Posted on 09/17/2004 8:31:43 AM PDT by lowbridge
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x829409
***************
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:


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 skirmishesthe 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 Gillespie, a senior at Marshall University. "We always try to give them a warm Republican welcome," said 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)
Parlocks confrontational, anti-Democratic demonstrations did not end as Clintons 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 Workerssupporters of Gorewho took the father-son duos 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 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 childrenafter 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 oppressora member of the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades. (Funny how those union members are always handy to take Parlock and his progenys 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 girls 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 Parlocks 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 theres an additional twista twist that demonstrates just how twisted men like Parlock can be. One very perceptive DUer found a photograph of the Parlock clan on the internetat the Herald-Dispatch website, which employs camerabug Snyderand she noticed that one of the older sons bears a striking resemblance to the union worker who accosted Parlocks shouldered daughter:
The Parlock clan:
A comparison of the union worker and the Parlock son:
And, to demonstrate the familial similarities, a comparison of the union worker and Phil Parlock:
Seems too surreal to be true, doesnt 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 daughters 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 actionslast night, and in the previous two presidential election cycles. At the very least, he should come forward to answer the questions that are being posedquestions 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/20040917-010155-804... >
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)
I'm sure we can count on Rather to verify this
Glen Beck is talking about this. I wouldn't discount this story atogether. Question DU, but if he does have a history of this that is well documented....
I think the DUmmies may be onto something here.
Jonah Goldberg put up a link at National Review that states basically the same thing.
Whether or not the photo was a set-up is not the real issue. I understand certain partison political operatives are claiming the photo was staged, but no one has come forward to challenge the thrust of the story. John Kerry should have to answer the serious questions the photo raises. Remember, there is no definitive proof the scene was set-up. Perhaps the son was just reenacting what he had witnessed another union member do, so his conduct was accurate. Why are we focusing on the identities of the people instead of the photos content? All this talk about set-up is just a distraction.
If so, the little girl deserves an Oscar.
hah - thank you dan!
bump for later
We will all soon be part of the second Ottoman Empire, at this rate.
Hey, the girl is just crying. You don't know why. Any three-year-old put in a strange situation like that is going to cry, especially when her father and big brothers start acting strangely.
If this is a set up, it is disgusting.
C'mon, the guy looks NOTHING like Sandy Berger! ;-)
I think we'll let Dan Rather answer that one! ;-)
Total BS. Its called covering your A$$. Republicans and FReepers know better than to go into enemy territory without a camera of some type because leftist/socialist/dems are bound to act like the fools they are.
So the guy has a history of peacefully protesting the people who would destroy our country and hand it over to the U.N.? And FReepers would disparege that? If it was "staged" it doesn't matter, no one was posing, or acting, and no one had to in order to get the scum to react violently for all to see.
I think the guy has done a great service to our country be further exposing how the left ignores their own call to "tolerance."
That said, I wouldn't have taken a 3yo because if something happened to her I would have to maim and kill (kidding...sort of).
Don't see any resembalance whatsoever.
1. Photographer must be there.
2. One of the kids must be a IUPAT member and probably be a rep.
3. They all have to be together.
4. They all have to be in the front row.
Look for him to hit the talk show tour and make a million, stunts like this work, I wonder what I could do?
I think the guy goes to opposition rallies. I think he wants to be a pain, which is why you go to opposition rallies. I think he he knows the kind of response he will get.
But I just don't think those pictures look enough alike for someone to conclude the union guy and his son are the same person. The guy has been vehemently denying that's his son, and says he doesn't know him at all. That kind of thing is easily established, yet he's making the talk-radio circuit adamant in his denials.
I'm not willing to discount the photo. I think the guy clearly likes to stir things up, and he probably shouldn't take his daughter to an opposition rally, but this is supposed to be a free country, and a civilized one.
I think the DU'ers and the like are doing damage control.
