RattlerGator Blog

What the 2006 Mid-term Elections Will Mean, Personally

When I began blogging somewhere around Memorial Day 2004, I egotistically wanted to have a conversation with myself about my ongoing transformation from a center-left Democrat to a center-right Republican -- with the even more egotistical thought floating in my consciousness that I might be able to turn it into a book two years or so down the road. Never mind that narcissistic thought (for now) but still uppermost in my mind is my political move away from the politics of most African Americans.

Purposefully choosing to be a cultural orphan is more than a notion, believe me.

That said, the 2006 mid-term elections will serve as a good marker for my journey. The opening of the 110th Congress will likewise serve as a good endpoint for my future retrospective. At present, the 109th Congress shows the House of Representatives with 229 Republicans, 201 Democrats, 1 Independent, and 4 Vacancies. The Senate has 55 Republicans, 44 Democrats, and 1 Independent. I presume the 110th Congress will convene on Wednesday, January 3rd, 2007. Unless something extraordinary occurs, that will be the date-certain I use to review my personal political journey and examine how it mirrors any observable political transformation in the nation.

About the 2006 mid-term elections, Hugh Hewitt provides a context for my future review:

The Washington Post continues its election eve blitz, but again goes over the cliff with this story: "Midterm Vote May Define Rove's Legacy: Big Losses Could Dim Aura of Bush Advisor."

First, some very basic political history:

In the 1986 election, Ronald Reagan saw the Democrats gained a net eight seats in the Senate and take control from the Republicans with a 55-45 majority. The Dems added 5 House seats to increase their majority to a 258 to 177 margin in the lower chamber. For the math challenged, that is an 81 seat majority for the Dems.

In the 1974 election, the sixth year of eight Republican presidential years, the Watergate/pardon election saw Democrats add four seats in the Senate, for a total of 60 Democrats.  Democrats crushed the GOP in the House, adding picking up 49 seats for a post-election day margin of 291 to 144 --a 147 seat edge!

In the 1958 election, Ike saw the democrats add 14 senators (including two from Hawaii) for a 65-35 Democratic-GOP split.  The Democrats added 48 seats in the House and controlled that body by a margin of 283 to 153.  Again, math fans, that's a 130 seat edge!

Now, with some facts in hand, go back and read the Post's agenda journalism.  President Bush's unique electoral record is matched only by FDR's, and FDR's Democrats lost 76 House in 1938, and six Senate seats.

The Bush-Rove political legacy is already established, and even a narrow loss of both the Senate and the House would not dent it.  If neither body's GOP majority is held, but the margins remain narrow, the Bush-Rove record becomes the most potent political performance in modern times for an eight year presidency, and if either or especially both are held, retire the laurels.

I am used to MSM's almost maniacal determination to diminish the Bush Presidency and especially its political skill.

But facts are stubborn things.  If Bush and his policies in Iraq were as unpopular as the left (including MSM) says they are, the GOP would be facing numbers like those in '86, '74, and '58, or even '38.

That the GOP's candidates and operations are in fact in reach of holding both bodies 10 days out speaks volumes about the president, Karl Rove, and the MSM's ignorance of history.

This frames matters for me nicely; historical context is provided and mainstream media bias is unquestionably documented. Beautiful, just beautiful -- with the extra-added-benefit of  being yet another look into Democratic Wing of the Democrat Party misunderestimation. President Bush has already made history and the congressional losses, if any, will be historically insignificant (admittedly, however, losing control of either chamber will still be bad for the country). But if the Republicans maintain a majority in both chambers, it will be an extraordinary accomplishment in American politics and 9-11 Republicans such as myself will be a primary reason for that accomplishment.

That's what the 2006 mid-term elections mean to me, personally.

The Barack Obama Media Splash

LaShawn Barber has an interesting take on the obsessive coverage of late on Senator Barack Obama. The comments that follow LaShawn's post offer a standard fare of varying opinions often associated with race and national politics, or so it appears to me. And that's not to say they aren't good and interesting -- they are. What's more interesting to me, however, is that it appears to have taken until the 79th and 80th comment to bring up Hillary Rodham Clinton's race for the Presidency because my personal bias says this is all a very carefully planned orchestration by the Clinton political machine.

