Monday, February 12, 2007

Updates

The AP is reporting that Amanda Marcotte has resigned from her post at the Edwards campaign.

According to the Liestoppers forum, all recording devices were banned at the Group of 88's rehab tour event earlier this evening. So much for promoting the free exchange of ideas.

40 comments:

Anonymous said...

Edwards didn't have the cojones to outright fire Marcotte so it won't matter, he stands no chance with the Catholic vote. The damage has been done, he has no credibility.

As far as the Group of 88, why would they be afraid of a recording of this historic rebuttal ? You would think that professors of English and the Romance languages would have such a superior command of the English language that their would be no way for us unwashed mortals to misunderstand their words or misconstrue their writings.

Anonymous said...

G88: Shut off (recording devices) and Teach

Anonymous said...

Not to be off-topic on this, but all I have to say is that I hope I never make it on KC's naughty list. Dude digs more dirt than a paleontologist on these numbskulls.

I don't read any other blogs, but this one is so well-written and I'm E'98 so the topic is close to my heart.

Anonymous said...

As for Marcotte, I still believe it had a lot to dowith her comments about the LAX boys. Edwards is a North Carolinian, Duke is in North Carolina.

I'm thinking he was getting a lot of heat right at home, coupled with her comments that got that nimrod Donohue all worked up.

Hell, Donohue-Marcotte ... they are two from the same cloth. Disagree with them on any point and you are evil. Same illogic, same intolerance, same juvenile ranting posing as argument. Those two deserve each other.

Anonymous said...

"but all I have to say is that I hope I never make it on KC's naughty list."

I bet we'd sign up to take one of his classes, however.

Anonymous said...

Glad I don't have to see Marcotte at the Weaver Street Market in Southern Village.

But, I had planned to feed her cats to my dog!!

Anonymous said...

Marcotte blinked. She deleted or replaced her hoax comments and refuse to talk about it. She acted like a she could just revise history. Her attacks on religious groups did not help her.

It shows that Edwards people did not vet her before selecting her. Not off to a good start.

Anonymous said...

Evil is defeated.

Even though I would happily vote for Edwards over another member of the American Taliban World is Flat party (like Brownback, Romney, Gingrich), his hiring of Marcotte was inexcusible.

Anonymous said...

Just wanted to make sure everyone had the opportunity to read the outstanding letter printed in The Chronicle today which was written by Chas Salmen, a Duke senior and soon to be Rhodes Scholar:

QUOTE: After contemplating the lacrosse scandal and its impact for nearly a year, I am convinced that we could not have asked for a better leader than President Richard Brodhead. From the first days of this scandal, Brodhead's thoughtful and articulate statements gave me confidence that our administration was carefully considering the case, even as the pundits and our favorite district attorney continued to reduce complex issues into black and white archetypes. I was greatly troubled by the recent suggestion in The Chronicle that some "detractors" believe our University would have been better served by a leader who took a "firmer stand" ("Leading under fire," Jan. 22). It seems to me that the mentality of firm stands lies at the heart of so many conflicts and tragedies in our world; from posturing DAs maintaining unfounded claims to commanders-in-chief leading nations boldly and blindly into hopeless wars.

Brodhead is a great president because he contemplates with sensitivity the myriad and complicated issues that affect this university, and makes balanced decisions after respectfully listening to all sides. I was surprised by criticism implying that President Brodhead should have recognized and championed the "winning" side from the start, especially considering that so many of our own opinions have evolved and one-eightied over the course of this scandal. By remaining neutral, open and thoughtful from the very beginning, our president led without bias and preserved the spirit of intellectual debate that should always remain a foundation of the Duke experience. There is no one more qualified to lead our multifaceted university, a place characterized by varied opinions, diverse origins and countless passions.

I believe the tragedy of this scandal would be infinitely compounded were we to scare off our fine president in a search for scapegoats. And while I read of criticism in the paper, I know that there are many, many students who feel as I do. The only way we should ever allow Brodhead to leave Duke, is if he decides to run in 2008.

