Wednesday, March 14, 2007

Hoax Day - Never Forget

Today is Hoax Day, a time to remember what we've learned. Sadly, we've learned how pathetically biased and inaccurate all of our news media can be. We've learned that the media often does not correct or amend its mistakes, research its articles or prepare for talk-show "commentary." Instead they brazenly, carelessly or unconcernedly repeat the same misstatements over and over again. We understand now that this shoddy, biased reporting has NOT just occurred THIS ONE TIME ...in THIS ONE CASE. We've learned our media is unreliable a great deal of the time. They are biased and agenda driven. We will no longer forgive it or indulge it when the bias matches our own. That's a deadly path for our intellect, our honesty and our freedom. Never forget the outrageous Hoax reporting. Never forget.
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We've learned that District Attorneys, faced with losing elections, may sell out the duties of their office and the very lives of their constituents..to win. We've learned the State often assists them with unrecorded Grand Jury testimony, old pal judges, line-ups one can rig, witnesses one can bully, non-existent note keeping, a Go Fish Game of open discovery (unless you have lots of money, the House ..oops State...always wins.) We've learned how those who work in our justice system find easy, comfortable ways to exploit it. Apparently, it's not just tolerated - it's taught. Need ways to get around the rules? The old timers will show you the ropes. Never forget what Nifong taught us about our justice system. Never forget.
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We've learned that there is no ill wind that doesn't blow good fortune someone's way. Remember the Crisis-cretins we've met and our infamous Hags-of-the-Hoax. . Out of the shadows of the Hoax they crept..licking their lips...hissing, "What's in this for me?" "Let's exploit this to strengthen our agenda, improve our ratings, get funding for our programs, kill collegiate athletics, increase our power, sell newspapers, get a gig on Greta, get sixty seconds of fame! They preened through their puffy "interviews," played the serious, solemn commentator or "expert." Unburdened by a sixty second sound bite to prove their "points" , they thought their pomposity covered their obvious bias and ignorance. Never forget what these self promoters taught us about the sorry side of human nature. Never forget.
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We learned we now live in a society now where certain "intellectuals"...if they don their mantles of political correctness and their breastplates of victim-hood ...need only gibberish and rambling verbal recklessness to suppress any reasoned opposition. They can write at the level of a remedial 9th grader and reason at the level of a playground bully...but securely hold positions of power and authority at a prestigious American university. They come in all sizes, colors, genders and creeds. They may actually publicly condemn the children of the families who pay their large salaries..yet sail on, undisturbed by any in so-called authority. Never forget what we've observed at Duke University. It's a microcosm of a many-faceted national farce. Never forget!
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And never forget why we are all here...writing, researching, posting! We Blog Hooligans, mostly anonymous strangers also representing all colors, genders, and creeds, have been drawn together and united by the cause of righting a great wrong. We are here for Collin, Reade and Dave. For their families. For the team. For the travesty of lives interrupted, losses undeserved. For three young men subjected to this sham of a prosecution ,the horror of this Hoax, this shame of a FRAME. Going forward, we must never forget to be watchful in our own communities, in other cases...where others are no doubt nifonged with no resources,and no recourse. We must be as vocal and strong in their support as well. Never forget we must always afford the presumption of innocence to those who are the least like ourselves,and sometimes , in our personal perspective, the least sympathetic. I for one will never again be a casual "Well, something happened" commentator...just because it FEELS good to me.
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It's been one long, long year. Yet the persecution continues. Justice is still denied in North Carolina. Never forget what these boys, these families have endured. Always remember who was responsible. Never forget the lessons or the painful legacy of the hoax. Let's find something in this tragedy to make our own communities better, our press more accountable, our justice system less susceptible to abuse. Remember the blind ignorance of of bias directed at Collin , Reade, and Dave. Let's reject it in any form in ourselves...in honor of what they've suffered...
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Kill the Hoax.
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Remember the Hypocrisy.
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Never, never forget!
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Joan Foster

24 comments:

Anonymous said...

Excellent commentary on what has been learned from the Hoax/Frame. I hope it can be published beyond the blog so others can read it and learn.

Anonymous said...

Good appraisal of the unreliability of the MSM. I've been on the receiving end of highly biased and inaccurate reporting for decades; even had a little set-to with Mike Wallace (a small, very obnoxious creep) over the Pollard espionage case. I DO NOT BELIEVE ANYTHING I read in any MSM publication, period. Sometimes, if you have the inclination, you can scan the left-wingers like NYT and Washington Puss and then scan Washington Times and watch FoxNews--somewhere in the middle lies truth, but it takes a heap of digging. I can only hope that folks reading this blog will realize that there is no reliable unbiased reporting channel in the country any more. NPR, funded with our tax money, is nothing more than Isvestia redux. Dang, I'm glad to get that off my chest!

Anonymous said...

