Walter Jones told FOX News tonight that he plans to intensify his demands that AG Alberto Gonzales launch a federal inquiry into Mike Nifong's misconduct over the past 10 months.
But in the most significant development of this aspect of the case, the first Democrat, Long Island congresswoman Carolyn McCarthy, has joined Jones. McCarthy, who met with the Finnertys (among her constituents) to discuss the case, penned a letter in which she described herself as "very concerned" that Nifong may have "violated several federal criminal statutes in his vigorous prosecution of" the players.
Said her spokesperson: "We're not saying definitively that his civil rights were violated, but we support the initiative taken by Congressman Jones asking the attorney general to look into it."
McCarthy has a well-deserved reputation as a victims' rights advocate; her endorsement of a Justice Department inquiry should carry enormous weight, and hopefully embolden other Democrats to come forward.
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The irony, KC, has not been lost on me. Carolyn McCarthy.
A licensed nurse in her former life? Interesting.
-Esquire-
-Maryland-
It's about time. And where are the other Congressmen with a stake in this case? Where is David Price of Durham County, NC? Where is Chris Van Hollen of Montgomery County, MD? Their silence is very telling in light of this blatant injustice...The Washington Post, writing to 580,000 DC residents ignored over one million people in Maryland during the early stages of this case, the entire MD constituency. Hey, but they are failing too...
One can hope that this is the beginning of the bipartisonship so needed in this great country.
"embolden other Democrats?" I seriously doubt it. North Carolina is rife with Democrats who don't give a hoot about prosecutorial abuse (against rich whites, for example) . I doubt the national Democrats are much different, given their natural constituents include a near monolithic "Black bloc". Alas, McCarthy may end up being just about the lone exception.
1:11 AM,
That's a joke, right?
1:13 - LOL
LAX Families...don't give up the fight! Look at this progress
As the public criticism of Mr. Nifong escalated, his fellow district attorneys began to hear rumblings that some state legislators were threatening to seek new oversight laws for all district attorneys. The DNA revelations on Dec. 15 only heightened their alarm.
I have no doubt oversight of the existing rules is what they should be doing, but rumbling the halls of railroad prosecution is what you've accomplished...lets keep lawyers looking over their own shoulders!
This is encouraging. Nevertheless, three lacrosse players are still facing false charges. Don't assume this case is over until it is. How could anyone trust Cooper and Easley at this point?
Why hasn't Senator Dole spoken out?
I am a murse and during the Vietnam War knew conscientious objectors who were medics and went into battle with only a broken end of an ampule to protect themselve. Many worked in hospitals for two years for free to make their committment to their country. Nifong is not that kind of guy - no wonder he is a bully and coward.
"Embolden" is a great word.
Nifong traded the bloc vote for three indictments, before the primary. The trial was to be payoff for the November election. Nobody 'wins' the bloc vote in Durham.
You earn it.
I don't know how we can ever trust KC Johnson again. He made us believe that he was posting from the future, then he simply changed the date on his post with no explanation whatsoever. Now, we have no idea from what time period he is posting to this blog. Our trust is irreparably shaken. Shame on you Mr. Johnson. Shame on you!
Wow, KC, you are covering this case like no other media. Every time I come her I see varying perspectives and intelligent critiques of varying perspectives. Thank you for your diligent work. Your site is invaluable.
re: vivian thomas
Huh?
Must see t.v...Joe Cheshire on wral.com...more bombshells to come next week!
Life lessons? Boys, never hire strippers, or you'll be hiring lawyers. Folks, never hire (or re-elect) DA's who are dumb liars: they'll make you look idiotic, and pretty soon they'll be hiring lawyers. Universities, if you must hire cadres of victim-cult profs and a chicken-**** president, try not to let 'em speak publicly, or sooner or later you'll be hiring lawyers.
In life, you always want to try to minimize hiring lawyers.
JLS says...
I think the bipartisan nature of the calls now will surely cause the DOJ to seriously look into this.
Dem Vs. Dem!
Now this, so far, will become the story of the year!
I must express that I'm doubtful that fed involvement at this stage will do any good. Just cost the taxpayers another 2-10 million dollars and come to the same findings we already know!
That nifong and EVERYBODY within the DA's office needs to be immediately fired, Right down to the mail clerk if one exists!
Put them in a bowl and press the flush handle! There is not a single one of them worth keeping, 100% of all attorneys there need to be disbarred for life! It will be a good lesson to them about ethics and responsibilities of public employees to the taxpayers.
NONE should EVER be eligible for civic employment again! At any capacity election or not, they are out and out forever!
Final, a question. Where will the public outrage along with pots and pans demonstrations come from? Will Jessie or Al show up? NAACP, Who will make public demonstrations against the VERY activities that seem to land so many into prisions?
As a dissenting voice, I don't see the need for the Feds to become involved. With Nifong off the case, an objective set of eyes can look at the case and make a decision whether to proceed. I would expect the new prosecutor will dismiss unless the Wendy Murphys are right that we haven't seen the whole story.
I think NC has probably seen the light and will likely make some reasonable reforms to rehabilitate its reputation.
The boys will be able to pursue civil claims against Durham and Nifong and will be able to retain on a contigency basis some of the most powerful plaintiffs law firms in the country. These large plaintiffs law firms can quite honestly bring more talent and resources to bear on this case than an overstretched justice department
i, as a recent resident of north carolina am much more concerned with what the state authorities intend to do. its fine for the feds to inquire about civil rights violations in durham but what the legislature in raleigh does about DA abuses of power is likely to be much more important.
The decision to prosecute was not “political”. Mr. Nifong didn’t win the black vote (in the May primary) and he lost much of the more influential rich white vote.
- Wendy Murphy
Wendy is both a pathological liar AND a complete idiot.
A simple check of the votes in Durham's black precincts shows Mike Nifong carried them by large majorities. The remaining black vote went mostly to the black candidate, who was a non-factor. His serious opposition got almost no black votes.
I think Nifong mishandled the case from the beginning and his removal from the case paves the way for a hopefully satisfactory review of the evidence and dismissal of the case. But I think it would be a mistake to see what happened as simply a case of an individual prosecutor run amok or simply a politician playing on racial anxieties to get elected.
From the beginning, common sense should have told the prosecutor and the police that the woman's charges were dubious. The response of the students, the statements of Kim Roberts, and the original reactions of the police all were strong indicators that her story didn't add up.
While her accusations had to be looked into because she claimed to have been the victim of a horrendous crime, the behavior she had described would have been to say the least, extremely unusual.
But what propelled the case was a belief, widely held on campus, and echoed in much of the Durham community that such behavior was to be expected from the Duke lacrosse players.
Did any of the group of 88, the attorney from the NAACP, the president of the university and parading protestors ask themselves the question "why would anyone want to do the things the players were accused of". And after cooperating with police not a single witness offerred any evidence to support the allegations.