Hillary isn't upset by any of this -- she is one of the primary planners of this whole charade. They clearly want him as the "dream" V.P. candidate. Regarding the earlier comment about him not supporting a local Democrat who bucked the machine, he has obviously worked with the Illinois machine because that is an essential component of the national Democrat machine and they are zeroed in on 2008.

What's the script? You plant a series of stories now, ginned up by the party machine which is flying him around the country, just before the midterm elections, to try and excite a loyal black base of voters in an attempt to turn out this year *AND* allow them to fantasize about a black president in 2008 (as we all know, mediocre black turnout is bad news for Democrats).

Next, Barack Obama's obvious inexperience allows you to place him on the 2008 ticket [doesn't have to be Hillary; any Democrat will do] as a V.P. candidate and you push his Ivy League credentials as well as his fast-learning "brilliance" (y'all do remember the fawning over Hillary's "brilliance" during the Clinton administration, don't you?) to argue that on-the-job training combined with his well-documented intellect will obviously be sufficient to carry him through.

This is all quite obviously orchestrated; only time will tell whether it works.

Dubya Unveils His Rope-A-Dope Strategy and Comes Out Swingin'

President George W. Bush today held a vigorous press conference at the White House, clearly demonstrating his intent to sprint to the finish of the November elections by blasting the surrender monkeys dominating the leadership of the Democrat Party and dominant in their leftwing base. The president opened his press conference (in part) with this statement:

Recently, American and Iraqi forces have launched some of the most aggressive operations on enemy forces in Baghdad since the war began. They've cleared neighborhoods of terrorists and death squads, and uncovered large caches of weapons, including sniper scopes and mortars and powerful bombs.  There has been heavy fighting.  Many enemy fighters have been killed or captured, and we've suffered casualties of our own. This month we've lost 93 American service members in Iraq, the most since October of 2005. During roughly the same period, more than 300 Iraqi security personnel have given their lives in battle.  Iraqi civilians have suffered unspeakable violence at the hands of the terrorists, insurgents, illegal militias, armed groups, and criminals.

The events of the past month have been a serious concern to me, and a serious concern to the American people.  Today I will explain how we're adapting our tactics to help the Iraqi government gain control of the security situation.  I'll also explain why, despite the difficulties and bloodshed, it remains critical that America defeat the enemy in Iraq by helping the Iraqis build a free nation that can sustain itself and defend itself.

Strong, clear and resolute -- I didn't see the press conference live on television or listen to it on the radio but it reads well. This followed up a strong visit to Florida yesterday where the President, for instance, took clear aim at the cost of allowing Democrats to run either house of Congress:

SARASOTA - Look around the dinner table and add $500 to your tax bill for each child, President Bush said Tuesday as he sought to persuade voters that Democrats would destroy the economy and the family budget if they took over Congress.

"When you go to the voting booth in two weeks, the lever you pull will determine the taxes you pay for years to come," Bush said on a fundraising swing through Florida aimed at adding nearly $1.4-million to GOP coffers. "You will feel the results every April 15."

The president's recent political speeches have offered various zingers aimed at making ominous the idea of Democrats in charge of the House or Senate, either on the subject of tax cuts or fighting terrorism. On Tuesday, Bush singled out for special emphasis the gradual doubling of the child tax credit from $500 to $1,000, one of several cuts passed during his administration with expiration dates.

"If you're sitting around a dinner table and there's two children, your taxes just went up $1,000 if they take control," the president said. However, many Democrats have said they want to retain that tax cut.

In 2001, when it originally passed by a 282-144 vote, most Democrats voted against it because they said it was part of a Bush-backed tax package that provided meager tax relief in the early years, was far more costly than GOP estimates and was tilted toward the wealthy.

