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The Ken Krayeske I Know (UPDATE)

by: ATalbot

Fri Jan 05, 2007 at 23:34:21 PM EST

I havent known Mr. Krayeske for as long as some others here may have but I can reasonably say he affected me more profoundly than any other individual I met during the course of the Lamont campaign. I first met Ken when I was helping John Murphy input voter data in the early months 2006. It was tedious work, but when Ken walked in and sat down at the computer next to me, tedious work quickly became light work.

He asked me what I was interested in, and what drew me to the campaign and the political process. He didnt ask it in the shallow, half-listening way other adults did. You could tell he actually cared. I told him I wanted to help affect change.

More After the Break

ATalbot :: The Ken Krayeske I Know (UPDATE)

He told me about how he used to run a newspaper for inner city students. He tried to make a difference in their lives by teaching them the importance of being informed and to express their knowledge through writing. He then explained to me how one of the youths he thought was particularly inspiring and promising had fallen back on old habits and had just the day before been killed. Ken was not mad or disappointed in the individual, but rather dejected at how his work had seemed to yield so little in the fight against endless inner city suffering. Yet there he was, continuing to work for a cause he believed in against what was then unthinkable odds.

Through this firsthand account he taught me more about activism then the entire following months of the campaign could. Ken Krayeske taught me that change is not as easily created as one might naively hope, but that is no reason to defer your dreams, no reason to yield an inch of your belief to anyone for any reason. He taught me the courage of conviction and the noble nature of persistance.

Eventually Ken left the campaign because of this very same reason, he was unwilling to sacrifice his beliefs, no matter what they may be, for a higher salary, or career advancement, or whatever the case may have been. Despite this, his message remains with me and continues to drive me forward.

Yes Ken Krayeske may be a "known political activist" but he is no threat to anyone. I know firsthand that Ken is more passionate about human life and an individual's potential than anyone I've met.

Update: A rewritten version of this will appear in Saturday's Courant, with neccessary protection to the innocent.

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The Ken Krayeske I Know (UPDATE) | 17 comments

nice comment (0.00 / 0)

perhaps, you can shorten and amend the comment and send it in as a LTTE?

"If tyranny and oppression come to this land, it will be in the guise of fighting a foreign enemy."--James Madison

by: sufi @ Sat Jan 06, 2007 at 04:40:13 AM UTC

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Good idea. (0.00 / 0)

Courant maybe? They probably won't accept it because its already been "blogged."

by: ATalbot @ Sat Jan 06, 2007 at 04:45:20 AM UTC

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courant (0.00 / 0)

not sure, i think if you shorten and reword, they may consider it. it's really good and deserves to get more attention.

"If tyranny and oppression come to this land, it will be in the guise of fighting a foreign enemy."--James Madison

by: sufi @ Sat Jan 06, 2007 at 04:47:13 AM UTC

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Good plan. (0.00 / 0)

I'll try and completely rewrite it. I just think this should get out there.

by: ATalbot @ Sat Jan 06, 2007 at 04:48:40 AM UTC

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Ok (4.00 / 1)

Rewritten and sent off.

by: ATalbot @ Sat Jan 06, 2007 at 05:40:07 AM UTC

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Beautiful (0.00 / 0)

Thanks for writing this. I think Ken's going to find he has more allies and friends than he ever would have imagined after this incident.

by: Maura @ Sat Jan 06, 2007 at 04:41:45 AM UTC

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Another thing (0.00 / 0)

Assuming they for some reason dont drop this ridiculous case, what would everyone think of holding courthouse vigils?

by: ATalbot @ Sat Jan 06, 2007 at 04:52:20 AM UTC

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I think they'll drop it (0.00 / 0)

First of all, I think Rell will want to make this go away FAST.

Secondly, it would be a hell of a stretch to prove breach of peace based on the police report. The charge of interfering with police could possibly stick, I suppose. The sad fact is, it's illegal to resist an arrest, even if the arrest itself has no basis. The interfering with police charge seems to be based on the officer's account that Ken "pulled away" from him after the officer "grabbed" him (which seems like a pretty normal initial reaction, not seriously resisting an arrest or causing a ruckus.)

But I don't think the point of this was ever really to convict Ken of anything (see my speculative post about the ball). They kept the guy in lockup just long enough to miss the ball, which he wrote he planned to protest.

Someone else commented on an earlier post today that he might need a legal defense fund -- most lawyers don't work for free, and his has already done quite a bit of work on this. That might be more useful to Ken.

Plus, as Keith suggested, all of us should be writing LTE's and writing to our state reps and senators to demand that they call for an investigation into this outrageous incident as well as into the "political activists" enemies list that state intelligence agencies apparently have.

by: Maura @ Sat Jan 06, 2007 at 05:00:53 AM UTC

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That is what I want to see! (0.00 / 0)

That damned fascist list. That is the huge story there. They spy on the media. That is what he is. They spy on Blogs. Even "Radical Centrist" Blogs like CLP. This isn't about any terrorism threat. The extra special bonus is helping a fellow Blogger and leftie.

Blaming Rell for it only makes it fun and interesting. The shits and giggles factor.