The only explanation is that a lot of people believe that white males want to do these things and will do so if they can get away with it. And furthermore, it is such a predominant view that not a single one would be sufficiently repulsed at seeing what the accuser described that they would come forward to corroborate her story.
The bureau of Justice crime statistics indicate that inter-racial rape is very uncommon. And rapes by white males of black females is now extremely rare.
Did Duke have a recorded history of such sexual assaults. Has there been a single case of a white male raping a black female on the Duke campus in the last five years?
Long after the charges are dropped and the students are exonerated, the Duke community will have to deal with the question of what they were doing to have fostered such prior hatred of the players that it could so easily have accepted the claims of the accuser.
For the group of 88 and for Cathy Davidson in particular, it would be easy to simply blame Nifong for the whole sordid mess. And certainly he deserves plenty of blame. But Nifong wasn't acting in a vacuum. Had he decided not to indict for a lack of evidence, the group of 88, the students from North Central, the potbanging Duke protesters and a lot of Durham's black community would have labled him the same way they labled the Duke Lacrosse players and he would have been vilified in the same way.
Look around campuses today. Check out the leaflets, cartoons and posters on billboards and even faculty doors. Look at the list of outside speakers and take a close examination of the curriculum. You will see that universities are fostering a culture of perpetual aggrievement that encourages the kind of "mobbing" that occurred at Duke.
And if you pay attention you will notice that in small ways, aspects of this drama are played out in classrooms, committees, and Faculy Senates as basically reasonable people do unreasonable things to appease the non-ending narrative of aggrievement.
I would hope that this case leads to some much needed soul-searching. It would be a pity if we avoid such introspection by simply putting all the blame on a runaway prosecution. The investigation and prosecution may have gotten out of hand but there were an awful lot of people leading the way.
Way to get out in front of this thing, Rep. McCarthy! You are so brave to be making this move at this time. Where have you been these many months-- following the story in the NYT? sic semper tyrannis
RE 8:12 GREAT POST!!! i agree academia was up to its eyeballs in trying to railroad these kids. i dont see how colleges deal with this without first addressing tenure. life time appointment with no accountibility has got to go.
I noted from the following article ;http://www.heraldsun.com/durham/4-808621.cfm
that Freedman was quoted as saying that
"He feels, as a result of the accusations against him, that he would be a distraction, and he wants to make sure the accuser receives a fair trial," Freedman said. "He still believes in the case. He just believes his continued presence would hurt her."
I was under the impression that the ACCUSED should be assured a fair trial.
8:24 - we will wait a long time before we see any of the Group of 88 do any soul searching. In fact I am surprised that they haven't circled the wagons around their boy Nifong and issued a statement that to change prosecutors mid stream would be to deny the "victim" her rights. The one thing they all want is a trial because they know the prospective jury in Durham County will give them what they want. The Group is now on a whinning campaign to solicit sympathy for receiving hate mail and threats. They were no where to be found when these accused players were receiving hate mail and threats. No, don't count on any soul searching from those quarters.
5:20
While your "kill 'em all and let God sort 'em out" approach has some visceral appeal, it's simply unfair. There are many employees in the Durham DA's office who have had nothing to do with this case. Many, if not most, have likely had no access to any more knowledge of the case than what's in the media.
No, the fairer and less Nifongian approach would be for only Nifong and Cline - the two prosecutors handling the case - to be disbarred, dismissed, denied their pensions, and investigated by the DOJ.
It should be up to the new DA (unfortunately appointed by Easley, whose previous choice inspires little confidence) to decide beyond that point who keeps his or her job. Admittedly, there should probably be a decimation at that point.
NY al-Times:
''At a court hearing on Dec. 15, a DNA laboratory director admitted that he and Mr. Nifong had deliberately withheld exculpatory information from a report. Mr. Nifong prided himself on integrity, having been a conscientious objector during the Vietnam War, yet the laboratory director’s testimony and his acknowledgment of the error undercut his reputation. ''
I love NY al-Times..They managed to put integrity and conscientious objector into the same sentence.
What a surprise. Nifong is anti-war lunatic. I'm sure Cindy Sheehan is going to spend a lot of time in Durham (once she is off from Cuba - another nice place)
The state of North Carolina has failed to keep its house in order. I don't see why the federal government shouldn't humiliate them a little, by doing their job for them.
It might be the most effective way to force them to make changes, such as giving the state attorney general the power to take over cases that are being mismanaged. The bottom line is that North Carolina needs more safeguards against this kind of stuff.
Unbelievable!
The 88 may have struck yet again!
Tortmaster over on TL quotes the Chronicle as saying that on the poll they ran about whether the guys should be reinstated, multiple negative hits were received from 2 faculty computers!
Will they never stop?????
http://forums.talkleft.com/index.php/topic,1042.0.html
To 8:12:
What we saw at Duke was an explosion that I have figured has been waiting to happen for a long time. We first saw the madness at Harvard when the arts and sciences faculty ran out Larry Summers.
Almost every college campus today is little more than a den of hard-core leftists that try to force their beliefs on everyone else -- in the name of free speech, of course. They control the various committees, control the entertainment and campus speakers, and now are trying to control the professions.
K.C. ran into that problem where he teaches. First, although he is a Democrat, that was not good enough for the left, which tried to deny him tenure, even though his teaching and scholarship record was one of the best -- if not the best -- in campus. (Whenever leftists run into problems like that, they make up the "collegiality" excuse, which is another way of saying, "He doesn't agree with everything we say, so he is a threat to free speech.")
Second, he challenged the NCATE standards of requiring that ALL future teachers have a hard left view of "social justice," and if the did not, they would not be permitted to enter the teaching profession.
What we see at Duke is another episode of this destructive madness. The least productive faculty members are the ones who are attempting to create a dictatorship that all of the productive people must follow.
I am thankful for people like K.C., who are not afraid to speak up, and who are able to shine some sunlight on these roaches.
8:54am Guanyu
Besides Nifong & Cline (what exactly has been Cline's involvement, btw?), Ashley Cannon needs to be looked at closely. She's the one who prosecuted the taxi driver.
Hard to believe that there wan't some witness intimidation going on there.
Your mention of Easley & appointments (lol on 'inspires little confidence'! :) makes me wonder... who would be a good appointment?
Freda Black, who probably should have received the appt in the first place? Any word why defendant Nifong fired her the day after his appt?
'course, all that's a bit premature, or is it? There needs to be a vacancy before an appointment, but I'm guessing that Nifong will be a former DA within the next month or two - loss of license and job have to be the minimum quid pro quo for any deal from the NC State Bar.
What I would like to know very much:
Was Freda Black really ahead in the polls before the Duke lacrosse case?
If so, could someone please provide a reference?
