Will Nifong go after bloggers?

November 8, 2006

[CondorFlight]

Now that the election is over and this can't be considered just an election ploy :

Rumors are said to have been circulating in Durham to the effect that Nifong might consider (legally) going after a couple of bloggers; that if he deals with a couple of them the rest will be intimidated and fade away.

This is just a heads up; so that if anything untoward happens, everyone will know about it in advance and be able to make the connection. The rumors are well-sourced.

[bad company]

The photo on post #27 is from dhs.

[abb]

http://www.newsday.com/news/local/longisland/ny-liduke094967712nov09,0,1677587.story?coll=ny-linews-headlines
LI dad disappointed at Duke DA's re-election

BY JOSEPH MALLIA
Newsday Staff Writer

November 9, 2006

The father of a Duke University lacrosse player from Garden City yesterday expressed disappointment at Durham County, N.C., prosecutor Mike Nifong's election victory.

But Kevin Finnerty, whose son Collin was indicted in the alleged rape of an exotic dancer at a team party, said Nifong's failure to win a majority against weak opposition was a sign of discontent with his handling of the case.

Nifong, who faced two other candidates, prevailed because he won overwhelmingly in mostly black areas of Durham on Tuesday, while he was outpolled in precincts near the Duke campus, election data shows.

Nifong falling short of a majority, "tells me there is a fair amount of local unrest, dislike, distrust with how he handled this case and who he is," said Kevin Finnerty, of Garden City. "I think there's a message in those numbers, but I don't think ... [Nifong] listens to outside opinions."

Nifong could not be reached for comment yesterday.

One candidate on the ballot, County Commissioner Lewis Cheek, had publicly stated he would not accept the job while the other candidate, local Republican Party leader Steve Monks, was a write-in. Nifong got 49 percent of the vote, while Cheek got 39 percent and Monks 12 percent.

The mostly black Precinct 42 gave 432 votes to Nifong, 15 to Cheek and 3 for Monks, election results show, while some precincts adjacent to the university skewed heavily toward Cheek.

The numbers of black votes shows Nifong "used this case to his advantage. Does he need the case anymore? I don't think so, [but] my guess is he won't drop it," Finnerty said.

"He won, so he got what he was maneuvering for," he said. "But I think it's very telling that he couldn't even get a majority against someone who was not running and someone whose name was not on the ballot."

Collin Finnerty, 20, and two other players are accused of holding the dancer against her will in March in a bathroom of an off-campus house and raping her. A grand jury indicted all three on charges of rape, kidnapping and sexual offense, while defense attorneys proclaimed their innocence. The suspects are white, and the accuser is black.

Nifong polled well among black Durham residents because residents respect him as a prosecutor and they favor his handling of the case, Durham Mayor Bill Bell said in an interview. "By and large, people want it to be decided in court."

But in other election precincts near Duke University, voting data showed a different trend. Precinct 5, near the university's west campus, gave Nifong 147 votes, Cheek 365, and Monks 28. The Durham Chronicle, a campus newspaper, reported that some lacrosse players joined other students in an organized get-out-the-vote effort favoring Cheek.

[F.J. Mitchell]

Bring it on @$$hole! LOL! Not directed at you Condor.

[Alia]

I see, thank you. I happened to remember the News and Disturber saying it wouldn't publish the name of the accuser as it was not their policy to do so.

[Alia]

Thank you. Bill Cosby's case, newsies wouldn't reveal the name of his accuser. This then is purely a policy put forward by the newspaper, and is not the law.

[Jezebelle]

Correct.

And the bias against the accused (nearly 100% male) is evident in the media policy of rushing to furnish his name, but is typical of a left-wing agenda.

[Alia]

Yep: Three legs bad; two legs good. Feminism.

[bjc]

Retired UNC professor Bob McClelland said he didn't like Nifong's handling of the case but still favored Nifong over Cheek....

McClelland said he backed Nifong because "he has had a track record for years. He's done good work. To judge him solely on the basis of the lacrosse case would be a mistake. Democracy is sloppy. I think the truth will ultimately come out. We can't expect perfection from a system when we're surrounded by imperfections." Duke professor Peter Euben said much the same. "I think Mr. Nifong made some mistakes," he said. "But I also know it [the lacrosse incident] was an incredibly fraught situation. Did he do an exemplary job? No. Would I have done any better? No. To take that one particular case and blow it up as if it's the whole world is wrong. It would be a mistake to make too much of it."

I bet the two professors would not use the same logic or words when evaluating Rumsfeld. The intellectual dishonesty of liberals is stunning.

