Rell’s Guard: Thugs Or Heroes?
January 6, 2007 on 1:44 pm | In Main, State |
[Photo of Ken Krayeske courtesy Melissa Bailey of CTNewsJunkie.com]
6:30 p.m. Update: The plot thickens. Maybe Ken was rushing toward the governor to get a photograph and his actions were misinterpreted.
A strange and disturbing story surfaced Wednesday in Hartford, where a freelance journalist and political activist was arrested during the governor’s inaugural parade and charged with breach of peace and interfering with a police officer.
There are many stories and blog postings on the incident on websites, among them The Hartford Courant and CTNewsJunkie. Gale Toensing, who edits The Corner Report, even went to the trouble of sending out a breaking news email yesterday to those on her list serve.
From the accounts I have read it is difficult to tell whether the State Police and Hartford’s finest simply overreacted at the perceived threat posed by Ken Krayeske or whether they used thug tactics to make an example of those who have heckled the governor in the past.
I don’t know Ken well but have spoken with him on a couple of occasions and he seems like a reasonable guy. He called me more than 10 years ago when I was one of about 20 teachers to be let go from The Forman School in Litchfield.
He was doing a story for the Waterbury Republican on financial problems at the school that were forcing the new headmaster to downsize everything (including me). I still had a couple of months left on my contract and so declined to speak on the record.
After I started my own journalism career later that year, I was a frequent visitor and occasional contributor to a Yahoo newsgroup (since taken down, it appears) on the Journal Register Company, one of the largest destroyers of newspapers in the world.
Ken was one of legions of ex-JRC employees who shared his experiences on that message board. He was particularly bitter about his tenure at Torrington’s Register Citizen, a JRC paper that just may be the worst daily in Connecticut.
The problem was Ken would often digress from his points and launch into passionate sermons about the need to legalize hemp — prompting his fellow readers to call him some not-so-nice names.
Then he called me last fall wanting to know if I was interested in doing a story on Green Party gubernatorial candidate Cliff Thornton, whose campaign Krayeske was managing. I didn’t commit to anything, in part because I didn’t want to spend precious time writing about a candidate who had about as much chance of winning as Lyndon Larouche in his quadrennial campaigns for The White House.
[Aside: Heck, even John Destefano didn’t have a snowball’s chance against Jodi Rell (a.k.a. Connecticut’s amiable grandmother)].
Ken was polite enough, though. In fact, I can’t imagine him posing a threat to anyone. But if you drop your mountain bike and charge in the direction of the governor, you will pay the consequences, especially if you have been previously identified as a potential threat by something called the Connecticut Intelligence Center (what on earth is that anyway?).
But other witnesses say he did no such thing. Will we ever find out the truth?
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Terry….
I dare say that if I dropped my mountain bike (not that I would ever have one mind you!), and ran towards the Governor….I would expect to be stopped.
Now, as fast as I run, its like walking, so I don’t think I would be tackled, but….
if you breach a security zone nowadays around a Governor, Senator, etc. expect to be stopped…by force.
If he did not approach the Governor in any way, shape or form, then they were out of line.
You don’t know who believe in this story, because the credibility of the press is about as high as political credibility nowadays — thanks to 800 news channels of Baloney Sauce!!
MM
Comment by Marshall Miles — January 6, 2007 #
This may be a bit off of the main point of your post, however I feel it important to address.
Stating in this public forum that you refused to do an article on a political candidate because you personally did not feel he had an opportunity to win is an affront to everything the free press is built on. I have to seriously call into question your journalistic ethics in this particular instance. As a member of the free press it is your responsibility to provide all points of view in issues reported regardless of whether you think it important or not.
Furthermore, the only way we are going to get alternatives to our corrupt two-party system is by giving third-party candidates the exposure that they deserve. Stifiling them because you don’t think they have a “chance” is validating everything we have been trying to avoid by giving people choice and splitting up the power of the government.
Comment by The Lone Vigilante — January 6, 2007 #
I would NOT expect to be arrested for riding a bicycle in the direction of the governor, if I’m holding a camera. If I’m holding an UZZI, maybe.
I certainly would not expect to be held for 13 hours.
Connecticut’s amiable grandmotherAre you sure you’re not for legalizing hemp? ‘Cause I’m starting to wonder what you’re smoking. Don’t tell me you buy into that facade…!!