The national media has not talked about this enough. Being down in the polls to a woman you fired is a pretty strong motive.
as mentioned before, Nifong will not get any serious sanctions. Bar committee has three members, one is local democratic party hack appointed by the governor (who is dem and who appointed Nifong). Two members are appointed by the state bar, most likely one of them is african-american (in the name of equality). Therefore, Nifong has at least 2-1 advantage against serious sanctions. However, this has gotten so much publicity (thanks to blogs) that even the big left-leaning seminews organisations were unable to hide or distort the truth any longer so I expect some cosmetic sanctions.
I am proud to have been a supporter of my Congressman, Walter B. Jones, Jr., since his first campaign in 1994.
As for our vapid US Senators, Dole & Burr, that investment has not exactly been paying dividends. On 12/10/05, I sent them both letters elaborating LIEfong's malfeasance and requesting federal (AG Gonzalez) intervention; the full texts of those letters were posted on the LS Board. Still waiting for responses..... Now, if good ol' Jesse Helms was still in office, heads would have already rolled!
to 8:12 -- Excellent post. Thank you for articulating the problem so clearly.
While I agree with you that soul-searching is what is needed I also see that soul searching is impossible since most people are not even vaguely aware of their own attitudes that silently lie underneath the surface.
I think our only hope lies in cases like the Duke Lax case that begin to shed light on our default bias's.
Misandry is a bear.
I think that K.C. elsewhere also made note of a most interesting fact: Nifong releases the "bad news" after five o'clock on Friday afternoons. He knows that many reporters have gone home for the day, and that the Saturday and Sunday editorials have been put to bed. Thus, he saves himself some bad publicity.
This is a person who is thoroughly dishonest, and I mean THOROUGHLY. Everything he has done in this case has been a lie, and I cannot believe that he somehow was an honest man who suddenly began to lie like a dog.
Consider the following list of clinicially defined psychopathic tendencies. How many of them apply to Mike Nifong?
1. Superficial charm and average intelligence.
2. Absence of delusions and other signs of irrational thinking.
3. Absence of nervousness or neurotic manifestations.
4. Unreliability.
5. Untruthfulness and insincerity.
6. Lack of remorse or shame.
7. Antisocial behavior without apparent compunction.
8. Poor judgement and failure to learn from experience.
9. Pathological egocentricity and incapacity to love.
10. General poverty in major affective reactions.
11. Specific loss of insight.
12. Unresponsiveness in general interpersonal relations.
13. Fantastic and uninviting behavior with drink, and sometimes without.
14. Suicide threats rarely carried out.
15. Sex life impersonal, trivial, and poorly integrated.
16. Failure to follow any life plan.
Will they never stop?????
http://forums.talkleft.com/index.php/topic,1042.0.htm
Thanks 9:09
This is really amazing. Who are these faculty members?
My sense of the lack of calls from Congress is that the Black Caucus will absolutely be dead set against ANY federal investigation. Since Nancy Pelosi did not give them everything they wanted in committee assignments, I suspect that they will draw the line here, and it would be interesting to see if Pelosi uses her influence to try to keep the DOJ from moving.
Of course, the DOJ most likely does not want to move because none of the GOP heavy hitters (the few who are left) in Congress have been silent, too. Liddy Dole has been shamefully quiet, but that does not surprise me, given that she was the one who pushed the "underage drinking" issue when she was at the Department of Transportation during the Reagan Administration. Dole insisted that the drinking age be raised to age 21, and any state that did not comply would lose federal highway funding.
Also, I doubt that the "family values" people at the GOP are particularly sympathetic to wealthy white boys who drink, raise hell, and hire strippers. I have contact with some influential people in the evangelical world, and they regard this as a non-story because of those issues. Also, GOP conservatives have been at the forefront of giving prosecutors extraordinary powers, so they tend not to be bothered much by prosecutorial abuse, since they have long believed that prosecutors wear halos.
Neither Jones nor McCarthy are particularly influential in Congress. McCarthy is better known for demanding that all law-abiding gun owners be regarded as criminals, but I am glad to see her wanting the right thing here. But I doubt that ANY influential members of Congress of EITHER party will follow suit. I hope I am wrong, but we shall see....
9:45am Anon:
"as mentioned before, Nifong will not get any serious sanctions. Bar committee has three members, one is local democratic party hack appointed by the governor (who is dem and who appointed Nifong). Two members are appointed by the state bar, most likely one of them is african-american (in the name of equality). Therefore, Nifong has at least 2-1 advantage against serious sanctions."
As mentioned before? You've been posting that repeatedly for several weeks.
Got support for the makeup of the 'Bar committee'? How do you know that it's even been formed / designated yet?
I guess Gang88 is not part of bi-partisan collaboration.
If they were behind these fradulent polls isn't it reason to fire them? I doubt internet rants and polls using Duke computers are what they were paid to do..
10:15 Anon:
'I doubt internet rants and polls using Duke computers are what they were paid to do.. "
Unfortunately, as both KC & Bill Anderson have pointed out, activism is Job #1 for AAAS / Women's Studies. It's what they do, in lieu of teaching meaningful classes or actually doing real research & publishing.
Speaking of publishing, keep a close watch on the G88 CVs, to see which (or how many :) claim the Listening ad as a scholarly publication! lol
Do any NC lawyers know the procedure for the Nifong Bar hearing? Who is the "prosecutor"? Will Collin, Reade and David's lawyers be able to provide evidence? Will there be a public record/transcript?
A question maybe some of you lawyers out there could shed some light on for me.
What is the advantage that Nifong gets from asking to be removed from the case rather than simply dismissing it altogether? Does this in anyway help with his problems with the NC bar?
It would seem to me that the lawyer that he has now retained would have advised him that any competent prosecutor is going to dismiss the case.
Out come the conspiracy theorists. psuedo-political hacks, and uber-talented prognosticators. Goodbye solid, objective discussion.
Bill Anderson, this means you. KC was being run out by 'leftists'? And, gosh, being Democratic wasn't good enough for them? Does that REALLY explain the situation at BC? Or are you becoming GO88-ish in your manipulation of a situation to espouse your own political views?
Shame is, I enjoy much of what you write, when it isn't like this drivel.
10:33 AM
"Goodbye solid, objective discussion."
"...when it isn't like this drivel.'
Can we all get some good solid discussion about the drivel you are referring to? thanks.
Duff Wilson and Barstow have a long front page article in the NYT this morning. It is a good article in many ways, but (1) they still do not discuss AT ALL the political aspects of the situation (namely Mr. Nifong's election/pension situation), and (2) they continue to paint the defense attorneys as master manipulators. UGH.
To the question about Freda Black...that has been discussed several times on this board. I am sure KC has written on this, and there was an opinion poll that indicated Freda Black was running well ahead of Mr. Nifong until this case with all its temptations landed in his lap. You can probably google Freda Black and KC Johnson and find his archived essay.
