://img47.exs.cx/img47/232/parl.jpg

Seems too surreal to be true, doesn’t it? And it leaves the discriminating reader with many questions: Why would a man who understands the volatility of political rallies bring his children along, when he himself has been injured in scuffles at them? Were the people who “assaulted” Parlock at earlier rallies actually friends or family who assisted him in his quest for attention? Why would a man who supports the Republican family-values platform endanger his children, unless they never were endangered, because every single battle had been staged, with a reporter or photographer near.

With little doubt, when Phil Parlock saw his tearful daughter’s photograph on news sites last night, he knew he had hit the motherlode of activism. How could anyone not pity the tearful baby-doll sitting on his shoulders, holding
the clean remnants of a sign just snatched from her grasp by a Neanderthal union worker? However, in his attempt to discredit Democratic Kerry-Edwards supporters, Parlock just might have invited scrutiny of his actions—last night, and in the previous two presidential election cycles. At the very least, he should come forward to answer the questions that are being posed—questions that damage his own credibility today and over the past decade.

Notes:

1. Associated Press, “Dole Supporters Find it Rough at
Clinton Party,” Charleston, West Virginia, Daily Mail, 27
August 1996, 3C. Available on Lexis Nexis database,
accessed 16 September 2004.

2. Sam Tranum, “Signs for Bush Taken at Rally, Father, Son
Say,” Charleston, West Virginia, Daily Mail, 28 October 2000,
1A. Available on Lexis Nexis database, accessed 16
September 2004

3. Robert Stacy McClain, “Democrats Accused of Ripping Bush
Signs,” Washington DC Times, available on the internet at:
<
http://washingtontimes.com/national/20040917-010155-8041r.htm>

4. Randy Snyder, photography editor, brief bio available at
< http://www.sportsshooter.com/members.html?id=236>


Written by jchild, 17 September 2004
DU investigators include, but are not limited to:
rezmutt (uncovered the Lexis Nexis articles that demonstrate
Parlock's history of confrontationalism at Democratic events)
girl gone mad (photo comparisons of "union worker"
and Parlock son at 16 September 2004 event)

Here is the thread that shows the fruit of this research:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=828458&mesg_id=828458



OK, now I will prepare for the flood of posts by Mock that will undoubtedly follow this, even though no one said anything to him. I'm betting he'll top his previous record and go with 6 consecutive posts without someone else saying something.

[Exile_In_SJ]

Actually it's more prevalent on the dems side. Compare the Conventions. How many republicans actually protested at the DNC. Probabbly very few. Contrasts with Dems and lefties protesting at the RNC, delegates or even anyone in a suit approaching the convention center beinbg spat upon, having objects thrown at them.

How many republican unions regularily are used as thugs by the Republicans? Are there republican unions, even?

There are incidents of violence by both sides, but it's usually a dem or leftist perpetuating the violence.

[Exile_In_SJ]

you're quoting Democratic Underground? The place where Bush is regularily compared to hitler?

That place is violence ready to break out. You can't even post there unless you're a koolaid drinker. Talk about unable to take opposing views, at least here, everyone can have their say. DU is not a reliable source to quote anything.

[Garcia Bronco]

What kind of low-life does that to a little girl...the shame...If I saw it happen I'd beat that person within an inch.

[Exile_In_SJ]

I visit DU at least 4-5 times a week to get my fill of hatred. It's amazing how much vitriol is contained in that site.

I wonder how much better that place would be if they allowed dissenting opinions.

[Exile_In_SJ]

So Nuggets4 it's okay for someone to physically assault the dad and his little girl because the guy might be a political activist?

It's okay to attack the little girl because the dad is a republican?

[Rohirrim]

Could this be staged? Doubtful, but apparently this guy has a history of staging stuff like this to get national attention for his causes:



OK, now I will prepare for the flood of posts by Mock that will undoubtedly follow this, even though no one said anything to him. I'm betting he'll top his previous record and go with 6 consecutive posts without someone else saying something.