Of course, they also insisted that the economy would tank and that the deficit would explode not to mention doom and gloom would settle all over the country. Hasn't turned out that way despite the best efforts of the media to paint just that picture. Clearly singing the same tune from the same songbook regarding Dubya's Tuesday performance in Florida is AJ Strata:

Bush slaughtered the left today and he will do so for 14 straight days now. And he is going to get maximum impact from this effort because for 6 years the man has been keeping his powder dry and waiting for when he would most need it - the 6 year itch election. I listened this morning to Laura Ingraham and JP O’Rourke whine and moan about having to vote for Republicans - it was pathetic. Knock two more conservative talking heads of my list. They were echoed by a local talk radio host Chris Corr (sp?) who is always talking about what he never gets from politicians. This pity party from the right about not getting all they want is just another version of the ‘what about me’ garbage I could never stand with the Liberals. Politics is NOT about getting all you want, it is about working together in a common direction. You may not like every step of the path, but the choice is either right path or wrong path. “Quickest” and “Purest” don’t exist in politics. The sooner people realize this the sooner conservatives can govern and create ‘momentum’ instead of pouting every two years and giving themselves to thoughts of payback and revenge to their side. It really is getting old.

So Bush is out showing why all these amatuers aren’t winning elections. All the calls to get out and do something earlier were tactically a disaster. The maximum impact of any force is to deliver it quickly, over a short time period. With two weeks left the Dems will not be able to respond or deflect the onslaught. And since Bush has never been this energetic and stinging, he has maximized the surprise effect. It will be a real head turner. A glib and sharp Clinton was old news in his sixth year. On Bush we see a new, strong, dominating side. He kept this under wraps until he really needed to push the Democrats back. All those years of bluffing Mr. Too-Nice, of feigning the bungling fool, of wearing the facade of someone who would never open an attack, have shown Bush to be the most patient of poker players to play the game. I could see at once that the Bush October surprise was going to be “Bush Unleashed” - and now the Dems will see what they are up against. And the Dems will complain and whine and say life is unfair, and once again demonstrate why they do not have what it takes to lead this nation in this time of great threat. What, are they going to whine about how unfair Bin Laden and Al Qaeda are? Are they going to complain the terrorists don’t fight fair? Of course they don’t. But Bush is fighting fair - he is just outmaneuvering the Dems once again.

The rope-a-dope is thus unveiled and all of those punk ass surrender monkeys who have been hoping and praying for American failure are going to have to sweat for the next two weeks. Bring the pain, Dubya; drop the hammer on them donkeys. It's time to surprise all the pundits and make history for the next two years.

America's Secret Weapon

Many Americans have experienced the curiosity of coming into contact with foreigners living and working in this country who insist on the stupidity of Americans, as opposed to the same relative stupidity of humanity wherever found on this planet.

I won't argue the point in this post because I think I may have only now stumbled onto an insight that helps explain that mistaken foreign perception. Instapundit linked to a Steve Gillmor post on the death of TV which included a commenter who referenced this quote from David Foster Wallace:

[Wallace:] TV is not vulgar and prurient and dumb because the people who compose the audience are vulgar and dumb. Television is the way it is simply because people tend to be extremely similar in their vulgar and prurient and dumb interests and wildly different in their refined and aesthetic and noble interests.

[Commenter:] The Internet has finally allowed us to rise above the mass audience programming requirements of TV.

I don't have time to write more about the point but I suspect this also relates to America's role as a "model republic" for the world. Our republican form of government as a democracy allows for the necessary evil of self-government to function in spite of the too-often co-optation by "vulgar and prurient and dumb interests" but really sparkles as a home for religious and commercial freedom.

This is why there is no other place on the planet quite like America and also why some foreigners can't quite "get" the brilliance that makes this nation what it is. They have such a limited concept of what constitutes the "best and brightest" among a people along with an overly broad definition of "dumbing down" that human creativity is stifled.

A Note on Atheism

The always interesting Gagdad Bob of the One Cosmos blog had a nice paragraph in a recent post discussing atheism:

Many in the west have been so poisoned by secularism that it is difficult for them to any longer perceive God. For that is a key point. The existence of God may be easily proved, but only to a generous intellect that is inclined to accept the evidence. To the intellect that so not so inclined, no evidence will ever suffice. But make no mistake--it is absurd for a wholly contingent being to make any absolute claims whatsoever.

To the extent that human beings may conceive of absolute truth it is because we participate in absolute truth. One such absolute truth is the metaphysical certainty that “God is the being that cannot not be.” Human beings, on the other hand, are much more difficult to account for--in fact, impossible for materialistic science to explain.  Of this I am certain. 

