Tag: Crime & Punishment

Journalistic Ethics: When to Out a Guy

Buck Banks

In his “Everyday Ethics” column, Kelly McBride of the Poynter Institute mulls over the question of when it is appropriate or germane to a story to identify a public figure or politician as gay. He notes that there were intimations that the latest scandalized pol was gay almost a year ago:

Last fall when a gay activist and radio show host claimed that Sen. Larry Craig, R-Idaho, was secretly gay, newsrooms around the country agonized over how and what to cover. Since Roll Call ‘s revelation Monday evening that Craig was arrested in a sting operation in a men’s restroom at the Minneapolis airport, I have been fielding calls from reporters asking if and when journalists are justified in covering the sexual orientation of a politician.

Because Craig pleaded guilty, McBride argues, his alleged gayness is certainly part of the story. But on the axis of reasons to cover a person’s assumed sexual orientation, Craig also qualifies on several other measures:

  • Hypocrisy: It is fair game if a certain politician has consistently voted on public policy issues that appear to undermine the rights or the political agenda of gay and lesbian citizens and if there is evidence that he is gay himself. I actually support a higher threshold. Merely voting a certain way on issues doesn’t quite cut it. The only time the hypocrisy argument really works is when an individual has railed against gays and lesbians as a campaign platform. We don’t call women who vote against public policy that would be beneficial to other women hypocrites.
  • Honesty: If a guy says he’s not gay and it turns out that he is, he’s a liar and voters deserve to know. Here again, I believe a higher threshold is in order. Has he deceived a spouse? Has he actively created a false impression?
  • Infidelity: We don’t care if he’s gay. We care if he is having affairs and breaking his marriage vows. Then focus on the infidelity, not the sexual orientation. We’ve cared about philandering ever since the days of Gary Hart.
  • Criminal behavior: This is the clearest justification. If a politician is engaged in or charged with behavior that is deemed to be against the law, then we usually care. But go one step further and explain why such behavior is criminal, especially when it involves tapping ones foot in a men’s room.
  • The impact the rumors/story have on the voters and politics: We don’t care whether he’s gay. We report on the effect the story has on the political scene. This is a cop-out, a great way to back into a salacious story without taking responsibility for the information at the heart of the story. News editors, executive producers and political hacks, take your pick. If you’re going to cover the Senator Larry Craig story, find a journalistic purpose for the space and time and energy it consumes.

Ryan Skipper’s Death Inspires New Awareness of Hate Crimes

Trish

It’s been a long time since we had any news about the murder of Ryan Skipper, a gay Florida man who police believe was the victim of a hate crime.

In that time, another man was slain because his murderer wanted to kill a gay man — any gay man. In both deaths, investigators immediately arrested and held suspects, awaiting trials that might still be a year or more away. And while we — and especially the friends and families — wait there is silence.

At least there was. A new organization, inspired by Ryan’s brutal killing, is trying to raise awareness of the consequences of mindless hate. Gay American Heroes seeks:

To honor and remember LGBT victims of hate crimes
To engage and inform the public about hate crimes against LGBT persons
To inspire compassion and greater appreciation and acceptance of diversity

The group is putting together a traveling memorial for display at colleges, gay pride events, and other public venues including communities where hate crimes have occurred or been threatened. The exhibit will honor lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people who were murdered because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.

[…]

Another Man Killed for Being Gay; Murderer Says He Was Serving God

Trish

We wish Ryan Skipper’s death were the last one we ever had to hear happened because someone was so threatened by the idea of homosexuality that they killed. But it wasn’t.

Mangum, who described himself as “definitely not a homosexual,” said God called on him to “carry out a code of retribution” by killing a gay man because “sexual perversion” is the “worst sin.”

A Texas man said he was doing God’s work when he randomly targeted and brutally murdered a 46-year-old Southwest Airlines flight attendant named Kenneth Cummings Jr. earlier this summer.

Terry Mark Mangum, 26, told [Brazoria County newspaper] The Facts in a jailhouse interview Friday that he had targeted and killed Cummings because he was homosexual and that he stabbed him in the head. He called his actions “God’s justice.”

…Mangum told The Facts he went to a known gay bar in Houston that night to specifically target a homosexual and said that Cummings, “just happened to be the one that I bumped into.”

…After 600 volunteers spent several days searching through high weeds, dense brush, dump sites and even an abandoned golf course, a bone was found in a dried-up pond. Searchers originally thought the bone belonged to a cow, but after looking at it again, searchers dug around it and found charcoal, Miller said. As they dug deeper, they found a burned body that later was confirmed to be Cummings, Miller said.