The Duke Chronicle/TalkLeft re opinion poll...COMPLETELY STUNNING.
Of course, it will have to come to light eventually who was behind this.
Observer
PS BA, What does that acronym, NCATE, stand for? By the way, I should have mentioned you specifically in my toast yesterday, too. Thank you for your amazing work and dedication and cheers!
Is she the Finnerty's Congresswoman?
I do think N Car should bear the burden of cleaning this up, not the feds, but I appreciate her stance.
N Car has to do a number of things, including requiring transcripts of gj proceedings. I want the judge, the legislature and the bar to get to work to minimize the chance of this ever happening again.
10:13:
"Neither Jones nor McCarthy are particularly influential in Congress. McCarthy is better known for demanding that all law-abiding gun owners be regarded as criminals, but I am glad to see her wanting the right thing here. But I doubt that ANY influential members of Congress of EITHER party will follow suit. I hope I am wrong, but we shall see...."
Fortunately, it won't take an Act of Congress to get an investigation by the DOJ going, so even if they're not the senior and most influential members of Congress it shouldn't be determinative of whether this request is acted upon.
For the record, most folks may not realize who Carolyn McCarthy is and why she is so strongly in favor of gun control -- her husband was murdered and her son was critically and permanently injured when they were shot by Colin Ferguson as they commuted home on the Long Island Railroad in December of 1993 in what is known as the Long Island Railroad Massacre. Colin Ferguson is now serving life in prison for killing 6 people and wounding 19 others in that terrible and bizarre incident because of his "black rage" at his victims, all of whom were white and unknown to him. Mrs. McCarthy ran for Congress thereafter because her congressional representative voted against an assault weapons ban. Here's the Wikipedia cite that summarizes that story. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colin_Ferguson
To 10:42.. I saw the same opinion piece by Thomas Sowell. That's actually what got me interested in the whole thing..
Now how is it that something like that only shows up in an opinion piece?
Is the media protecting corrupt prosecutors as well as false accusers these days?
10:33
I think it is obvious that this case has exposed serious problems in the academy. While Duke is not an ivy, it does have a reputation as one of top Universities in this country.
Reading the so-called scholarship of many of these professors calls into question how they could possibly be considered serious scholars. Some of the professors in question have exhibited, to put it mildly, a lack of intellectual seriousness. I don’t think this arises as much from a left wing point of view, but the fact that a leftist point of view dominates our campuses to the exclusion of all others. When alternate points of view are dismissed out of hand it leads to a complete atrophy of reasoning and critical thinking skills.
http://www.becker-posner-blog.com/archives/2006/01/tenured_employm.html richard posner's take on tenured employment.
LIEfong's malfeasance and requesting federal (AG Gonzalez) intervention; the full texts of those letters were posted on the LS Board.
I know in situations like this people want heaven and earth moved to help them but the Feds. stepping in where NC State should and the law is structured that Nifong must recuse himself, is just NOT a good idea. Think WACO, Elian Gonzalez just to name a few.
Nifong has recused, but if you read the NYT's it's pretty clear who WANTS her day in court. She's OK that she has 72.3 stories working this thing and as long as an accuser says she wants to go forward there is some hamstringing of any prosecutor.
What prosecutor number 2 needs to do is interview her to death. Then present her with all the millions of version and say...YOU've screwed your own day in court little lady - no one else.
Please excuse my ignorance:Do we have a situation where the AV was being coached by the DPD and Liefong ?
If so there is a lot of people that Alberto G should be talking to?
10:33
"Out come the conspiracy theorists. psuedo-political hacks, and uber-talented prognosticators. Goodbye solid, objective discussion."
Hello, quasi-intellectual language, where obfuscation of the facts is the goal.
I have read many facts about one of the cases to which you refer, including the decision of the parent university CUNY which clearly supports the contention that Prof. Johnson was being "run out by leftists". In fact, the leftists (radical leftists might be more accurate) did just that--until their decision was overturned.
I await your presentation of facts to support your accusations. You can get started here: http://academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu/
history/johnson/tenure.htm
(You might also want to avoid continued use Nifongesque logic and language--for obvious reasons).
Back in the day, the MSM would have done their part in helping to railroad these 3 boys without one mention of the travesty behind the scenes
Because of the internet and wonderful blogs such as this,the facts have been disseminated,
intelligent discussions have arisen and 3 innocent victims have been able to let their side of the story be told
N&O:
"David Freedman, the Winston-Salem lawyer representing Nifong, said the request did not come easily.
"He deeply regrets having to get out of this case," Freedman said. "He felt his presence would only take away from the story the prosecuting witness has to tell."
um...Prosecuting Witness?
We've heard the last from Mike Nifong for a while. He's got a mouthpiece, now, named David Freedman.
Yesterday, I saw a troubling quote from Freedman:
"He (Nifong) feels, as a result of the accusations against him, that he would be a distraction and he wants to make sure THE ACCUSER (emphasis added) receives a fair trial," attorney David Freedman told The Associated Press."
Apparently, it's news to FreedFong that the accuser isn't the one on trial. In fact, upon recusing himself, it's now up to the newly assigned prosecutor to determine if the case even will go to trial.
This is supposed to be about affording an impartial process to the accused, not the accuser. The reason a prosecutor would recuse himself is not to make sure THE ACCUSER GETS A FAIR TRIAL, but to protect due process for the defendants.
FreedFong have already added a twist to an ancient theorum: two Fongs don't make it right.
Re: Anon. 8:36 AM
I too found Freedman's comment quite confusing, and somewhat Freudian. When precious and DA Flydung start sniping at one another we will all have to hurry to get our popcorn, skittles and sno-caps because the show will be about to begin.
In response to an earlier comment re the ability of the families to hold Mr. Nifong personally liable under a tort theory of malicious prosecution --
North Carolina recognizes this tort and there have been a number of reported cases in the last few years. Here is a sample of such cases reported in the last five years (note that many, perhaps most, cases that are not appealed are not reported -- these two cases are both appeals court cases):
Martin v. Parker, 150 NC App 179 (2002)
Alexander v. Alexander, 152 NC App 169 (2002)
In North Carolina, in order to support a malicious prosecution claim, plaintiff must establish the following four elements: “(1) defendant initiated the earlier proceeding; (2) malice on the part of defendant in doing so; (3) lack of probable cause for the initiation of the earlier proceeding; and (4) termination of the earlier proceeding in favor of the plaintiff.” Best v. Duke University, 337 N.C. 742, 749, 448 S.E.2d 506, 510 (1994) (citationomitted); see also Hill v Hill, 142 N.C. App. 524, 537, 545 S.E.2d 442, 451 (dissenting opinion), rev'd. on other grounds, 354 N.C. 348, 553 S.E.2d 679 (2001).