Impossible for materialistic science to explain -- as has been proven by centuries of new and revised explanations piled upon new and revised explanations. The whole piece should be read but I'll close with a couple more paragraphs:

The intellect corrupted by secularism will nevertheless come up with its own substitute wisdom, such as this little neo-Marxist bon mot by our post-civilized visitor: “Reinvention is key to the progress of the individual.” Er, wrong. The key to the progress of the individual is not “reinvention,” if for no other reason than we are not invented to begin with--at least not by ourselves. Rather, the key to progress--both psychologically and spiritually--is self-discovery. 

And where was that self before it was discovered? What is the ontological status of the “I” that exists in potential but awaits deployment in time? It is none other than the spark of divinity known as your soul. As one progresses spiritually, one becomes aware of the soul in the same manner that I became aware of the depth and beauty of modern jazz. It is not something you can ever discover empirically, for it is not a thing you can look at, but that through which you look. For as Meister Eckhart observed, “the eye with which we see God is the same eye with which God sees us.” Suffice it to say that this perfectly accurate statement makes no sense to the atheist, because he lacks (or is alieneated from) the perceptual apparatus to understand it--that is, the intellect properly so-called.

Beautiful stuff, especially given that atheism is convincingly defined as "a post-civilized primitivism, pure and simple." As always, the comments are interesting in and of themselves.

Stay the Course, America, Stay the Course

Dafydd ab Hugh has a good post up that's related to other postings by Jonah Goldberg and Patterico. Read them all, but I loved his take on staying the course in Iraq:

[W]hat does "stay the course" mean? Let's start by getting rid of the straw ham: what does the phrase not mean? It does not mean you must rigidly maintain identical tactics throughout the war, never changing your orders even in response to an evolving enemy. Knock that off the table right now.

In fact, while Bush says "stay the course," his generals frequently switch tactics and even general strategy (or strategery, if you prefer): we run a riverine campaign; we fight along the borders; we attack in the provinces; we go door to door in Baghdad. Some campaigns are successful, others (such as the current Together Forward in Baghdad) are less so and need to be revamped.

But we're constantly changing; and in fact, such fluidity is precisely the point over which Secretary Rumsfeld and Gen. Shinseki fell out: the Secretary of Defense wanted a faster, more mobile, more responsive, and more flexible military with a smaller footprint. Gen. Shinseki wanted to stick with the Powell Doctrine, which was essentially how we fought Vietnam, Korea, World War II, and the Civil War under Gen. Ulysses S. Grant.

* * *

[Here's] what's happening in Iraq right now: we appear to be sailing in the wrong direction, inconstant, hysterically swerving from left to right to left. But in reality, we know exactly where we're going, and we're just trying to find the right heading at any given moment to make way.

Roger that. The surrender monkeys are howling long and hard, trying to paint the worst possible picture of our mission in Iraq. From my vantage point, the proper context was (and remains) as Dafydd said it was in this prior post -- responding to Jonah's disappointing assertion that had we known in 2002 or so what we know now, America would never have gone to war with Iraq:

Oh, I quite agree: if Congress had known in 2002 that Iraq was only twenty minutes to midnight, instead of two minutes to midnight, it would have punted on the invasion. Congress would instead have settled upon a really, really, really strong letter to Saddam, asking him to be nicer.

But that's not the definition of a mistake, Jonah Goldberg notwithstanding. After all, had Congress known just how bad the Civil War would get, with 600,000 dead Americans and a nation ravaged by all four horsemen of the Apocalypse, it's very likely they never would have voted to go to war; they would have accepted the secession of the Confederate States of America instead.

I do not believe it was a mistake for the Union to fight the Civil War. So thank God they didn't know what was going to happen.

Quite right.

Oh, Chris . . . Chris, Chris, Chris!

Chris, my man: how could you throw the game away, baby?

Florida loses to Auburn, 27-17, but we live to fight another day (still number six in the BCS). Unfortunately for Chris, his fourth quarter mistakes (and no, I didn't think his first one was a "fumble," it should have been an incomplete pass) are the kind that are hard to accept from a 4-year starter. I have purposely avoided the papers and internet boards but I think Stewart Mandel calls it right at Sports Illustrated:

Weeks from now, months from now, probably even years from now, the Florida Gators faithful will still be talking about those two fourth-quarter plays.