Any way one looks at this, for one reason or another, the little girl is a victim here. It's the culprit side of the equation that still remains a bit fuzzy. LOL.
Crazy year! And, it's still just September!! ;-)
lol...you are indeed correct sir. In addition, the incident in question isn't dependent upon the photo. I've talked to many credible witnesses who will confirm that indeed Kerry supporters will rip signs out of the hands of protestors. I've taken pictures of this happening before. This picture isn't one of them, but it certainly captures the sentiment of what happens.
And I don't think it's the same guy. The union puke looks older(I'd say about 25 or so - my age).
And that is the difference between conservatives and liberals. When one of theirs perpetrates a fraud, they circle the wagons. When one of ours does, we reject him harshly.
When the photo first came out, DU-ers overwhelmingly believed it and immediately blamed the dad for daring to exercising his freedom of speech. Some even mocked the little girl. Almost no harsh words were given concerning the alleged union thug.
You guys are WRONG about this being a 'hoax'.
First of all look at the girl, if it was her brother she wouldnt be crying. If it was her brother, the 10 y/o son WOULD NOT BE CLENCHING HIS FISTS.
the man said on radio today that it is NOT his son.
finally:
"apology from pres of union"
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1219004/posts
Rather's take: it isn't whether this incident is authentic, it's whether the actions in this incident represent DNC thuggery?


No comment until further updates provided. Gee I wish the lefties would pounce on the CBS with such glee.
Kerry Supporters Tear Up Bush-Cheney Sign, Make Little Girl Cry
Posted by spiderman9 to truecons
On News/Activism 09/16/2004 11:38:21 PM PDT · 1,236 of 1,592
Little girl's brother-
-- snip --
What all you Freepers (I learned a new word today!) can do for my family is to show the same kind of support for our president, maybe attend Kerry/Edwards rallies yourself... showing the same kind of respect, perserverence, and steadfast resolve that we have tried to show. Please bring good credit upon yourselves and our president.
BTW I will give Sophia big hug tomorrow for all of you. She is a cutie. Thank you.
hmm, "Thank you" is what President Bush said to Sophia when she gave him a hug at the Bush rally last Friday.
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Kerry Supporters Tear Up Bush-Cheney Sign, Make Little Girl Cry
Posted by spiderman9 to RonDog
On News/Activism 09/16/2004 10:55:56 PM PDT · 1,195 of 1,592
little girl's big brother-
Dame Autour, yes, i am Philip, II
BTW we got the plate number of the guy who threw the torn sign pieces at us and called him in to the littering hotline. Although my dad was distraught with those taking and ripping up signs, he continued to endure and show restraint- we weren't there to cause trouble, rather, we were there show the dedication of Bush supporters.
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Kerry Supporters Tear Up Bush-Cheney Sign, Make Little Girl Cry
Posted by spiderman9 to DameAutour
On News/Activism 09/16/2004 10:36:58 PM PDT · 1,159 of 1,592
Little girl's brother-
Yes, Sophia is ok, but a little confused because "the people changed and got mean" as soon as she held up her sign. We were at the visit in the hopes of winning the people who are unsure and reassuring those who support President Bush. Among those supporters, much to my surprise and delight, were one of the drivers for the Edwards motorcade (who honked and gave a thumbs up after dropping off Edwards) and some police from both WV and Ohio.
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Kerry Supporters Tear Up Bush-Cheney Sign, Make Little Girl Cry
Posted by spiderman9 to spiderman9
On News/Activism 09/16/2004 10:15:28 PM PDT · 1,115 of 1,592
Little girl's big brother, again-
Thank you for sending this to Drudge Report, and for all of the support. I was at the Edwards visit to the tri-state airport in Kenova, WV (near Huntington). I was not up front with my dad and siblings, but at the entrance to the airport, silently greeting airport traffic, as well as Sen. Edwards with a homemade Bush sign and U.S. and West Virginia flags.
