Tuesday, January 02, 2007

Nifong and the Black Community

I think that [Nifong] pandered to the [black] community by saying ‘I’m gonna go out there and defend your interests in seeing that these hooligans who committed the crime are prosecuted. I’m not gonna let their fathers, with all of their money, buy you know big-time lawyers and get them off. I’m doing this for you.’ You know, what are you to conclude about a prosecutor who says to you, ‘I’ll do whatever it takes to get this set of defendants?’ What does it say about what he’s willing to do to get poor black defendants?
--Professor James Coleman, 60 Minutes

In Saturday’s Durham News, John Schwade had a thought-provoking column suggesting that the lacrosse case didn’t represent the first time that Nifong had sought to pander to black voters.

The first occasion came in January 2006, when Nifong appeared at a local church, where he addressed a group called Parents of Murdered Children. Schwade described the scene:

After sympathetically describing how he would handle murder cases and assist survivors, Nifong outraged the bereaved mothers with this non sequitur: “You have to remember that when there’s a murder, two mothers lose their sons. There’s another mother whose son will spend the rest of his life in prison.”

This evoked an outcry of “No!” in unison, followed by one mother’s chilling refutation: “She can visit her son in prison. If I want to talk to my son, I got to talk to dirt!”

Despite living in a city where nearly 40 percent of the people are black, Nifong appeared to have little or no contact with the African-American community before becoming D.A. During the primary, his campaign finance reports suggested no grassroots support. Virtually all of his contributions came from lawyers or other people with business before the D.A.’s office, with almost nothing from community leaders, or colleagues in volunteer groups, or longtime non-professional friends or associates.

As his campaign began, then, the appearance before Parents of Murdered Children suggested that Nifong had a one-dimensional, almost caricatured view of blacks. Most prominent black leaders are well to the left on issues of criminal justice and what many of my CUNY colleagues term the nation’s “prison-military-industrial complex”; surely, he reasoned, this all-black audience of mothers would feel the same.

Schwade termed Nifong’s miscalculation “egregious. Blacks are not in solidarity with the worst among them, those who murder their children, or with the mothers of these murderers.” The columnist described Nifong’s approach to the meeting as “indicative of a stereotypical view of blacks.”

---------

Citing the comments of NCCU student Chan Hall—comments that captured the atmosphere of the infamous April 11 NCCU forum—Schwade wonders if Nifong could have believed “that the worst sentiments expressed by members of a diverse group, the demand for injustice instead of justice, were representative of or acceptable to the entire group.”

Not, of course, the “entire group.” This is a controversy where two of the three biggest heroes were African-Americans (Coleman and Moez Elmostafa, joined by women’s lacrosse coach Kerstin Kimel). Yet this affair has featured a disturbing undercurrent of black racism from figures of some standing, unchecked by the city’s leadership.

Chan Hall was the runner-up for Student Government speaker at NCCU, and currently chairs the elected Student Government’s legislative affairs committee. Harris Johnson was a former official in Durham’s Democratic Party. Greg Childress serves on the editorial board of the city’s newspaper. These are, in short, not random people stopped on the street for an interview. Yet to my knowledge, not one community or elected black leader in Durham has publicly criticized this trio’s comments. (Nor did anyone from Duke.) Silence might not imply consent—but it surely doesn’t imply discomfort, either.

Meanwhile, the appallingly demagogic actions of the state NAACP continue apace. Last spring, the organization’s president, William Barber, issued in a ten-point position paper urging calm and concluding, “We must face the results of the investigation when all of the facts are in.”

Yet the organization’s subsequent behavior has contradicted these words. Case “monitor” Irving Joyner has bent over backwards to spin events in Nifong’s favor; legal affairs director Al McSurely has all but foreshadowed the Nifong playbook. And in August, the state NAACP’s website posted a legal memorandum whose bias might have made even Nifong blush. Among the memorandum’s incredible, and inaccurate, claims:

