By now, the mass self-flagellation and calls for large-scale gun control (if not confiscation) have begun, with any number of braindead celebri-tards and mushbrained members of the MSM leading the charge. I won't spoil it for you because the whole thing needs to be read, but Ted Nugent lays down the law quite well for the anti-gun lobby, complete with examples of how translating the current round of suggested insanity re: guns would look if applied to other tragic incidents in America's history...good times indeed. If you're looking for more black belt displays in the art of verbal takedown, look to Emperor Misha here, Mike at Cold Fury here, and see why Fred Thompson should be the next President of the U.S. in 2008 here.
By Ted Nugent
Special to CNN
Editor's note: Rock guitarist Ted Nugent has sold more than 30 million albums. He's also a gun rights activist and serves on the board of directors of the National Rifle Association. His program, "Ted Nugent Spirit of the Wild," can be seen on the Outdoor Channel.
WACO, Texas (CNN) -- Zero tolerance, huh? Gun-free zones, huh? Try this on for size: Columbine gun-free zone, New York City pizza shop gun-free zone, Luby's Cafeteria gun-free zone, Amish school in Pennsylvania gun-free zone and now Virginia Tech gun-free zone.
Anybody see what the evil Brady Campaign and other anti-gun cults have created? I personally have zero tolerance for evil and denial. And America had best wake up real fast that the brain-dead celebration of unarmed helplessness will get you killed every time, and I've about had enough of it.
Nearly a decade ago, a Springfield, Oregon, high schooler, a hunter familiar with firearms, was able to bring an unfolding rampage to an abrupt end when he identified a gunman attempting to reload his .22-caliber rifle, made the tactical decision to make a move and tackled the shooter.
A few years back, an assistant principal at Pearl High School in Mississippi, which was a gun-free zone, retrieved his legally owned Colt .45 from his car and stopped a Columbine wannabe from continuing his massacre at another school after he had killed two and wounded more at Pearl.
At an eighth-grade school dance in Pennsylvania, a boy fatally shot a teacher and wounded two students before the owner of the dance hall brought the killing to a halt with his own gun.
More recently, just a few miles up the road from Virginia Tech, two law school students ran to fetch their legally owned firearm to stop a madman from slaughtering anybody and everybody he pleased. These brave, average, armed citizens neutralized him pronto.
My hero, Dr. Suzanne Gratia Hupp, was not allowed by Texas law to carry her handgun into Luby's Cafeteria that fateful day in 1991, when due to bureaucrat-forced unarmed helplessness she could do nothing to stop satanic George Hennard from killing 23 people and wounding more than 20 others before he shot himself. Hupp was unarmed for no other reason than denial-ridden "feel good" politics.
She has since led the charge for concealed weapon upgrade in Texas, where we can now stop evil. Yet, there are still the mindless puppets of the Brady Campaign and other anti-gun organizations insisting on continuing the gun-free zone insanity by which innocents are forced into unarmed helplessness. Shame on them. Shame on America. Shame on the anti-gunners all.
No one was foolish enough to debate Ryder truck regulations or ammonia nitrate restrictions or a "cult of agriculture fertilizer" following the unabashed evil of Timothy McVeigh's heinous crime against America on that fateful day in Oklahoma City. No one faulted kitchen utensils or other hardware of choice after Jeffrey Dahmer was caught drugging, mutilating, raping, murdering and cannibalizing his victims. Nobody wanted "steak knife control" as they autopsied the dead nurses in Chicago, Illinois, as Richard Speck went on trial for mass murder.
Evil is as evil does, and laws disarming guaranteed victims make evil people very, very happy. Shame on us.
Already spineless gun control advocates are squawking like chickens with their tiny-brained heads chopped off, making political hay over this most recent, devastating Virginia Tech massacre, when in fact it is their own forced gun-free zone policy that enabled the unchallenged methodical murder of 32 people.
Thirty-two people dead on a U.S. college campus pursuing their American Dream, mowed-down over an extended period of time by a lone, non-American gunman in possession of a firearm on campus in defiance of a zero-tolerance gun ban. Feel better yet? Didn't think so.
Who doesn't get this? Who has the audacity to demand unarmed helplessness? Who likes dead good guys?
I'll tell you who. People who tramp on the Second Amendment, that's who. People who refuse to accept the self-evident truth that free people have the God-given right to keep and bear arms, to defend themselves and their loved ones. People who are so desperate in their drive to control others, so mindless in their denial that they pretend access to gas causes arson, Ryder trucks and fertilizer cause terrorism, water causes drowning, forks and spoons cause obesity, dialing 911 will somehow save your life, and that their greedy clamoring to "feel good" is more important than admitting that armed citizens are much better equipped to stop evil than unarmed, helpless ones.
Pray for the families of victims everywhere, America. Study the methodology of evil. It has a profile, a system, a preferred environment where victims cannot fight back. Embrace the facts, demand upgrade and be certain that your children's school has a better plan than Virginia Tech or Columbine. Eliminate the insanity of gun-free zones, which will never, ever be gun-free zones. They will only be good guy gun-free zones, and that is a recipe for disaster written in blood on the altar of denial. I, for one, refuse to genuflect there.
Friday, April 20, 2007
Thursday, April 19, 2007
Muslim "Charities" = Terrorist Money Launderers...?
According to this report by Judicial Watch, quite a few of the most prominent Muslim "charities" in America have, at a minimum, a high number of ties to known terrorists and terrorist organizations. Some of the highest officers and representatives of some of these organizations have even been found guilty in American courts (which, ironically, provide them far more due process protections than their beloved sharia courts) of providing material aid to terrorist organizations. Read the whole thing and judge for yourself, especially the conclusion below, but I'd say it's pretty damning for the organizations. I also pray that the spineless weasels in Washington would get over their cult of political correctness and monitor these groups in such a way that shows our government takes seriously the threat of radical Islamic jihadists and the propaganda arms right here on our own soil, but I won't be holding my breath.
CONCLUSION
"Many radical Islamic organizations are alive and functioning in
the United States, operating under the guise of “mainstream”
charities. They are jeopardizing United States national security
by supporting terrorist groups working to destroy the U.S. and
the American way of life but, disturbingly, the United States
government seems to turn a blind eye to their activities in the
name of political correctness."
CONCLUSION
"Many radical Islamic organizations are alive and functioning in
the United States, operating under the guise of “mainstream”
charities. They are jeopardizing United States national security
by supporting terrorist groups working to destroy the U.S. and
the American way of life but, disturbingly, the United States
government seems to turn a blind eye to their activities in the
name of political correctness."
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
A Cornucopia of Links on the Virginia Tech Massacre
First and foremost, my deepest sympathies, condolences, and prayers go out to the deceased and all their families. This is a horrible tragedy and the worst school massacre in the history of our country. Other than the completely proper mourning, remembrance, and grieving, this is not a time for knee-jerk political reactions, runaway emoting, large-scale gun seizure, or any other such idiocy. Rather, it is a time for reflection on how this happened, how to prevent it happening again, and calling on the carpet every moron socialist who would exploit this tragedy to take away yet more of our ever-eroding freedoms. In that vein, here are some links on heroism in the face of tragedy, part of the idiocy in high places that set the stage for this tragedy, and some vicious, might, righteous swings of the cluebat to the skulls of the resident mushbrains who want to make it easier for such tragedies (or worse) to happen again...read them all.
HEROES
From Emperor Misha, here is the story of a brave VT professor and Holocaust survivor sacrificing himself for the lives of his students. In death, he became the civilian equivalent of Jason Dunham, Rafael Peralta, and countless other military heroes who laid down their lives for their fellow man. May God welcome him and bring peace to his grieving loved ones.
ACCESORIES
Once again, from Emperor Misha, we can thank the Virginia Legislature and the gun-grabbing ninnies at the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence for making sure that the gunman on the Blacksburg campus was the only one carrying heat on that fateful day. I sometimes wonder how it must feel to be accessories in the snuffing out of thirty-three human lives, but unlike these crime-enabling slapnuts, I'm glad I don't know and hope I won't have to find out.
CLUEBAT HOME RUN CHAMPIONS
The silver medalist is Emperor Misha, who absolutely lays waste to a mainstream media moron (pardon the redundnacy) suggesting a repeal of the Second Amendment before the victims are even named and before their bodies are cold and in the ground.
But the co-gold medalists and Clue Bat Home Run Champions are the ever wise Mrs. DuToit, who preaches more common sense re: gun policy and the Second Amendment than the entire MSM combined here and here, and dispenses massive doses of wisdom re: living like a sheepdog and not a sheep here, and Greg at Gonzo's Bar and Go Go Grill, who mercilessly lays the verbal smackdown to liberals, anti-gun ding dongs, and VA Tech Administrators everywhere here. All I can say is DAMN! That will leave a mark and ruin some folks' rest of the week...HAHA!