The murderer in this case was obviously not only hate-filled but deranged.

“I believe I’m Elijah, called by God to be a prophet,” said 26-year-old Terry Mark Mangum, charged with murder June 11. “…I believe with all my heart that I was doing the right thing.”

[…]

Roll Call on Gonzalez Resignation

Trish

George, Laura, Al and Becky on Sunday, Aug. 26, 2007

Sad. So sad. I might just cry.

George Bush: “After months of unfair treatment that has created a harmful distraction at the Justice Department, Judge Gonzales decided to resign his position, and I accept his decision. It’s sad that we live in a time when a talented and honorable person like Alberto Gonzales is impeded from doing important work because his good name was dragged through the mud for political reasons.”

Edwards: Gonzales “oversaw a political purge of U.S. Attorneys at the Justice Department, approved torture techniques at Guantanamo Bay and approved illegal spying on Americans. His leaving is a victory for all of us.”

Or not.

— The most concise reaction came from John Edwards: “Better late than never.”

Following the Bush press conference, Edwards expanded on that, saying Gonzales “oversaw a political purge of U.S. Attorneys at the Justice Department, approved torture techniques at Guantanamo Bay and approved illegal spying on Americans,” and his leaving “is a victory for all of us.”

— Hillary Clinton: “This resignation is long overdue, and so is the appointment of an Attorney General who will put the rule of law and our Constitution above partisan politics…Time and time again, [Gonzales] demonstrated that his loyalties lie with the President and his political agenda, not the American people or the evenhanded and impartial enforcement of our laws…from warrantless wiretaps to the firing of U.S. Attorneys.

— Barack Obama: “I have long believed that Alberto Gonzales subverted justice to promote a political agenda, and so I am pleased that he has finally resigned today. The President needs to nominate an Attorney General who will be the people’s lawyer, not the President’s lawyer, and in an Obama Administration that person will first and foremost defend and promote the rights and liberties enshrined in our Constitution.”

— Bill Richardson: “The resignation of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales is long overdue. The President must nominate an Attorney General who is a lawyer for the American people not a political arm of the White House.”

— Rudy Giuliani: “Judge Gonzales served his nation honorably and I wish him well in the next phase of his career.”

— Florida Sen. Mel Martinez (R): Gonzales “is an honorable man has conducted himself always with honesty, dedication and integrity. He is my friend and he is a good man. He and his family have my thanks for their sacrifice for serving during difficult times, and my best wishes for the future.”

Murder-Suicide Claims Prominent GOP Strategist; Gaydars Going Wild

Trish
The Gonzalez crime scene

Ralph Gonzalez, a former executive director of the Georgia GOP while Ralph Reed was its chair, was found shot to death yesterday with two other men in a home he with shared with one of them in Orlando.

Gonzalez was among the three people found inside the home, and their bodies may have been inside since Tuesday, authorities said.

“The third person was the shooter. He shot my son first and then shot David and then killed himself,” Eva Gonzalez said.

A prominent Republican Party consultant is one of three men found dead in a Central Florida home Thursday in an apparent double murder-suicide possibly sparked by a lovers’ quarrel, according to detectives

The home where the deaths occurred was also listed as the headquarters of the Strategum Group, a Republican consulting firm whose clients include Jack Abramoff-linked U.S. Rep. Tom Feeney (R-Fla.).

The other victims were identified as David Abrami and Robert Drake. Gonzalez lived in the home with Abrami, and Drake was a former roommate who was visiting from out of town.

“(It was) horrible. I can’t believe he lied in there, and the more I see all that blood, it was sickening. Why would anybody want to shoot my boy?” Eva Gonzalez said.

The police have an answer for that, Mrs. G. but you might not like it.

A prominent Republican Party consultant is one of three men found dead in a Central Florida home Thursday in an apparent double murder-suicide possibly sparked by a lovers’ quarrel, according to detectives…

“We are working it as a homicide, but there is some early evidence to suggest that this may in fact be a murder-suicide,” Orange County sheriff’s Sgt. Allen Lee said.

An attack ad from the Strategum Group’s portfolio

Reed himself, the former head of the
Christian Coalition, also flies under
the gaydar in Republican
conservative circles. If he’s not gay,
he fooled me.

Our sympathy goes out to
family members of the three men,
along with our hope that you will have answers soon and that you will make your peace with whatever they turn out to be.