Chas Salmen

Trinity '06

END QUOTE

Anonymous said...

I went to the panel tonight. One speaker's entire presentation was about Durham in Wonderland and KC Johnson and how this blog distorted reality, making the group of 88 an issue. Im a graduating student here and I'll never give Duke a dime.

Anonymous said...

JLS says....

re: 11:13

Sad to see you throw in with the racists and those of Nifong's ilk. But if you see yourself as having that much in common with racists and are comfortable voting with them, that is your choice.

Anonymous said...

JLS says....,

re: 11:20

Well we can certainly see how Chas Suckup got Duke's Rhodes support and I personally would wonder about the GPA of one who penned such a brown nose letter. Brown nosing is certainly a strategy for getting good grades.

Anonymous said...

Looks like Amanda's free to join the Dixie Chicks and make them a quartet.

Now she can claim that she too was denied free speech and 'win' a Grammy for her troubles.

Gary Packwood said...

11:21 Anonymous

Congratulations on graduating. That is a great accomplishment.

The following is from the LieStoppers Board about the big meeting tonight.

So, in true Soviet fashion, they keep the official history of what was said and can claim that whatever is said about them is a misquote or misrepresentation.

Now you know what you saw tonight. The rest of us (most of us) are old enough to remember 'Soviet fashion'.

Enjoy your senior year.

Anonymous said...

Thanks KC
I'd imagine the 88 started out "...the free excahnge of ideas is what we're here for, so SHUT UP and listen to what we'll TEACH you..."

Anonymous said...

I knew a Rhodes scholar and he was pro-administration too. Salmen is clearly operating with blinders on as are many of the silent board members. Broadhead's presidency is severely compromised. At the American Council on Education's annual meeting in DC this weekend, the buzz about Duke was the lack of leadership from the presidency. A president may not be able to control the faculty, but he/she has to defend the university's students until the evidence proves otherwise. The Chronicle of Higher Education has the Duke lacrosse case vs. the Guilford football case compared on the front cover of this week's issue. Guilford's president has handled it differently and the case has a lower profile despite potentially more serious issues (like the physical beating of students of another race).

Anonymous said...

"Looks like Amanda's free to join the Dixie Chicks and make them a quartet."

Because three extraordinarily talented women spoke their minds about the disaster that has become the Bush administration?

Please, stop the madness. Unless, of course, you're willing to answer for the absurdities uttered by the likes of "Yellow cake" Bremer-Tenant-Perle, or the intellectually stimulating rejoinder given to us by "Deferment" Dick Cheney. In other words, go f*&k yourself

Gary Packwood said...

Soon to be Rhodes Scholar Chas Salmen:

Thank you for your thoughts and opinions.

I respect what you have to say and will spend time thinking about your point(s) of view.

Have a great senior year.

Anonymous said...

Hope Amanda is not coming back to Austin. It's not like we don't have enough moonbats voting in local elections.

Anonymous said...

Marcotte "resigning" to spend more time with her cats was inevitable. I like John Edwards, don't begrudge him his Xanadu, and think that some mid-level apparatchik dropped the ball. But he should say something publicly about the LAX case. Not whether he believes they're innocent--I don't expect a politician to have the balls for that. But to at least criticize Nifong.

Anonymous said...

To 11:25 PM:

What a worthless comment.

Anonymous said...

Sorry, 12:15, Amanda never left Austin, but she got her truck fixed! I'll bet she'll be back at the McCombs school soon, working on those financial aid applications. Quick, someone call Red McCombs and/or Joe Jamail!!!!!
Texas Mom

Anonymous said...

"I went to the panel tonight. One speaker's entire presentation was about Durham in Wonderland and KC Johnson and how this blog distorted reality, making the group of 88 an issue. Im a graduating student here and I'll never give Duke a dime."

What did you expect? Did you expect these men and women to abandon their untenable position?

That would mean admitting error.