No, not Chris Leak's beautiful 32-yard floater down the sideline to Dallas Baker. Not his textbook option pitch to Andre Caldwell for a 27-yard gain.

If No. 2 Florida doesn't make it to Glendale, Ariz., in January, the only thing its followers will remember from Saturday night's 27-17 loss to Auburn will be the senior quarterback's fumble (or was it an incompletion?) and interception that cost the Gators the game and, most likely, their shot at a national championship. It's sad, and yet, for a guy whose career has had more ups and downs than an elevator, it's also cruelly fitting.

Agreed: cruelly fitting. In that way, he's cursed. It's a crying shame, but that's football for you. It can be quite harsh. He can certainly redeem himself and I believe he will. But that Auburn fourth quarter is going to be a permanent part of his legacy. I believe this opinion is certainly true because a Chris Leak partisan like me was sitting at home Saturday night watching that game and thinking, prior to that unfortunate 3rd down play, I sure wish Tebow was in the game. I was thinking such a thought because (1) all we needed was a field goal, and (2) the likelihood for a weird turnover would be reduced. Think about that one; a Leak partisan preferring Tebow, a true freshman, at a time like that.

That says it all, I do believe. Suck it up, Chris. You can still lead us to an SEC Championship, and we still have an outside chance of making the National Championship game -- just as we did in 1996, when a superior Florida team lost an equally ridiculous game at FSU.

Army Strong!

The United States Army has produced a great video that I highly recommend. YouTube has a version of it up; it's called "Army Strong" and it's damn good:

The biggest, baddest, boldest, finest fighting force on this here planet.

And don't you doubt that for one second, baby bubba!

African American Failure On Full Display

There is a remarkably embarassing display being presented up in Durham, North Carolina where an egomaniacal and paternalistic prosecutor is playing out his warped concept of "Great White Father" with the unthinking and blinkered support of the local black population.

And it is truly sickening to behold.

Part of me wants to write about this through some long exposition on the sickness that is creeping ever more deeply into our ability to employ rational common sense, but it's not in me right now. There's just too much "noise" going on in my world right now. I have posted about this Duke Lacrosse Case twice already (April 7th -- It Appears That The Duke Lacrosse Team Has Been Royally Screwed; April 24th -- Say What!?!). But today I do have some incredible links that are just jaw-dropping to me; the absurdity of this case is truly mindboggling.

[1] For an indication of how some New York folks take a critical look at the outrageous agenda journalism of the New York Times, review Rape, Justice and the 'Times' -- New York Magazine

[2] For a review of the outrageous abdication by the "small" local paper of investigative journalism and the pursuit of truth, review the fantastic blogger KC Johnson via Durham-in-Wonderland:

The district attorney flooded the Herald-Sun with advertising, spending more than $7,500 on various Herald-Sun ads. Freda Black, though better funded, spent scarcely half as much on the Durham newspaper.

The relationship, it appears, has been mutually beneficial. The ad-strapped Herald-Sun received a disproportionate boost in advertising revenue. Editor Bob Ashley, meanwhile, has overseen a pro-Nifong news/editorial barrage characterized by excluding all mention of anti-Nifong items; blatantly distorting the remarks of Lewis Cheek; publishing an article on the DNA evidence that bordered on journalistic fraud; and claiming that Nifong was “unopposed,” despite Cheek’s presence on the ballot.

It’s worth noting, however, that yesterday’s article by John Stevenson contained a (subsequently verified) scoop—that the three accused players, plus Kim Roberts, would be appearing this Sunday on 60 Minutes. The article was also scrupulously fair, quoting from the police statements of Roberts and the accuser’s “driver,” Jarriel Johnson.

I hope this Stevenson piece signals a return to more balanced journalism, at least on the news pages of the paper. Early in the case, Stevenson produced several good articles, suggesting that he is capable of solid journalism when not straightjacketed by Ashley.

At the very least, yesterday’s story must have produced chills in the offices of Nifong and the Durham Police. Stevenson says it’s unclear whether Johnson cooperated with 60 Minutes. An even more intriguing question: did any police officers involved in the investigation secretly cooperate with the news program?

[3] Jaw-dropper number 1: read this whole piece from The Johnsville News blog and tell me something isn't seriously wrong with prosecutor Nifong.