  • “The only Black [lacrosse] player, a freshman, left the party before the dancers arrived.” [This statement is untrue, as Devon Sherwood confirmed when he spoke with ABC; even Nifong had never made such a claim.]
  • “The lacrosse team member asked the women to dance and simulate sex acts between them, similarly to scenes from a book and movie that several of the Lacrosse team members enjoyed reading and talking about—American Psycho.” [No evidence for either part of this assertion exists; Kim Roberts, certainly, has never made such a claim.]
  • “Around 12:20, some men who saw the vulnerable Ms. M returning to the house called their friends who had taken cabs and gone to get some cash from an ATM. Some returned. Sometime between approximately 12:21 and 12:53, Ms. M has stated she was kidnapped into the bathroom, beaten, robbed, choked, and vaginally and anally raped.” [The memo, it appears, hasn’t been adjusted to fit either Nifong’s new timeline or his new theory of the crime; the purpose of this item seemed to be to suggest that Reade Seligmann could be something other than demonstrably innocent.]
  • “The Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) at Duke Hospital confirmed [the accuser’s] injuries matched her reports when she was examined about 2 hours later.” [As Nifong himself has now conceded, this assertion is wholly false, since neither physical nor forensic evidence exists of rape.]
  • “The three defendants they have two mountains to climb. First, they must deflect public attention from their boorish, racist, and illegal behavior by mounting outlandish attacks on the survivor and the D.A. Second, they must deal with a mountain of physical evidence, that is corroborated by, we have reason to believe, accounts of some of the men who were at the party who have cooperated with the police and the D.A. from early on.” [No evidence exists that any player provided statements to Nifong that told the story the D.A. wanted to hear.]
  • “[Joseph] Neff apparently has complete access to the records Nifong has turned over to [Joseph] Cheshire, as long as Neff spins the story against the State.” [This claim is absurd; the NAACP exhibited no problems with the reporting of Neff when Neff worked to free a falsely imprisoned African-American, Howard Dudley.]

Cash Michaels’ latest column, meanwhile, brings expressions of outrage from prominent Durham African-Americans at the defense’s change-of-venue motion. That motion, it’s worth recalling, mentions four items as requiring a change of venue: (1) Nifong’s procedurally improper statements; (2) the actions of the Duke faculty and staff; (3) biased coverage in the Herald-Sun; and (4) community polarization.

The comments of Andrea Harris, president of the North Carolina Institute of Minority Economic Development, typify those that Michaels has featured in his two most recent columns. Harris termed the change-of-venue motion “ludicrous,” explaining, “If there are any people in America that, because of all they’ve been through, believe in fairness and justice, its African-Americans.”

Admirable (and understandable) sentiments, to be sure. Yet, apart from the early, consistent critiques of Coleman, no evidence has emerged to substantiate Harris’ claim—at least as it applies to residents of Durham. The state NAACP and prominent Durham African-Americans remained silent as Nifong targeted Elmostafa, an African immigrant. The Committee on the Affairs of Black People delivered its endorsement to Nifong: were its members aware that their choice was under investigation by the state bar for ethical improprieties? And more than 90 percent of Durham’s black voters cast ballots for Nifong on November 7.

Those voters seemed nonplussed by Nifong’s string of ethical improprieties in the lacrosse case—from his procedurally improper statements to his ordering police to run a lineup that violated their own procedures to his refusal to consider exculpatory evidence. According to an early November poll from Ethical Durham, 47 percent of Durham’s black voters believed that “Mike Nifong has run the [lacrosse] case well and should continue to pursue it”; only 14 percent indicated that he had mishandled the case and should be replaced.

Given Nifong’s conduct—which now has been repudiated by both the State Bar and the Conference of District Attorneys—this 3-to-1 support for Nifong’s actions belies Harris’ assertion of a community unusually sensitive to “fairness and justice.”

---------

An alternative path did exist: the state NAACP could have, as Coleman suggested, used the case to highlight the problems of prosecutorial and police abuse, problems that disproportinately target African-Americans.

Or the local black leadership could have followed the lead of Earl Ofari Hutchinson, a prominent black commentator whose work is often featured at the left-of-center Huffington Post. In a recent op-ed, Hutchinson demanded that the charges be dropped, so as to bring to a close “one of the dreariest episodes in the history of rape and racial victimization cases.”

Hutchinson also searched for lessons to be learned from the case. One, he contends, “is the danger of shouting race in a rape case.” The false allegation in this case, Hutchinson notes, “leaves rape victims of any color and income wide open to the charge that they will falsely shout rape to cover up their sexual misdeeds,” which might cause prosecutors more rational than Nifong to show more hesitance about pursuing true rape claims.