Here' what I found on the poll:
1/13/07
4:03 AM EST
Originally posted by Anonymous:
I remember a couple of weeks ago The Chronicle had a poll with this question
SHOULD PRESIDENT BRODHEAD HAVE REINSTATED FINNERTY AND SELIGMANN?
and I remember that by far the most voted option was
- NO, DUKE DOES NOT NEED STUDENTS LIKE THESE.
But now it is TOTALLY GONE. No traces of it.
This disappearance reinforces the impression that The Chronicle's presentation or coverage is biased in favor of the accused!!
- THIRD
---------
I also remember that poll. It was remarkable that it seemed to reflect that there might be a large segment of the campus community who is silent, but strongly believes that even if the evidence is not enough to prove that Duke lacrosse players did not commit a crime, they certainly have brought disgrace upon Duke University, and the entire academic community.
That alcohol abuse, and the sexual exploitation perpetrated against this poor women was the real cause of the problem.
AND NOW THE BUSTING STARTS. THE DUKE CHRONICLE MODERATOR LAYS IT DOWN.
Anonymous
1/13/07
4:15 AM EST
From Duke Chronicle forum moderator:
"I also remember that poll."
You are the same poster as the original one. You have the identical IP address, and we would like to strongly suggest you to stop abusing the freedom of this forum, under penalty of having your "IP class" banished altogether. Thank you for your cooperation.
Duke Chronicle
AGAIN FROM THE MODERATOR:
Anonymous
1/13/07
4:20 AM EST
"If the result was genuine..."
IF is the keyword. We have taken it off the web after an internal investigation has revealed that two Duke faculty-owned computers have been the source of hundreds of fraudulent "clicks" attempting to influence the result of the poll. We are trying our best to maintain a climate of even-handedness and freedom of opinion, but we might have to disclose the sources of the attempts to falsify the pool, if forced. Thank you for your cooperation.
Duke Chronicle
(night forum moderator)
AGAIN FROM FACULTY MEMBER:
Anonymous
1/13/07
4:43 AM EST
Here is my IP 152.3.25.8
Ban me if you can .. !!!
And yes, it corresponds to a Duke departmental computer. But that doesn't make me faculty.
I am surprised that our night forum moderator, who posts "anonymously" didn't claim she/he traced the IP to Mike Nifong office.
So let's look at this, and what it means. A Duke faculty member just got caught saying that the poll asking if it was a good idea for the students to come back was a good idea. This faculty member was posing as a genuine member of the community, and that the poll was truly a genuine read on the community feeling. Truth is, this faculty member hit the poll many times to manipulate it, which is dishonest, and quite a concerted effort AGAINST the LAX players.
This same faculty member then tried to pose as a different user, to further the image against the players. This is a long way to go, isn't it? Planned, concerted effort based on baised.
In a hilarious fashion, the Duke Chronicle moderator busted the faculty member for doing this, and then the faculty member denies being a faculty member, even though...it was...done on a departmental computer. Busted, but still defiant. Kinda like the Gang of 88! Notice not a comment about how being busted throws his/her assertions about the poll right out the window.
What all of this does is simply go on to prove that the Duke faculty members and their apologists have been on a racist, sexist, classist witch hunt, and hate the players for being white males with pressumed wealth. THe players can't get a fair shake at Duke. This faculty member is not indicative of the entire faculty, of course, but this does go to show not only the bias that exists, but that the nature of the bias is idealogically driven, and strong. Indeed, even in the face of knowing the players are innocent, the offending faculty is more committed to being right, and hanging the players for who they are, than to commitments of REAL social justice.
Sad, revealing, racist,sexist, classist, and overall just pathetically brainwashed.
Hmmm...
David Freedman, the Winston-Salem lawyer representing Nifong, said the request did not come easily.
"He deeply regrets having to get out of this case," Freedman said. "He felt his presence would only take away from the story the prosecuting witness has to tell."
I posted the original link to the Herald Sun. I see that the News and Observer uses the phrase "prosecuting witness" vs. "accuser."
I believe that when I read an article on Sports Illustrated.com that the phrasing was "accuser" as well.
I truly hope that the future handling of Nifong doesn't become Kibuki Theatre designed to pacify the masses without accomplishing anything. Given that KC reported in an earlier post that only the DA, himself, can recuse himself, I fear that the "fix" is in.
Is it possible that Nifong went to the NC AG and agreed to recuse himself in return for no state prosecution? Is it possible that the AG has, as another commenter on this site suggested, given marching orders to the special prosecutor to do a cursory examination of the case--just enough to look objective--and then to dismiss it asap? That would bring some satisfaction and would, perhaps, give some cover for a subsequent failure to pursue Nifong for his transgressions.
Is it possible that behind the scenes, the Bar committee has worked out a deal for a reprimand of Nifong for only the publicity complaint, and in return for his acceptance of that reprimand, will agree not to act on the other complaints?
I wonder this because I have been reading John Gatto's Underground History of American Education recently. What struck me about the book is his conclusion that big institutions began to exist--not primarily to achieve the goals for which they were created--but solely to protect themselves and their "systems". They begin to act, not on the basis of a moral code, but solely on pragmatism designed for self-protection.
Thus, to use one of Gatto's examples, the school tolerates the bullying of children by other students in order "to oil some greater wheels", as he puts it.
Another commenter (anon 3:57am) noted on KC's post, The Path From Here, that the District Attorney Association, in its pronouncement that Nifong should step down from the case, may have been motivated by the legislature's dicussions regarding placing greater restraints on prosecutors. The commenter said:
"Unbelieable! The other DAs could care less about ethics, civil rights abuses, evidence tampering, etc. They just want to continue to operate without being constrained by "inconvenient" legal restraint."
That would certainly fit the pattern described by John Gatto.
So, the question remains, how will the NC system protect itself? By doing the right thing and holding Nifong FULLY accountable? Wouldn't that depend on how badly the system, itelf, will be hurt by going through such an "accountability process"?
Am I being too cynical here?
Soon there will be dynamic role reversals all around. When those now on defense get to play offense, oh happy day.
I always thought someething like this would happen if a case looked fishy. The DOJ would send a few somebodies to the area and investigate what was going on. It never occured to me tha DOJ would ignore something like this for ten months and make no comment. I thought DOJ would let the people know they were on the job. What a disappointment in the justice system. Would Bobby have avoided this? I don't think so. Cowards all.
May 2, 2006
MIKE NIFONG, DURHAM DISTRICT ATTORNEY: There have been people who`ve said that I should have given this case up a long time ago.
Some people have accused me of orchestrating this whole thing as an election stunt.
This is not about an election, this is about doing justice. Part of the job of being the district attorney is not just convicting the guilty, part of the job is freeing the innocent.