Foley Won’t Let FDLE See Perv Files on His House Computer

Buck Banks

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement has run into a brick wall in its investigation into former Republican Rep. Mark Foley’s sicko come-ons to congressional pages. He won’t let the FDLE have access to his D.C. computer. And the House of Representatives is backing up the pedophile (hebephile, see comment 2), saying his computer is the same as House papers and only Foley can release those.

Was Rudy’s Luxury Command Center Built at WTC So It Could be His Lovenest?

Trish

Lovebirds Rudy and Judi at the recent Pepsi 400 in Daytona

Palm Beach Post writer Frank Cerabino contrasted the sexploits of two politicians and found the one involving Rudolph Guiliani not getting nearly enough play.

Palm Beach Post: Was tragic placement of New York City’s emergency command center at ground zero because of its convenience as a cozy private love nest for a mayor-turned- presidential candidate and his mistress-turned- third-wife?

Florida State Rep. Bob Allen (R-Merritt Island) continues to dig deeper holes for himself — now requiring some of that mining equipment going unused in Utah and China. First he demonstrated that getting arrested in a public bathroom for offering $20 for homosexual sex isn’t the worse mistake a politician make. One of Allen’s many defenses for the bust was that he was afraid of the undercover officer he solicited because the man was black.

Florida House Speaker Marco Rubio piled on, criticizing Allen for injecting “a very disturbing element to an already troubling incident.” Rubio stripped him of his legislative committee posts.

Allen promptly put his foot in his mouth again by likening the actions of Rubio, who is the first Cuban-American leader of the House, to Fidel Castro’s.

“That’s a Cuba thing, something Fidel Castro does,” Allen said, before claiming to be greatly misunderstood.

I’m not sure if you have to live in Florida to understand how egregious it is to compare any Cuban-American politician with Castro. If so, then just take my word that it’s a) never been done and b) very, very bad.

But the sex story that actually matters, Cerabino says, is Rudy’s.

Wayne Barrett of The Village Voice has written about the lavish emergency command center that former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani fashioned in one of the former World Trade Center buildings.

“Giuliani’s office had a humidor for cigars and mementos from City Hall, including a fire horn, police hats and fair hats, as well as monogrammed towels in his bathroom. His suite was bulletproofed and he visited it often, even on weekends, bringing his girlfriend Judi Nathan there long before the relationship surfaced,” Barrett wrote. “He had his own elevator.”

After the first attack on the World Trade Center in 1993, some officials had suggested that the city’s emergency command center be built in Brooklyn. But Giuliani wanted it within walking distance of city hall in Manhattan. The World Trade Center command center, which was destroyed in the Sept. 11 attacks, has since been constructed at the Brooklyn site Giuliani rejected.

…if there’s even a smidgen of consideration in the tragic placement of New York City’s emergency command center at ground zero because of its convenience as a cozy private love nest for a mayor-turned-presidential candidate and his mistress-turned-third-wife, then I think it deserves far more attention than the amusing fate of an inconsequential Florida legislator.

Republican Florida Lawmaker Bob “Blow Job” Allen Being Squeezed Out by GOP

Trish

For Florida State Rep. Bob Allen (R-Merritt Island), denial is not just a river in Egypt. Allen is out on bail on charges that he offered a male undercover officer $20 for oral sex. He has spent this time offering explanations for his behavior as varied as “just checking the bathroom three times because I helped secure funding for the park” to “I was afraid of the guy because he’s black and everyone knows black people are dangerous.”

Well, poor Bob has come up with another totally ridiculous explanation, this one for why he is being stripped of all his committee assignments in the upcoming legislative session.

…because [House Speaker Marco] Rubio wants to give younger lawmakers the chance at leadership positions.

Allen…said he was told that House leaders “wouldn’t do anything to hurt my defense.” “I know the Speaker has talked about giving other younger legislators a chance,” Allen said. “It’s tough to gain experience in the eight years before term limits, and some senior members might serve in another position.”

Riiiight. But others in the Republican wing of the Florida State House wish Allen would not only show up missing from committees, but go away altogether.

Meanwhile, [GOP Chairman Jim] Greer told reporters Tuesday that Allen should consider the best interests of the GOP, as well as his family and constituents, in deciding whether to resign.

“I’m not going to say what’s in the best interest of the party or ask him to step down or resign,” Greer said. “I’m just asking him, as of today, to consider the best interest of the party.”