A picture is worth a thousand words. Thanks, Nuggets. Anybody who doesn't see the resemblence between Parlock and that "Union Worker" is living in Bush's little "fantasy world of spin," as Kerry put it. Man, the guy puts his children in harm's way for that bs? I guess this new world is teaching us new rules - like, zealotry has no boundaries.

[Rohirrim]

So Nuggets4 it's okay for someone to physically assault the dad and his little girl because the guy might be a political activist?

It's okay to attack the little girl because the dad is a republican?

Don't you get it, Exile? The guy carrying the little girl got his son to dress up like a union worker and rip the sing out of her hands for a photo op. Somewhere, Karl Rove is applauding.

[Mile High Shack]

man, conspiracy theories rule the democratic party lately

[plummerrox]

man, conspiracy theories rule the democratic party lately


Rumor has it that it was the Bush Family who arranged the assassination of JFK. Think about it. Kennedy was in Dallas. The Bush Family is from Texas. eerie...

more:

JFK was a Democrat. - The Bush Family Republican. SPOOOOOOOOKY

There are 7 letters in "kennedy" - there are 4 letters in "Bush". If you add 1 to 7 and divide by 2 - you get 4!!! How many Kennedy's were assassinated? 2! CREEEEEEPY.

Can I join Mr. Heinz - Kerry's Campaign Team?

[freak6]

Iraq war is a mess.

Read the intelligence files.

Read IMPERIAL HUBRIS

Watch the NEWS

[freak6]

I am stealing bandwidth? Man that was some good annoying programming. Anyway, who cares about this. My brothers are dieing in Iraq, and Bush refuses to talk about it, and tries to suppress the truth....

ie his stance on the 911 commission, his minimal amount of press conferences, his idiotic takes on greenhouse effects.

[Nuggets4]

So Nuggets4 it's okay for someone to physically assault the dad and his little girl because the guy might be a political activist?

It's okay to attack the little girl because the dad is a republican?

In no way am I excusing what they did

Come on, reading is FUNdamental!

If DU is the site full of hatred, I'd hate to see what the Freep is. Good God.

[OrangeDoofus]

Could this be staged? Doubtful, but apparently this guy has a history of staging stuff like this to get national attention for his causes:

Good work, Nuggets4. Considering that the guy has a history of getting into these situations during presidential campaigns, and the striking resemblance of the "union protester" to members of his own family, I think you're being pretty generous in saying it's "doubtful" the incident was staged.

OK, now I will prepare for the flood of posts by Mock that will undoubtedly follow this, even though no one said anything to him. I'm betting he'll top his previous record and go with 6 consecutive posts without someone else saying something.

Oh, if you wanted to get the full mock treatment you should have included some praise for Q and some critical comments about the Vikings. With the material you already have, that would have gotten you a 7-8 post run, minimum.

[Exile_In_SJ]

Come on, reading is FUNdamental!

If DU is the site full of hatred, I'd hate to see what the Freep is. Good God.


I dunno, I rarely go to Free Republic, it's got it's share of whackos too.
But as far as pure haterd, DU has few peers, except maybe Moveon.org and Indymedia.

[Nuggets4]

Actually it's more prevalent on the dems side. Compare the Conventions. How many republicans actually protested at the DNC. Probabbly very few. Contrasts with Dems and lefties protesting at the RNC, delegates or even anyone in a suit approaching the convention center beinbg spat upon, having objects thrown at them.

How many republican unions regularily are used as thugs by the Republicans? Are there republican unions, even?

There are incidents of violence by both sides, but it's usually a dem or leftist perpetuating the violence.

http://talkleft.com/pullhair1.jpg

http://us.news2.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/ap/20040914/capt.coea10709141726.bush_colorado_coea107.jpg

http://portlandtribune.com/newsi/40817C.LeadArt.jpg

http://www.actupny.org/reports/rnc_nyc-kicking.mov

To quote Andre 3000:

I know you like to think your s*it don't stink, but lean a little bit closer and see the roses really smell like oooooh oooh oooh.