For the sake of our system of justice, I encourage everyone to step back from the situation and allow that system to do its job.
what will be interesting to see, assuming that the NC AG agrees to appoint special prosecutor, is whether the Feb. 5 hearing goes on as scheduled.
I am not sure what 10:33 AM means. The situation that KC faced at Brooklyn College is well-documented, and anyone who has dealt with the hard left on college faculties (and who is not a member of the hard left) can attest to the tactics that they use.
The departments which have a large presence of hard left -- like history and English -- are especially likely to punish people who do not think along the same lines. That is a fact of life on college campuses today. That is one reason I chose economics as opposed to another discipline in which someone with my libertarian views would have been less likely to be hired.
As for Carolyn McCarthy, I do not discount the personal tragedy in her life. However, Ferguson used a handgun, not an "assault rifle." I happen to own an "assault rifle" and it is no different in substance than a regular rifle, except that it has a bayonet clip on the end of the barrel.
Now, I do appreciate the fact that she is willing to provide some representation for a family in her district, and I hope her efforts are successful. I have my doubts that the DOJ will intervene, but we shall see.
11:54: I think you have the Nifong quote incorrect
What he actually said was that part of the DA's job was
_framing_ the innocent
11:35 Jerri Lynn Ward, J.D.:
All your hypotheticals are possible, of course. Some comments:
"Is it possible that Nifong went to the NC AG and agreed to recuse himself in return for no state prosecution?"
I would hope that any deal Nifong has been negotiating (and there's been plenty going on in the background) would include at least his resignation as DA, and perhaps the surrender of his license.
"Is it possible that the AG has, as another commenter on this site suggested, given marching orders to the special prosecutor to do a cursory examination of the case--just enough to look objective--and then to dismiss it asap? That would bring some satisfaction..."
As much as it pains me to say this (because of the inherent delay), I hope the appointed special prosecutor, if inded one is designated, will perform more than a perfunctory review. I don't say this to imply that there's 'something there', but a perfunctory review won't fly with the public (to the extent that any resolution ever can), and I think would ultimately not serve Dave, Collin, and Reade very well.
"Is it possible that behind the scenes, the Bar committee has worked out a deal for a reprimand of Nifong for only the publicity complaint, and in return for his acceptance of that reprimand, will agree not to act on the other complaints?"
Nifong's actions re: DNASI were so egregious, and so public after Meehan testified to them under oath, that I don't think the NC State Bar can sweep this under the rug.
Freedman says Nifong wants Crystal to be able to tell her "story" in court. So do I. I just wonder which of her many contradictory "stories" she plans to tell next.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What do we want?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Justice!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Justice!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Justice!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And when do we want it?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Now!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Now!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Now!
9:43 Anon:
"Was Freda Black really ahead in the polls before the Duke lacrosse case?"
I've searched a few local media sites & haven't found anything yet. Have a few emails in to local reporters to see what they can provide. I'll post as soon as I hear anything.
KC, Bill Anderson, and ALL:
I've found it interesting that the defence was able to develop their excellent 'who's on first & in what orifice' motion of a few days ago in such a timely fashion - it had to take quite a while to parse through all that, and then cross-reference it to prior stories.
The DA's office must have provided the defence with the interview notes fairly soon afterwards - any idea when the DA did provide it? And did they provide it voluntarily, I didn't see any motions to compel its production?
re: 11:35
Gatto is well-known as a proponent of unschooling which is a child-led learning educational philosophy similar to non-coercive parenting. I know a fair number of parents that practice this form of schooling and the results can be truly spectacular.
Elements of institutions do exist to propagate themselves. We have families and lifestyles that we'd like to keep and keeping our jobs into the future, some distance out is natural human nature and can be stronger than the desire to fulfill the stated goals of the organization.
In companies, it tends to happen a little less because of the drive for the bottom line so that individual employees need to provide enough value to the bottom line or be very good at hiding.
At this point, a guaranteed pensions is a valuable thing indeed. Corporations have moved to 401Ks so that they don't incur the liabilities of pensions which means that the employee has to manage their retirement assets over the long-term as employees and retirees and many don't have the skills to do this.
A government pension that is guaranteed by the state can look very attractive as corporate America retreats further from providing retiree benefits.
States all over the country are starting to run into pension issues and state taxes will have to go up to fully fund pensions at the state and local level. Property tax issues around the country are already a touchy subject so this makes it more inflammatory.
But one can appreciate why government workers so highly value the pension and have a strongly vested interest in winning the gold ring.
One other issue is that private employees with wages that aren't keeping up with the rising costs of needs see legislators looking to raise taxes to fund pensions. The private employees see that they have no guaranteed retirement and resent the guaranteed retirement funded by tax dollars.
--------------
Events have truly accelerated this month with this story growing tentacles to deal with other issues.
The 88 appear to be somewhat bungling at technology not understanding the power of the blog (they've been blogslapped - something that I came up with last night), attempting juvinile attempts to use technology (that Chronicle poll) and crying to their administration for help when they can't deal with the email load.
On the internet, don't bit off more than you can chew. You have demands on your time and the internet, for most people, doesn't pay them for being online. Other than satisfaction which has value; just not monetary.
I don't know how KC does it. We only have to read and post but he's clearly scouring the news, contacting players and doing analysis and writing on the topic. And moderating posts.
Classes should be starting soon for him if they already haven't so that's a heavy workload but I think he's single which makes it easier. And I assume that he's working on a book.
Regarding the evangelicals lack of interest in the case: I went over to WorldNetDaily.com and looked for the story. They had two articles near the bottom on page 2. So I guess that I'd have to agree that this story isn't reasonating with the evangelicals.
"What is the advantage that Nifong gets from asking to be removed from the case rather than simply dismissing it altogether?"
Nifong enjoys a twofold advantage from removal instead of outright dismissal of the case:
1. He bleeds the defense longer. Costing them money and emotional hardship is something that likely fits with his idea of "justice".
2. Since he is not the one to dismiss, he won't take the heat for dismissal from those sympathetic to the FA.
He'll probably land a nice cushy job at UNC Law School. Does he deserve that? No way. Is the climate at a left leaning University such as UNC sympathetic to him? Way.
Remember, it is his alma mater and employment there would keep him on state payroll, getting him his 100%retirement vesting.
12:41 Michael:
"blogslapped"? I love it! Hurry over to Urban Dictionary and become immortal! ;>)
Google only brought up 1 hit for 'blogslapped':
“That Was Zen; This Is Tao”
Jan 23, 2006 entry
Would someone please share evidence that the NC Bar is more eager to taking action now (against Nifong) than when they were with the Gell case case prosecutors?
Nifong probably doesn't need a lawyer to represent him for Bar Complaint if the Bar is just going to wrist slap him like they did to the Gell case prosecutors. But perhaps Nifong gets his legal representation paid for my NC taxpayers, so there is no monetary drain on his wallet to have a lawyer.