As we have seen over and over again,those diehards would not change a word of their original attack ad. They have stated unequivocally that they are in the right, and that any attacks on them are based on slanted views and racism (just ignore the fact that we actually read and understood their original statement, and please, pay no attention to the man behind the curtain.)

They can't back down now.

Makes one wonder just how being a teacher at a university is the only job in the world where, after a designated amount of time, and with the blessings of your peers, you get to keep the job for life... also known as tenure.

Anonymous said...

I am struggling for a way to express my true feelings in the absence of a those little laughing-head emoticons that are so popular in instant message and chat programs.

What a fraud! Glad she's gone.

Anonymous said...

Pretty much my response to Amanda Marcotte's nonsense at pandagon.net....

I pray that I had some small part to play in your "resigning" from the Edwards campaign you libelous fraud!

[AM]I was hired by the Edwards campaign for the skills and talents I bring to the table, and my willingness to work hard for what’s right.

[VT]...and you were fired for your petulant and irresponsible mocking of a very serious issue (well...maybe not, but it's nice that the religious right served as a proxy executioner for the families of Duke students which you hurt with your ignorant assertions)...

[AM]Unfortunately, Bill Donohue and his calvacade of right wing shills don’t respect that a mere woman like me could be hired for my skills, and pretended that John Edwards had to be held accountable for some of my personal, non-mainstream views on religious influence on politics (I’m anti-theocracy, for those who were keeping track).

[VT]Really? It wasn't your cruel and ignorantly flippant remarks about the Duke lacrosse team that convinced the Edwards' campaign once and for all that you were a no-talent hack?

[AM]Bill Donohue—anti-Semite, right wing lackey whose entire job is to create non-controversies in order to derail liberal politics—has been running a scorched earth campaign to get me fired for my personal beliefs and my writings on this blog.

[VT]Honestly, I have no idea who Bill Donahue is. At this point, I'm just glad that he has served, in some small part, to derail the career of an incredibly reckless and ignorant writer who neither know nor cares about the people she is libeling.

[AM]In fact, he’s made no bones about the fact that his intent is to “silence” me, as if he—a perfect stranger—should have a right to curtail my freedom of speech. Why? Because I’m a woman? Because I’m pro-choice? Because I’m not religious? All of the above, it seems.

[VT]Yeah...I'm pro-choice, I'm not religious, and I'm ... well, I'm just not aware of what "all of the above means".....so, let's just say that I'm happy that a fraud such as yourself has been denied another forum from which to spout your vitriol, you worthless hag.

[AM]Regardless, it was creating a situation where I felt that every time I coughed, I was risking the Edwards campaign.

[VT]...or every time that you explicitly accused 3 innocent young men of rape, assault and kidnapping....did I mention that I can't possibly contain my glee?


[AM]No matter what you think about the campaign, I signed on to be a supporter and a tireless employee for them, and if I can’t do the job I was hired to do because Bill Donohue doesn’t have anything better to do with his time than harass me, then I won’t do it. I resigned my position today and they accepted.

[VT]HA....HA....HA!!!!! You are such a fraud!

[AM]There is good news. The main good news is that I don’t have a conflict of interest issue anymore that was preventing me from defending myself against these baseless accusations. So it’s on. The other good news is that the blogosphere has risen as one and protested, loudly, the influence a handful of well-financed right wing shills have on the public discourse.

[VT]Ahhhh...I guess as a non-right wing blogger, I'm not included....poor me....

[AM]Bill Donohue doesn’t speak for Catholics, he speaks for the right wing noise machine. You guys pointed this out, you made a stink, you refused to walk into the same stupid trap that is laid out for liberals and Democrats by the right wing noise machine and I think you made a difference. While loyalty played into the pushback some, the real story is that we liberals are not taking this crap any longer and we’re pushing back. And now that I’m attached to only myself again, I’m ready and eager to join in the pushing back with you. Like Lorraine say, Jesus did not say to shut your piehole.
[VT]Who is Bill Donohue? You know that you'd lose a lot of enemies if you just admitted that your unimaginably ignorant statements about the Duke lacrosse case were just that....unimaginably ignorant????