Black leaders, Hutchinson lamented, “missed a chance to go one step further and urged the Duke protesters to cool their rhetoric until all the facts were in. They didn't.” Why? “The great fear of black leaders is that if they rebuke blacks who abuse race to grab headlines, it's tantamount to race treason.”

---------

This unwillingness to challenge the demagogues has paved the way for the last, desperate gap of the figure Liestoppers now terms “Defendant Nifong.”

With the D.A.’s advice coming solely from the Troika—wife Cy Gurney, “investigator” Linwood Wilson, and resident homophobe Victoria Peterson—the Nifong camp played the race card one last time. Last Friday, Nifong citizens’ committee co-chair Peterson (joined by a figure or figures that she refused to name) filed a “civil rights” complaint with the Justice Department.

Among the claims? Peterson says she wants to stand up for the rights of gay people. That’s rich coming from a figure who said the following of gays and lesbians: “Many of them are infected with diseases, and their lifestyles are very, very dangerous. Many don’t live to be senior citizens. Who’s going to pay this expense if they get sick in their gay lifestyle?” And if “they [gays and lesbians] are not infected with diseases . . . they will be, even women.” She even suggested to a North Carolina House committee that all gays are crossdressers.

In some ways, Peterson’s bizarre, frivolous filing represents a fitting conclusion to the role race has played in this case. Since March, Durham has witnessed a pattern of civil rights violations—but by Nifong, of the three players that he targeted. And these violations have occurred with the silence—or worse—of most prominent members in the community that claims a sincere attachment to civil rights for all.

Hat tip: D.D.

46 comments:

Anonymous said...

K.C.,

In my conversations with people from Durham, I get the sense that the black leadership, like the NAACP, is using this as a bargaining chip. The idea is that if charges are dropped and the black community does not get its cherished convictions, then the state "owes" something else to the black community of Durham.

While I used to think that the black leadership really believed Crystal, I realize that is not true. Crystal is not a credible person, and had she made charges against black males, they would not have gone very far.

Thus, the charges have been a mechanism by which the black community can express its resentment of Duke University, and also try to get something in the bargain.

By the way, I now can see why Nifong was so anxious to get Elmostafa. Nifong would have alleged that Seligmann came back to the party, When Elmostafa would have said that was not true, then Nifong could have impeached the testimony of a "criminal."

This truly is frightening. Nifong AND the NAACP literally combining to create lies, false charges, and push for wrongful convictions. I can tell you that I never again will trust the NAACP on anything.

This organization once stood for justice and has done good work in the past on issues of criminal identification. I guess all of that is in the toilet, as the NAACP now is at the forefront of framing people.

Anonymous said...

And... for all his Fantastic Lies, Nifong will be sworn into office tomorrow.

Anonymous said...

Terrific analysis, Professor Johnson. More information needs to be published about Victoria Peterson. Most people don't know who she is. Her prior statements need to be compiled.

Anonymous said...

Chicago writes:

Victoria Peterson was in rare (even by her very bizarre standards) form at the NCCU forum.

Anonymous said...

JLS says....

I agree Bill Anderson, the NAACP has thrown away much of their credibility with me.

And is any here the least surprised that Nifong would stick his foot in his mouth a meeting of mothers of murder victims? Nifong has been a system man his entire life. He has worked with Judges, attorneys and CRIMINALS his entire life. He understand and sympathizes with criminals. He neither understood the mothers of murder victims nor innocent people. He expect the Duke lacrosse players to act like career criminals and play along with the system. That is all he knows.

Anonymous said...

"This truly is frightening. Nifong AND the NAACP literally combining to create lies, false charges, and push for wrongful convictions."

While Keith Bishop had the official public endorsement of the Committee in the May primary, who do you think got out the black vote for Nifong? The NAACP maybe? Durham politics can be very tricky.

james conrad said...

what i dont get is, if duke is one of the largest, if not the largest employers in durham county, then surely many black people work there? and if that is true, why would so many in the black community be so resentful of their employer, duke? is duke really that bad a place to work?

cf said...

Darn it, K.C.This site is addictive. Everytime I check in you have another fabulous piece and your regulars supplement it with even more useful and interesting information.