[4] Jaw-dropper number 2: read this whole piece from The Johnsville News blog and tell me, again, something isn't seriously wrong with prosecutor Nifong.

[5] For a review of the outrageous abdication by the "big" local paper of investigative journalism and the pursuit of truth, review their own October 5, 2006 Editors' Blog post at the News & Observer. But let me warn you, it ain't pretty, especially if you give a damn about objective journalism. For example, this reader lays it out:

Dear Ms. Williams:

I hate to do this to you, and I am going to try and do it in a nice way, but I am about to point out in dramatic fashion that you are not being real truthful here.

You said you did not publish the quote from the interview of the accuser because it was unsubtantiated opinion. You said that was standard journalism at your paper. I say -- NONSENSE.

Here is what your paper wrote in an article entitled, "DA changed bond status for second dancer," on April 22:

I was not in the bathroom when it happened, so I can't say a rape occurred -- and I never will," Roberts told the AP Thursday in her first on-the-record interview. She previously told her story on television; she was pictured in silhouette, and her name was not used.

She began wondering about the character of the players after defense attorneys released photos of the accuser and leaked information on both dancers' criminal pasts.

"In all honesty, I think they're guilty," she said. "And I can't say which ones are guilty ... but somebody did something besides underage drinking. That's my honest-to-God impression."

DA Changed Bond Status For Second Dancer

Did you get that?  Let me repeat it for you:

"In all honesty, I think they're guilty," she said. "And I can't say which ones are guilty ... but somebody did something besides underage drinking."

Is that unsubstantiated opinion? Well, I certainly think so, and so do your readers. Do you really think that we are so stupid that you can pull this bull on us?

This is not even the most important point. It is irrelevant whether the accuser was stating unsubstantiated opinion or not from both a legal and journalistic standpoint. The mere speaking of the words that she uttered is legally relevant AND NEWS.

The accuser's statements about her fellow dancer should be printed in your paper to show the state of mind of the accuser. The issue here is not whether "the opinion" meets some level of quality for opinion, the question is what does this woman think about her fellow dancer WHO IS A PUBLIC FIGURE BY VIRTUE OF HER NOTORIETY. That is important from a legal standpoint to show her state of mind, bias, etc. This is very important. Whether the words of the opinion are true or not is not at issue. They are not relevant for their truth, they are relevant as a window into the mind of a very public figure. This makes the mere utterance of the words important and newsworthy.

If George Bush stated that Dennis Hastert is a crazy fool, would that be withheld from print because it was an "opinion?" Of course not. The mere speaking of those words, whether opinion or not, is NEWS. I can see refraining from printing scurrilous accusations, but when the speaker is the accuser in a very public and very notorious rape case, her opinions are NEWS (regardless of whether they are "substantiated") and they should be printed.

This editor is hiding behind the standard canard used by reporters when they don't want to print something. Oh, that's not fact, that's opinion. Trust me, if it was something they wanted to print, you wouldn't hear anything about it being opinion, it would be priinted.

This entire episode is Shameful, and the N&O's conduct in perpetuating and fueling the HOAX with it's abysmal early coverage is equally shameful. Do not add further to the shame by hiding the accuser's accusations against her fellow dancer.

Ms. Williams, you owe us a response to this post, and I am sure that we will not let up on you until we get one. You need to publish that quote now.

Wow!

Obviously, that's not (in boxing terms) a jab or a grazing blow -- that's a damn knockout.

[6] For a review of the outrageous abdication by the "big" local paper of investigative journalism and the pursuit of truth, review the October 11, 2006 Editors' Blog post at the News & Observer. An angry reader frames the subject nicely:

The 60 Minutes website is now reporting Kim (the second "dancer" )will be interviewed on Sunday night. A photo of her from the program shows a startling make-over.

How well things have gone for Kim since Melanie and Linda (or whoever) decide to omit the Accuser's dainty little details about her! How nice for her. I hope she's sent a "Thank you" note.

She has been interviewed and, no doubt ,handsomely compensated by Vanity Fair magazine. The Hoax has been a windfall for her. Would this have been possible if at any time...in all these months...Linda and Melanie (or whoever) had told their readers what the Accuser actually said?

Kim is able to present herself in a glow of victimhood...because she had assistance from this newspaper.

