Archive for the ‘media’ Category

Yesterday Carlos Henriquez made the front page of the Boston Herald:

Inmate lawmaker Rep. Carlos Henriquez is doing his Beacon Hill business from his Billerica jail cell, thumbing through bills and budget proposals, and speaking to staff by phone “at least once a day,”

according to the disgraced Dorchester Democrat’s legislative aide.

“We’ve been in regular contact with him, and at this point he’s concerned with the issues of the district,” aide Jessica DaSilva told the Herald.

Prison is a pretty boring place so Henriquez is lucky to have all this legislative and constituent business to keep his day full.

DaSilva said Henriquez’s office is fielding four or five constituent calls a day, mostly from people concerned about cuts to unemployment benefits. She said Henriquez also has been reviewing budget amendments, though she would not say which.

If nothing else it means the voters know where he is 24/7 and he has time to read the bills if he so chooses.

Now to me A lawmaker convicted of assaulting a women who refused him sex and had to escape his car in the wee hours of the morning is, in the era of the “war on woman” a national story, that same lawmaker refusing to resign is even more so but that lawmaker on the front page of a state newspaper doing legislative work from in prison while refusing to resign? How does that not lead?

For the same reason as this story out of Lunenburg will get very little press:

There is not enough evidence to charge the prime suspect in a racist graffiti case that rocked Lunenburg late last year, Worcester County District Attorney Joseph D. Early, Jr. said Wednesday.

No charges?

“We have notified the Lunenburg Police Department that the evidence presented to us fails to demonstrate beyond a reasonable doubt that a crime has been committed by a particular person,” wrote Early in an email his office has been sending to Lunenburg residents who have inquired about the case.

But this story was big news, it even appeared on national TV shows,

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How can this be? The base story appeared in papers as far away as Atlanta Ga & London England, it made SI.

Yet the DA’s office has suddenly decided that the reasonable doubt standard that used to apply to juries in the case replaces the “ham sandwich” standard that normally applies to indictments.

Now it could be that the DA decided that it would be a waste of taxpayer money, and that a conviction is unlikely but given the reach of the story such a decision would naturally generate press around the world, and stories full of outrage, a DA would normally be worried about that kind of thing and be prepared to answer a lot of tough question from reporters around the world.

I suspect he is not.

You see the primary suspect in this story is no longer the largely white football team in a small town but the mother of the supposed target of the racist graffiti. It is no longer a story about racism, it is about yet another race hoax. If the team had still been the suspect and racism been the theme and the DA a republican the decision to not press charges would be a source of national outrage and coverage but remember the rule we stated yesterday.

I submit & suggest it’s because all of these stories involve Democrats and their national memes and Democrats understand that when it comes to such stories MSM immediately recognizes them as unnewsworthy.

So like the Democrat combatant in the war on women currently doing his legislative work behind bars, the race hoaxer who turned her community upside down with a phony race card and the Democrat’s DA decision not to prosecute are simply not newsworthy.

Meanwhile my question from last month still stands:

Where does the town of Lunenburg go to get their reputation back, where does the football team go to get their Thanksgiving game back and who pays for all the police, local state and federal that were used in the attempt to sell this BS?

nothing to see here, move along.

Exit question: While one can argue that the family in the small town is now marked and suffered enough what sort of incentive is created for the next race hoaxer who wants to destroy a person or a town’s reputation for personal or political reasons when they know they are unlikely to face any legal consequence?

Update: The Parents of some of the boys who were initially implicated are none too happy

“I said it before and I’ll say it again, the people that are responsible for this are cowards,” Szabady said. “You know, to do something like this and blame it on kids and just sit back and watch? You’re a coward. And the law will eventually catch up to you.”

Or perhaps not.

By an odd coincidence the AG of Massachusetts is running for governor. I wonder if such a case, if prosecuted might be problematic during the campaign? Then again maybe there is hope

The Lunenburg Police Chief tells WBZ-TV that federal charges could be filed.

Yeah I’m sure Eric Holder will get right on that one.

Meanwhile Stacy McCain has discovered another perp that doesn’t fit the media’s template.

Update 2: Glenn Reynolds linked to the Boston Herald Story above. Does that mean national republicans will finally use this as a weapon in the war on women BS? If they do and it gets repeated on any national show I predict pressure from national democrats will have Henriquez out of office so fast it will make your head swim.

Update 3: Why is Henriquez not resigning after assaulting a women who refused him sex? Maybe we should ask his mom Sandra Henriquez Assistant Secretary for Public and Indian Housing for the Obama administration.

It’s amazing the difference a few weeks has made in the City of Lunenburg:

Was it only a few weeks ago that we learned how racist the Town of Lunenburg in general and the football team in particular? That the football team in was responsible for painting:  “Knights don’t need niggers” on the house of a bi-racial family with a young and very talented football player on the team who was subject to a spate of bullying?