Anonymous said...

KC -- another fine post. Do you ever get any sleep?

Anonymous said...

KC,

You are making me feel really bad. I can't even get a 600-word book review completed on time.

Anonymous said...

You may have seen this on Ruth Sheehan's page:

http://www.chappaquiddick.org/

Mike Nifong won this year's profile in cowardess award!

Couldn't have happened to a nicer guy.

Anonymous said...

Thanks KC

I've tried to determine what any in the black community could gain from their actions, which add to the reasons for a change of venue (which should not matter now). I can see individuals and some groups grabbing the spotlight for attention, but it's the wrong kind of attention.

Bill provides as good of an explanation as I've seen, but that "bargaining chip" they 're holding is not that valuable, as I see it.

It's like some in that community wants to be heard, but has nothing of value to say. I hope I understand WTH they're looking for before this case is over.

Chicago said...

Another great read KC, outstanding work. I finally signed up for a name on here too.

docweasel said...

“If there are any people in America that, because of all they’ve been through, believe in fairness and justice, its African-Americans.”


yeah, like in the O.J. case!

Anonymous said...

NAACP means nothing more than AHOA, which in reality could equate to a higher rate you pay for any hotel room nationwide! Oh just so you understand, they now own and or control close to 30% of the industry in the US.

I remember a time not very long ago, that some very young people of position in an organization were actually convinced that AARP, "CONTROLLED" the spending of then 34 million Americans! Well that is what aarp told them.

I, and others, reminded them that aarp could but recommend a purchasing decision upon it's members, and that they in fact had NO REAL control over such decisions!

The NACCP has likewise destroyed their own credibility so many time in so many places that they are WAY less than even a "housekeeping seal of approval" organization. They carry the same weight with any decision.

The only thing separating Mike Nifong from actually being a person of the black race is the color of his skin.

Think about it, he is but a single coat of tar from separation from his peer group! Add some feathers and he can become a true TarHeel!

Ezekiel said...

The silence of the North Carolina chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union throughout this imbroglio has been deafening. A search of its website as well as a more general Google search failed to reveal a single reference to the case. An organization whose mandate is "to defend all the freedoms guaranteed in the Constitution and the Bill of Rights" should be outraged by the prosecutorial misconduct placing Messrs. Evans, Finnerty and Seligmann in inappropriately dire legal jeopardy. That is unless taking a position affirming the constitutional rights of the accused collides with the ACLU's class-, race- and gender-obsessed agenda.

Anonymous said...

To Conrad and Ezekiel,

It is true that Duke is a big employer, but race and resentment trump everything else. Also, many of the people who work at Duke but voted for Nifong thought Nifong was hurting rich white people.

It never has occured to them that if there are successful lawsuits against Duke, that it might ultimately PERSONALLY affect them.

As for the ACLU, I agree. The two organizations, the NAACP and ACLU that claim to support civil liberties both have supported Nifong, either actively, as has the NAACP, or with silence, as has the ACLU.

We really do see now that neither organization is anything but an interest group that sees criminal law and the use of prisons as nothing more than weapons to use for their own political causes. They really make me ill, and before this episode, I supported both organizations. No more.

Anonymous said...

Bill Anderson:
"...the NAACP now is at the forefront of framing people."

What's worse, no one in the mass media would ever take them on.

Anonymous said...

The h-s server has been down for at least 20 min. i think they don't know what to say.

Anonymous said...

Is Mike Nifong making history today? Is he:
1. the first NC DA to be sworn in while under complaint from NC Bar?
2. this first DA in the USA to be sworn in while under complaint from his state Bar?

Just wondering. Not a good way to make history or to repeat it.

Anonymous said...

It won't happen.

Anonymous said...

WRAL has just announed the FONG was sworn into office(0800hrs)as the Durham DA for the next 4 years!

Another slap in the face for justice in NC! The Durham circus continues?

Wouldn't this be a grand time for the Federals to arrive and secure his office with crime scene tape?

Wilt

Anonymous said...

Is it true that NAACP is being re-titled to stand for Nation's African-americans Against Caucasian People?

With this case the NAACP has lost all of its credibilty.

FYI...the ACLU has always been weak...so no wonder they are in hiding.

Anonymous said...

Bill...