"Never forget the lessons or the painful legacy of the hoax. Let's find something in this tragedy to make our own communities better, our press more accountable, our justice system less susceptible to abuse. Remember the blind ignorance of of bias directed at Collin, Reade, and Dave. Let's reject it in any form in ourselves ...in honor of what they've suffered..." (Emphasis added)

This is hardest part for all of us, and yet the most important!

Great post Joan, thank you.

Anonymous said...

To The DUke Three:
We are all with you...continue to have (some) faith in our judicial system!
Never, ever doubt yourselves!
God Bless!

Anonymous said...

Beautifully said, Joan. With KC, JinC, Bill Anderson, Prof. Coleman, you're one of the heroes in this saga. And you're right: if we don't remember the hoax, we will be condemned to repeat it.--Bob Hyde Duke '67

Anonymous said...

What a wonderful commentary. Indeed we will never forget, and we are not going to forget those accused however long this all goes on. And, we also will remember that ordinary people came together to find the truth, and have taken great steps in that direction by patient, diligent and honestly searching out facts, checking statements, and digging out the hard to find.

Anonymous said...

Joan,

You are the best!! And Unhappy Hoax Day to the Evil Fong.

Anonymous said...

Yessss! Never forget! But lets all resolve to take steps to insure this never happens again! A positive first step in to stay with Nifong until ground into historical dust. Secondly, we should demand that transcripts of Grand Jury proceedings be make.
Lastly, look to your wrist. Is there a blue bracelet there? Everyone should donate and participate!

Foaming at the mouth

Anonymous said...

Carolyn says:

Once more, Joan, you said it best.

Please rest assured I will never forget. And it's not because of my better nature - it's because the lesser nature of Nifong, the Gang of 88 and their kind has made this whole thing a horror no one can possibly forget.

And you have made it impossible for anyone to even try.

Thank you, Joan.

Anonymous said...

Unfortunately, the G88 is clueless. After all, these people who work nine months a year for six-figure salaries really are oppressed. Poor, G88!!

Anonymous said...

Just Great Liestoppers. This piece says it all. G Goslee calling the FA "this young lady" over and over - could not have been further from the truth. Right now, they are using the "charged words" agians t Howard Stern. I must say I was impressed with Star Jones truthful commentary and hope she replaces all those women on courtv - most of all Bloom, Karas and Grace. No, I won't forget

Anonymous said...

This is a piece to read each and every morning before we "stumble down the stairs to meet the day." It's inspirational.

Anonymous said...

Thank you again Joan for saying just the right thing.

Welshman said...

Ms. Foster,

Thank-you for your sobering, gripping, and soul-searching commentary today. This is an excellent piece of writing and a most poignant reminder of the darkness that lurks within all of us--a dark side to reporting that must always be kept in check, lest we fall into the trap of mimicking the travesty of journalism that occurred in Durham regarding this case.

As you may know, Liestoppers is one of our 'preferred links' on The Liberty Sphere, so anyone who visits the blog can easily gain access to Liestoppers. But this one piece should be published far and wide. It perfectly summarizes the salient points concerning the dark menace many of us fight on a daily basis.

Once again, please accept my sincere, heartfelt thanks for not only a wonderful column but for the valiant work you do.

Sincerely,
D. Martyn Lloyd-Morgan
The Liberty Sphere
www.thelibertysphere.blogspot.com

Anonymous said...

latest news

http://www.newsobserver.com/1185/story/553776.html

Anonymous said...

Roy Cooper and SPs just left 610 Buchanon Street. Spent 30 minutes inside house. This must mean something is moving.

Anonymous said...

"We Blog Hooligans, mostly anonymous strangers also representing all colors, genders, and creeds, have been drawn together and united by the cause of righting a great wrong."

And one would think that this example of outrage would be just what the gang O'88 would want.

Instead, they rely upon vitriol and spit at those like KC, Liestoppers, Bill A, KinC, who took the time and the energy to bring to light a gross injustice.

A sad commentary indeed.

Anonymous said...

JinC,not K

Anonymous said...

Joan:

Your "Never Forget" article is the best overall perspective article that I've read to date. Well written, concise and to the point. As the parent of a D-1 lacrosse player, I am very grateful for your efforts to shine the light of publicity on a putrid situation.

Anonymous said...

Excellent work.

Anonymous said...

Deeply moving article. I admire your courage and concern for justice.

Anonymous said...

Do Geraldo, Oprah, Nancy Grace et al have any credibility left? Sure they do. They've BSed before
and it didn't hurt them a bit.

Anonymous said...

Do Geraldo, Oprah, Nancy Grace et al have any credibility left? Sure they do. They've BSed before
and it didn't hurt them a bit.

Anonymous said...

Do Geraldo, Oprah, Nancy Grace et al have any credibility left? Sure they do. They've BSed before
and it didn't hurt them a bit.