Friday, May 06, 2005

Robertson stands by his This Week statements

Sen. Frank Lautenberg wrote to Pat Robertson urging him to apologize for his remarks on THIS WEEK. Robertson has responded and The Carpetbagger Report has it. From Robertson’s letter:

“It is my firm conviction that Supreme Court decisions which have led to the wanton slaughter of 40 million babies; the removal of cherished religious truth from the schoolroom and the public square; the usurpation of the constitutional powers of our elected representative, such as yourself; the sanctioning of pornography and the potential destruction of marriage, are all of themselves graver dangers in the decades to come than the terrorists which our great nation has defeated in Afghanistan and Iraq. I owe no one any apology for my point of view, because in these matters I believe that history will bear me out.”

Jim West

Closet cases are dangerous:

For a quarter century, the man who is now Spokane’s [Republican] mayor has used positions of public trust - as a sheriff’s deputy, Boy Scout leader and powerful politician - to develop sexual relationships with boys and young men.

And often hypocrites:

Politicians who take extreme positions on sex are not always what they seem, said Duree, 87.

“I saw people like West when I was a prosecuting attorney,” said Duree. “These people who were so goosy towards sex.….. They’re the ones you’ve got to watch,” he added.

He was caught in a Gay.com chat room by a reported posing as an 18 year old. Romenesko points to the journalistic ethos involved:

Here’s what Poynter’s Aly Colon says about the Spokesman-Review using a computer expert to pose as an 18-year-old man in a gay chat room for its investigation of Spokane’s mayor: “I think it’s a risk, a journalistic risk, to ask people to believe you’re telling the truth when you’re engaging in a fictional approach. The threshold has to be very high.” Colon says the paper’s approach reminds him of police entrapment. Media ethics prof Jane Kirtley adds: “It is not an appropriate role for journalists to be conducting sting operations.”

An advocate of outing, I’m not so sure about that. I want more real investigative “reporting” from reporters and less press release/news conference/PR event “coverage.”

More from Crooks and Liars, AMERICAblog and Steve Gillard.

Liberal lambs to the slaughter

At first I thought it was a hoax (where is East Waynesville? Georgia no doubt!) but here’s the video:

For those that thought that there has not been a full scale war lanched against liberals; for those who didn’t take the radical right’s promise to “eradicate liberals” seriously, I present to you, Exhibit A:  East Waynesville Baptist Church has just kicked out all its Democratic members.

UPDATE: North Carolina, not Georgia. This from Steve Gilliard reflects my opinion on the matter:

I want people to keep something in mind. In the deepest part of red North Carolina, people were incensed by this. People were deeply offended by this stuff. I mean 40 people walked out of a church many of them had been in for decades...This is less a sign of dominionist America than a reminder that Americans disliked being bullied.

A pastor chasing liberals from his church is not the threat; everyone can agree that is beyond the pale. To that extent it is of service to the liberal belief in a separation between church and state. The threat is the many much smarter conservative pastors who infuse politics more covertly into their congregations.

UPDATE 5/08/05: I’m Just Waiting for the Robot Invasion points to AP, Pastor Says Ouster a Misunderstanding. Indeed. He’s not without support,"He’s a wonderful, good old country boy,” Pam Serafin said as she walked into the church. I’m sure he is.

5/11/05: The pastor quits.

Karpinski’s demotion

James Joyner is amazed that it took so long:

Janis Karpinski , the former commander of the 800th Military Police Brigade during the time of the Abu Ghraib abuse scandal, has finally been demoted to colonol from brigadier general...It’s amazing this action took so long. She was in command of the prisons. Whether she knowingly turned a blind eye to the abuses there or was simply clueless about the things going on in her command is largely immaterial.

I’m not surprised by the time it took or that it is seen as clearing her. But shoplifting?

...the Army’s inspector general recommended that the sanctions be based on a broad charge of dereliction of duty, as well as on a charge of shoplifting, essentially clearing her of responsibility for the abuse at Abu Ghraib prison. As commander of the 800th Military Police Brigade, Karpinski oversaw more than a dozen prison facilities in Iraq in 2003...Karpinski’s shoplifting charge stemmed from a misdemeanor incident in which she allegedly stole cosmetics in Florida before she was promoted to one-star general. Her failure to disclose the arrest was against Army regulations.