While there is probably an element of truth to your "bargaining chip" theory, I think you are giving far too much credit to a bunch of lynch-mob racists, driven almost exculsively by their "get whitey" mentality.

You are probably correct that Durham's blacks do not believe Crystal...but even so, they still believe that "something happened", even if it wasn't rape. It's almost as if their NEED to "get whitey" overrides facts, evidence, common sense, and justice.

Going back about 11 years, I can't even begin to tell you how many countless times I heard "I think OJ was there, but he didn't kill anyone". Not a single fact to support their theory, but still it was mindlessly repeated. Truly amazing.

It seems that once an issue can be somehow deconstructed into a black vs white conflict, blacks just irrationally dig their heels in the sand oppose whitey.

Just my opinion.

War Eagle

Anonymous said...

8:09 Anon:

The entire H-S staff was was invited down to the Courthouse to see Nifong, Defendant sworn in. ;>)

This reminds me of Adolf & Eva getting married while Berin burned. At least we know how that one turned out...

Anonymous said...

The H-S site still is down. Guess no one is there to mind the store as they crowded in to see their hero Mikey.

Anonymous said...

Reporters were not allowed to view the oath taking.

like a thief in the dark.

Who gave the oath?

Reporters weren’t allowed to see the 8 a.m. ceremony for District Attorney Mike Nifong and were barred from the building until it opened at 8:30 a.m. Durham County Sheriff Worth Hill confirmed the ceremony had taken place.

http://www.fayobserver.com/article?id=250896

Anonymous said...

KC,

I had occasion over the weekend to visit with a federal judge about the Duke lacrosse incident. He told me that one of the most cynical aspects of this case, based on his experience, was the almost one-year deferral of the trial date to the spring of 2007. He particularly disliked the implication by Nifong that the lacrosse players, in requesting a speedy trial, were trying to "put themselves ahead" of other defendents in Durham who were waiting for their own trials. To Nifong, the lacrosse players would have to wait their turn, and not expect special treatment, simply because of their ability to hire expensive lawyers.

The disingenuous part of the above, according to the judge, is that the vast majority of criminal defendants do not want a speedy trial, because they are interested in delaying a potential "day of reckoning". In this judge's view, there were probably many defendants in Durham who would have happily stepped aside, and allowed the Duke lacrosse players to step ahead of them on the court docket.

To this judge, the very act of requesting a speedy trial could often be taken as a reasonable indicator of a strong belief in innocence.

It would be interesting to know whether any data exists to determine the number of cases that come before the courts in Durham each year that are accommodated by a request for a "speedy trial", and what percentage of such trials eventually result in a finding of innocence.

Chicago said...

9:19-

That is an excellent point. Just another one of the unethical things Nifong did.

Anonymous said...

Thomas Sowell explains why this case is about Nifong election on the www.nationalreview.com

Nifong’s Deliverance
It was all about Election Day.

Anonymous said...

Any quick suggestions from those in the know for colleges to attend as I have more and more doubts about some of the colleges on my daughter's list and most applications are due very soon.

Thanks,
Observer

Anonymous said...

Usage note: please review the definition of "nonplussed"; in short, it means "embarrassed," not "unfazed."

"And more than 90 percent of Durham’s black voters cast ballots for Nifong on November 7.

Those voters seemed nonplussed by Nifong’s string of ethical improprieties in the lacrosse case"

Anonymous said...

Observer,

I know this is a bit off topic, but you asked in a couple of strings what people thought about colleges worth applying to. (In defense of preposition-ending sentence, see http://englishplus.com/grammar/00000195.htm)

I would not change what she has in mind now based on what you have seen in this case. There are loonies at every college campus. The trick is for the student to talk to other students who have taken courses to find out who the loonies are and avoid them. Even if a student inadvertently ends up on one of those courses, there is the shopping period to switch and bright students have usually become pretty adept at feeding back to their teachers what the teachers want to hear, independently of what the students really learned.

If Duke just makes you gag, then she shouldn't apply there. It is important that a student and his/her parents feel proud of his/her choice. (While I am disappointed in the administration and more wary than ever about Durham, I still have pride in the place.) Just don't expect wherever she goes to be a paradise of intelligence and tolerance.

Anonymous said...