WRAL says that NC AG will talk to reporters at 2:30 today about Lax case.
Nifong was no Atticus Finch, the courageous lawyer in the novel "To Kill a Mockingbird".
There was a mob in Durham, on and off the campus, howling for blood and he rushed to get an indictment even though the evidence strongly suggested he had a very poor case.
The physical evidence (The DNA) contradicted her story.
None of the witnesses including the second dancer supported her story.
The accuser's identification of names and descriptions was hopelessly flawed by contradictions.
One of the indicted had irrefutable evidence that he was at an ATM machine at the time of the alleged rape.
The only evidence that something illegal had taken place was the claim of the accuser, a woman with history of erratic and criminal behavior, a woman who had made an unsubstantiated claim of a rape ten years earlier, and who was from the description of all witnesses at the scene virtually incoherent from a combination of liquor and pills.
For sheer prosecutorial incompetence it would be difficult to come up with indicting the Finnerty who was identified by the accuser as 270 pounds, David Evans as the person with a mustache (who had never had one) and Seligman who was photgraphed at an ATM machine at the time of the alleged rape.
All of this happened in April and there was virtually no complaint from the Duke faculty and administration for at least half a year.
Newsweek reported Seligman's younger brother asking
"how bad things happen to good people?"
Too often the answer is
"when good people are too cowardly to object to what bad people are doing".
That is social justice in the academy in the early part of the twentieth century.
Re: jerri lynn ward j.d. 11:35 am post:
No, you are not being too cynical. My brother works for a large NYC law firm. He says they joke that if drugs were legalized and true tort reform became a reality, more than half the lawyers in the U.S. would be out of a job.
The legal establishment is big business that isn't regulated by anyone but themselves.
Coupla more questions for the peanut gallery:
Nifong's / Freedman's comments about meeting w/ Crystal:
- to give her the news (of his recusal) himself
- he made his mind up (to recuse) while talking to her
- he'd made his mind up earlier
Anyone else note that these (and more) varying stories are so similar to his multiple comments re: the secret swearing in ceremony?
Supoena served on Crystal while at defendant Nifong's office:
Did anyone else think this was weird? It was a defence supoena, right? HTF did they know she was going to be there!?!? Or was it just a case of the Sheriff's office having the supoena in their hot little hands, and knew that she was there because bldg security is in their baliwick? Sheriff's dept doesn't appear to be Nifong's lapgog (re: comments to press the AM of the secret ceremony).
In any case, what a nice bitchslap (no pun intended :) to both Nifong & Crystal to have it served at his office!
Dunno about service rules in NC, but other states allow service to person's attorney, of course. Nifong is not Crystal's attorney - did they just get lucky, or would service to DA's office be sufficient in NC?
Also means that Crystal doesn't have her own attorney (yet), or that defence doesn't know who they are (not likely!)?
SO, NOW THAT THE N MAN IS HISTORY, CAN WE DISCUSS THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM?
Bill Anderson: I wish you would dispense with your silly euphemisms, eg, "least productive faculty." There are a lot of brilliant left-wingers out there, so please try to be precise in your language.
What Professor Anderson is really saying is that, because of racial quotas, there are a lot of unintelligent faculty at places like Duke who are cognitively unprepared for any kind of creative, cutting-edge scholarship (the "Karla Holloway imperative").
Being stupid, these "professors" gravitate to silly, politicized BS, "pursuits" like black and gender studies. They are not well read, so have no idea that their pursuits are about as relevant as bingo at Google office parties.
8:12--You address a crucial element in this PC stew: how these lightweights profit by "fostering a culture of aggrievement." Congratulations, sir/madam, you have identified the elephant in the room; therefore you have also zeroed in on what the Duke rape case is really about.
re "aggrievement"--8:44 refers to this "hate mail" that was supposedly sent to KH, et al. I sent probably the most repulsive "hate mail" Holloway ever received. What did I write? I told her the truth, that her paycheck is basically a welfare check given the fact that she has no business teaching at a school like Duke. I told her that I considered her unintelligent and that her presence at Duke was parasitic.
This culture of aggrievement, as M Simon brilliantly pointed out, is taking away our liberty, and, by extension, causing our sons to be persecuted because of their gender and race. I wrote a fabulous post yesterday that NO ONE responded to about the incredible lack of funds at Duke for the successful cultures of China and Japan. No full professors teaching Japanese literature, for example.
So, now that we realize that the culture of aggrievement is literally "out to get your sons," the question becomes: "How to end the culture of aggrievement"
There is a course taught in the AAAS dept about the slave trade. Should there also be a course in AAAS dealing with black-on-white crime--from a global perspective?
You see what's going on? The "aggrievers" know that the "majority" culture is afraid to address the "minority's" dirty laundry, so the illusion of the legitimacy of minority aggrievement goes uncontested except in certain unregulated media--LOL
It's time to tell blacks, women--whomever--that you have to grow up and wake up to the fact that we're living in a big world where--unfortunately for them--the aggrievement paradigm is obsolete.
As a culture, we can no longer afford to appease the aggrievers. We have to root their BS out of any institution we fund. Let them teach women's studies at a laundromat, black studies at Morehouse.
Defund all politically oriented courses immediately. Fire those who will not comply (that means you, RB). Reassess what's academically important and worth funding (RB, you should be ashamed of yourself re Chinese and Japanese scholarship at Duke).
Most importantly, start telling the truth, and stop using euphemisms.
Roman Polanski
It is frustrating to me that the Wilmington Journal and significant other members of the Black press, African-American community leaders, significant African-American scholars and self-annointed feminist crusaders continue to champion such a "paragon of Nubian female virtue" as a stripper with a criminal record and a history of dishonesty.
Each editorial that would place Crystal Gail Mangum upon a pedestal lowers those already on them.
Monday, we will celebrate the life and accomplishments of an extraordinary American. I hope that day will afford everyone, particularly Cash Michaels, Wendy Murphy, Mike Nifong, Victoria Peterson and Karla Holloway, time to reflect on the distinction between a true King and a false queen.
God bless 1:43, the King family and James Brown.
RP
Well said 1:43!
Ob
Here's a link to the poll: justoneminute.typepad.com/main/2006/08/deconstructing_.html. I hope it works. There were a couple of polls at different points in the campaign.
Observer
I spoke with an acquaintance of mine a few days ago, who is one of the best criminal defense attorneys in the state, about his opinion on all this.
The North Carolina Bar doesn't have a strong record of reining in other lawyers as we all know; however, this seasoned attorney said that although the Bar performs at a snail's pace and he cited the Gell case as a pathetic example.....
....he believes that because the Duke lacrosse case has received such nationwide...even international exposure, they will act against Nifong in a substantive way. They will be forced to as everyone is watching.