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Kerry Supporters Tear Up Bush-Cheney Sign, Make Little Girl Cry
Posted by spiderman9 to rintense
On News/Activism 09/16/2004 10:06:44 PM PDT · 1,095 of 1,592
To: everybody.
I am an older brother of the little girl. I have read many of your posts, and am dying to answer your questions you have had. For starters, someone did their homework, and, yes, you have the right Phil Parlock. Father of 10, participated in Junior Achievement, NAACP, 4 time candidate for Board of Education, 2 children in the National Guard, of which I am one. Yes, the little boy is the little girl's and my brother, upset with the IUPAT guy.
Sounds like you work for the DNC. Aren't they paying you enough?
Quite alright. I loved hearing what you say :-)
Yes, that's my brother. I already read all of his messages. I thought I should get on another thread and clarify things here.
I was just helping you to spread the truth - by sharing your words with others here. :o)
What an AMAZING family you have!Besides Glenn Beck and Michelle Malkin, who ELSE - in the media - has your father talked with?
HEY, Lady! How are ya?
I hope you and the family are holding up well.
I was on the BIG thread all night last night about this subject.
I'm working graveyard again tonight and will keep an eye on here for anything else (when I'm not busy, "Working."--*snicker*--)
Again, please give that darling little Sister, Brother and Father of yours a big hug!
Take care!
That's self-evident from even the small fuzzy photos presently on the web.
I don't know if you'll agree with all my comments, but I certainly would appreciate any correction you think might be warranted in the following:
YOUR FAMILY ARE GREAT AMERICANS!!!!
I've been studying this picture for a few hours now, and I've come to the conclusion that the guy in the hat is Dan Rather.
Hey sis, it is my understanding that ripping a object from the hands of a 3 year old girl is a STRONG ARMED ROBBERY. (a class one felony).
This needs to be reported to the police and charges need to be filed against that thug. Also when you rip an object from a child or from anyone for that matter, it is an assault and battery.
Has anyone ID'd the perp?
Ya know, I wouldn't worry too much about posting twice.
I was gonna recycle them there pixels anyway, and besides, I had too many white ones to start with.
Your unit need anything in particular over there we might help with?
One, at first blush, I figured the DUmmies might be on to something for once. Then I asked myself...
Why do the people behind Parlock appear to be shouting angrily at the girl, rather than at the bully who tore up her sign?
Why aren't there a bunch of Dems jumping on him?
I mean, if this behavior is so undemocratic, why aren't any Democrats dealing with this guy? Why did they try to cover up (literally) his actions rather than confront him?
Sorry, something is still fishy here, and if it was a hoax it still shows us something about the Dems--they jumped right on the bandwagon with this guy.
Another hole: If you didn't tell the girl in advance, how could you count on her not to indicate her attacker was her brother? If you did tell her in advance, how could she act that well?
Sure sounds like a freeper!
(Funny how those union members are always handy to take Parlock and his progenys signs away!)
Yes, you so seldom find union thugs at Dem rallies in steel towns...
As the little girls photo circulated the internet, many members of Democratic Underground questioned the incident.
These people routinely refer to Bush as Hitler, wish painful death on conservatives day in and day out, and this seem incredible to them? Yeah, when i think "compassion" I think of DU and union goons.
Could Snyder and Parlock have planned the nasty shot?
We're scum because we have gone after CBS, but these guys can slander this AP photog just because his paper mentioned Parlock before? Idiots.
A comparison of the union worker and the Parlock son:
Wow. That's just...well, unconvincing.
One last comment on the DU article: Finally a DUer who can write. Man, those people write so badly that calling it typing is an insult to typists.
Yes, but that would be like the silly CBS "fake but accurate" line of argument. Besides, the idea that it was staged with Parlock's older son playing the union goon is debunked by the fact that the union apologized and disciplined (supposedly) their member. If this hadn't been a real union guy, they would have outed him.
Oh man, I just got the joke. I am a freakin idiot.
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