[Sue Perkick]

Not sure what part you're talking about. But early on he was brazen claiming the boys attorneys were afraid to go up against him. The incident at the polls with Bob Harris was widely reported.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1734329/posts

[abb]

http://www.newsobserver.com/138/story/508245.html
Monks spoiled election
Ruth Sheehan, Staff Writer
Ladies and gentlemen, let me introduce to you Durham County's own Ross Perot.

Or is it Ralph Nader?

In the 12 hours after the election, "Spoiler Steve" Monks, the write-in Republican candidate who helped assure a victory for Durham District Attorney Mike Nifong, had heard it all.

He had received calls from crazy people, and some not so crazy, calling him an idiot, a moron, a ... well, those are the ones I can print.

Monks ended up drawing more than 11 percent of the vote, a distinct uptick from the poll showing him at 2 percent two weeks ago. (Of course, this was the same N&O/WRAL poll that predicted the Wake school bond referendum was in trouble).

But here's the kicker: Monks' votes, had they been added to Lewis "I will not serve if elected" Cheek's, would have been enough to unseat Nifong, wounded by his handling of the Duke lacrosse fiasco.

For those of us who predicted Monks would have just this sort of spoiler effect on the race, it was infuriating to see the numbers roll in.

A few of us have wondered, not so idly, whether Monks wasn't secretly assisting Nifong for some unknown reason. After Tuesday night, I have a different theory. (More on that at the end of the column.)

On Wednesday morning, despite the acrimony aimed his way, Monks said he thinks he was not, indeed, the spoiler. He is convinced his votes would not have gone in a block to Cheek.

"I knew there were a great number of people who wouldn't vote for someone who wouldn't serve," he said, "even though they perceived that Mike Nifong was doing a terrible job."

Monks said that instead of dumping on him, voters should reserve their rancor for Cheek.

Write-in candidates may historically have a snowball's chance in Hades of winning, but Cheek is the one who should have stepped down, Monks said.

(He does concede that the "R thing" -- Republican registration -- might have been a problem for him in the People's Republic.)

But if Cheek wasn't going to serve, Monks said, he should never have agreed to having his name on petitions to get his name on the ballot. On that point, I agree.

"If the Democrats had offered a credible candidate who would have served, I never would have entered the race," Monks said.

I asked Spoiler Steve, could you have handled any of this differently yourself?

In a word, no, Monks said.

"I'm comfortable in my own skin," he said. "My wife and kids love me."

Well, I thought, that's just perfect.

Nifong has adamantly defended his handling of the Duke lacrosse rape case.

And both Cheek and Monks say the other one is responsible for Nifong's return to office.

So guess what? A majority of Durham voters voted against Nifong. Yet Nifong won. And nobody is to blame.

Nifong must have giggled in his sleep Tuesday night.

But there is one person who has got to be even more delighted about Nifong regaining his seat than the district attorney himself:

Court TV's Nancy Grace.

Maybe that's who Monks was working for.
Ruth Sheehan can be reached at 829-4828 or rsheehan@newsobserver.com.

[Protect the Bill of Rights]

He's [Cheeks] taking away my vote, disenfranchising me

---

This is from a professor?

[abb]

http://www.webcommentary.com/asp/ShowArticle.asp?id=gaynorm&date=061109
WEBCommentary Contributor
Author: Michael J. Gaynor
Duke Case: Stuart Taylor Refutes Cash Michaels

[Locomotive Breath]

Happened just the other day.

[Locomotive Breath]

I feel like letting my geek flag fly.

[gopheraj]

mark

[Sue Perkick]

Either his arrogance has maxed out or he's going to need a straitjacket by the times this thing's over.

[ladyjane]

...so Nifong would get elected in a constituency that has large numbers of decent Black folk who have been taken advantage of yet again.

Sorry. It is patently obvious to anyone with an IQ of at least 80 that Nifong is railroading these boys. Decent? No. Racist? Yes.

[Nonstatist]

Nifong would get elected in a constituency that has large numbers of decent Black folk who have been taken advantage of yet again.

Really? Unless they were looking for revenge I cant imagine why theyd want to vote for him. Without doubt , Durham County is the most corrupt in NC, and well, North Carolina isn't Iowa, if you get my drift.

[VRWCtaz]

"For aluminum foil to work, the outer, shiny, side MUST be coated with a film of mercury."

It never fails to amaze me the things I learn from FRiends here. Now, I wonder if my wife will have a problem with my removing the mercury from our thermostat for my new hat.