He also said that if it can be proven that Nifong colluded to hide the exculpatory DNA evidence that would have cleared the players, look for him to be disbarred.
Klieg lights are a bitch for a criminal like Mikey.
Debrah
The New York Times has a decent article on Nifong's departure today.....on the front page.
One significant morsel of info that I had not previously read is that the bar opened an investigation on March 30, 2006......just three days after Mikey began his tirade and his medis blitz.
Sweet.
Poor Mikey had no clue they were watching his every move and listening to his every syllable from the start.
LIS!
Debrah
....make that "media" blitz, of course.
I hate typos!
Debrah
1:40
Your post should be required reading. You hit it out of the ballpark.
Great work!
I'm also glad you cited M. Simon. His posts are also must-reads.
2:42 & 2:50 Debrah:
Thanks for your info, Debrah.
"He also said that if it can be proven that Nifong colluded to hide the exculpatory DNA evidence that would have cleared the players, look for him to be disbarred."
Was he serious? Hell, the extra-judicial statements are more than enogh to have him disbarred.
The hide-the-DNA-results caper should result in the Bar preferring criminal charges to the AG.
If that doesn't happen we'll know for certain that Freedman is worth every penny he charges.
GP,
Agree, the obstruction of justice charge should send N boy to the pokey for a long stretch. The publicity will definitely hurt Nboy.
Is Mikey a virgin?--LOL
RP
Back on the subject of the "early spring poll" done by Freda Black's campaign showing that she was ahead based on name recognition before the Duke case...I cannot find a direct link to the poll, but several articles mention the poll, including Peter Boyer's New Yorker artice and Stuart Taylor's Slate article. Whoever is looking for this poll may want to contact Freda Black, since the actual poll does not seem to pop up under any of my Google searches. Maybe someone else will have better luck.
Observer
Well at least we finally found out how far a DA has to go before a democrat will defend a white person (who is not Clinton)
1:40
You're an obvious racist.
Karla Holloway is a brilliant, moral beam of light for Duke.
God bless her.
You go to hell, you white-male pig!
9:36 gprestonian
You're right that Cannon should be looked at carefully. However, it strikes me that she probably didn't have any significant involvement since she quit over a sexual harassment claim. If she knew where any skeletons (other than the harassment claim itself) were buried, Nifong would probably have found a way to appease and keep her on board.
Regarding appointment of the next Durham County DA, courthouse scuttlebutt was that Easley wanted to appoint Cline, but outgoing DA Jim Hardin suggested Nifong instead due to personal loyalties. That being the case, we'd all better hope that Cline gets disbarred too. How sick would it be if the second chair on this case ended up as the next DA in Durham?
Roman Polanski sez:
Defund all politically oriented courses immediately. Fire those who will not comply (that means you, RB). Reassess what's academically important and worth funding (RB, you should be ashamed of yourself re Chinese and Japanese scholarship at Duke).
Most importantly, start telling the truth, and stop using euphemisms.
You are an anti-realist.
Since 90% of crime is committed by people with IQs less than 90, we have to have something for such people to do.
Being really hooked into the politics of resentment keeps them off the streets, for the most part. Jail takes care of a good proportion of the rest.
"The Anti-Realist" has a nice ring to it.
"90% of crime with IQ less than 90'
Where the hell did you get that information, given the obvious fact that there is absolutely no IQ data for most criminals.
Please share your wisdom.
"90% of crime with IQ less than 90"
Maybe 90% of criminals who get caught. Since most cops aren't that bright, they mostly catch stupid people. They probably frame as many above average people as they legitimately put in the pokey.
To Bill Anderson and JLW, JD: right on vis a vis most of what you've put down here today.
Particularly want to second JLW that your 11:35 comments were not too cynical.
And 10:33 anon: I don't know your experience of, or familiarity with, leftist witch hunts on college campuses, but I'm supplying the following link to a website whose principal is quite an expert on this subject--David Horowitz--who, yes, does have an adenda some would describe as rightwing, though I must say for me it is an agenda I wholeheartedly support. Look for the link in the upperleft corner re academic freedom. Of course, if you're quite familiar with Horowitz already and find his approaches to academic freedom uncredible or completely over the top, then maybe you should examine your own views after rechecking his. Or...you could even contact KC re this issue, as my understanding is that KC is someone who has a greater appreciation for Horowitz's efforts in this area than he once did.
http://frontpagemag.com/
And then there is the continuing question of whether the Feds will intervene. As I've noted elsewhere, the law and, even more, historical legal custom do not bode well for intervention. I won't belabor the whole point again here about how the Feds historically have deferred to state criminal prosecutions re common law crimes like rape. On the other hand, I know I've made it sound on some posts re this issue as if the Feds will sit on their hands no matter what. I can only look at history on this, but who knows, maybe the blog-inspired MSM exposure will change all this, which thanks to bloggers and other principled others is more consistently pro-Duke Three than otherwise, (lots of "otherwise" still out there of course, well documented yet again by KC in this weekends posts).
Nevertheless...as a technical matter of course white males are covered by the 14th and other Amendments and various civil rights legislation, even though the genesis for much of this legislation was to protect from abuse "persons of color." And even though the legislative intent behind the legal acts, coupled with the fact of the real wrongs the acts--whenever enacted--were meant to address in terms of injustices being too-frequently visited upon minorities--apart from all this, the Feds theoretically have an obligation to step in even when a white guy is getting railroaded. Yet, in the post-60's civil rights legislation era, they rarely do. And that is the crux here. Looking for Fed intervention when a white male has been wronged by state government actors over the last 30 years or so is not a Google search that will pull up lots of relevant or useful hits. I don't doubt that there are in fact important cases out there in this area--love to hear about them in fact for those out there in blog-land who may know of them.
As to this case...it looks like the Feds are poised to at least pretend to get involved, a la the PR assuaging they may do I've expounded upon on other posts. And I've seen some posts that suggest that the wading into this issue that the Feds are now doing has been in the works for sometime. More will doubtless come out on this blog and other Duke Three blogs in the coming week. Now the Feds at least have cover in the sense that the state has acted, so if they intervene meaningfully now they can still claim to have deferred to North Carolina having acted first.
However it all unfolds, the bloggers are on it! And that gives me some satisfaction in this otherwise horrendous and sordid affair.
anon 7:02
The short answer, having not until just now seen the posts on which your comments are based here, is called statistics. When political pollsters poll a thousand potential voters, and then make predictions about how 50 million people will vote, what they do is called "statistical extrapolation," for which extrapolation there are in the statistical world margins of error of so many points. Now sometimes the political polls are wrong, and other statistical sampling can be unsound at times too...nevertheless, the pratice of statistical sampling reveals many valid truths, including those related to race, IQ, and criminality.
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