Please join us tonight for an evening of politics under the influence at the Seattle chapter of Drinking Liberally. We meet at the Montlake Ale House, 2307 24th Avenue E. Starting time is 8:00 pm, but feel free to join some of us for an earlier dinner.
Can’t make it tonight? Drinking Liberally Tacoma meets on Thursday, July 7th 7:00pm at the Hub Restaurant.
Special Event:
The NWroots Conference will be held this Saturday, July 9th at the Comedy Underground in Seattle’s Pioneer Square. Speakers include attorney, Rhodes Scholar, and community leader Cyrus Habib, undocumented immigrant/UW graduate Alonso Chehade, Congressional candidates Jay Clough and Roger Goodman, Washington State Labor Council President Jeff Johnson, Congressmen Jim McDermott, Jay Inslee, and Dennis Kucinich, and former Canadian Health Minister Ujjal Dosanjh.
Musical performances by Irthlingz and the Total Experience Gospel Choir round out the event.
The conference is $50 ($25 students), includes breakfast at Swannies & lunch at Fx McRory’s. Registration/breakfast begins at 7:30am. The conference is from 8:30am to 5:30pm.
You can find more information about the conference and register to attend here.
Ugh. I’m going to have to miss it for the second week.
Bachmann Pawelenty Overdrive…
I like it.
Pawlenty = Governor Bridgefail.
London, 05 July 2011 — Moody’s Investors Service has today downgraded Portugal’s long-term government bond ratings to Ba2 from Baa1 and assigned a negative outlook. Concurrently, Moody’s has also downgraded the government’s short-term debt rating to (P) Not-Prime from (P) Prime-2. Today’s rating action concludes the review of Portugal’s ratings initiated on 5 April 2011.
Stay Tuned, We’re next!
Roger Rabbit is unable to attend because of personal medical problems. Before you trolls start salivating, I’d like to point out these problems are not terminal.
HA originated, in large part, as a media watchdog type of blog. Over the years, a large part of its mission has been to criticize the established media. For this reason, I’m going to comment on the media circus surrounding the Casey Anthony trial.
Before I get into that, I’ll point out that my educational and occuptional background includes both the journalism and legal professions. I went to one of America’s top journalism schools and was a newspaper reporter before I went to law school and became a lawyer and judge.
I’ll start this discussion by saying the Casey Anthony trial was surrounded by an unseemly media circus that amounted to a media lynching of a young woman that a jury of her peers has found innocent of murdering her child.
The problem of the media arrogating to itself the power of judge, jury, and executioner has been around forever. There’s nothing new about this, nor is there anything new about irresponsible journalists whipping up public hatred against an individual accused of a reprehensible crime — that is, a crime that would be reprehensible if a crime in fact occurred and if the accused in fact committed it, which are matters for the court and jury, not the media or the general public, to determine.
We talked about this stuff 40 years ago when I was in law school. Even then, prosecutors, defense attorneys, judges, and law professors and law students grappled with the problem of protecting a defendant’s right to a fair trial when shoot-from-the-hip journalists are telling the world that the defendant is guilty. Courts have tried to deal with this in various ways, such as by sequestering juries, moving trials to another venue, imposing gag orders, and so on. But we have freedom of the press in this country, which includes the freedom to be reckless with the truth and otherwise irresponsible, and none of these strategems are entirely effective. Thus, it is a tribute to the Anthony jury that they weren’t swayed by the media-generated pressure, and pressure from the howling mobs whipped up by the media, to convict this young woman but instead based their verdict on the weakness of the prosecution’s case against her.
She’s probably not safe on the streets of Florida this evening. There was a near-lynch mob outside the courthouse when the verdict was announced. She may never be safe on any street anywhere in America, simply because the media told the public that she’s guilty of strangling or drowning her two-year-old daughter.
Anthony didn’t help herself by not reporting her child’s disappearance for a month and going out partying afterward. She tore her family apart by accusing her father of disposing of the body. But those circumstances, repellant as they are, don’t prove she murdered her child or even that the child was murdered at all. The defense theory was that the child died of a tragic accident. The jury may not have believed that — the media certainly didn’t — but the jury did have a reasonable doubt.
One of the headlines I saw online tonight went something like this: “Not Guilty Verdict Not A Finding Of Innocence.” In other words, after the jury returned a “not guilty” verdict, the media line became, “She’s guilty anyway.” How irresponsible.