Didn’t we have editorials decry the racism of the town, didn’t the governor weigh in, weren’t commentators talking all about this.

Didn’t Good Morning America weigh in?

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and compare it to the Miami Dolphens scandal?

The Lunenburg story has echoes of the rookie hazing scandal that has enveloped the NFL’s Miami Dolphins.

Veteran Richie Incognito was suspended indefinitely on Nov. 4 after rookie Jonathan Martin turned in voice mails and text messages that allegedly showed Incognito using the N-word to describe Martin and threaten his family, according to ESPN.

The controversy came to light after Fox Sports reported that Martin and other rookies had been forced to pay thousands of dollars for dinner tabs and vacations for more veteran members of the team.

And didn’t the Lunenburg Football team forfeit the rest of the games and have their traditional Thanksgiving game cancelled?

Well that was only fair, after all you can’t let racism like that stand. As far as all right thinking people were concerned they had it coming….

…what a difference a few weeks and an actual investigation makes.

First the Football team is cleared:

Police in Lunenburg, Mass. say high school football players were not responsible for racist graffiti found on the side of a junior varsity player’s home.

So with the football team cleared, the question remains: Who is responsible for the racist graffiti sprayed on the home?

And the parents who had plenty to say before …

Chief Jim Marino said the Phillips parents are not talking to police anymore.

…are now singing a different tune:

Anthony Phillips returned to the end of his driveway to wait for his children to get off the school bus. Asked about rumors that he might have been involved in the incident, Phillips replied, “That just shows you how racist this town is.”

And Today the worm turned…big time:

The Boston Globe:

Police search Lunenburg home where graffiti found

Police focus turns toward victim’s mother in Lunenburg racist graffiti case

The Worcester Telegram and Gazette:

Search warrant issued at Lunenburg home where racist graffiti was reported

The Lowell Sun

Investigators focusing on mother of Lunenburg graffiti victim

And the Sentinel & Enterprise :

Investigators are focusing on the mother of a Lunenburg teen whose home was spray painted with racist graffiti last month, according to court documents.

Former Lunenburg High School football player Isaac Phillips’ mother Andrea Brazier, replied “OK” when an FBI agent suggested she was the one who spray painted graffiti on the house, according to an affidavit.

The Sentinel has been all over this story from day one.

Now that the case has gone the full circle from outrage confirming liberal prejudices to yet another race hoax it’s time for the question to be asked

Where does the town of Lunenburg go to get their reputation back, where does the football team go to get their Thanksgiving game back and who pays for all the police, local state and federal that were used in the attempt to sell this BS?

And will the sites in AtlantaMetro USThe UK Daily MailSports IllustratedFox Chicago and the Huffington Post be reporting on these new developments with the same gusto?

Update: Stacy McCain links (sorry I hit the sack early last night and had the PC off) and he knows something (Bill Sparkman) about hoaxes

Ruh-roh. If she lied to the FBI, she could be in big trouble. But since when is it the FBI’s job to investigate racist graffiti? And if real racist graffiti is a federal offense, what is fake racist graffiti? The alleged hate crime was a big deal last month:

Two quick thoughts:

1. It really boggles the mind that someone would be willing to tar a group of teenagers, their families, a school and really an entire Town for the sake of a personal agenda. That degree of selfishness is incredible in its narcissistic depth.

2. If it turns out that the mother is the culprit she has done more damage to her son and her marriage than any amount of teaching or racist words could have done. And it will follow her son for years. How does a parent not realize that?

Update 2:  Michael Graham reports Lunenburg school folks haven’t learned much:

Now, with egg splattered all over their faces, the Lunenburg administrators STILL INSIST they did the right thing!

“I never looked at the cancellations as punishment, although it was certainly viewed that way by many. In the end, the safety of students and attendees at the games was deemed as of paramount importance. At no time did I or any employee of the schools indict or implicate players,” said Lunenburg Superintendent of Schools Loxi Jo Calmes.

Lunenburg’s superintendent and high school principal defended the decision to cancel the rest of the football season amid allegations against the players of writing racist graffiti.

“I thought would I have brought my own kids to that game? And the answer is no way. Why? Because it wasn’t safe to play,” Principal Brian Spadafino said.

The Lunenburg high football game “wasn’t safe?” From what–marauding bands of spray-painters?  Hordes of KKK members?

I think the next batch of town elections in Lunenburg are going to be very interesting.

Update 3:
 Ace finds the story.

Update 4: Liberty Unyielding notes that all “hate graffiti” is created equal in media eyes:

As an important aside on an unrelated case, about 50 miles away from Lunenburg High, Masslive.com revealed yesterday that three teens were in custody “in connection with 13 incidents in October and November where homes, churches and cars were either vandalized or set on fire.”

The article reads in part,

“Symbols, slurs, sexually explicit images and, in the case of United Church of Ware, an expletive directed at God and the words “Catholic burning,” were spray-painted…” [added emphasis]

This author can find no other mention in any other source of the anti-Catholic slur. Is the FBI involved in that case? Will this anti-Catholic incident be investigated as a “hate crime?”