[Exile_In_SJ]

this is interesting...

if the event was staged by the Parlock family and some here have uses DU sources to imply that the union member was a Parlock family member, why would the Union issue an apology?

http://www.littlegreenfootballs.com/weblog/

Union Apologizes for Assault on 3-Year Old

The president of The International Union of Painters and Allied Trades has issued an apology for the thuggish behavior of one of their members, who terrorized a three-year old girl yesterday at a rally for John Edwards: IUPAT: News & Events. (Hat tip: H.D. Miller.)

The International Union of Painters and Allied Trades believes in the fundamental right for civil discourse, freedom of speech and activism to support our candidates and issues.

What happened in Huntington, West Virginia yesterday is an affront to everything we, as a union, pride ourselves to represent. We extend our apologies to the Parlock family, especially Sophia, for the distress one of our overzealous members caused them.

I have personally taken steps to address this issue internally, and will take immediate disciplinary action to the full extent allowed under U.S. Department of Labor regulations and the constitution of the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades.

It is my hope that this incident reminds all of our members that every last citizen in this country has the right to express his or herself freely. Not one single one of us has the right to tell them otherwise.

General President James A. Williams
The International Union of Painters and Allied Trades

[Exile_In_SJ]

again from little green footballs.

Kerry Fans vs. 3-Year Old, Part 2

In a typically vulgar and hate-filled message thread in the left wing fever swamp (Democratic Underground), the claim is made that this AP photograph of a three-year old girl being assaulted by Kerry supporters was “staged” by a “serial disrupter,” and that the thug in the union shirt is actually his son: IMPORTANT!!! The Rethug w/ Little Girl — PULLED SAME SH*T IN 2000!!! (Multiple exclamation points add such gravitas to an announcement, don’t you think?)

Please note: interviewed on the Glenn Beck radio show, Phil Parlock categorically denied that the person in the photos holding a piece of a torn sign is his son. And the attempts to “prove” it at Democratic Underground are laughable. If some real evidence shows up to support this claim, I’ll be sure to take note of it.

But the prevailing belief in the fever swamps seems to be that if you show up at a Democratic rally with a “Rethuglican” sign, you deserve anything that happens to you. Or to your children.

UPDATE at 9/17/04 9:43:19 am:

In a second AP photo of the incident, you can see the thug’s union buddies pushing him away from the cameras, as others rush in with signs to block the view of the crying little girl (hat tip: freedomsound):

[Exile_In_SJ]

hmmm the Union boss apologizes. Maybe the Republicans paid him off? rofl.

[alkemical]

http://www.dailypress.com/news/local/virginia/dp-wv--bushprotest0914sep14,0,655649.story?coll=dp-headlines-virginia

Couple arrested at Bush event sues federal officials


By JENNIFER BUNDY
Associated Press Writer

Published September 14, 2004

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- A couple arrested for wearing anti-Bush T-shirts to the president's July 4 appearance at the West Virginia Capitol filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday alleging their First Amendment rights were violated.

Nicole and Jeff Rank were removed from the event in handcuffs after revealing T-shirts with President Bush's name crossed out on the front. Nicole' Rank's shirt had the words "Love America, Hate Bush" on the back and Jeff Rank's had "Regime change starts at home" on the back.

























Their lawsuit was filed in federal court by American Civil Liberties Union attorneys. It names Gregory Jenkins, deputy assistant to the president and director of the White House Office of Presidential Advance; and W. Ralph Basham, director of the U.S. Secret Service, as defendants.

"What is at stake here transcends politics," Jeff Rank said at a news conference at the Capitol. "What is at stake is the right of all Americans--Democrats, Republicans and Independents, all Americans--to peacefully voice their dissent to their government."

The couple wants a judge to declare unconstitutional any policy that led to their arrest. They also are seeking unspecified monetary damages for emotional harm they suffered.

A spokesman for the U.S. Department of Justice, to whom a White House spokesman directed questions, did not immediately return a phone call seeking comment.