One wonders do they also omit other details from stories about politicians and famous folk THEY LIKE...while telling ALL on folks with whom their Agendas clash. Is that "Journalism..N&O style today? No? well, how can we have confidence in that? Behold the NEW KIM...the N&O creation!

Well, we saw it here. They omitted details about Kim's actions that night...from the Accuser herself. They NEVER amended their story. To this very day.

If you are angry watching Kim present herself on Sunday night, if her personal enrichment in this tragedy offends you....if you watch her...wondering what the N&O knows...remember WHERE she got help. Right here, ....when the accuser's story was "cleansed..and Kim was then able to make deals and money and "spin this to her advantage"...with a nudge and wink from the N&O.

[7] Finally, I close with a piece that is not to be missed from the Liestoppers blog, "A Conspiracy of Truth." Read the whole thing: it lays the case out and makes a persuasive case for what this whole event is premised upon. For the sake of clarity, it should be remembered that the writer is not dwelling on the original hoax or con -- that of the two strippers -- which gave rise to this entire event because the writer believes they have been demolished already. That said, I want to post two lists contained within the opinion piece. First list:

A good con man attempts to disguise his con by playing up the “facts” that support his deception, while ignoring the genuine facts that might alert his marks to the truth. With the deftness of a street hustler, the enablers who encouraged the Wall of Silence Hoax apparently did exactly that. While promoting this invented conspiracy of silence, no mentions of the following facts were made:

1. On March 16th, the residents of 610 Buchanan, voluntarily, and without legal representation, submitted statements and DNA samples to police. Further, they offered to submit to polygraph examinations. Police declined the offer.
2. Lead investigator Sgt. Mark Gottlieb indicated that the residents of 610 Buchanan were being cooperative with the investigation. “The residents of the house have been cooperative with DPD in locating any suspects”The Chronicle
3. All 46 players willingly complied with the highly unusual non-testimonial identification order, despite the shaky basis for its request (A basis which has since been contradicted multiple times by the District Attorney himself.)
4. After the cancelled meeting, the only effort made by prosecutors or investigators to interview the players appears to have been in the course of their surreptitious entrance into a Duke dorm, where police without warrants attempted to furtively interview multiple players without the benefit of their legal counsel.
5. Not only was there no apparent effort to communicate with the lacrosse team in the presence of their attorneys, there was also no willingness to meet with or view exculpatory evidence from the indicted player’s attorney after charges were brought.

And the second list:

Counting The Initial Deceptions

1. Police did not approach the entire lacrosse team with a warrant on March 16th, nor did anyone refuse to cooperate on that date. A warrant was served on March 16th, and each resident of 610 Buchanan asked to cooperate did exactly that.

2. The refusal above did not exist and therefore cannot have been the cause for the non-testimonial order.

3. In reality, the team cancelled one meeting in order to retain counsel first, and did not miss “several chances to cooperate.”

4. The "really, really strong physical evidence" was really, really strong enough to be disregarded when it matched someone other than any of the members of the lacrosse team. The DNA found in the accuser belonged to her boyfriend, and not to any of the lacrosse players.

5. Durham Police went to the house on March 14th in response to the 911 call by Kim Roberts, and not in response to the rape allegations. In her 911 call, Kim Roberts complained of racial slurs, but assured the dispatcher she was not hurt in any way.

6. Police did not return to the house on March 15th with a warrant.  The warrant was not issued until March 16th.

*While the details of #5 and #6 may seem petty, the addition of the phantom visits on additional days helped to create the intended impression that there was a concerted effort to avoid cooperation.

In the ensuing days, we would see the Wall of Silence Hoax grow rapidly out of these misrepresentations. CrimeStoppers (or somebody claiming to be CrimeStoppers) and the News & Observer issued vigilante posters, professional protestors and deceived neighbors gathered for vigils prominently featured on the nightly news. The loudest voice of all, that of the Hijacker of the Hoax, would soon chime in.

That hijacker, ladies and gentlemen, is the prosecutor himself -- Mike Nifong.

