Brody

I've photographed/filmed in locations from L.A. to New York, and what's so nice about Downtown Fort Worth is the diversity of architecture, as well as the fact that the police and security generally leave you alone as long as you aren't interfering with anything. As far as safety goes, I spoke with a mounted police officer once who said that Downtown Fort Worth was the only downtown area he'd want his mother walking around in.

Interesting! I'll admit I giggled when I read "the people's microphone." It reminded me of something The Rock (former professional wrestler) would use; i.e. "The People's Elbow, The People's Eyebrow, etc."

:)

Fortyninecent,

My name is Brody, short for Brodrick, not Brady :)

Here are the studies I referenced (in full text):

http://www.monitoringthefuture.org/pu...

http://www.rwjf.org/files/research/YE...

The constitutionality of the current drug testing policy began with an unrelated case, Tinker vs. Des Moines Independent Community School. District, 393 U.S. 503, 506 (1969) in which the Court found students do not loose their ordinary constitutional rights upon entering a public school, subject to certain exceptions.

The most recent ruling regarding random drug testing applies specifically to students in extracurricular activities; see: The Board of Education of Independent School District Number 92 of Pottawatomie County vs. Earls (2002)

Thanks for reading, I appreciate your feedback.

Internet Guy,

I'll preface with the facts that I don't have kids, never went to LISD schools, and lived in Santa Monica while I studied journalism, and take prescription anticonvulsants.

The studies I referenced were a pair conducted by research scientists who produce and administer Monitoring the Future, a respected source that has been tracking drug use for over 30 years. Both found the same results, the second tracking over 90,000 students. Interestingly, the second study found that 12th grade students in schools with drug testing programs were more likely to smoke marijuana than in those without.

Alcohol related deaths in The United States outnumber all other deaths from drugs or controlled substances combined.

Thanks for your feedback.

I will verify this on two ends and dispute the fact that the media entrance security was anything but lax.

I arrived with two large DSLR ("Professional" digital cameras with telephoto and wide-angle lenses) at the media entrance and produced credentials from an independent media corporation, and produced my California issued drivers' license which was checked, then logged in.

My equipment was scrutinized by TSA/Secret service staff, and I was hand-checked for weapons by a handheld metal detector, forced to open my lenses and prove my cameras were operable.

My friend who also attended the rally said that they checked "the first 250 people, and after that they just started letting people in."

He was on the floor of the rally stating he was less than 100 ft. from Mr. Obama.

Having said this--I also covered Senator Clinton's rally in fort worth, which was much more secure. The secret service presence was extremely visible, and the media checkpoints much more strict. We were made to lay out all of our equipment in our respective media areas, and then waited for 30 minutes while 3 sets of explosive sniffing dogs searched the entire area.

Let us not forget that Mr. Obama was the earliest presidential candidate in history to receive secret service protection; Hillary already recieved protection as a spouse of a former President.

People can claim and prove conspiracies, but from what my eyes have seen, I believe they are doing the best they can.

No political figure is immune to assassination, and, fortunate or unfortunate, sometimes an untimely murder can solidify people.

"Bhutto was alive yesterday, Bhutto is alive today," her supporters say.

Think on these things...

Can't we all just get along?