[AM]Obviously, I’m scatterbrained right now. But I’ll be raring to go soon.
[VT]You won't be scatterbrained soon? That's a big accomplishment for some one who seems to have been in that state her whole life.

[AM]In the meantime, I want to share this letter Evan got from Frances Kissling, the president of an organization I adore called Catholics for a Free Choice. She wrote a letter defending free discourse and her religion from being hijacked by the likes of Bill Donohue and other people who dress their reactionary politics up in faith’s clothing. She sent it to the NY Times, and for some reason they didn’t run it.
[VT]Still don't know who Bill Donohue is, still don't care about your justification of what you said about Catholics.....still don't care about Catholics for that matter....still think you're a fraud...

[AM]It’s come to my attention that Donohue’s attempts to separate the Edwards campaign from their employees that were chosen for our skills and talents may in fact be in violation of the tax laws.
Another thing—this has doubled my committment to reaching out and helping highlight when the religious left fights the right wingers who have falsely claimed to speak for all religious people.
[VT]Still don't care about your problems with the Catholics. I'm just glad that you've been discredited by your own pathetic constituency, you pathetic fraud.

M. Simon said...

I agree with Chas Salmen.

If we can't get Brodhead to run in 2008 from Duke perhaps double time or even frog march might be possible.

M. Simon said...

11:53PM,

Here is a fairly complete round up of the Guilford College incident.

Anonymous said...

"Because three extraordinarily talented women spoke their minds about the disaster that has become the Bush administration?"

Thank you for the preview of the inevitable TV movie. (I'm thinking Lifetime?)

Anonymous said...

Marcotte thoughts...

1. Damn it she's moving back.

2. I wonder who she'll end up voting for in '08. Though no Edwards fan, I'm not sure he will ever be leftist enough for her tastes.

3. If you didn't read the IowaHawk blog letter exchange, you're missing something. Language warning...

4. Free speech isn't free. What is so difficult with that concept.

5. What in the world are they teaching these days. Oh, that explains everything.

Anonymous said...

M. Simon: Inre: Guilford College. Is there an effort being made to deport the guests?

Anonymous said...

Marcotte can go to her grave thinking it was Donohue that caused her to lose her job with Edwards. It will never cross her mind that she took a stand that was unreasonable based on the facts that came back to bite her in the ass.

Marcotte, we don't require that you shut your piehole. Just that you grow up enough to recognize that if you're going to open it that words have consequences in the marketplace of ideas. That you are no longer associated with Edwards is a consequence that the market is not buying what you're selling. Learn to live with it and you might improve as a blogger.
You certainly have nowhere to go but up.

Anonymous said...

Bye-bye Amanda. Now you'll have lots more time to devote to your favorite hobby (how did you describe it? "cum-gobbling" or something like that?). You got exactly what you deserved. Good riddance.

Anonymous said...

Perhaps Marcotte can get a job as an English professor at Duke...

Anonymous said...

No Amanda, the blogasphere did not riae up in your desense - only the part that can not form a sentance with out a foul word attached.

Anonymous said...

10:30 AM

Uhhh, that would be "cum guzzling" and she also states that she's proud to do so as a "boozehound."

Is she over 21 (it's hard to tell since she writes like a 13 year old who just learned to cuss and thinks it's cool)? Hope so because, thanks to this blog, we now know the lefty moonbats she writes for become extremely upset over episodes of underage drinking.

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Anonymous said...

The only people writing this stuff to Amanda is Amanda and her gang. Just like the 88 and Gail Dines , they are lying about the emails.

Anonymous said...

This is what democracy is all about, A wonderful man like. Sgt Reagan fighting for the right of Amanda to write her stuff. Bless the Sgt's family and all those like him.

Anonymous said...

Liestoppers writes Michelle Mcean is also gone. Don't need to hear from these gals again. / i

Anonymous said...

I went to the Pandagon site when the Lax article was published. Appalling writing and cussin. I have no reason to return again and won't. Mean spiritedness and haate is never good on my psychic..