HEROES
From Emperor Misha, here is the story of a brave VT professor and Holocaust survivor sacrificing himself for the lives of his students. In death, he became the civilian equivalent of Jason Dunham, Rafael Peralta, and countless other military heroes who laid down their lives for their fellow man. May God welcome him and bring peace to his grieving loved ones.
ACCESORIES
Once again, from Emperor Misha, we can thank the Virginia Legislature and the gun-grabbing ninnies at the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence for making sure that the gunman on the Blacksburg campus was the only one carrying heat on that fateful day. I sometimes wonder how it must feel to be accessories in the snuffing out of thirty-three human lives, but unlike these crime-enabling slapnuts, I'm glad I don't know and hope I won't have to find out.
CLUEBAT HOME RUN CHAMPIONS
The silver medalist is Emperor Misha, who absolutely lays waste to a mainstream media moron (pardon the redundnacy) suggesting a repeal of the Second Amendment before the victims are even named and before their bodies are cold and in the ground.
But the co-gold medalists and Clue Bat Home Run Champions are the ever wise Mrs. DuToit, who preaches more common sense re: gun policy and the Second Amendment than the entire MSM combined here and here, and dispenses massive doses of wisdom re: living like a sheepdog and not a sheep here, and Greg at Gonzo's Bar and Go Go Grill, who mercilessly lays the verbal smackdown to liberals, anti-gun ding dongs, and VA Tech Administrators everywhere here. All I can say is DAMN! That will leave a mark and ruin some folks' rest of the week...HAHA!
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
"VICTORY!!!!!"..."I'm BACK, You KNOW It!"
The "Victory!!!!!" comes courtesy of Drama from the HBO show, "Entourage", and the "I'm BACK..." quote is courtesy of Will Ferrell in "Old School". How quickly things can change, and sometimes even for the better.
A couple of weeks ago, I tendered my resignation as an Assistant Public Defender in Jackson, not having any idea what was going to happen or what I was going to do next, professionally or financially. My resignation became official on Friday the 13th, of all days, and yesterday, I received a job offer (I start Monday) doing exactly the kind of work I wanted to do before I even started law school in the exact geographic area in which I've been hoping and trying to live since I graduated. For the math majors in the audience, that means my actual period of unemployment was less than one business day! That, as they say, is good times indeed. What's more, as He is known to do, God is a tidy sort of fellow who has a funny way of tying up loose ends and greasing the skids for us to move forward in His time (and not just in my professional life, but in some personal areas as well)...and even more than that, He often does it in a way(s) we would never do it ourselves, but yet it always manages to work itself out just right, and that's just how it happened here.
The selfish part of me wishes I could take the credit for this in some way, but I can't and I won't, because this was all God's doing. The folks who know me best will have a better idea what I mean here, and everyone else will have to take my word for it because it's entirely too much to type. I think for a long time I was waiting...on something, be it a break in my career, my love life, etc. I honestly think that God was trying to teach me a lesson, to be fully engaged wherever He has me because I'm supposed to be there for a reason(s) and a season(s). Once I quit waiting so much and started living to the fullest in the present, God began working, and quickly, at helping bring the desires of my heart to fruition. The point is this: I have a lot to offer, personally and professionally, but all those gifts are God's anyway, and He gave them to me to use, not to bury in the dirt...and just because I finally summoned the courage to step up and use them, to proceed boldly and with confidence in the direction of my dreams while fully engaged wherever He has me doesn't mean I get to take the credit or the glory. That said, I will enjoy them, and be happy and thankful beyond measure for the lessons I've learned and the places God has led me. Thank you Lord for your many blessings and the talents you've given me, and I'm beyond excited to see where we're going next. :)
A couple of weeks ago, I tendered my resignation as an Assistant Public Defender in Jackson, not having any idea what was going to happen or what I was going to do next, professionally or financially. My resignation became official on Friday the 13th, of all days, and yesterday, I received a job offer (I start Monday) doing exactly the kind of work I wanted to do before I even started law school in the exact geographic area in which I've been hoping and trying to live since I graduated. For the math majors in the audience, that means my actual period of unemployment was less than one business day! That, as they say, is good times indeed. What's more, as He is known to do, God is a tidy sort of fellow who has a funny way of tying up loose ends and greasing the skids for us to move forward in His time (and not just in my professional life, but in some personal areas as well)...and even more than that, He often does it in a way(s) we would never do it ourselves, but yet it always manages to work itself out just right, and that's just how it happened here.
The selfish part of me wishes I could take the credit for this in some way, but I can't and I won't, because this was all God's doing. The folks who know me best will have a better idea what I mean here, and everyone else will have to take my word for it because it's entirely too much to type. I think for a long time I was waiting...on something, be it a break in my career, my love life, etc. I honestly think that God was trying to teach me a lesson, to be fully engaged wherever He has me because I'm supposed to be there for a reason(s) and a season(s). Once I quit waiting so much and started living to the fullest in the present, God began working, and quickly, at helping bring the desires of my heart to fruition. The point is this: I have a lot to offer, personally and professionally, but all those gifts are God's anyway, and He gave them to me to use, not to bury in the dirt...and just because I finally summoned the courage to step up and use them, to proceed boldly and with confidence in the direction of my dreams while fully engaged wherever He has me doesn't mean I get to take the credit or the glory. That said, I will enjoy them, and be happy and thankful beyond measure for the lessons I've learned and the places God has led me. Thank you Lord for your many blessings and the talents you've given me, and I'm beyond excited to see where we're going next. :)
Saturday, April 14, 2007
Mrs. IMAO Lays the Smack Down to the Rutgers' "Victims"
Frank J. is normally the head ranter/blogger at IMAO, but his wife, SarahK, whipped out the verbal cluebat and absolutely laid waste to the whiny women of the Rutgers' womens hoops team. I don't think anyone finds what Don Imus said to be acceptable, but c'mon already...their lives aren't over, they aren't in physical danger, and we aren't going back to the pre-civil rights days just because of the idotic remarks of one controversial shock jock. They should just accept his apology and move on already, and stop playing the victim so damn much. THAT is much more unbecoming and pathetic than being the object of inflammatory remarks. Read the whole thing, it's a doozy and a classic.
P.S.--Rutgers absolutely got their clocks cleaned in the national title game by the Lady Vols (Go UT!), and if they want to see what actual victims who truly have been done wrong look like, I'm with SarahK...they should go talk to the three recently exonerated Duke lacrosse players on that one.
"I'm over this racist bullcrap. I've been over it since about five minutes after Imus apologized the first time. After the first apology, there should have been no more apologies, and he absolutely NEVER should have groveled to Hypocrites Extraordinaire and Self-Proclaimed Masters of the Universe Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson. Note to Sharpton and Jackson: There is only one Master of the Universe, and his name is Jack Bristow. Neither of you comes close to being Jack Bristow, so move along now and crawl back into your racist, seedy little holes. Mr. Sharpton, you can go back to flinging around racial epithets about Jews and Whiteys. Jackson, well, you just go back to being the King of Slime.
Now, at first I felt bad for the Rutgers women's basketball team, which everyone has already forgotten about. They're now just "the Rutgers team". What sport is it they were playing before this turned into the Sharpton/Jackson Circus and Spotless Barack's Presidential Hot Topic? Oh, and did anyone notice that not all of them are black? Just wanted to mention it, because I doubt that Al and Jesse picked up on that, since they spun this whole thing as just another way for white men to keep black women enslaved.
But see, if I were one of the girls on the basketball team, I would just want it to go away. Yeah, ok, I was called a (k)nappy-headed ho in front of Imus's eight listeners, and that's incredibly insulting and very inaccurate (look how nice my hair is). Oh, and remember my accomplishments on the basketball court? I rock, and nobody remembers that!
But this. This is over the top.
Meanwhile the Rutgers women's basketball team appeared Thursday on the Oprah Winfrey show to discuss the controversy. "Not only did he steal our dreams, he hurt our character of Rutgers University, our state, and all who have been associated," Rutgers Head Coach C. Vivian Stringer said on the show.
He stole your dreams? You're serious? Not making a funny? This isn't satire?
It was an ugly, stupid thing to say. It was hurtful. But he stole your dreams? You're victims now forever? Scarred for life? Not going to be able to go on and have families and/or careers (whatever it is you dream about) because Don Imus called you (k)nappy-headed hos? Seriously. He's Don Imus. And they're words. Not even creative ones, at that! In the feeding frenzy following the two-word phrase, pretty much every person who has ever been on his show, co-hosted with him, been a regular guest, asked him about his American Idol opinions, eaten breakfast with him, or sat next to him on the subway has denounced him and taken him out of his/her will.