"We don't comment on ongoing litigation," said Charles Bopp, a spokesman for the Secret Service.

Trespassing charges filed against the couple by Charleston police officers after they were removed from the event were later dismissed because a municipal judge determined city trespassing ordinances do not apply to Statehouse grounds. City Council and Mayor Danny Jones have publicly apologized to the Ranks.

Jones, a Republican, has said the police officers who arrested the Ranks were told to do so by Secret Service agents.

Bopp had previously said his agency did not direct the arrests.

The ACLU filed a federal lawsuit last September against the Secret Service, seeking an injunction against the Bush administration for segregating protesters at his public appearances. The Secret Service agreed to stop the practice.

Bush's appearance in West Virginia was an official visit and not a campaign event.

The lawsuit said the Ranks obtained free tickets to the July 4 event. Information they received with the tickets specified items they were not allowed to bring such as coolers and lawn chairs, but did not say anything about clothing. Nicole Rank received an e-mail at work that said, "there is no specified dress code."

Jeff Rank said he and his wife wore the T-shirts because, "When you see the president speak on TV he is usually shown surrounded by fervent supporters only. While we wanted to hear him out and while we wanted to see him in person, we did not want to be added to the tally of Bush supporters that day."

They were not shouting or heckling, did not lay down in protest and did not resist arrest, Jeff Rank said.

While the Ranks were put in handcuffs, fingerprinted and spent two hours in jail, other people at the event who wore Bush campaign T-shirts and buttons were not bothered, said Andrew Schneider, the executive director of the ACLU in West Virginia.

"Presidents cannot be insulated from dissent," Schneider said.

Although Nicole Rank, 30 and a registered Democrat, initially was dismissed from her job with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, she was rehired after the charges were dropped. She now is on an assignment in Richmond, Va.

The Ranks had been living in Corpus Christi, Texas, and were in West Virginia because of Nicole Rank's FEMA assignment. They have since moved to Charleston.

Jeff Rank, 29 and a registered Republican, is a math and science tutor at the University of Charleston.

[alkemical]

http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/news/09142004_nw_parkingauthority.html
Forced Contributions to GOP?

PHILADELPHIA-September 14, 2004 — Employees of the Republican-controlled Philadelphia Parking Authority said they were told by their superiors to contribute to the GOP, or risk losing their jobs, a newspaper reported.



Five employees said they were pressured on the job to contribute $275 per year, the Philadelphia Daily News reported for Tuesday editions. Campaign finance records show dozens of $100 contributions this year from workers making $25,000 or less.


State law forbids demanding political contributions from public employees or contractors.


"It's extortion," said Michael J. Vecchione, who was hired two years ago to work in the authority's impoundment lots. The four other employees spoke to the Daily News on condition of anonymity.


Vecchione, 38, said he had been on the job about a month when his supervisor asked him to buy a $100 ticket to the Republican City Committee's fall dinner.


"I told her, "I'm not really a political person.' Then she told me, 'You should understand, this is a patronage job and you have to buy three tickets a year.' At that time, I refused to pay, but two days later another supervisor came up and said I was still under probation. If I didn't buy the tickets they could fire me."


Vecchione said he got another call from a woman in the office of state House Republican leader John Perzel. Perzel, now the House speaker, engineered the Republican Party's takeover of the Parking Authority from the Democratic-controlled city in 2001.


"I told her, no one ever told me before I was hired about buying these tickets. And she said, 'I'm telling you now,"' Vecchione said.


Prompted by an inquiry from the newspaper, the Parking Authority's executive director, Joseph M. Egan Jr., sent a memo to all 823 authority employees last week warning them that they could be fired for soliciting money on the job or threatening workers who refuse to contribute.


"Employees must be free from any pressure, real or perceived, to contribute to any activity or group," Egan said.


Parking Authority employees also said they had been asked to work the polls. Several said the political activity appeared to be organized by Vincent J. Fenerty, Egan's top deputy and a Republican ward leader.