Comment by fuzzyturtle — January 6, 2007 #
Terry — Only picking at a detail here, and that’s your ID as the Torrington Register Citizen as the “worst daily in Connecticut”.
Now, you’re certainly entitled to you opinion about that paper, and you know much more about newspapers than I do, but I have noticed that when the folks at Beckley Furnace have a River Walk, they always seem to send a reporter, and, I’m happy to say that when they quoted me at the most recent one, their quote was 100% accurate.
No, I don’t think that there was much room for editorial bias to influence that story, but I personally always appreciate an honest story and an accurate quote.
On that basis, as an ordinary guy in the street who subscribes to your paper, by the way, I kinda like the Register Citizen right now.
Cheers!!
Geoff Brown
Comment by Geoff Brown — January 6, 2007 #
Dear Lone Vigilante,
You repeated my quote in your comment, so I am surprised you got it wrong in your paraphrase just below it.
I said, “I didn’t commit to anything, in part because I didn’t want to spend precious time writing about a candidate who had” little chance of winning. The key word is “commit.” I didn’t “refuse” to do anything.
And your statement that as a member of the press, “it is [my] responsibility to provide all points of view in issues reported regardless of whether you think it important or not” is peculiar.
We journalists have to decide what is “important or not” all the time. Indeed, I would say that task easily consumes half my time in a typical day.
Media outlets do not have unlimited time and space. We must decide what merits our attention and what our readers are interested in. So it’s not a question of ethics but of the wisest allocation of resources.
As for disclosing this in a “public forum,” I think it is a more honest approach than leaving my readers guessing. Transparency does have its merits.
Geoff,
Thanks for enlightening me on the RC. I must admit I haven’t looked at it in months because there is typically very little coverage of the NWC, so if it has improved I will certainly take your word for it and give it another look.
And Dear fuzzyturtle (what a great name!),
In the tense post-9/11 world we live in, I still think it’s possible there was a misunderstanding and I am reluctant to jump to conclusions. My remark about Gov. Rell’s grandmotherly qualities was toungue-in-cheek. What do you think the facade masks? To me she looks more and more like another CT lieutenant governor (Bill O’Neill) who rose to the top post after the boss left office unexpectedly. Both seem like nice people without a whole lot of depth.
Comment by Terry — January 6, 2007 #
Geoff - thanks for coming to the defense of a newspaper - any newspaper - whether ours or The Register Citizen. (In this case, of course, The Register Citizen.) There is a place for newspapers in our society, especially in an area like ours that does not attract the attention of the larger media outlets. We can only hope that our newspapers survive to cover the Beckley Furnace et al another day.
Comment by Janet Manko — January 6, 2007 #
You have a valid point in your time and resources comment however a discussion of the issues is important and it is important to get the points of view of all candidates involved.
By opting not to commit to covering one candidate you are in essence refusing to acknowledge that there is a third viable point of view.
Comment by The Lone Vigilante — January 6, 2007 #
Good point, Janet. Almost any newspaper is better than no newspaper.
Comment by Terry — January 6, 2007 #
“Maybe Ken was rushing toward the governor to get a photograph and his actions were misinterpreted.”
And maybe it was the bike shorts. I’ve always found that particular attire quite frightening.
Comment by Jake — January 7, 2007 #
There exists a movie, circa 1970s, I believe, in which the assasin used a rifle hidden inside a tradtional 35mm camera with one of those huge telephoto lenses. The camera was mounted to a rifle stock modified to hold such a contraption. Aim the camera like a rifle, and use a spring loaded plunger attached to the trigger to snap the picture.
Time and technology change the rules. I have often wondered at various public events involving politicians if one of those digital slr units, with the large telephoto lenses, were not concealing a rifle.
In reading all the “information” about the incident, it seems to boil down to:
What is your definition of “dropping the bike,” “running,” “charging” and other terms. Colin McEnroe said that “a witness” has come forth. ONLY ONE PERSON witnessed this? AND that person just happens to dispute the “official” version?
In the heat of battle, mistakes are made. No one died, no one was injured. What do you think the odds are of all parties saying, “We’re sorry, we all share part of the blame.”
Comment by Paul Bartomioli — January 7, 2007 #