You have got to get a grip on this little thing called reality. You know, one time when I was growing up, I was taking a shower, and a cockroach dropped from the ceiling of the shower and landed on my head. Landed on my head. I am not lying. Also, this one time, when I was ten, I had a cockroach (these were the flying cockroaches in Texas, which we lovingly call Palmetto bugs) fly off the wall and follow me in flight from room to room as I ran screaming from it. Both of those events have lived on prominently in my bruised little psyche. I can't say for sure, but I think those cockroaches had more of an effect on me than Imus's non-sticks, non-stones will have on your life-long dreams. Suck. It. Up.
One more thing. There are three men. Their names are David Evans, Reade Seligmann, and Collin Finnerty. Yesterday they were declared innocent by the attorney general of North Carolina after almost an entire year of being besotted and besmirched in the media by racist creeps like Sharpton, Jackson, and Malik Shabazz, a real stand-up guy. These men, first and least of all, didn't even get to finish out their lacrosse season last year (their team was nationally ranked, too, by the way). Hey, your dreaming girls made it all the way to the championship game--but this year-long witch-hunt kept these guys--and their teammates--from competing at all. But the implications for their futures are so much farther reaching than some hurt feelings.
The rage I'm feeling about the stolen dreams comment is too much. My whole face is buzzing with seizures. I have to finish this in the morning. I have more to say. I've had nothing to say all along about the Duke case, because 1) legal cases that Greta and Nancy spend months poring over hours upon end bore me without measure, and 2) I chose not to make any judgments either way. It's not my business. I don't know these people! And frankly, my opinion of strippers and those who hire them is equally low. So I do not care about these people. I don't. I'm sorry. I haven't been able to make myself care about these boys nor Crystal Mangum, their accuser, because I kinda sorta have this whole judgmental thing about me. If I would have looked at this case a year ago with any intense scrutiny, I probably would have come to the opinion--please, let's be clear that I said opinion--that all parties involved are disgusting, and I would not want to be friends with any of them. Talk to them about Jesus, sure. Hang out, not so much.
So. Every time this has come on TV or talk radio in the last year, I'm not kidding, I have changed the channel or station. Put on DVDs or CDs or my iPod. I knew of the case in my peripheral vision. Sure, I knew what the accusations were, and I heard when the DNA evidence came back to not support the case. I couldn't avoid that because some of the blogs I read were following the case closely. I didn't begin to pay attention until I started hearing that there was absolutely no evidence to support a conviction, and Nifong was running for reelection. Aha. My ears perked up. I truly believe that vengeance is in the hands of God, sometimes in this life, sometimes in the next, sometimes both. And I've had too many close experiences with people who will tear other people down to build themselves up--I cannot abide those people.
For the love of pete. Make yourselves better, and we all become great. But "I cannot abide useless people." So then I paid a little bit of attention. And this week I did not change the channel when the news broke about ethics charges against Nifong and the Attorney General declaring the innocence of the accused.
Ok, now I go to bed. Tomorrow, I'll write about why Ms. Stringer needs to splash some water on her face and see whose dreams have really been stolen.
Alrighty, then. I'm awake. These Duke lacrosse players. The three. Every job interview they go on--no, hopefully they won't be stupid enough to put "lacrosse" in the hobbies section of their résumé (if so, then, well... survival of the fittest comes to mind), but every job interview where their names are recognized, potential employers will be reluctant to hire them because they'll be afraid of sexual harassment lawsuits. When they are able to get jobs, will they even be able to speak to women at work without being extremely careful of every single word that comes out of their mouths? They can't even have normal conversation anymore. Forever they will carry the stigma of sexual predator, even though they are innocent of the legal definition of such (see above for what I think about people who hire strippers or go to strip clubs--and no, I won't apologize for that). The best bet these guys have is to own their own businesses and have no employees, and owning your own business is not as easy as it sounds. It can be done, though, and if these guys choose not to go on Oprah and act like Victims of the Year, maybe they can do it.
Note for this next section: I'm a bit of a prude, but I don't pretend that everyone else is.
It's not only about jobs, though, is it? Women. They've obviously made mistakes with women. And now every woman who gets a goodnight kiss, every woman in any kind of intimate situation with these guys will have in the back of their minds... "Is he... oh no... what is he doing? Do I want him to do that? Is it okay? Wait, yes, I'm okay with this... But we're only doing this because I'm okay with it..." Or if he wants to go a little farther than she does, she'll say, "No, let's not," he'll say, "Come on, why not?" like happens in normal, everyday relationships, and rape charges will be filed. Instead of her just saying, "Because I'm not ready," or "Because it's wrong, and we should wait until we're married," or "Because I'm in a womanly way right now," she will cry out, "Rape! You are a rapist! Nifong was right all along!"
And any time there's a breakup, it will make the news, because remember folks, we are stuck with our sorry excuse for media. "[Actual name] and his unnamed girlfriend of four months split up today. Sources say that there has as of yet been no accusation of sexual assault. As you may recall, [actual name] was accused of rape back in 2006 by a lovely young exotic dancer (we don't want to use her name out of respect for her). Charges were later dropped, but Rose McGowan decided that the men were guilty of something, because they are rich and white and the accuser is black, i.e., not rich and white. We will continue to update you on this story as it progresses."
Marriage? "[Actual name] was married today in a heartfelt ceremony. The media was not allowed into the ceremony, but sources close to the family say that it was a joyous occasion, and that the family and friends of [actual last name] breathed a sigh of relief. As you know, [actual name] was one of three men accused of the sexual assault of an exotic dancer in 2006, and it was thought that he would never be able to find happiness due to the cloud of suspicion that has always hovered over him. The source says that [actual last name] and his bride, a humble school teacher, will be able to finally put whatever happened in that fraternity house behind him. As to the other two men accused alongside him, we will let you know if and when they ever find happiness. This is [white guilt reporter], reporting live in Raleigh, North Carolina. Jim? Back to you."
So ladies? I think you'll live. It was a very bad joke. A reprehensible one. He apologized. Ms. Stringer's pastor was the one who organized the groveling session between Imus and the Rutgers women's basketball team. It lasted three hours. It could have been a three minute phone call, and he was on his hands and knees in person for three hours?? Am I in the twilight zone? Mr. Pastor? Have you even read the Bible? Do you preach it to your congregation? Oh, and while I'm talking to "pastors", why don't you listen up, Mr. Sharpton and Mr. Jackson (sorry, can't call anyone reverend, it's against my beliefs, I can quote you scripture if you need me to):
Matthew 6:14-15:
For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
Matthew 18:21-22
Then Peter came to Him and said, "Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?" Jesus said to him, "I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.
Mark 11:25
"And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses."
But suddenly your dreams are shattered, you want all of America to kiss your ring, and you have to have a three hour apology? It should have gone like this:
IMUS: I'm very sorry. You've seen me apologize all week publicly. And now, with no cameras around, I tell you the same thing. I'm so sorry.
TEAM: We forgive you.
IMUS: Thank you.
TEAM: No problem.
IMUS: Congratulations on all of your success. Really, you've done a great job.
TEAM: Thank you.
IMUS: Alright... Well... I guess I'll be going then.
TEAM: Alright. Say, you've got some funky hair yourself. You should see to that.
IMUS: It's my schtick.
TEAM: Okay. Bye.
IMUS: Bye.
That's it. Three hours?
Scarred for life, my big white pinkytoe. Give me a break. There are people with real problems in this world, and frankly, being called a (k)nappy-headed ho stings for about an hour. Your dreams are not stolen. You can move on with your lives. You got your stint on the Oprah show and strong-armed two pansy companies into firing someone. There are no long-term implications for you. For the Duke guys? Yes. For Imus? Yes.
And he wasn't fired because the market spoke. No. He was fired because CBS radio and MSNBC are big fat chickens. Imus has had fairly low ratings for years. Sponsors were strong-armed by people like Sharpton and Jackson, who do not speak for all of the black community, into pulling out. We wouldn't have known if the market would speak about it for another few months. Just like with Rosie O'Donnell spouting her idiotic views about 9/11 on The View. I'll admit, I had been DVRing The View since about October because I liked debating back with the TV when Rosie said idiotic things. But after her Truther crap, I took it off the DVR list, as I imagine many others did. Now I only see clips on Hot Air and YouTube when the dingbat goes off her nut on air. I think time will tell whether Rosie's Trutherism will hurt ratings. If it does, that's the market speaking. And that's the difference. That's the difference between White Guilt and blatant racism from the black "leaders" getting someone fired and the market asking for it.
And you know what? I do think Rosie should be cut from The View. But not because she shouldn't be allowed to say those ridiculous things. She should be allowed to say them (1st amendment--just like I should be allowed to carry a gun anywhere I please due to the 2nd amendment but more importantly due to my natural born rights). I think Rosie should be cut because she just says the same things over and over, changes the subject to "Bush is killing all our soldiers" any time she starts to lose an argument, and makes the show so unwatchable for me. On the other hand, I never tuned in before she was on, and I only tuned in to debate with her in my own head. And as long as she's making the ratings better than they were before she was on, and as long as the sponsors are willing to support her disgusting anti-patriotic views (yes, I said it, I believe she is anti-America, pro-America's enemies, and wants us to lose this war), ABC has every right to keep her. If they're not a publicly funded corporation, fine. I believe in free speech.
