Current mood:	drained
Current music:	my pounding headache

well. um. okay.
You know, there's nothing quite like working a ten-hour day at work and coming home to find out that the internet exploded on your journal. O_o

It's come to my attention that some of what I said in my last post has been taken out of context or simply overshadowed by the massive stream of comments both here and elsewhere. This is disheartening in many ways, and it's resulted in my receiving an assload of really fun flames. So, I want to clarify a few things, because it's IMPORTANT:

1. I made a very big mistake in posting what I originally posted. I did not intend to threaten anyone with what I originally said. I was pissed off by what President Bush said, and I ranted about it without thinking that what I said could be construed as a threat against the president's safety. Obviously, I was wrong and I admit responsibility for making an inflammatory post. I apologize to anyone it may have offended, and I will be much more careful in the future when expressing my political beliefs.

2. My political beliefs did not trigger this, and what happened to me was not political. The reason why I was reported to the FBI was because I made the mistake of posting something that could be misconstrued as being a threat to the president's safety. I understand this, I apologize for it, and I will not make the same mistake again. I repeat, I do not seriously wish to harm anyone else on this planet, and in the future, I will make certain that I never give that impression again, no matter how pissed off I get.

3. I do not have any issues with the Secret Service for investigating the post. That's their job. That's what they have to do. I understand that, and the people who spoke to me were very nice, very understanding, and I appreciate how pleasant they were to me. I appreciate that they were kind and thorough, and I understand that they have to take every single claim seriously.

4. When I mentioned the Patriot Act in passing in my last post, I did so in regards to my concerns about my future, NOT because I believe myself to be a victim of it. I am concerned with what will happen to me in the future under the Patriot Act, as I now have an FBI file, but the Patriot Act did not have anything to do with what happened to me. Neither did the Bush Administration -- the Secret Service would have taken the same measures if I had been talking about John Kerry. I do have concerns about the Patriot Act, but they relate to my future in this country, not to this incident specifically.

5. I do know for a fact that the FBI got a hold of the post because of a tip from a LiveJournal user. The Secret Service agent told me so when I asked him. This isn't idle speculation on my behalf. Just to clarify. :)

6. I do not think that whoever turned me in on LJ did so because they felt threatened or shared a different political viewpoint from me. I didn't want to get into this any further in my last post, but after seeing some speculation on who was involved, I want to end that immediately. Please, don't speculate, and don't throw out names of who/who wasn't responsible. I have a pretty good idea of who was responsible for it, and if my suspicions are correct, then this person did what they did based solely on a personal grudge they held against me. This, btw, is VERY VERY VERY WRONG. There is absolutely no excuse for turning a stupid internet fandom grudge into a federal investigation. It hurts everybody, and it's ridiculously petty.

7. I do not feel that my rights to free speech have been violated, and I am not speaking to anyone from the A.C.L.U. or the media because of that very reason. Please, make a note of that. I said what I said on a public forum, on the Internet, and while I did not MEAN to be threatening when I said it, that's how it came across and I understand and regret that. However, that is my fault. I recognize that, and I won't be making a big fuss about it ANYWHERE.

8. For those of you who do not know, the Secret Service *is* a division of Homeland Security. Because I didn't know this before last night, and I've seen several claims to the contrary. Nope, they are a part of Homeland Security. Now you know, and knowing is half the battle! /G.I. Joe

9. The reason why I removed my last post is ONLY to protect what others said in that post and to protect myself from any further trouble with the Secret Service. It's not to protect my "embarrassing post" from the prying eyes of LJ. The content of the deleted post itself has popped up in other places, and if you go looking hard enough, you'll be able to find what I said, though you (hopefully) will not be able to see the comments of others. I have never in my life deleted an LJ entry or an LJ comment in order to "protect" myself from wank. Never, never, NEVER. And I never will. I will, however, delete an entry or a comment to protect myself and others from unnecessary investigation, and that is what I have done and will continue to do in the future.

10. I understand if you don't believe what happened to me. No, seriously, I do. Because dude, this is the Internet. Nobody should believe everything they hear on the Internet. Hell, I certainly don't. And I also know that nothing I say or do will prove the veracity of my story, because hey! Internet! :) All I can ask is that even if you don't believe that this happened to me personally, please believe that it CAN happen to you if you say the wrong things about the president, or, for that matter, ANY high-ranking government official. Good rule of thumb, according to the Secret Service: nothing involving any kind of bodily harm. Yes, that includes wishing a hangnail on the president. As silly as that might sound, please, please err on the side of caution. I know better now. Which brings me to

THE MOST IMPORTANT PART OF ALL:

11. The entire reason why I posted about this incident was because I wanted people to be aware that what you say on the Internet CAN come back to bite you in the ass in real life, regardless of your intent when posting it. What I said was wrong, and I should not have said it. It was stupid. I accept full responsibility. However, at the time, I did not know that what I was saying was wrong, and at the time, I shared that discussion with others on my friendslist who voiced similar thoughts. I wanted to make people AWARE that EVEN IN JEST, EVEN IN SATIRE, you CANNOT in any way, shape, or form threaten anyone in government power. I think this is the most important goddamn lesson out of all of this, and I BEG of you all to listen to it. Even if you don't believe me personally, please believe that the Secret Service takes ANY AND ALL COMPLAINTS SERIOUSLY, so ERR ON THE SIDE OF CAUTION.

12. I am always, ALWAYS willing to talk openly, calmly, and rationally about any problems anyone has with something I have said. Seriously, I am. I really want y'all to know this. Also, I will ALWAYS be the first person to apologize if I have inadvertantly offended you. ALWAYS. Because we all have to be big enough to accept responsibility for our mistakes, and that's what this post is about.

13. I am very, very tired of all of this. No, seriously. I really am. It's disheartening to come home after a very long day at work to find flames in your mailbox over something that you did not say, simply because that post has been overshadowed by some of its wankier comments. It's frustrating.

FINALLY ...

14. I really, really, really want to go back to just loving fandom. Because fuck, but that's what this journal's REALLY supposed to be about, yo. Porn, werewolves, wizards, gay boys fucking, and the hotness of David Thewlis. Also, I totally missed Lost tonight because of all this. That sucks, yo! I'm going to have to download that ASAP.

So, there you have it. For better or for worse, THAT is where I stand on this whole issue, once and for all. And for those of you out there who knew this all along and have been so kind and supportive and understanding, thank you. Thank you, thank you. It means more to me than I can ever express. :) *hugs*

So. Um. Anyone hear any good jokes lately? :)