Of course, the media have no responsibility to anyone to be responsible, and therefore they often aren’t. News — whether broadcast, print, or online — is a profit-making business. And anyone who’s ever been in this business knows that sensational reporting attracts more viewers and readers — and therefore more advertising dollars — than staid, thoughtful, and careful reporting. Yellow journalism has been around practically since journalism was invented.
But the fact that sensationalizing a murder trial and trying the defendant in the press is good for business doesn’t make it right or honorable or decent in any way. It isn’t. Some editors and journalists have higher standards than that, but this mob doesn’t.
Here’s how our system works. When the full weight of state power is brought to bear against a person accused of a crime, the state, not the accused, has the burden of proof. The defendant doesn’t have to testify or put up a defense. The defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. The defendant has the right to appear, be heard, and rebut the state’s evidence and arguments. All of the burdens are on the state; and if the state fails to carry its burdens, the defendant is entitled to acquittal. At no stage of our criminal law process is a defendant required to prove innocence.
The media, of course, don’t adhere to that standard. In this case, the media convicted the defendant in the press before the trial even started. In a highly technical sense, the “not guilty” verdict doesn’t necessarily prove them wrong. But it certainly does in a moral sense. The media’s job was to objectively report the investigation, arrest, and trial. In this, the media failed miserably and jeopardized Casey Anthony’s moral and legal right to a fair trial in the process. The media coverage of this case was not, shall we say, the media’s finest hour.
And that’s where the matter rests.
Accepting Responsibility
In case you missed it, Eldon Vail, the director of the Washington State Department of Corrections, abruptly resigned last Friday when he learned of the existence of a video documenting that he had an affair with a subordinate. (The video shows them leaving a motel room in separate vehicles.) Here’s what Vail told the media:
“Vail … acknowledged he did have an affair with an employee and that it was ‘inappropriate.’
“‘… I knew I had only one choice, and that was to resign,’ Vail said. He resigned effective immediately[.]
“‘This is no one’s fault but my own,’ he said. “It’s not the employee’s fault. It is not my wife’s fault.'”
http://seattletimes.nwsource.c.....ail06.html
Roger Rabbit Commentary: How refreshing. Even when getting caught doing something immoral, this guy is a class act. How often do we see that from powerful public or corporate officials?
My Oil stocks are up 30% since Feb 2011. Barrons said yesterday oil will reach $170 a barrel by 2012.
Taking the subsidies off of oil will just cause the Oil companies to raise their price even more.
All because of a debt and deficit by Obama, which even his own economists said cost $270,000 per job it saved or created.
He will enter 2012 with 9+% unemployment, $6 to $7 gas, and skyrocketing interest rates.
Couldn’t happen to a more deserving fool!
The resigned immoral acting state employee is not a class act, Roger.
Get a grip you toothless senile rodent.
You are full of rabbit pellets, rodent.
You old windbag
Play nice.
# 5: Compared with most politicians of note, it is refreshing. (Note: I don’t want to get into the “which side is worst” debate right now).
Brilliant, man. Hope you have a GRRRRRRR-eat day today!
re 10: Takin’ Care of Bidness is not on their set-list these days.
“Roger Rabbit is unable to attend because of personal medical problems. Before you trolls start salivating, I’d like to point out these problems are not terminal.”
Too bad – about the illness not being terminal, that is.
“HA originated, in large part, as a media watchdog type of blog.”
No, this blog was started so Goldy could attack Tim Eyman. Goldy hates Eyman, as we all know.
In fact, we have an entire news network (Fox) and a show on another (Nancy Grace’s POS show) devoted to being reckless with the truth and otherwise irresponsible!
Not unreasonable to dislike a hustler who exploits people’s ignorance for his personal gain.
We’ve seen many of those throughout history – Huey Long, Richard Nixon, Jack Abramoff..
Long live the rabbit!
re 14: Politically Ignorant would be a more accurate moniker for you.
re 14: If you were as dumb as Troll, I would have suggested Politically Iggrint.
@18 & 19,
The “log removal” in your moniker refers to removing the stick up you ass. You can say what you want, but don’t confuse me with somebody who gives a shit.
We’ve seen many of those throughout history – Huey Long, Richard Nixon, Jack Abramoff… and Dan Rostenkowski, Charlie Ranger, Lyndon Johnson…
Don’t forget that the Dems are just as corrupt as the Reps.
@14 WTF? You’re disappointed that Roger doesn’t have a terminal illness? Fuck you, you Randroidian asswipe.