One more thing. While I do think the language of rap music is disgusting (though I do admit to an Eminem music weakness and buy cleaned-up versions of his CDs--I'm sorry, I know), I believe in the right of morons like Snoop Dogg to fling around whatever words they choose, as long as I am not subjected to the music involuntarily, such as in public places, and as long as no government funding is ever funneled to such "art". I disagree with Michelle on this point: I've been able to avoid it just fine (except for my nasty Eminem habit, but that's my choice). It's up to parents to police their own children and to adults to police ourselves.
What was I talking about? Oh yeah. Congratulations, Rutgers women's basketball team on your achievement! And congratulations to David Evans, Reade Seligmann, and Collin Finnerty on being able to move on with your lives."
P.S.--Rutgers absolutely got their clocks cleaned in the national title game by the Lady Vols (Go UT!), and if they want to see what actual victims who truly have been done wrong look like, I'm with SarahK...they should go talk to the three recently exonerated Duke lacrosse players on that one.
"I'm over this racist bullcrap. I've been over it since about five minutes after Imus apologized the first time. After the first apology, there should have been no more apologies, and he absolutely NEVER should have groveled to Hypocrites Extraordinaire and Self-Proclaimed Masters of the Universe Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson. Note to Sharpton and Jackson: There is only one Master of the Universe, and his name is Jack Bristow. Neither of you comes close to being Jack Bristow, so move along now and crawl back into your racist, seedy little holes. Mr. Sharpton, you can go back to flinging around racial epithets about Jews and Whiteys. Jackson, well, you just go back to being the King of Slime.
Now, at first I felt bad for the Rutgers women's basketball team, which everyone has already forgotten about. They're now just "the Rutgers team". What sport is it they were playing before this turned into the Sharpton/Jackson Circus and Spotless Barack's Presidential Hot Topic? Oh, and did anyone notice that not all of them are black? Just wanted to mention it, because I doubt that Al and Jesse picked up on that, since they spun this whole thing as just another way for white men to keep black women enslaved.
But see, if I were one of the girls on the basketball team, I would just want it to go away. Yeah, ok, I was called a (k)nappy-headed ho in front of Imus's eight listeners, and that's incredibly insulting and very inaccurate (look how nice my hair is). Oh, and remember my accomplishments on the basketball court? I rock, and nobody remembers that!
But this. This is over the top.
Meanwhile the Rutgers women's basketball team appeared Thursday on the Oprah Winfrey show to discuss the controversy. "Not only did he steal our dreams, he hurt our character of Rutgers University, our state, and all who have been associated," Rutgers Head Coach C. Vivian Stringer said on the show.
He stole your dreams? You're serious? Not making a funny? This isn't satire?
It was an ugly, stupid thing to say. It was hurtful. But he stole your dreams? You're victims now forever? Scarred for life? Not going to be able to go on and have families and/or careers (whatever it is you dream about) because Don Imus called you (k)nappy-headed hos? Seriously. He's Don Imus. And they're words. Not even creative ones, at that! In the feeding frenzy following the two-word phrase, pretty much every person who has ever been on his show, co-hosted with him, been a regular guest, asked him about his American Idol opinions, eaten breakfast with him, or sat next to him on the subway has denounced him and taken him out of his/her will.
You have got to get a grip on this little thing called reality. You know, one time when I was growing up, I was taking a shower, and a cockroach dropped from the ceiling of the shower and landed on my head. Landed on my head. I am not lying. Also, this one time, when I was ten, I had a cockroach (these were the flying cockroaches in Texas, which we lovingly call Palmetto bugs) fly off the wall and follow me in flight from room to room as I ran screaming from it. Both of those events have lived on prominently in my bruised little psyche. I can't say for sure, but I think those cockroaches had more of an effect on me than Imus's non-sticks, non-stones will have on your life-long dreams. Suck. It. Up.
One more thing. There are three men. Their names are David Evans, Reade Seligmann, and Collin Finnerty. Yesterday they were declared innocent by the attorney general of North Carolina after almost an entire year of being besotted and besmirched in the media by racist creeps like Sharpton, Jackson, and Malik Shabazz, a real stand-up guy. These men, first and least of all, didn't even get to finish out their lacrosse season last year (their team was nationally ranked, too, by the way). Hey, your dreaming girls made it all the way to the championship game--but this year-long witch-hunt kept these guys--and their teammates--from competing at all. But the implications for their futures are so much farther reaching than some hurt feelings.
The rage I'm feeling about the stolen dreams comment is too much. My whole face is buzzing with seizures. I have to finish this in the morning. I have more to say. I've had nothing to say all along about the Duke case, because 1) legal cases that Greta and Nancy spend months poring over hours upon end bore me without measure, and 2) I chose not to make any judgments either way. It's not my business. I don't know these people! And frankly, my opinion of strippers and those who hire them is equally low. So I do not care about these people. I don't. I'm sorry. I haven't been able to make myself care about these boys nor Crystal Mangum, their accuser, because I kinda sorta have this whole judgmental thing about me. If I would have looked at this case a year ago with any intense scrutiny, I probably would have come to the opinion--please, let's be clear that I said opinion--that all parties involved are disgusting, and I would not want to be friends with any of them. Talk to them about Jesus, sure. Hang out, not so much.
So. Every time this has come on TV or talk radio in the last year, I'm not kidding, I have changed the channel or station. Put on DVDs or CDs or my iPod. I knew of the case in my peripheral vision. Sure, I knew what the accusations were, and I heard when the DNA evidence came back to not support the case. I couldn't avoid that because some of the blogs I read were following the case closely. I didn't begin to pay attention until I started hearing that there was absolutely no evidence to support a conviction, and Nifong was running for reelection. Aha. My ears perked up. I truly believe that vengeance is in the hands of God, sometimes in this life, sometimes in the next, sometimes both. And I've had too many close experiences with people who will tear other people down to build themselves up--I cannot abide those people.
For the love of pete. Make yourselves better, and we all become great. But "I cannot abide useless people." So then I paid a little bit of attention. And this week I did not change the channel when the news broke about ethics charges against Nifong and the Attorney General declaring the innocence of the accused.
Ok, now I go to bed. Tomorrow, I'll write about why Ms. Stringer needs to splash some water on her face and see whose dreams have really been stolen.
Alrighty, then. I'm awake. These Duke lacrosse players. The three. Every job interview they go on--no, hopefully they won't be stupid enough to put "lacrosse" in the hobbies section of their résumé (if so, then, well... survival of the fittest comes to mind), but every job interview where their names are recognized, potential employers will be reluctant to hire them because they'll be afraid of sexual harassment lawsuits. When they are able to get jobs, will they even be able to speak to women at work without being extremely careful of every single word that comes out of their mouths? They can't even have normal conversation anymore. Forever they will carry the stigma of sexual predator, even though they are innocent of the legal definition of such (see above for what I think about people who hire strippers or go to strip clubs--and no, I won't apologize for that). The best bet these guys have is to own their own businesses and have no employees, and owning your own business is not as easy as it sounds. It can be done, though, and if these guys choose not to go on Oprah and act like Victims of the Year, maybe they can do it.
Note for this next section: I'm a bit of a prude, but I don't pretend that everyone else is.
It's not only about jobs, though, is it? Women. They've obviously made mistakes with women. And now every woman who gets a goodnight kiss, every woman in any kind of intimate situation with these guys will have in the back of their minds... "Is he... oh no... what is he doing? Do I want him to do that? Is it okay? Wait, yes, I'm okay with this... But we're only doing this because I'm okay with it..." Or if he wants to go a little farther than she does, she'll say, "No, let's not," he'll say, "Come on, why not?" like happens in normal, everyday relationships, and rape charges will be filed. Instead of her just saying, "Because I'm not ready," or "Because it's wrong, and we should wait until we're married," or "Because I'm in a womanly way right now," she will cry out, "Rape! You are a rapist! Nifong was right all along!"
And any time there's a breakup, it will make the news, because remember folks, we are stuck with our sorry excuse for media. "[Actual name] and his unnamed girlfriend of four months split up today. Sources say that there has as of yet been no accusation of sexual assault. As you may recall, [actual name] was accused of rape back in 2006 by a lovely young exotic dancer (we don't want to use her name out of respect for her). Charges were later dropped, but Rose McGowan decided that the men were guilty of something, because they are rich and white and the accuser is black, i.e., not rich and white. We will continue to update you on this story as it progresses."