Fenerty denied pressuring employees to make a political contribution, but acknowledged accepting a $100 donation from Vecchione on authority time. Fenerty, however, described Vecchione as a "disgruntled employee" and said Vecchione approached him with the $100.


Vecchione said Fenerty had pressured him for the money.


(Copyright 2004 by the Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

[Nuggets4]

this is interesting...

if the event was staged by the Parlock family and some here have uses DU sources to imply that the union member was a Parlock family member, why would the Union issue an apology?

Probably because the union issued the apology this morning, before anything was known. The union also added that htey were doing what they could to determine who the person that ripped the sign up was.

[L.A. BRONCOS FAN]

Let's see, some jerk rips up some sign because he's a moron - and all the Democrats are to blame - Welcome to Exile's World of Logic.

LOL

That's Exile from Sound Judgment for you.

Serial GOP: Media loves repeated Republican protester

On September 17, The Drudge Report home page featured a September 16 Associated Press photo of a 3-year-old girl, Sophia Parlock, holding a ripped Bush-Cheney '04 sign and crying as she sits on her father's shoulders. Drudge captioned the photo: "GIRL CRIES AFTER BUSH/CHENEY SIGN RIPPED BY THUGS...". Later that day, The Washington Times published an interview with the Parlock family, whom the paper described as "proudly patriotic."

As The Washington Times reported on September 17:

"They just pounced on us," said Phil Parlock, who took his 11-year-old son, Alex, and 3-year-old daughter, Sophia, to the Democratic rally at Tri-State Airport in Huntington, W.Va.

Sophia became briefly famous yesterday when an Associated Press photo showing her in tears after Democrats tore her sign to pieces was posted on Matt Drudge's Web site, www.drudgereport.com.

"She was crying; they were pushing and shoving her," said Mr. Parlock, a Huntington real estate agent. "She was scared."

Both The Washington Times and Drudge failed to mention that this is the third time the Parlock family has been involved in so-called assaults involving campaign signs.

As noted by the blog Rising Hegemon, Phil Parlock has claimed he was assaulted at a 1996 protest.

http://rising-hegemon.blogspot.com/2004/09/bogus-assault-father-freeper-of-year.html

http://rising-hegemon.blogspot.com

The Huntington man said he was knocked to the ground by a Clinton supporter when he tried to display a sign that read "Remember Vince Foster," the deputy White House counsel who committed suicide in a Washington, D.C., park. His death has become the subject of much debate among Clinton opponents.

"It must have been a strict Democrat who did this," Parlock said, feeling the red abrasions on his face. "Everyone with the exception of him was real peaceful about our protest." [Charleston (WV) Daily Mail, August 27, 1996]

In 2000, Parlock found himself in yet another confrontation with Democrats at a campaign event:

Phil Parlock didn't expect to need all 12 of the Bush-Cheney signs he and his son Louis smuggled in their socks and pockets into the rally for Vice President Al Gore.

But each time they raised a sign, someone would grab it out of their hands, the two Huntington residents said. And sometimes it got physical.

"I expected some people to take our signs," said Louis, 12. "But I did not expect people to practically attack us." [Charleston (WV) Daily Mail, October 28, 2000]

The photo of Sophia Parlock was taken by Randy Snyder. Apparently, Snyder is not an Associated Press photographer; he is listed as "chief photographer" on the masthead of The Herald-Dispatch, which bills itself as "the online news authority for Huntington, West Virginia, Southern Ohio and Eastern Kentucky."

http://www.herald-dispatch.com/hdinfo/contactlist.html

The Parlock family has been featured numerous times in the Herald-Dispatch, including in a July 5 article about an Independence Day rally attended by President George W. Bush. The July 5 article also featured photographs by the same Randy Snyder.

http://www.herald-dispatch.com/2004/July/05/LNspot.htm


On September 17, Parlock was interviewed by nationally syndicated Clear Channel radio host Glenn Beck. Regarding the Parlock family's attendance at a brief appearance by Senator John Edwards in Huntington, W.Va., at which the photo of Sophia Parlock was taken, her father recounted:

PARLOCK: The painter's union guys took a couple signs off of us. ... Um, some women and old ladies did it too. I mean, but you can see, clearly in that picture, he has a piece of the sign in his hand and he is dropping it onto the ground.

