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Samantha Fuller · 09-16-2012, 03:35 PM

Usually it is Aimme Weber who post these kind of stories but she apparently missed this one.

From the Daily Caller a District of Columbia newspaper

Quote:

... According to Medlock, who writes under the name Jim Treacher, he was struck at about 7:15 p.m. on Wednesday, while crossing M Street in downtown Washington. Medlock says he was walking within the bounds of the crosswalk, toward a blinking white signal, when a government SUV suddenly turned left and plowed into him, knocking him to the ground.

Bystanders tended to Medlock, collected his crushed glasses and called an ambulance. McGuinn, meanwhile, called The Daily Caller’s offices from the scene to tell Medlock’s colleagues about the incident. But he did not identify himself to them or to Medlock.

Medlock was taken to Georgetown University Hospital with a broken left knee, lacerations and bruises. He will undergo surgery later this week.

At the hospital, DC police officer John Muniz arrived to issue Medlock a $20 jaywalking ticket. Medlock was lying sedated on a gurney, so Muniz delivered the ticket to a Daily Caller colleague, who was at the hospital with Medlock. He looked embarrassed as he did so. Behind him stood a man dressed in a dark suit who identified himself as a “special agent.” He said nothing but wrote in a notebook.

Curiously, the ticket says that Medlock was struck at an intersection four blocks from where the accident actually took place. And it claims that Medlock was walking diagonally across the intersection at the time. In one of his strikingly short conversations with the Daily Caller, agent Mike McGuinn acknowledged that Medlock was not jaywalking at all, but walking “outside the crosswalk when the incident occurred.” ...

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Polo · 09-16-2012, 04:53 PM

It seems to have happened in February 2010. I don't see any stories on this after the initial flurry back in 2010. Those stories seem to have appeared only on blogs and less well-known media outlets.

The wikipedia article on Jim Treacher (name under which Medlock blogs) doesn't mention the incident.

**Soen Eber** · 09-16-2012, 06:17 PM

Are we really at the point where we need to "source" this stuff?

*sigh*

Polo · 09-16-2012, 06:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Soen Eber

Are we really at the point where we need to "source" this stuff?

I'm not sure what you mean. Don't we always want to have reasonable confidence that whatever we're posting about did happened as reported?

**Soen Eber** · 09-16-2012, 06:33 PM

I mean trusting that the incident actually happened and wasn't astro-turfed by someone with their own agenda, and that the reporter did due dilligence. I wasn't speaking against anything you or Samantha did.

Polo · 09-16-2012, 06:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Soen Eber

I mean trusting that the incident actually happened and wasn't astro-turfed by someone with their own agenda, and that the reporter did due dilligence.

Oh, I see. Yeah, I had the same reaction you did (that it might have been astro-turfed), because of the fact that no major outlet had picked up the story back in February 2010, and the further fact that there seems to have been no follow-up.

If something this blatantly-outrageous had happened as reported, there would surely have been more interest at the time.

eta: Possibly worth noting: the wikipedia article about Treacher (the guy who'd said he'd been hit by a government SUV) states that he's the one who spread the "Obama eats dogs" meme. So, yes, he may be someone who'd like to see another meme started along the lines of 'Obama's government is arrogant toward citizens.'

The Daily Beast confirms: http://www.thedailybeast.com/galleri...og-photos.html

Lord · 09-16-2012, 06:51 PM

The Men In Black probably just did the 'flashy thing' to anyone who offered up a different story.

Samantha Fuller · 09-16-2012, 07:57 PM

If the story is fabricated whole cloth then someone is liable for slander and not likely to reiterate with additional details and graphic photo 2 years later.

Also i can see major newspapers not wanting to tangle with the state department. Cases like these sometimes take years to develop, injuries like that take time to heal, & civil suits take time to work through courts.

If i was a journalist and run over without apology like that i might get frustrated and fight back with a nasty (because it contains a kernel of truth) political meme a couple years later.

Kara Spengler · 09-16-2012, 08:37 PM

There is a reason why people here in DC hate official vehicles and motorcades.

**Soen Eber** · 09-16-2012, 08:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Samantha Fuller

If the story is fabricated whole cloth then someone is liable for slander

If that meant anything, Fox News, Rush Limbaugh, and a shitload of bloggers would be totally out of business.

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09-16-2012, 04:53 PM	#2 (permalink)
Polo Senior Member What the cuss?!?? Join Date: Oct 2008 Posts: 3,467 SL Join Date: May 3, 2008 Client: still 1.23 as long as possible	It seems to have happened in February 2010. I don't see any stories on this after the initial flurry back in 2010. Those stories seem to have appeared only on blogs and less well-known media outlets. The wikipedia article on Jim Treacher (name under which Medlock blogs) doesn't mention the incident.

09-16-2012, 06:17 PM	#3 (permalink)
Soen Eber blink *SLU Supporter* don't need status Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA Posts: 3,366 My Mood:	Are we really at the point where we need to "source" this stuff? sigh

09-16-2012, 06:33 PM	#5 (permalink)
Soen Eber blink *SLU Supporter* don't need status Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA Posts: 3,366 My Mood:	I mean trusting that the incident actually happened and wasn't astro-turfed by someone with their own agenda, and that the reporter did due dilligence. I wasn't speaking against anything you or Samantha did.

09-16-2012, 06:51 PM	#7 (permalink)
Lord Abnormally Normal I Don't Really Exist Do I ? Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Atlanta, GA Posts: 1,220 My Mood: Client: I try all of them, but for everyday use it's Cool VL Viewer.	The Men In Black probably just did the 'flashy thing' to anyone who offered up a different story.

09-16-2012, 07:57 PM	#8 (permalink)
Samantha Fuller Senior Member Explorer of deep rabit holes Join Date: Jun 2007 Posts: 703 My Mood:	If the story is fabricated whole cloth then someone is liable for slander and not likely to reiterate with additional details and graphic photo 2 years later. Also i can see major newspapers not wanting to tangle with the state department. Cases like these sometimes take years to develop, injuries like that take time to heal, & civil suits take time to work through courts. If i was a journalist and run over without apology like that i might get frustrated and fight back with a nasty (because it contains a kernel of truth) political meme a couple years later.

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