Marriage? "[Actual name] was married today in a heartfelt ceremony. The media was not allowed into the ceremony, but sources close to the family say that it was a joyous occasion, and that the family and friends of [actual last name] breathed a sigh of relief. As you know, [actual name] was one of three men accused of the sexual assault of an exotic dancer in 2006, and it was thought that he would never be able to find happiness due to the cloud of suspicion that has always hovered over him. The source says that [actual last name] and his bride, a humble school teacher, will be able to finally put whatever happened in that fraternity house behind him. As to the other two men accused alongside him, we will let you know if and when they ever find happiness. This is [white guilt reporter], reporting live in Raleigh, North Carolina. Jim? Back to you."
So ladies? I think you'll live. It was a very bad joke. A reprehensible one. He apologized. Ms. Stringer's pastor was the one who organized the groveling session between Imus and the Rutgers women's basketball team. It lasted three hours. It could have been a three minute phone call, and he was on his hands and knees in person for three hours?? Am I in the twilight zone? Mr. Pastor? Have you even read the Bible? Do you preach it to your congregation? Oh, and while I'm talking to "pastors", why don't you listen up, Mr. Sharpton and Mr. Jackson (sorry, can't call anyone reverend, it's against my beliefs, I can quote you scripture if you need me to):
Matthew 6:14-15:
For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
Matthew 18:21-22
Then Peter came to Him and said, "Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?" Jesus said to him, "I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.
Mark 11:25
"And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses."
But suddenly your dreams are shattered, you want all of America to kiss your ring, and you have to have a three hour apology? It should have gone like this:
IMUS: I'm very sorry. You've seen me apologize all week publicly. And now, with no cameras around, I tell you the same thing. I'm so sorry.
TEAM: We forgive you.
IMUS: Thank you.
TEAM: No problem.
IMUS: Congratulations on all of your success. Really, you've done a great job.
TEAM: Thank you.
IMUS: Alright... Well... I guess I'll be going then.
TEAM: Alright. Say, you've got some funky hair yourself. You should see to that.
IMUS: It's my schtick.
TEAM: Okay. Bye.
IMUS: Bye.
That's it. Three hours?
Scarred for life, my big white pinkytoe. Give me a break. There are people with real problems in this world, and frankly, being called a (k)nappy-headed ho stings for about an hour. Your dreams are not stolen. You can move on with your lives. You got your stint on the Oprah show and strong-armed two pansy companies into firing someone. There are no long-term implications for you. For the Duke guys? Yes. For Imus? Yes.
And he wasn't fired because the market spoke. No. He was fired because CBS radio and MSNBC are big fat chickens. Imus has had fairly low ratings for years. Sponsors were strong-armed by people like Sharpton and Jackson, who do not speak for all of the black community, into pulling out. We wouldn't have known if the market would speak about it for another few months. Just like with Rosie O'Donnell spouting her idiotic views about 9/11 on The View. I'll admit, I had been DVRing The View since about October because I liked debating back with the TV when Rosie said idiotic things. But after her Truther crap, I took it off the DVR list, as I imagine many others did. Now I only see clips on Hot Air and YouTube when the dingbat goes off her nut on air. I think time will tell whether Rosie's Trutherism will hurt ratings. If it does, that's the market speaking. And that's the difference. That's the difference between White Guilt and blatant racism from the black "leaders" getting someone fired and the market asking for it.
And you know what? I do think Rosie should be cut from The View. But not because she shouldn't be allowed to say those ridiculous things. She should be allowed to say them (1st amendment--just like I should be allowed to carry a gun anywhere I please due to the 2nd amendment but more importantly due to my natural born rights). I think Rosie should be cut because she just says the same things over and over, changes the subject to "Bush is killing all our soldiers" any time she starts to lose an argument, and makes the show so unwatchable for me. On the other hand, I never tuned in before she was on, and I only tuned in to debate with her in my own head. And as long as she's making the ratings better than they were before she was on, and as long as the sponsors are willing to support her disgusting anti-patriotic views (yes, I said it, I believe she is anti-America, pro-America's enemies, and wants us to lose this war), ABC has every right to keep her. If they're not a publicly funded corporation, fine. I believe in free speech.
One more thing. While I do think the language of rap music is disgusting (though I do admit to an Eminem music weakness and buy cleaned-up versions of his CDs--I'm sorry, I know), I believe in the right of morons like Snoop Dogg to fling around whatever words they choose, as long as I am not subjected to the music involuntarily, such as in public places, and as long as no government funding is ever funneled to such "art". I disagree with Michelle on this point: I've been able to avoid it just fine (except for my nasty Eminem habit, but that's my choice). It's up to parents to police their own children and to adults to police ourselves.
What was I talking about? Oh yeah. Congratulations, Rutgers women's basketball team on your achievement! And congratulations to David Evans, Reade Seligmann, and Collin Finnerty on being able to move on with your lives."
Thursday, April 12, 2007
Her Name is Crystal Gail Mangum, and Her Name Should Become a Verb
I posted a while back re: Durham D.A. Mike Nifong's last name becoming a verb...to "Nifong" someone means to zealously prosecute and persecute another for reasons other than justice despite what the evidence may say or the truth of the matter may be. Crystal Gail Mangum is the lying skank who destroyed the reputations of the three Duke lacrosse players accused of raping her last year, and to "Mangum" someone should be defined as falsely and maliciously accusing someone of a crime or action sufficient to destory both their lives and reputations. So let me get this right...this liar "Mangums" three innocent men, and now she will face no criminal charges?
Are you serious?! Let anyone else, especially a WHITE someone else, level false charges of that magnitude, especially against an ethnic minority, and see how fast they are pilloried and lynched. I am with Emperor Misha, Ace, and John Podhoretz on this one...if this lying sow is not to be held civilly or criminally liable for her actions, then she should be named and shamed to such an extent that liars everywhere, of every stripe and gender, should think long and hard before calling the police and making up charges against innocent people. As a criminal defense attorney, I had far too may clients falsely accused by just such women, and they make me sick. I have no sympathy for Ms. Mangum, and she deserves every bit of justice that can be heaped upon her, both in this life and the next.
Emperor Misha
"I’m with Ace and John Podhoretz, my sympathy does not extend to perjurers destroying people’s lives, no matter what their gender, skin color, income bracket or mental health, and Crystal Gail Mangum has to be shamed.
Crystal Gail Mangum has to be hung out to dry, not only because it looks like it’s the only justice that Crystal Gail Mangum will ever face for having destroyed the names and sacred honor of three completely innocent young men, forcing their families to fight an incredibly expensive and 13 months long legal battle to simply get justice.
No, Crystal Gail Mangum needs to be publicly shamed pour encourager les autres as well. Thanks to Crystal Gail Mangum, future rape victims, real rape victims, will face an even worse uphill battle for justice. Thanks to Crystal Gail Mangum, prosecutors and the general public will be a lot more suspicious of rape victims, real rape victims stepping forward.
And if Crystal Gail Mangum is kept completely free of any consequences of her perjury and malicious, willful acts of evil, future liars like Crystal Gail Mangum will only be encouraged to do the same thing. Those Crystal Gail Mangum wannabes need to know the consequences of doing such a thing, and they need to be scared shitless of it happening to them as well.
Our shield laws came into being out of a humane desire to shield actual victims from public shame, thus making it easier for them to come forward so that the disgusting sexual predators out there can get thrown behind bars where they belong.
They weren’t made to shield lying, thieving, malicious whores from the consequences of their actions.
Lying, thieving, malicious whores like Crystal Gail Mangum. Thatisall."
Are you serious?! Let anyone else, especially a WHITE someone else, level false charges of that magnitude, especially against an ethnic minority, and see how fast they are pilloried and lynched. I am with Emperor Misha, Ace, and John Podhoretz on this one...if this lying sow is not to be held civilly or criminally liable for her actions, then she should be named and shamed to such an extent that liars everywhere, of every stripe and gender, should think long and hard before calling the police and making up charges against innocent people. As a criminal defense attorney, I had far too may clients falsely accused by just such women, and they make me sick. I have no sympathy for Ms. Mangum, and she deserves every bit of justice that can be heaped upon her, both in this life and the next.
Emperor Misha
"I’m with Ace and John Podhoretz, my sympathy does not extend to perjurers destroying people’s lives, no matter what their gender, skin color, income bracket or mental health, and Crystal Gail Mangum has to be shamed.
Crystal Gail Mangum has to be hung out to dry, not only because it looks like it’s the only justice that Crystal Gail Mangum will ever face for having destroyed the names and sacred honor of three completely innocent young men, forcing their families to fight an incredibly expensive and 13 months long legal battle to simply get justice.
No, Crystal Gail Mangum needs to be publicly shamed pour encourager les autres as well. Thanks to Crystal Gail Mangum, future rape victims, real rape victims, will face an even worse uphill battle for justice. Thanks to Crystal Gail Mangum, prosecutors and the general public will be a lot more suspicious of rape victims, real rape victims stepping forward.