I guess some targets of hate are more equal than others.

One of the things that has enabled the conservative blogosphere and Fox news has been the refusal of the MSM to cover stories that might portray a democrat in an unfavorable light.

The Monica Lewinsky case made Matt Drudge because Newsweek when given the chance to cover a story with every element that would attract readers; Sex, Power intrigue, declined.

The same thing happened with the John Edwards story. The MSM continued to ignore it until the National Enquirer caught him with the lady in a hotel.

Consider: If Newsweek does it’s job, how much smaller is Matt Drudge? Does he inspire others? Does an Andrew Breitbart who worked with Drudge get his start?

Let’s say you are a hard left person; what would you today give to have neutralized Matt Drudge and all those who would follow him?

And consider 2000. Do you think an incumbent Al Gore would have lost to George Bush? I think not.

Consider myself and the Weiner business. If the MSM reports do I end up with an Op-ed in the NY Post, or the Lars Larson radio and Fox TV gigsWould I even get the Instalanche if the MSM makes the points that I did first?

Which brings me to Joe Scarborough again.

This morning I stated that this was an important show for Joe Scarborough. There is a definite connection between the show and Weiner but Joe Scarborough is very familiar with Twitter and would understand the potential problems with Rep. Weiner’s story.

Yet his own dismissal of Andrew Breitbart and association with people such as Joan Walsh of Salon who railed about the Weiner business being all about conservatives attacking teenage girls, and the Huffington Post who confined the story to the NY section, transformed any confrontation with Weiner from simple reporting to act of courage. It would be standing against the people he hangs with at parties and events. It is the type of thing that would make the “no labels” crowd uncomfortable.

Confronted with this choice, #weinergate was not covered in any segment, and his name was mentioned only in passing about “hacking” in general. It didn’t even make the “news you can’t use” segment. (Can you imagine this happening if the congressman in question was Paul Ryan?). No coverage of the lawyering up, no coverage of the alleged hacker offering to submit to investigations and no coverage of Rep Weiner choosing to not answer questions. Nothing.

Normally there would be no damage as only Fox would cover the story and their niche market would never hear about it. Unfortunately for Joe and Company CNN decided no act in a very atypical way for an MSM network.

Congressman Weiner was, to the surprise of even Andrew Breitbart, confronted by a CNN apparently deciding this was a job they would not outsource to Fox (when you are in 3rd place you apparently try harder). The result was classic TV.

The media stars of the left were since the movie all the president’s men, brought up on drams of such confrontations all their lives. All those dreams involved Republicans, but lo and behold when a democrat is the subject it’s still great TV. CNN reporters will look at this and say: Why not me?

This is a disaster for MSNBC. Any MSNBC host this evening who wants to report on this has to show the CNN clip and the left of center viewers who would refuse to turn to FOX to see the story have no such qualms about watching CNN.

Tomorrow morning when this clip is shown on Morning Joe viewers will be wondering why they didn’t hear about this issue on the show. They will remember how many times Congressman Weiner has appeared on the show and will be amazed that they are hearing about this after the fact.

This is an embarrassment and a self-inflicted wound to the credibility of his show.

Why do I care? Two reasons:

1. Morning Joe is the only show on MSNBC that has the possibility of the entry of conservative opinions into their audience. Its fall would likely cause its replacement with a totally liberal show appealing the MBNBC’s niche Market.

2. I genuinely like these people. I’ve met Willie on one occasion and Mike Barnicle on several, they are nice regular guys. The type you would have a beer with and could talk straight with. I suspect Joe and Mika are too. Any parent who sees how Mika reacts around children or sees how she treats her father on the air can’t help but like her. Plus Joe once paid me a complement that was passed on through a 3rd party that was very important to me at the time and an American of Sicilian origin doesn’t forget a favor.

It is painful to watch them do this to their show. I hope they in the future take these words of Robert Stacy McCain to heart:

This story is what we call “news.” No matter how unseemly or inconsequential the story may superficially appear to be, it is entirely legitimate and potentially significant, and it is therefore a dereliction of journalistic duty to ignore or dismiss it.

My appearance on Fox 25 tomorrow precludes me from seeing tomorrow’s show, I sure hope they take what I said to heart but frankly I’m not sanguine.

Update: Poor Joe & Co. John Stewart was all over this. I’d bet real money the only clip they will play if any is the “it’s too big to be him” stuff.

Boy you have one Op/ed in the NY post and suddenly you are the center of attention.

Tonight I’ll be on the Lars Larson show tonight at 7:20 P.M. EST

And tomorrow I will be on FOX 25 at about 8:30.

and yes I’ll be bringing Cannoli from Joyce’s Pies in Leominster.

UPDATE: BTW Lars show plays with a 1 hour delay in NE on AM 1490 in New Hampshire or you can listen live here.