Simply incredible. I title this post "African American Failure On Full Display" because throughout this entire episode, one cannot escape Black American personal responsibility for either (1) creating the event -- the stripper, or (2) generating the hoax -- the stripper, or (3) enabling the frenzy -- the black community of Durham -- when most black people around the country knew damn well this was bullshit, or (4) getting in bed with an idiotic, nerdacious white boy who is too damn anal to see straight -- again, the black community of Durham. I can't believe they have rolled with this fool of a prosecutor in such an unthinking way and they have (at least publicly) declined to deliver the shame on this stripper that she so richly deserves.

Again, for the record, I'm not saying nothing unbecoming occurred at this house that night. But that is not now the point and it never has been the point. It appears to me that only a juvenile or agenda-driven mindset can't figure that out.

Gator Mania

On Saturday, the Florida Gators defeated the LSU Tigers 23-10 in a huge game at Florida Fied. The national effect of winning that game?

These are good days to be a Gator.

Florida is the new No. 2 in The Associated Press Top 25, its highest ranking since Steve Spurrier left Gainesville, and by far the best team in the Sunshine State. For the first time in 24 years, neither Miami nor Florida State is ranked.

The ESPN Gameday crew was on campus for this big game and, naturally, were the center of great interest as witnessed by this photo:

In this state, the University of Florida is legitimately viewed as the school of the elite, power establishment which means there is a healthy contingent of folks who (due to envy, hate or -- I suppose -- egalitarian reasons) are "Anybody But Florida" fans.

Those fans are uneasy as hell these days because the Gator Colossus is rearing its arrogant head (just months after claiming the basketball national championship) and asserting itself on the football field just as Florida State and Miami are in a sure state of decline. More importantly, however, Florida has a resilient team lead by 22 fantastic Ron Zook recruits. Chris Leak is the most prominent senior on the team and he has the potential to lead the Gators to division, conference and national championships. All of those possibilities are still quite speculative, but the excitement all over the state is clearly building.

That said, and this is still remarkable to me, the most important development of this football season for the Gators has been the incredible emergence of freshman quarterback Tim Tebow. I've never seen anything like it in all my days. Never. Yesterday I had an amusing debate with a friend who is a FAMU grad. He is passionate about the Rattlers and is also, like many of them, a Miami Hurricane fan who nevertheless has a complicated love for Steve Spurrier yet is not a serious fan of the Gators. Got that? Like I said, it can be complicated. However, he watched much of the LSU game and still -- still -- could not give props to Tim Tebow which serves only to prove to me, in a weird way, the power of Tim Tebow. Does this guy look like Superman?

No, he doesn't but he has spooked people in this state, especially the Anybody But Florida folks. This is because Tebow has already shown that not only is he the "Great White Hope," so to speak, but that he's also that rarest of rare among Great White Hope candidates: he's the Real Deal.

As in . . . legitimate.

As in . . . the boy can (1) run, (2) jump, (3) throw -- and, most impressively -- (4) the boy is country-strong. I've never seen a white quarterback quite like this. Actually, I'm still trying to decide if I've seen a quarterback quite like this. That's the level of phenom he is. Luckily, he's the product of some fantastic home training because his premature celebrity could have been a disastrous distraction at U.F. this season but he, coach Urban Meyer, and starting quarterback Chris Leak (another product of great home training) have handled the situation magnificently. Under their leadership, the Gators are basking in the limelight of a currently successful season.

Gator Nation is showering much love and respect to Chris Leak. Check out this Leak for Heisman display that was showed off on the ESPN Gameday set outside the stadium before the game. Here's one representative photo of the kind of thing you can only find with the hoopla surrounding college football:

That's a real University of Florida student who agreed to get painted up just to strike a Heisman-pose for quite some time while Gameday was airing before the football game. Very impressive, and I'm sure Chris Leak and his family appreciated that kind of support. Chris is a longshot for the Heisman but he still has some marquee games ahead where he can make a move up in the all-important public relations competition for what is, essentially, a personal achievement trophy.

After the big victory, another good moment was had (and handled very well by everyone involved) when Chris Leak and Tim Tebow, both, were invited to appear on the Gameday set for a short interview. Here's a picture:

If the good guys can continue to find a way to survive and advance, Chris Leak may finally get his championship ring(s). Couldn't happen to a more deserving kid. And doesn't this closing picture capture the joy of college football:

Go Gators, Beat Auburn!