And if Crystal Gail Mangum is kept completely free of any consequences of her perjury and malicious, willful acts of evil, future liars like Crystal Gail Mangum will only be encouraged to do the same thing. Those Crystal Gail Mangum wannabes need to know the consequences of doing such a thing, and they need to be scared shitless of it happening to them as well.
Our shield laws came into being out of a humane desire to shield actual victims from public shame, thus making it easier for them to come forward so that the disgusting sexual predators out there can get thrown behind bars where they belong.
They weren’t made to shield lying, thieving, malicious whores from the consequences of their actions.
Lying, thieving, malicious whores like Crystal Gail Mangum. Thatisall."
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
Way Past About Damn Time in Durham
Thank God for these young men and their families. Via MSNBC, this is some long overdue great news. North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper officially dismissed all remaining charges against the 3 Duke lacrosse players once accused of beating and raping a stripper at a party in 2006. Of special note is the scathing language used by General Cooper regarding disgraced Durham D.A. Mike Nifong and his overreaching zeal to prosecute these young men. Were justice a more concrete concept, in addition to Nifong being disbarred, these men and their families would be able to sue him and the accuser personally in civil court to recover damages for bail money paid and infliction of emotional distress to them and their families, among other things. That said, dismissal of the criminal charges is a fine place to start.
RALEIGH, N.C. - "Prosecutors dropped all charges Wednesday against the three Duke lacrosse players accused of sexually assaulting a stripper at a party, saying the athletes were innocent victims of a “tragic rush to accuse” by an overreaching district attorney.
“There were many points in the case where caution would have served justice better than bravado,” North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper said in a damning assessment of Durham County District Mike Nifong’s handling of the sensational case.
Cooper, who took over the case in January after Nifong was charged with ethics violations that could get him disbarred, said his own investigation concluded not only that the evidence against the young men was insufficient, but that no attack took place.
Reade Seligmann, Collin Finnerty and David Evans were indicted last spring on charges of rape, kidnapping and sexual offense after the woman told police she was assaulted in the bathroom at an off-campus house during a team party where she had been hired to perform.
But the attorney general said the eyewitness identification procedures were unreliable, no DNA supported the woman’s story, no other witness corroborated it, and the woman contradicted herself.
“Based on the significant inconsistencies between the evidence and the various accounts given by the accusing witness, we believe these three individuals are innocent of these charges,” Cooper said.
He said the charges resulted from a “tragic rush to accuse and a failure to verify serious allegations.”
Cooper called for the passage of a state law that would allow the North Carolina Supreme Court to remove a prosecutor “who needs to step away from a case where justice demands.”
“This case shows the enormous consequences of overreaching by a prosecutor,” he said.
The sensational case was troubled almost from the start. DNA samples found no link to any of the Duke lacrosse players, and a critical change to the accuser’s story forced the dismissal of rape charges in December. It drew so much attention that the attorney general planned to hold his news conference Wednesday Raleigh’s hockey arena.
The allegations at first outraged the city of Durham, a faded tobacco capital with a long history of tension between its large working-class black population and Duke, an elite private school where most of the students are white and many come from privilege. The woman is black and attended nearby North Carolina Central University; all three Duke players are white.
But that anger largely shifted to Durham County District Attorney Mike Nifong as his evidence against the three fell apart and questions surfaced about the accuser.
Nifong, who was away from his office Wednesday, has been charged by the state bar with ethics violations connected to his handling of the case and could face disbarment.
“We just hope this traumatic experience for all involved ends with the minimum amount of damage,” said the Rev. Jesse Jackson, whose Chicago-based Rainbow/Push Coalition had offered to help the accuser pay for college but wasn’t able to contact her.
The 28-year-old woman initially said she was gang-raped and beaten by three white men at the March 13, 2006, party thrown by Duke’s highly ranked lacrosse team.
The three players who were indicted insisted the accusations were “fantastic lies,” and another dancer who had been with the woman also questioned if she had been raped and said the woman seemed drunk when she tried to drive her home that night.
In the end, it appeared the case was based only on the testimony of the accuser, whom defense attorneys said had told wildly different versions of the alleged assault.
That shifting story led Nifong to drop the rape charges in December, but the other charges remained.
Nifong’s recusal in January put the players’ fate in the hands of North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper, who promised “a fresh and thorough review of the facts.”
The North Carolina State Bar charged Nifong with making misleading and inflammatory comments about the athletes under suspicion. It later added more serious offenses of withholding evidence from defense attorneys and lying to the court and bar investigators. He stands trial on those charges in June.
Nifong had accused the team of refusing to cooperate, calling them “a bunch of hooligans,” and promised DNA evidence would finger the guilty.
His case started to erode, though, when no DNA evidence tying any player to the accuser. The second dancer at the party called the allegations “a crock.” And Seligmann produced ATM receipts, cell phone records and other evidence suggesting he was somewhere else at the time.
Defense attorneys also attacked a key photo lineup that used only pictures of lacrosse players, and they noted the accuser had claimed a decade earlier that she had been gang-raped but it never led to an arrest. A series of tests Nifong ordered from a private lab found genetic material from several men on the accuser’s underwear and body, but none from any member of the Duke lacrosse team, they said."
RALEIGH, N.C. - "Prosecutors dropped all charges Wednesday against the three Duke lacrosse players accused of sexually assaulting a stripper at a party, saying the athletes were innocent victims of a “tragic rush to accuse” by an overreaching district attorney.
“There were many points in the case where caution would have served justice better than bravado,” North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper said in a damning assessment of Durham County District Mike Nifong’s handling of the sensational case.
Cooper, who took over the case in January after Nifong was charged with ethics violations that could get him disbarred, said his own investigation concluded not only that the evidence against the young men was insufficient, but that no attack took place.
Reade Seligmann, Collin Finnerty and David Evans were indicted last spring on charges of rape, kidnapping and sexual offense after the woman told police she was assaulted in the bathroom at an off-campus house during a team party where she had been hired to perform.
But the attorney general said the eyewitness identification procedures were unreliable, no DNA supported the woman’s story, no other witness corroborated it, and the woman contradicted herself.
“Based on the significant inconsistencies between the evidence and the various accounts given by the accusing witness, we believe these three individuals are innocent of these charges,” Cooper said.
He said the charges resulted from a “tragic rush to accuse and a failure to verify serious allegations.”
Cooper called for the passage of a state law that would allow the North Carolina Supreme Court to remove a prosecutor “who needs to step away from a case where justice demands.”
“This case shows the enormous consequences of overreaching by a prosecutor,” he said.
The sensational case was troubled almost from the start. DNA samples found no link to any of the Duke lacrosse players, and a critical change to the accuser’s story forced the dismissal of rape charges in December. It drew so much attention that the attorney general planned to hold his news conference Wednesday Raleigh’s hockey arena.
The allegations at first outraged the city of Durham, a faded tobacco capital with a long history of tension between its large working-class black population and Duke, an elite private school where most of the students are white and many come from privilege. The woman is black and attended nearby North Carolina Central University; all three Duke players are white.
But that anger largely shifted to Durham County District Attorney Mike Nifong as his evidence against the three fell apart and questions surfaced about the accuser.
Nifong, who was away from his office Wednesday, has been charged by the state bar with ethics violations connected to his handling of the case and could face disbarment.
“We just hope this traumatic experience for all involved ends with the minimum amount of damage,” said the Rev. Jesse Jackson, whose Chicago-based Rainbow/Push Coalition had offered to help the accuser pay for college but wasn’t able to contact her.
The 28-year-old woman initially said she was gang-raped and beaten by three white men at the March 13, 2006, party thrown by Duke’s highly ranked lacrosse team.
The three players who were indicted insisted the accusations were “fantastic lies,” and another dancer who had been with the woman also questioned if she had been raped and said the woman seemed drunk when she tried to drive her home that night.
In the end, it appeared the case was based only on the testimony of the accuser, whom defense attorneys said had told wildly different versions of the alleged assault.
That shifting story led Nifong to drop the rape charges in December, but the other charges remained.
Nifong’s recusal in January put the players’ fate in the hands of North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper, who promised “a fresh and thorough review of the facts.”
The North Carolina State Bar charged Nifong with making misleading and inflammatory comments about the athletes under suspicion. It later added more serious offenses of withholding evidence from defense attorneys and lying to the court and bar investigators. He stands trial on those charges in June.
Nifong had accused the team of refusing to cooperate, calling them “a bunch of hooligans,” and promised DNA evidence would finger the guilty.
His case started to erode, though, when no DNA evidence tying any player to the accuser. The second dancer at the party called the allegations “a crock.” And Seligmann produced ATM receipts, cell phone records and other evidence suggesting he was somewhere else at the time.