Ironically, today is the day to put the finishing touches on the essay, "Why I Want to go to Vanderbilt." It is due tomorrow.

Observer

Anonymous said...

Glad you're covering this story on a blog. It needs to be maintained for posterity.

Exposing Nifong and the NAACP will serve as a strong message to other corrupt political leaders.

2007 is the year when corrupt institutions start waking up to the new reality that is blogging.

Anonymous said...

The DA did one good thing. He brought the problem of false claims of rape to national attention.

Each time anyone would bring up the subject of false claims of rape. "victims' Advocate" always cripple or stifle conversation or debate by clouding the issue with the sufferrings of rape victims to over shadow the suffering of victims of false rape claim.

The premise of these "victim advocates" is that it's not okay to be raped, but it's okay to be falsely accused of rape to protect the possible 50% of rape accusers who are actually telling the truth.

• According to the FBI, one of every 12 claims of rape filed in the United States are later deemed 'unfounded,' meaning the case was closed because the alleged victim recanted or because investigators found no evidence of a crime.
• Howard County Police classified one out of every four rape allegations as unfounded in 1990-91.
• The National Association of Schoolmasters/Union of Women Teachers says around 600 teachers a year are falsely accused - a trebling since the 1989 Children's Act.
• Citing a recent USA Today article, discussing the miracle of DNA and FBI studies of sexual assault suspects, DNA testing exonerated about 30% to 35% of the more than 4,000 sexual assault suspects on whom the FBI had conducted DNA testing over the past three years.
• Purdue sociologist Eugene J. Kanin, in over 40% of the cases reviewed, the complainants eventually admitted that no rape had occurred (Archives of Sexual Behavior, Vol. 23, No. 1, 1994).
• 1985 the Air Force conducted a study of 556 rape accusations. Over 25% of the accusers admitted, either just before they took a lie detector test or after they had failed it, that no rape occurred.
• 1996 Department of Justice Report, of the roughly 10,000 sexual assault cases analyzed with DNA evidence over the previous seven years, 2,000 excluded the primary suspect, and another 2,000 were inconclusive.
• Linda Fairstein, who heads the New York County District Attorney's Sex Crimes Unit. Fairstein, the author of Sexual Violence: Our War Against Rape, says, "there are about 4,000 reports of rape each year in Manhattan. Of these, about 50% simply did not happen."
• Craig Silverman, a former Colorado prosecutor known for his zealous prosecution of rapists during his 16-year career, says that false rape accusations occur with "scary frequency." As a regular commentator on the Bryant trial for Denver's ABC affiliate, Silverman noted that "any honest veteran sex assault investigator will tell you that rape is one of the most falsely reported crimes." According to Silverman, a Denver sex-assault unit commander estimates that nearly 50% of all reported rape claims are false.

james conrad said...

re: bill anderson @8:00 a.m. ......ok,i guess its plausible for race and resentment to trump ones personal economics but considering nifong got 90% of the black vote thats ALOT of resentment...i gotta solution, DUKE, fire the admins, ditto the group of 88 and move to CHARLOTTE, lol. hey, its happened before, wake forest resides in winston salem

Anonymous said...

12:09--fabulous post, but women seem to be born with a getoutofjailfreecard--lol

Props to KC Johnson for the eupemism of the day: "community polarization"

BA, agree, as a society we have to get beyond the "owe imperative" to the "black community"--patronizing and dumb

But here's the thing: If all the ethnic and gender studies were defunded at Duke, some of the savings could be well spent teaching minority children, eg, entrepreneurial skills, etc (10:22: I adhere to AMA style with respect todeleting periods, as in "etc")

Ob, I assume your daughter will be a liberal arts major. I highly suggest she study Chinese and Japanese culture. She should study with the most brilliant and demanding professors. She should know who Thomas Bernhard and Thomas Browne are when she graduates. Make sure she studies the great philosophers, especially Plato and Aristotle. She should learn languages, especially those that contain great literature: Russian, Japanese, French, German, Latin and Italian ("The Divine Comedy" is 1 of the most sublime works of literature)

That's a atart--all those things are gifts your daughter can cherish for the rest of her life.

PS IMO, Vanderbilt is wrong choice--Emory would be my choice

RP

Anonymous said...

O,

1 more thing re Emory: I'm biased toward the school, because I often see its faculty as authors of important scholarly books or articles.

