On September 14, capitol police, who claimed there was a ban in effect on filming, arrested a number of people at a Wisconsin state assembly meeting. An edited YouTube video posted shows the police systematically rounding up individuals who were recording the meeting with any device.

The officers apparently acted on a “notice posted outside the assembly” that said “for reasons of safety and decorum” movie/video/TV cameras, photography, cell phones or pagers, and laptops, etc, are banned.

One distinctive thing about Zimmerman’s personal story is the fact that he chose to live his life as a full time ‘troublemaker’ (committed leftwing activist), abandoning his extremely promising career as a creative and recognized scientist. He got his PhD in psychology at the University of Chicago in 1967, based on path breaking research on brain function in sleep, and gave up his academic career even though he had every expectation of continuing achievement. Why and how he made this life change reveals a lot about the society of that time—and now—so I hope we can delve into this dimension of his experience.