Defense attorneys also attacked a key photo lineup that used only pictures of lacrosse players, and they noted the accuser had claimed a decade earlier that she had been gang-raped but it never led to an arrest. A series of tests Nifong ordered from a private lab found genetic material from several men on the accuser’s underwear and body, but none from any member of the Duke lacrosse team, they said."
Friday, April 6, 2007
Rabbi Spero's Righteous Rant
This entire article by Rabbi Aryeh Spero is so chock full of good stuff re: the demise of a once proud Briatain and the utter pussification of the West as a whole that I had to post it below in its entirety (in addition to linking it). When our sworn mortal enemies commit a blatant act of war and we go begging and apologizing to them the way Britain and Tony Blair just did, it does not portend good things for the continued existence of free societies anywhere. Read the whole thing, because this is just another unanswered salvo in what promises to be a long, bloody, ugly war with Islamofascism.
"Imagine a World War II movie with John Wayne and Robert Mitchum doing nothing while standing on the bridge of a well-armed war ship watching below as fellow American soldiers are being whisked away by a few Japanese in a small craft in the waters of the South Pacific. We would cringe in disbelief. It would not be soldier-like, patriotic, or manly. What sissies, we would think, what about the spirit of comradeship embodied in “all for one and one for all”? We would be ashamed at such an act of timidity and passivity.
That is what happened last week in the Persian Gulf. A British naval vessel and crew stood by while Iranian boats pirated away a group of British soldiers. Reports indicate that the fire power of the British ship was capable of engaging and defeating the Iranian force. Moreover, British and U.S. combatant aircraft could have reached the scene in minutes but apparently weren’t called. The Royal Navy fired not a shot. How unlike the fire of Britain’s former First Seahand, Winston Churchill, who later proclaimed: “We shall fight them on the beaches; we shall fight them on the Seas.”
This war has become demoralizing because of repeated incidents of this nature: the unwillingness of Western powers to crush the enemy even in service of defending our own people. We have allowed the enemy to think he is braver than us. We have, thereby, emboldened the enemy and made things tougher for ourselves, not easier.
We fire not on their fortress mosques, nor on their ships, nor during their holy days, nor in their holy cities, nor at their “holy men.” We dare not humiliate. Instead, we allow ourselves to be forever humiliated and forfeit our men and women. So concerned are we about not offending Muslim pride we have thrown away our own. The West has decided that all things Islamic are to be granted a reverence we no longer grant ourselves. The sand and plaster of the fortress mosque seems to carry more importance than even the flesh and blood of our own soldiers.
Instead of taking action, the British ship commander telephoned home, to his superiors up the chain of command. The officer did what he was told: “Hold fire.” Perhaps our soldiers in WWII were better off not being equipped with phones back to headquarters. They, at least, could act like and do what soldiers are trained to do.
I don’t blame the soldiers, I blame their superiors. In fact, the superiors might be blameless given they must first consult the military lawyers and politicians: a group not known for physical bravery and valor. The soldiers are afraid of being court-martialed and the military brass is scared to death of being indicted for war crimes.
Really, who can be blamed at all given that the mantra of the war is not victory but “winning over the hearts of the enemy.” Instead of soldiers, we should have sent in a battalion of social workers. The main objective of the war seems not to do anything that “arouses the ‘Arab street.’” So we don’t -- not even the Arab sea.
It seems that many British military leaders and certainly politicians view our presence in the Gulf not as engagement in real war but as part of a peacekeeping mission. And peacekeepers, like UN ones, don’t fire but observe, especially if by shooting they cause an international event that causes politicians discomfort.
Furthermore, by continually referring to this as simply a “war on terror” instead of a war against brazen and aggressive Islamism, we sit by when witnessing that which, while an act of piracy, is not an act of terrorism such as, say, a car bomb in the middle of Baghdad. Instead of battling all Islamists such as the Iranian regime, we have limited ourselves to the al Qaeda types. Thus Iran and its “breach” go unpunished.
Whereas most wars are fought against the enemy on the battlefield, this war is being fought with first-eye toward the domestic political battlefield, forcing leaders to worry much more about a howling, defeat-hungry left than what is actually necessary to win the war. Instead of feeling answerable to our soldiers, our leaders seem to feel more answerable to their political opponents and, worse, the Muslim street, the Arab leaders, and the Imams and Muslim “activists” now living in our own neighborhoods.
Even the U.S. is, consciously, only half-heartedly fighting this war. A half century of demented left/liberal thinking has raised tens of millions in America, especially those who’ve gone to university, with a disdain for the West and self-hate of their own country, America.
Americans have been taught to be guilt-ridden, to believe we are the source of the world’s problems. Worse, America is powerful and therefore guilty even if we wish to bring freedom and the enemy wishes to behead and mutilate women’s bodies. The parade of liberal Americans is ever there to condemn our fighting, detention, and even investigation of jihadists hell-bent on killing us and our children.
No wonder Britain has to deliberate away the moments and act rudderless while its soldiers are being openly snatched by the lion into its lair. This is what happens when most of Europe and 35% of America no longer believes in itself, its own culture and civilization. Those that believe in and respect what they are fighting for, as does Islam, receive respect -- even while lacking strong military and technological power. Those that no longer respect and believe in themselves are disrespected -- their ships and crews are hijacked in the middle of day. Those who self-loathe show insufficient reverence for their own people and laws. They care more about the feelings and treatment of terrorists than the safety and rights of fellow countrymen.
No question, Britain is afraid. One minister recently wrote a Saudi prince: “After the train bombing in London , we dutifully enacted the legislation you demanded which would make it a hate-crime for anyone in Britain to criticize Islam.” Britain has shown its fear. Arabia has seen Anglo cravenness and weakness. England is bowing to a new monarch. It seeks not victory but good will and acceptance. “We’ll be good, just leave us alone.” We won’t even fire at those taking our men -- if the kidnappers are Islamic. We’ll fight Argentines -- because we aren’t afraid of them, they won’t behead us in London and, most of all, we don’t feel guilty when fighting others of European, Christian ancestry.
This war is teaching us that all the military power in the world is meaningless if we don’t have the will to use it. Unless things change, radical Islam will over the next few decades sublimate the West, without having to have even raised an army. Where is today’s Churchill?"
"Imagine a World War II movie with John Wayne and Robert Mitchum doing nothing while standing on the bridge of a well-armed war ship watching below as fellow American soldiers are being whisked away by a few Japanese in a small craft in the waters of the South Pacific. We would cringe in disbelief. It would not be soldier-like, patriotic, or manly. What sissies, we would think, what about the spirit of comradeship embodied in “all for one and one for all”? We would be ashamed at such an act of timidity and passivity.
That is what happened last week in the Persian Gulf. A British naval vessel and crew stood by while Iranian boats pirated away a group of British soldiers. Reports indicate that the fire power of the British ship was capable of engaging and defeating the Iranian force. Moreover, British and U.S. combatant aircraft could have reached the scene in minutes but apparently weren’t called. The Royal Navy fired not a shot. How unlike the fire of Britain’s former First Seahand, Winston Churchill, who later proclaimed: “We shall fight them on the beaches; we shall fight them on the Seas.”
This war has become demoralizing because of repeated incidents of this nature: the unwillingness of Western powers to crush the enemy even in service of defending our own people. We have allowed the enemy to think he is braver than us. We have, thereby, emboldened the enemy and made things tougher for ourselves, not easier.
We fire not on their fortress mosques, nor on their ships, nor during their holy days, nor in their holy cities, nor at their “holy men.” We dare not humiliate. Instead, we allow ourselves to be forever humiliated and forfeit our men and women. So concerned are we about not offending Muslim pride we have thrown away our own. The West has decided that all things Islamic are to be granted a reverence we no longer grant ourselves. The sand and plaster of the fortress mosque seems to carry more importance than even the flesh and blood of our own soldiers.
Instead of taking action, the British ship commander telephoned home, to his superiors up the chain of command. The officer did what he was told: “Hold fire.” Perhaps our soldiers in WWII were better off not being equipped with phones back to headquarters. They, at least, could act like and do what soldiers are trained to do.
I don’t blame the soldiers, I blame their superiors. In fact, the superiors might be blameless given they must first consult the military lawyers and politicians: a group not known for physical bravery and valor. The soldiers are afraid of being court-martialed and the military brass is scared to death of being indicted for war crimes.
Really, who can be blamed at all given that the mantra of the war is not victory but “winning over the hearts of the enemy.” Instead of soldiers, we should have sent in a battalion of social workers. The main objective of the war seems not to do anything that “arouses the ‘Arab street.’” So we don’t -- not even the Arab sea.
It seems that many British military leaders and certainly politicians view our presence in the Gulf not as engagement in real war but as part of a peacekeeping mission. And peacekeepers, like UN ones, don’t fire but observe, especially if by shooting they cause an international event that causes politicians discomfort.
