A Question Of Ethics

A question of ethics it seems, D.A., Bloggers, and Media alike.

I feel a certain priveledge, and yes a bit of a rush to have this wonderful podium from which to shout and wave my sword at windmills, indeed I think we all do. Bloggers are a wonderful lot in that they have helped point out injustice, expose the frauds, champion the defenseless, and yes hang the accused in the web, sometimes even before the truth is exposed?

Who then will police this 'police state of writers', this web of spin artists, even this group of self servers? I remember, even right here on this very site, the outrage spun out of control last spring when those "hooligans and thugs" of Duke stood exposed, accused, and all but convicted of rape, sodomy, and cold blooded womanizing! How dare these imputent sons of the rich defile such a virtuous Black Woman in her prime! Even good friends and colleagues of mine, right here, had vile and dispariging comments for these 'guilty' young men.

The bar cited 41 quotations and eight paraphrased statements made to newspaper and TV reporters, saying many of them amounted to "improper commentary about the character, credibility and reputation of the accused" or their alleged unwillingness to cooperate. Most of the comments were in March and April.
Among them:
_ Nifong referred to the lacrosse players as "a bunch of hooligans."
_ He declared: "I am convinced there was a rape, yes, sir."
_ He told ESPN: "One would wonder why one needs an attorney if one was not charged and had not done anything wrong."
_ He told The New York Times: "I'm disappointed that no one has been enough of a man to come forward. And if they would have spoken up at the time, this may never have happened."
Nifong was also charged with breaking a rule against "dishonesty, fraud, deceit and misrepresentation." The bar said that when DNA testing failed to find any evidence a lacrosse player raped the accuser, Nifong told a reporter the players might have used a condom.
According to the bar, Nifong knew that assertion was misleading, because he had received a report from an emergency room nurse in which the accuser said her attackers did not use a condom.

D.A. Nifong himself withdrew rape charges last week after nearly a year of statements that all but had these young men doing time in Attica, and where were the "bloggers" then? As of Thursday evening the North Carolina Bar Association has filed charges against Nifong, the D.A. who brought the case against these young men for violating 4 seperate rules in his zeal to manipulate the media and blogsites into anointing him in his next political conquest of political adventure, and we sit on our hands and say nothing to defend or deny our previous posts?

I, as always, strive to use my "pulpit" with revere and responsibility, I do not condemn my colleagues for their zest in rushing to the hot story last spring, merely I call to them to condemn, amend, or append their earlier stance.

The silence is deafening.

A Word From The Grave

And so it goes that the truth speaks loud from the grave. How many of you who supported the late President Ford upon hearing of his death will still rise to his side at the news of his disdain and contempt at Bush's War? Will the Woodward interview be seen as a strong message from a great man, or more as a weak commentary from a dead guy? Rock on Gerry, you are the man again today!

"Rumsfeld and Cheney and the president made a big mistake in justifying going into the war in Iraq. They put the emphasis on weapons of mass destruction," Ford said. "And now, I've never publicly said I thought they made a mistake, but I felt very strongly it was an error in how they should justify what they were going to do."

Gerald Ford, Embargoed Interview, Woodward, Iraq War, Bush, Criticism of War, Voice From The Grave

Groanin' The Blues

"Lord, I'm so tired of moanin', tryin' to groan away my blues...everytime I think of you", Eric Clapton put it best, "I would rather die of starvation, everytime in the desert sun.."

Saddam Hussein held out the last laugh on GW's "geehawd" with his farewell letter to the Iraqis, calling for mercy on 'Poor George's misguided soul’, I can't help but wonder how the Bush aristocracy will respond to the very words of Hussein, exonerating the 'Boy King' himself when Saddam the condemned one said,

"I call on you not to hate, because hate does not leave space for a person to be fair, and it makes you blind and closes all doors of thinking," the letter said.

Perhaps the greatest parry came when 'Saddama bin Laden', er, I meant Saddam Hussein said these piercing words meant as a single strike to 'God's Own Chosen One',

"I say goodbye to you, but I will be with the merciful God who helps those who take refuge in him and who will never disappoint any honest believer."

Wow, strong stuff from a radical "evil-doer". It will always be an enigma for myself and others when history looks back at these times and shakes a sad head at the incredible miscarriage of justice held out by this farce of a regime. But for circumstance, any "greater power" might have criminal war crimes to pass judgement on GWB, Condi, Rummy...depends on a viewpoint and where Johnny Cochran stands at the moment I suppose, just ask O.J., yet I can't help but wonder further, would 'King George' be disposed with such style and grace? We will probably never know, alas. It is not my intent to absolve Saddam of any crimes, only to point out with obvious and unanimous clarity that such crimes were never the point with "Boy George', his only service was to lend a hand to Daddy's failed adventures.

As said by Earth, Wind, and Fire, "That's the way of the world"

Hussein was captured while hiding in a hole in the ground near his home village north of Baghdad in December 2003, eight months after he fled the capital ahead of advancing American troops.

I might offer a bit of advice for future tyrants on the lamb in the future... run rabbit run, and Georgie...tread lightly in your senior years, young man that you are...the future holds an awful lot of time for the world to study, read, learn, and judge your actions as "Dear Leader". Perhaps Kim Il Jong can offer a few points...perhaps not.