So far Allen hasn’t considered the best interests of anyone but himself in obtaining homosexual sex, so why would the GOP expect him to consider the best interests of his party? Not only is Allen not leaving quietly, he’s attempting to call in a few political IOUs. After all, one thing all Republicans have on another in abundance is dirt.

When told of Greer’s comments, Allen said he stood by Greer during the “innuendos and nasty politics” hurled during Greer’s campaign for the party chairmanship. “I know Jim appreciated that and I hope he hasn’t lost that memory,” Allen said…

“I intend to show up at the session as a man who is free of this charge and all of this ridiculous politics and be able to get back to what they want me doing during the session,” Allen said. “I don’t think I’ll be bogged down with this during the session.”

We presume that none of those Nile River crocodiles will be shedding any of their famous tears if it doesn’t work out quite that way.

Florida Lawmaker Linked to McCain Nabbed for Paying Men to Blow Him

Trish
Republican State Rep. Bob Allen

John McCain just can’t catch a break. And those Republican Florida lawmakers just can’t keep their hands off the boys.

State Rep. Bob Allen (R-Merritt Island) was arrested yesterday for soliciting prostitutes in the men’s restroom of a public park. Until his inconvenient nabbing, he was set to serve as co-chair for Sen. John McCain’s presidential campaign in the Florida House of Representatives. Bummer.

According to police, the park was under surveillance today by a detail of undercover Titusville Police officers. Officers noticed Allen acting suspicious as he went in and out of the men’s restroom three times. Minutes later, he solicited an undercover male officer inside the restroom, offering to perform oral sex for $20. *

Officers realized he was a public figure after the arrest.

Allen, as he was taken out of the Titusville Police Department to be transported to Sharpes, called the situation “a very big misunderstanding,” in comments to WFTV Channel 9.

“This is disgusting,” Allen said.

Well he got that part right anyway. It really is disgusting for someone to be such a hypocrite and to exhibit so much self-hatred and denial.

Allen is a former Little League volunteer who also donated time to the Boys and Girls Club, serving on its board of directors. Allen is married and has a teenage daughter.

The good news is that Allen might not be in all that much trouble. He is only charged with a second degree misdemeanor, which is no biggie in a legislative body. Heck, everyone’s got a few of those.

Allen faces a maximum sentence of 60 days in jail.

* Editor’s Note: My research from all the available sources indicates that although this account makes it sound like Allen was offering to sell a blow job, he was in fact offering to buy one. Maybe that was the misunderstanding he alluded to?

Poll: Little Support for Bush and His Libby Commute, But Growing Support for Impeachmnent

Buck Banks

There’s some speculation that George Bush’s dismally low approval rating made it all that much easier for him to commute Scooter Libby’s sentence because, well, what did he have to lose? His vaunted “political capital?”

As Time’s Richard Lacayo sees it, it’s just another Bush promise that seemed to be broken — or was it?

George W. Bush once promised that anyone in his Administration who broke the law would “be taken care of.” At the time, he appeared to mean they would face the consequences of their actions. Then he took care of I. Lewis Libby, and all at once, his words assumed a somewhat different tone.

Semantics aside, National Journal’s PollTrack surveyed the surveys, and found that Scooter’s Get Out of Jail Card did not play with most Americans:

A 54-percent majority said they wanted to see the House move to impeach the vice president.

Just 31 percent of American Research Group respondents said they supported Bush’s move to commute Libby’s sentence. About double that number (64 percent) said they disapproved.

A full pardon would have been even less popular. Just 11 percent of respondents said they supported a “complete presidential pardon” for Libby; 84 percent opposed one. Seven in 10 Republicans said they were against a pardon; 82 percent of Democrats and a whopping 97 percent of independents said the same.

Earlier polls didn’t show much support for a pardon, either. Just two in 10 told FOX News/Opinion Dynamics pollsters two weeks ago that Bush should let Libby off the hook. Polls from CNN/Opinion Research Corporation and Gallup taken soon after the March 6 verdict found similarly low numbers.

Are we, as a nation, fed up enough with Bush and Cheney’s antics to demand they be impeached? Maybe:

The ARG survey also shows that some Americans want to put their disapproval of Bush into action. Forty-five percent of the total sample said they support the House starting impeachment proceedings against the president, including half of all self-described independents. Overall, 46 percent opposed it. Cheney’s numbers were even worse: A 54-percent majority said they wanted to see the House move to impeach the vice president, and four in 10 said they did not.