Drinking Liberally in New Milford
ePluribus Media

by: Connecticut Man1 @ Sun Jan 07, 2007 at 02:56:32 AM UTC

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'Rell says she's "disturbed" by list of suspicious individuals' (0.00 / 0)

This is from WTNH website.

http://www.wtnh.com/...

The arc of history is long, but it bends toward justice. --Martin Luther King, Jr.

by: connecticutyankee @ Tue Jan 09, 2007 at 00:31:41 AM UTC

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I hate to even bring this up (0.00 / 0)

but did he say ANYTHING at ANY POINT that could be construed as a threat? I've seen people get plucked off of waiting lines at airports for making a stupid joke (and this was PRE 9-11).

You never know who's around, or how something will be interpreted..

In any event, shouldn't these people be going after terrorists, not some guy with a camera who may at WORST take a picture or ask a question...????

.Adding Another Dimension of Vituperation Toxicity to Blogging since 1999!.

by: nolopro @ Sat Jan 06, 2007 at 13:18:36 PM UTC

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It's called 'mission creep' (0.00 / 0)

I was poking around some of the info today at epic.org on the automated targeting system for people crossing the US border, and in the comments link, found that phrase.

It means not a person (although I can see how, er, one would conclude it was a person), but when they set out to do one thing and end up going way, way overboard and pretty soon they're collecting every scrap of data and looking for every "suspicious" citizen under every rug and in every closet in the planet. Or, something in between "doing what we are mandated to do" and my extreme example.

I think a key part of your question is the phrase, "construed as a threat", and suspect that therein lies the unlocking of the conundrum.

Would like to see what they teach in Construing 101.

by: greenpeas @ Sat Jan 06, 2007 at 16:36:29 PM UTC

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There is this little piece of paper (0.00 / 0)

called the bill of rights.

I can SAY anything I want.

I have the right to say that I will do things of great damage to the publics perception of reality.

I have the right to say that I will protest and address my grievences and I have the right to do so, to stand on any public street corner and do so. I have the right to wear a T-Shirt that says what I think, and I have those rights to speak because those rights are MINE!

Unless he stated that he was "going to kill" or going to hurt someone physically, they had little right to do any more than watch him for actions of physical harm to an intended target. And, then they had no more right to approach him and do a damn thing unless he made a threatening moement that would have put another at risk.

PERIOD!

He could have been joking all he wanted. He could have said what he did (that he was going to protest the ball) and they can't do shit.

I really don't care who is around, and I don't care how it's interpeted. And no matter what, I don't have to "watch what I say" even though the press secretary of the president made that claim. In America I am free to say what I want. Or at least in my America I am.

The question is not what you are, we already determined that, we are now negotiating price.
electrealdemocrats.com Online since 3/07 -- TimetogoJoe.com Online s

by: Met00 @ Sat Jan 06, 2007 at 22:26:33 PM UTC

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Met00... (0.00 / 0)

1.The First Amendment gives us tremendous leeway when it comes to expressing ideas, but it doesn't give you the right to make threats against people.

2. I'm on his side, remember? Ive said things in jest that could be, and have been taken out of context. I'm older now and I choose my words carefully. You SHOULD care who is around, or how it's interpreted. Not because you can get arrested, but because it's mean and isn't going make positive productive change.

and as for the Bill of Rights..I'm familiar with it. I take it with me everywhere I go.

.Adding Another Dimension of Vituperation Toxicity to Blogging since 1999!.

by: nolopro @ Sat Jan 06, 2007 at 23:43:01 PM UTC

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You're linked in epluribus media (0.00 / 0)

http://scoop.eplurib...

Count down 7 text boxes to see it, but the whole piece is worth a read - a pretty good synthesis.

by: greenpeas @ Sun Jan 07, 2007 at 21:46:05 PM UTC

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I put it up at ePM (0.00 / 0)

and over at dKos to try and get it some national views. Standingup was nice enough to front page it on the ePM community Blog. This issue needs national attention.

That diary was originally posted at my homeblog. down VVV there. lol

Drinking Liberally in New Milford
ePluribus Media

by: Connecticut Man1 @ Tue Jan 09, 2007 at 20:07:55 PM UTC

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Great Job On This! (0.00 / 0)

I was in a fog this weekend and not really connected to the MSM, but I knew about this story because of my back channel to ATalbot! ;^)

Your personal account is moving, but I hope you won't think I'm being too paranoid if I say this is about way more than one good guy getting harassed. It's also about way more than Connecticut and Governor Palpatine. It's about no less than creeping fascism throughout our culture.

I wish I thought this was just a case of a governor with delusions of grandeur or an overzealous security chief. What I actually think is going on is much scarier: We've slipped back into a pre-Watergate mindset in which enemies lists seem normal, even to mild-mannered grandmas.

Remember warrantless wiretapping? Well how 'bout this helping of turkey the Prez served us while we were busy with our holiday shopping (link via Altercation). Some express spying to go with that SuperSaver shipping? [sigh]

I'm afraid civil liberties abuse is similar to prisoner abuse: It's not that anyone actually orders it; the much more insidious reality is that top leadership establishes a climate in which abuse is first tolerated, then accepted, then expected.

by: dauphinb @ Mon Jan 08, 2007 at 23:56:54 PM UTC

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The Ken Krayeske I Know (UPDATE) | 17 comments

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