…for lying to a judge last September about turning over the results of all DNA tests in the Duke “rape” case.
In fact, he had not. He and DNA lab director Brian Meehan (and here) knew that genetic material from several men was found on and inside Crystal Mangum, the false rape accuser, and conspired to keep this exculpatory evidence from the defense. Then Nifong lied and claimed he’d turned over all DNA test results.
By the way, there were no DNA matches between Mangum or the indicted lacrosse players Reade Seligmann, Collin Finnerty, and David Evans, although she claimed they strangled, beat, raped (with no condoms), and sodomized her (including orally) for 30 minutes in a small bathroom.
The year was 1981 and I was 14, the age at which young girls dream of fairy tale weddings. Before day-to-day adult realism set it (and you all know what I mean), I imagined what it would be like to marry a prince.
Lady Diana Spencer, just 20-years-old, was about to find out. Only six years older than me, she was marrying the Prince of Wales, the future king of England, and she’d give birth to a future king or queen.
The Princess of Wales was the reason I became intrigued by the history of the British monarchy. From Egbert of Wessex to Queen Elizabeth II, it is a rogues’ gallery, with a few good eggs, too. Murderers, drunks, druggies, adulterers, good-deed-doers, warriors, cowards, Christians, heathens, the faithful, the faithless…and sinners all.
I read about all of them. Especially fascinating were tales of the Plantagenet King Richard III, rumored to have murdered his two young nephews (who were only children) so he could grab the throne; Tudor King Henry VIII, who “discarded” wives who didn’t give birth to a male heir; “German” Queen Victoria, whose descendants (and “bad blood”) are scattered throughout the royal houses of Europe; and King Edward VIII, who gave up his throne to marry a twice-divorced American (crazy!).
Hey, a sin is a sin is a sin. In God’s eyes, bearing false witness and stealing are just as sinful as this. But something about the latter causes me to shudder in disgust. Can’t help it.
Hate e-mail aside, I have to say this. Our culture is in full descent mode. All we Christians can do is warn the world that the kingdom of heaven is at hand and that Christ is returning to deliver the Father’s wrath on the unrepentant. We’re marking time in a fallen world (as we pray, “Even so, come, Lord Jesus!”). And it’s going to get a lot worse.
Update (9/1): The same fool of a judge who ordered that Iowa’s ban on homosexual “marriage” be lifted just issued a stay on homosexual “marriage” applications, pending appeal.
(Disclosure: I’m an Amazon Associate, and I get a small cut of the proceeds of every book bought through LBC. I’m paid with Amazon gift certificates.)
If you followed bloggers’ coverage of the Duke “rape” fiasco (which began in early April 2006 for me, a few weeks after the “rape”), you know that KC was the go-to blogger in the case. The appalling behavior of some of Duke University’s professors triggered his involvement. And Stuart was one of the first journalists to cry foul very early in the case.
For a good round-up of Duke case-related news articles and blog posts, see The Johnsville News.
Addendum: Are the formerly indicted lacrosse players gearing up to sue the city of Durham? An excerpt:
“[Reade] Seligmann hired Barry Scheck, a New York City lawyer who helped represent O.J. Simpson in his murder trial. Scheck also started the Innocence Project, which has used DNA evidence to free more than 100 people from prison. David Rudolf, a Chapel Hill attorney who represented former Carolina Panthers receiver Rae Carruth in a murder trial, is serving as local counsel for Scheck.
“[David] Evans and [Collin] Finnerty have hired Brendan Sullivan Jr. and Chris Manning of Washington. Sullivan defended former HUD Secretary Henry Cisneros and represented Lt. Col. Oliver North during the Iran-Contra congressional hearings…The former players’ representatives will meet next week with the city’s legal staff.”
Yes? Just a guess.
Update (8/30): Pet peeve alert – There is no such plea as “innocent.” Maddening. It’s either guilty or not guilty.
Even in cases of rape and incest, I do not believe the unborn baby should be killed. Is that clear enough? I’ll make it clearer. Even if a man rapes his 13-year-old daughter and impregnates her, the baby should live. He should not be “terminated” because of how and under whatever circumstances he was conceived. I see no justification, no matter how tragic the events, for killing the innocent, unborn baby.
It’s all black and white for me, no shades of gray. If you call yourself pro-life but make an exception in cases of rape and incest, you’re not pro-life. Dig?
I can see the e-mail now: “A child giving birth to her father’s child? You’re sick!”
Yes, I am sick. Sick of child killing, the self-centeredness, the disposable mentality, the lack of faith…
Update: “Vick told reporters that this incident has changed his life. He said he has found Jesus and is turning his life over to God.” (Source – video here)
It’s Friday, so it must be…Hanson time! I rediscovered them, and I like. I’m going to see them when they roll through DC next month. Want to come with? I’m trying to get “journalist” credentials.
Here’s a clip of the band, with youngest member Zac on lead vocals singing “On the Rocks.”
What I wouldn’t do to the person or people who gave my e-mail address to every Republican on Capitol Hill. If I get one more e-mail from “house.mail.gov,” I think I’ll…
I shouldn’t have to “opt out” of an e-mail list. I can opt-in if I choose. I shouldn’t have to exert any effort — not even lifting a finger — to get off these blasted e-mail lists. I’d like to find whoever came up with this opt-out BS and…
To every blogger who sends me links to his/her blog every single time you publish, STOP. I hardly ever check such links, and I’m starting to block people who e-mail me more than once a week. If I could gather you all in one room, I’d relish the opportunity to tell you…
If you’ve met me in person and I made the mistake of giving you my card, proper etiquette instructs that you ask if you can add me to your e-mail list. Just because we met doesn’t mean I want to be bombarded with junk you think is important. OK?