Duke and Vandy profs I rarely see.

RP

Anonymous said...

To 10:16--

"nonplussed" basically = confused.......

.....so KC used it properly.

Most words have a few nuanced meanings. Depends on the context in which used.

There is another poster who is around constantly trying to correct other posters' use of words.

Too funny.

Debrah

Anonymous said...

RP and Duke2009,

Very much appreciate the advice. Emory was on the list, somehow was dropped and now is back on...happily the application deadline for them is January 15.
Will certainly pass on the comments re course selection, too!

Ob

Anonymous said...

We are ALL RACIST. Wheather you have the courage to admit it or not! The White voice in the United States is now gone forever, Long past the point of no return. Integrity, religion even the pride we once had it what we did, ALL GONE. While the Mealy Mouthed whities were worried about offending the Black, The Blacks could care less about the White Race and want nothing more than to destroy us. Well Congratulations to the White Race, We have reached our heigth of incompetence. In 30 years or less The Whites will acheive making the United States a 3rd-World Country, with the Black Race running everything. This Train is on the track and heading High Speed to that End. And it is far to late to change it now. Most of the credit goes to the White Liberals, Thanks you for Destroying this country. The Whites were truly to stupid to live here or anywhere else! Our True terrorists have Always been the Liberals of the United States.

Anonymous said...

3:18

Wahneema, is that you?

KC will delete it as soon as he wakes up, but I enjoyed it, especially the misusage of the term "care less."

Please videotape your return to the classroom for me.

Have you heard that your department will be defunded?

RP

Anonymous said...

It's all about race


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The mentality of those who have railroaded the three Duke lacrosse players can be illustrated no better than with the gross analogy put forth by Kim Brummell in her July 16 letter. Like her hero Mike Nifong, she operates without facts. The film "A Time To Kill" told a story of KKK hoodlums who raped and beat a pre-adolescent black child and left her for dead. Her father was found not guilty for killing them because his reaction was so understandable in such a circumstance. Let's do a 180-degree turn and get back to reality in Durham. The strippers in the lacrosse case are not innocent children and have extensive criminal histories of their own. Mike Nifong is certainly no actor. If he had that craft at his disposal perhaps most of the public would not have been so repulsed when he told a crowd on his campaign trail that he wasn't going to let it be said that a black woman can be raped by privileged white men at Duke University and get away with it in Durham, N.C. The heck this case isn't about race. That's all it's about. It sure isn't about facts and evidence. Using the film "A Time To Kill" and suggesting that it has any relationship to the Duke lacrosse case is inciteful idiocy and tailor-made for the race-baiters living in "Nifong Land." There's an Al Pacino film called "And Justice For All." I and many others will need to employ no dramatic license to say that its script will be played out in this case. All "cosmic justice" seekers look elsewhere.


DEBRAH CORRELL
Chapel Hill

Anonymous said...

Resign and apologize

I stated a while back that regardless of any upcoming situations, Mike Nifong would eventually drop this insane case, after of course he secured his vote in November. Now that he has secured his position, along with some serious national heat he’s drawn upon himself, he’s decided to drop the charges. Now he claims it’s only because the woman has now stated she cannot say with certainty that she was raped.

If that was his true reasoning, then why wasn’t it dropped long ago when the former accuser had eight different stories? Point blank, Nifong used the race card among blacks to get his votes. The only real winner in this situation, despite being a single mom bearing yet another child, is the deranged individual herself, who will be receiving free education from no other than Jesse Jackson.

Dropping the case isn’t enough. Nifong should be forced to resign and apologize to the families he’s hurt. I cannot imagine how this man shows his face in public, without feeling like crawling under a rock.

Oh and if he’s reading, he might also want to drop those ridiculous kidnapping and sexual misconduct charges. Lord knows, it’s only going to cause him more embarrassment.

Anonymous said...

I have four boys and my older two have already gotten letters from several colleges. We've talked about Duke and the way the university threw these kids to the wolves.

Even though these Duke boys are 18 and 19, they are still kids and not experienced with organized racists and feminists groups.

People talk about the actions of normal boys wanting to see naked women dance, but no one is emphasizing the actions of mature and supposedly educated instructors inflaming mob behavior upon their own students.