Minutes after his interview, Beck apparently received information about Parlock's past encounters, saying that "the blogs are going crazy." Following is an excerpt from Beck's second interview of Phil Parlock:

BECK: So you've done this -- and you admit to this -- you've done this ...

PARLOCK: But there's a certain consistency there, and you just read it. We are consistently quiet and peaceful ...

BECK: Mm-hmm.

PARLOCK: Glenn, look, I work on -- I, I, I said this before, I shouldn't tell my secrets, but -- I work on a subliminal level; I don't go after the press. The press is easy. Working on people to change their minds is harder.

BECK: OK.

PARLOCK: I'm not a troublemaker. We -- we've -- we have gone to rallies -- my family and I -- we stand there quietly, and we're viewed as a threat, for standing there quietly.

http://mfile.akamai.com/6713/wma/glennbeck.download.akamai.com/6713/preview/04/09/philparlock2.asx

http://mfile.akamai.com/6713/wma/glennbeck.download.akamai.com/6713/preview/04/09/philparlock.asx

http://www.bartcop.com/fox-news-lies.JPG

[patteeu]

I am stealing bandwidth? Man that was some good annoying programming. Anyway, who cares about this. My brothers are dieing in Iraq, and Bush refuses to talk about it, and tries to suppress the truth....

ie his stance on the 911 commission, his minimal amount of press conferences, his idiotic takes on greenhouse effects.

Did your brothers leave you behind because they couldn't trust you with live ammunition?

[patteeu]

this is interesting...

if the event was staged by the Parlock family and some here have uses DU sources to imply that the union member was a Parlock family member, why would the Union issue an apology?

http://www.littlegreenfootballs.com/weblog/

Union Apologizes for Assault on 3-Year Old

The president of The International Union of Painters and Allied Trades has issued an apology for the thuggish behavior of one of their members, who terrorized a three-year old girl yesterday at a rally for John Edwards: IUPAT: News & Events. (Hat tip: H.D. Miller.)

The International Union of Painters and Allied Trades believes in the fundamental right for civil discourse, freedom of speech and activism to support our candidates and issues.

What happened in Huntington, West Virginia yesterday is an affront to everything we, as a union, pride ourselves to represent. We extend our apologies to the Parlock family, especially Sophia, for the distress one of our overzealous members caused them.

I have personally taken steps to address this issue internally, and will take immediate disciplinary action to the full extent allowed under U.S. Department of Labor regulations and the constitution of the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades.

It is my hope that this incident reminds all of our members that every last citizen in this country has the right to express his or herself freely. Not one single one of us has the right to tell them otherwise.

General President James A. Williams
The International Union of Painters and Allied Trades

It must be a bigger conspiracy than was first suspected.

I'd guess this whole scenario was planned years ago. The republicans planted a sleeper in the IUPA and waited until he worked his way to the top to activate him.

[L.A. BRONCOS FAN]

Isn't it funny how this guy keeps turning up as an agent provocatuer at one Democratic campaign event after another? And the repugs want us to believe that this most recent incident was just happenstance?

Too funny.

[patteeu]

Isn't it funny how this guy keeps turning up as an agent provocatuer at one Democratic campaign event after another? And the repugs want us to believe that this most recent incident was just happenstance?

Too funny.

No, I doubt that it was happenstance. I'm sure the guy intended to be there and he was no doubt provocative. That doesn't mean he staged it.

[Blueflame]

No, I doubt that it was happenstance. I'm sure the guy intended to be there and he was no doubt provocative. That doesn't mean he staged it.

For one family to have been so consistently involved in such incidents taxes even the most lenient standards of credibility. And how convenient it was for them that the photographer had them focused right in the lens. Staged? Surely they're above that...