Furthermore, by continually referring to this as simply a “war on terror” instead of a war against brazen and aggressive Islamism, we sit by when witnessing that which, while an act of piracy, is not an act of terrorism such as, say, a car bomb in the middle of Baghdad. Instead of battling all Islamists such as the Iranian regime, we have limited ourselves to the al Qaeda types. Thus Iran and its “breach” go unpunished.
Whereas most wars are fought against the enemy on the battlefield, this war is being fought with first-eye toward the domestic political battlefield, forcing leaders to worry much more about a howling, defeat-hungry left than what is actually necessary to win the war. Instead of feeling answerable to our soldiers, our leaders seem to feel more answerable to their political opponents and, worse, the Muslim street, the Arab leaders, and the Imams and Muslim “activists” now living in our own neighborhoods.
Even the U.S. is, consciously, only half-heartedly fighting this war. A half century of demented left/liberal thinking has raised tens of millions in America, especially those who’ve gone to university, with a disdain for the West and self-hate of their own country, America.
Americans have been taught to be guilt-ridden, to believe we are the source of the world’s problems. Worse, America is powerful and therefore guilty even if we wish to bring freedom and the enemy wishes to behead and mutilate women’s bodies. The parade of liberal Americans is ever there to condemn our fighting, detention, and even investigation of jihadists hell-bent on killing us and our children.
No wonder Britain has to deliberate away the moments and act rudderless while its soldiers are being openly snatched by the lion into its lair. This is what happens when most of Europe and 35% of America no longer believes in itself, its own culture and civilization. Those that believe in and respect what they are fighting for, as does Islam, receive respect -- even while lacking strong military and technological power. Those that no longer respect and believe in themselves are disrespected -- their ships and crews are hijacked in the middle of day. Those who self-loathe show insufficient reverence for their own people and laws. They care more about the feelings and treatment of terrorists than the safety and rights of fellow countrymen.
No question, Britain is afraid. One minister recently wrote a Saudi prince: “After the train bombing in London , we dutifully enacted the legislation you demanded which would make it a hate-crime for anyone in Britain to criticize Islam.” Britain has shown its fear. Arabia has seen Anglo cravenness and weakness. England is bowing to a new monarch. It seeks not victory but good will and acceptance. “We’ll be good, just leave us alone.” We won’t even fire at those taking our men -- if the kidnappers are Islamic. We’ll fight Argentines -- because we aren’t afraid of them, they won’t behead us in London and, most of all, we don’t feel guilty when fighting others of European, Christian ancestry.
This war is teaching us that all the military power in the world is meaningless if we don’t have the will to use it. Unless things change, radical Islam will over the next few decades sublimate the West, without having to have even raised an army. Where is today’s Churchill?"
Wednesday, April 4, 2007
We Are Where We Are For a Reason
I think the Jon Walker piece, shown below in full, fits in very well with the Patience vs. Waiting distinction I drew a few weeks back, as well as the events of my life over the past couple months, especially the last week or so. I've learned that as long as we are mentally checked out, living for tomorrow, or constantly trying to better-deal any given situation before we ask why God has us there and try to take from the situation every lesson He has for us, things will never turn out the way we hoped. As my time here in Jackson draws to a close, I survey the last couple of years of my life and see some very hard times...BUT; I also see lessons I would have never learned on my own, places I'd have never gone if it was just up to me or I knew what was coming, and maybe, just maybe the beginning of the rest and the best of my life coming down the pike here directly. I say this often, but I am truly excited to see where God takes me on this crazy journey of mine. It's never easy, but it's worth it.
Somewhere Else
by Jon Walker
“For I have learned to be content, whatever the circumstances.” (Philippians 4:11 NIV)
Community — Have you ever been somewhere you didn’t want to be? Maybe it was a job, a town, or a marriage. Maybe it was a stage in life, like singlehood, or a state in life, like a disability. It’s very possible that as you read this, you’re wishing you were somewhere else – anywhere else – living a different life, but you know it’s not likely that anything is going to change any time soon.
God has a word for you. It’s the same word he gave a group of people when they were stuck in another country, exiled from their homeland. They’d folded their arms and said, “We’re going to wait this thing out, and when we get home, we’ll start living our lives.”
Through the prophet Jeremiah, God told them, “You’re not going home any time soon, so start making your lives here. Plant gardens, buy homes, let your children get married, and pray for the peace and prosperity of the place where you’re currently living because, by doing that, you too will be blessed with peace and prosperity.”
To use a modern cliché, God was saying, “Bloom where you’re planted.”
Don’t invest your energy in hopes of leaving; instead invest your energy in the people around you. The Christian martyr Jim Eliot expressed it this way: “Wherever you are, be all there.” Don’t be physically present but mentally somewhere else, thinking of the future or the past, thinking of someplace else. Our journey with Christ requires that we be fully present in the present.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer called it “this worldliness,” and said, “It is only by living completely in this world that one learns to live by faith.” This focus allows you to see that your life is centered in God and not the place you live or work, not the person you’re married to – or not married to – not how you feel or how you look.
Investing in the people around you is exactly how you find life. Jeremiah even told the exiles that God had arranged for them to be in exile. So it was God’s plan all along to push them to the edge of their existence, so they would end up centered solely on God.
You may feel like you’re in exile too, but God is still working in your life; and his message to you is: Dig in and fully embrace the life around you. So What?
· Center your life in God, not in your circumstances. God is constant; your circumstances are temporary. Ask God, “What do you want me to learn or to do in these present circumstances.”
· Change me, God – Instead of asking God to change your circumstances, ask him to change you in the circumstances.
· Practice being in the present – Today, whenever you find your mind drifting to another place, bring it back to the present, and ask God to help you stay in the present.
· Determine to be a good steward of what you have, instead of focusing on what you don’t have. Make the most of what God has given you."
Somewhere Else
by Jon Walker
“For I have learned to be content, whatever the circumstances.” (Philippians 4:11 NIV)
Community — Have you ever been somewhere you didn’t want to be? Maybe it was a job, a town, or a marriage. Maybe it was a stage in life, like singlehood, or a state in life, like a disability. It’s very possible that as you read this, you’re wishing you were somewhere else – anywhere else – living a different life, but you know it’s not likely that anything is going to change any time soon.
God has a word for you. It’s the same word he gave a group of people when they were stuck in another country, exiled from their homeland. They’d folded their arms and said, “We’re going to wait this thing out, and when we get home, we’ll start living our lives.”
Through the prophet Jeremiah, God told them, “You’re not going home any time soon, so start making your lives here. Plant gardens, buy homes, let your children get married, and pray for the peace and prosperity of the place where you’re currently living because, by doing that, you too will be blessed with peace and prosperity.”
To use a modern cliché, God was saying, “Bloom where you’re planted.”
Don’t invest your energy in hopes of leaving; instead invest your energy in the people around you. The Christian martyr Jim Eliot expressed it this way: “Wherever you are, be all there.” Don’t be physically present but mentally somewhere else, thinking of the future or the past, thinking of someplace else. Our journey with Christ requires that we be fully present in the present.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer called it “this worldliness,” and said, “It is only by living completely in this world that one learns to live by faith.” This focus allows you to see that your life is centered in God and not the place you live or work, not the person you’re married to – or not married to – not how you feel or how you look.
Investing in the people around you is exactly how you find life. Jeremiah even told the exiles that God had arranged for them to be in exile. So it was God’s plan all along to push them to the edge of their existence, so they would end up centered solely on God.
You may feel like you’re in exile too, but God is still working in your life; and his message to you is: Dig in and fully embrace the life around you. So What?
· Center your life in God, not in your circumstances. God is constant; your circumstances are temporary. Ask God, “What do you want me to learn or to do in these present circumstances.”
· Change me, God – Instead of asking God to change your circumstances, ask him to change you in the circumstances.
· Practice being in the present – Today, whenever you find your mind drifting to another place, bring it back to the present, and ask God to help you stay in the present.
· Determine to be a good steward of what you have, instead of focusing on what you don’t have. Make the most of what God has given you."
Sunday, April 1, 2007
Chris's Immutable Law
I actually came up with this law when I was about 20 years old, and it has stood the test of time. Try as I might to escape its truth, I have been unsuccessful (the normal ebbs and flows of life notwithstanding):
"Anyone who says they don't have 2 minutes to pick up the phone and call you or an hour to sit down and have lunch with you is either lying, doesn't care, or both."
I think it was inspired by something my favorite coach from when I played at MTSU once said: "If something is important, if it truly means something to you in here (patting his fist against his heart), then you will make the time and make it happen." I stand by those two sayings to this day, without reservation or qualification.
"Anyone who says they don't have 2 minutes to pick up the phone and call you or an hour to sit down and have lunch with you is either lying, doesn't care, or both."
I think it was inspired by something my favorite coach from when I played at MTSU once said: "If something is important, if it truly means something to you in here (patting his fist against his heart), then you will make the time and make it happen." I stand by those two sayings to this day, without reservation or qualification.
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