I’m interested in a lot of things. My tastes are somewhat eclectic. But for some reason, I find Paris Hilton’s preference for large organs supremely uninteresting. And I couldn’t care less that some Nigerian doctor and his family are trapped in a dangerous country. No, doc, I can’t help you hide your $10 million, even if you give me $1 million for my trouble. Too much to do already.
Wednesday, September 19: Want to know what I actually said on “The Daily Show”? Follow this link.
Friday, August 24 (12:50 p.m.): I had fun yesterday. Once I realized it was completely unserious, I played along and had fun with it. No regrets. I won’t be on stage with Jon Stewart (unfortunately), but I’ll appear in a segment with a “field” correspondent. Details later. I must catch up on work that pays the bills.
A three-judge panel of an appeals court in Kansas just held that an illegal alien’s “ongoing presence in the United States in and of itself is not a crime” unless the illegal alien reentered the country after a previous deportation. (Source)
Can you believe it? Entering the U.S. in violation of the law is illegal. Being in the U.S. in violation of the law may not be illegal. How and under what condition could that ever make sense? Isn’t it common sense that an illegal alien, by virtue of breaking the law, is a criminal? That’s why he’s called an illegal alien. His mere presence inside these borders makes him an outlaw.
But I’m jumping the border…I mean, the gun. The facts:
Some drug-dealing moron named Nicholas Martinez had his kid deliver drugs to an undercover cop (rotten luck!). He was arrested and charged with the sale of cocaine, possession of cocaine with intent to distribute, endangering a child, theft, and unlawful possession of an identification card. Under a plea agreement, he pled to possession and endangering a child.
Incredibly, the district court was going to give him probation — as was warranted under the sentencing guidelines — instead of throwing his sorry butt in jail. But there was a problem. The judge said (emphasis added):
In my not-so-humble opinion, the single most pressing issue in the “black community,” however you define it, is that black men have abandoned their children.
I don’t need to lay out the arguments and post statistics related to drug use, criminality, underachievement, promiscuity, and teenage pregnancy among fatherless children. You’ve read and heard it all before.
It’s a vicious cycle. Until black people start having babies within marriage the way they used to, it will be difficult to break the cycle. The chances that a fatherless boy will grow up with the expectation of getting married first, having children later, and supporting his family are quite low. It’s not likely he’s learning how to be a husband, father, and provider from the women in his family, who themselves probably were fatherless and are rearing fatherless children. It’s awful. Blacks have done this terrible thing to themselves and have no one to blame but themselves.
Update (8/19): Well, that was fun. Big shout-out to Allahpundit at Hot Air for capturing the segment for me. (By the way, when I mention Rudy Giuliani, it sounds odd because Tony hadn’t asked me about Giuliani. We were supposed to talk about him but didn’t. I was thinking how much I preferred Fred Thompson over him, so when we got to Thompson, the Giuliani comment slipped out.)
People die in car accidents every day. But there’s something especially disturbing to me about this drunk driving accident.
A drunk driver kills herself and three passengers. Four underaged young people, out having a “good” time and not thinking about the danger, are dead. Gone. They leave behind angry, confused, and grieving families. There but for the grace of God…
The story reminded me of my heavy-drinking days back in the day. It was nothing to drink like a fish at one party, then get behind the wheel looking for another “kegger.” I was mighty fortunate in my time. In fact, I was so worried that my drinking-and-driving “luck” would run out, I kept my car in SC when I moved to Philadelphia to attend law school. I didn’t want to live with the guilt of killing someone or with the shame of having a DWI on my record. Yes, drinking was more important to me than having my own mode of transportation. I got to know Philly’s subway system very well.
If you drink and drive, stop. Don’t do it. Hand the keys over to someone else. Don’t underestimate how intoxicated you might be. It’s not worth risking your life and the lives of people who have the misfortune of encountering you on the road.
Here’s an even better idea: stop drinking alcohol. Period. I’m no Prohibitionist, but still…
Update (11:32 a.m.): A reader sends a link to a related Thomas Sowell article. An excerpt:
“The redneck culture proved to be a major handicap for both whites and blacks who absorbed it. Today, the last remnants of that culture can still be found in the worst of the black ghettos, whether in the North or the South, for the ghettos of the North were settled by blacks from the South. The counterproductive and self-destructive culture of black rednecks in today’s ghettos is regarded by many as the only ‘authentic’ black culture–and, for that reason, something not to be tampered with. Their talk, their attitudes, and their behavior are regarded as sacrosanct.”
“Statewide in English/language arts, only 30 percent of black students and 29 percent of Latino students scored proficient or better. In contrast, 62 percent of white students and 66 percent of Asian students scored proficient or better…In math, only 26 percent of black students and 31 percent of Latino students statewide scored proficient or better, while 54 percent of white students and 68 percent of Asian students scored proficient or better.”
More here (type “dontbugme” for username and password). An excerpt:
“[I]n some cases, the poorest white students are doing better than Latino and black students who come from middle class or wealthy families…The so-called achievement gap — the difference in performance between groups of students — has long been chalked up to a difference in family income. It makes sense that — regardless of race — students whose parents have money and speak English would do better in school, on the whole, than students whose families struggle with employment, food and shelter.
“But this year’s test scores show that the difference in academic achievement between ethnic groups is more than an issue of poverty vs. wealth.”
The year was 1981 and I was 14, the age at which young girls dream of fairy tale weddings. Before day-to-day adult realism set it (and you all know what I mean), I imagined what it would be like to marry a prince. 
No Exceptions
Big shout-out to 
People die in car accidents every day. But there’s something especially disturbing to me about 
Update (11:32 a.m.): A reader sends a link to a related Thomas Sowell article. 