[/sarcasm]

[watermock]

Actually, it means that they have peacfully shown signs and been consistently abused at outdoor events.

This is the liberal think: Anyone who shows up throwing rocks at a Bush Rally is a peacefull demonstrator.

And anyone that shows a Republican Sign must be beaten down.

Why don't you tell me what crime this guy committed because he EXPECTED to be assaulted and brought a freelance photographer. The one thing the left can't demonstrate is that he did anything but he held up signs yet they got physically violent with him, and worse, his little child.

That didn't stop the left from attacking him did it. Name one thing he did? Maybe he brought along a reporter to document the fanatical, immoral and violent nature of the extreme left, and simply reported it. He may of anticipated it and asked someone to simply record the behavior. Would I object to having someone photograph someone being abused?

OBTW, Where are all the photographs of Kerry's buddies cutting off heads? Seems to me that those have never been produced. And don't embarass yourself with the MeLai Incident where some napalm was placed in the wrong place at the wrong time. I'm talking about validation of Kerry's assumptions. Kerry carried a camera at all times. How come he could never produce a single picture of attrocities?

So tell me again what is wrong with this guys family to attend public assemblies and displaying a republican sign without being physically attacked. The hypocracy is literally astounding.

[Exile_In_SJ]

and another instance where a leftists attacks someone who disagrees with him..

-----------------------

A local soldier back from the war in Iraq said he was beaten at an area concert because of what was printed on his T-shirt, NBC 4’s Nancy Burton reported.

Foster Barton, 19, of Grove City, received a Purple Heart for his military service in Iraq. He almost lost his leg last month after a Humvee he was riding in ran over a landmine.

Barton said he was injured again Friday night in a crowded parking lot as he was leaving the Toby Keith concert at Germain Amphitheatre. The solider was injured so badly that he can’t go back to Iraq as scheduled.

“I don’t remember getting hit at all, really,” said Barton, a member of the 1st Calvary Division. “He hit me in the back of the head. I fell and hit the ground. I was knocked unconscious and he continued to punch and kick me on the ground.”

Barton and his family said he was beat up because he was wearing an Iraqi freedom T-shirt.

“It’s not our fault,” Barton said. “I’m just doing a job.”

According to a Columbus police report, six witnesses who didn’t know Barton said the person who beat him up was screaming profanities and making crude remarks about U.S. soldiers, Burton reported.

One witness, a friend of the alleged attacker, said Barton hit first. Police said they do not think that witness is credible since the six other witnesses said Barton was hit from behind.

[orinjkrush]

just great. now we have extreme reality politics. whatever happened to civility and the rule of "law"? i suggest we put kerry and bush in a survivor game with 5 really perturbed large massed WWF actors and see who makes it to the end. i'd pay to see that one actually. maybe if enough of us did we could rescue the treasury.

[watermock]

I acknowlege but won't comment. God is telling me not to comment.

God had allowed me to calm down enough to accept this ]

no he hasn't. I'm really pissed off. Now I know how Pat Tillman Felt.

[Nuggets4]

Now I know how Pat Tillman Felt.

Did you seriously just compare yourself to an American hero?

[L.A. BRONCOS FAN]

For one family to have been so consistently involved in such incidents taxes even the most lenient standards of credibility. And how convenient it was for them that the photographer had them focused right in the lens. Staged? Surely they're above that...
[/sarcasm]

Bingo.

Flame with the reality check.

[L.A. BRONCOS FAN]

Did you seriously just compare yourself to an American hero?

Hilarious!

When the keg ran dry and his friends pointed out that some one needed to make a beer run, watercock said "send me."

[L.A. BRONCOS FAN]

and another instance where a leftists attacks someone who disagrees with him..

Pass the freedom fries, Bubba.

Is it just me, or is it more than a little ironic to hear a supporter of the bush misadministration talking about attacking those who don't agree with one's politics and pretending to occupy the high ground?

I know Valerie Plame is having a good laugh if she's reading this.