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The Michael Nifong Scandal [Dorothy Rabinowitz]
The Wall Street Journal ^ | January 11, 2007 | by Dorothy Rabinowitz

Posted on 01/11/2007 3:37:41 AM PST by aculeus

The Duke rape hoax is redolent of past decades' phony child-abuse cases.

No one could have imagined, when the story began last March, how soon and completely that bit of shorthand--"the Duke University scandal"--would be transformed.

Scarcely 10 months after, the term is now almost universally understood as a reference to the operations of Michael Nifong, the Durham County district attorney (pictured nearby), whose abandonment of all semblance of concern about the merits of the rape and assault accusations against three Duke University students was obvious from the first. So was his abundant confidence while broadcasting comments on the guilt of the accused. He seemed a man immune to concerns for appearances as he raced about expounding on the case against the accused lacrosse players and calling them hooligans. He would hear nothing by way of concern from Duke administrators (seven months into this affair, the university president did find an opportunity to mention the accused students' right to a presumption of innocence)--and certainly none from the politically progressive quarters of the Duke faculty who lent their names to an impassioned ad thanking everyone who had come out to march in protest against the rape and assault of the exotic dancer; 88 faculty members signed it, among them such Duke luminaries as Alice Kaplan, author and student of fascism, and Frank Lentricchia, literary critic.

(Excerpt) Read more at opinionjournal.com ...


TOPICS: Extended News
KEYWORDS: dorothyrabinowitz; dukelax; nifong; rabinowitz
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1 posted on 01/11/2007 3:37:41 AM PST by aculeus
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To: aculeus

Finally the truth comes out. The only just outcome of all this is for Nifong and the lying accuser to both be in jail for 5 years.


2 posted on 01/11/2007 3:44:15 AM PST by Leftism is Mentally Deranged (Where's my white privilege?)
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To: abb; Howlin

Ping

"Soon after news broke of the Duke athletes' alleged brutish sex crimes against a black woman, the administration undertook a well-publicized campaign targeting the entire lacrosse team for offensive behavior. President Richard Brodhead was, it seems, barely able to recover from the shock of his discovery that a party thrown by male jocks could occasion heavy drinking. And related loutish behavior. Not to mention a stripper. Lacrosse was suspended for the season, and the team coach, Mike Pressler, was shortly after forced to resign. Mr. Brodhead in due course reinstated the team, but on probation, and with conditions, i.e., no underage drinking and disorderly conduct, and no harassment. The members of other Duke organizations, sports teams included, which had sponsored parties where alcohol flowed freely and which had featured strippers--an informal count reveals at least 20 known to have done so--no doubt understood that they faced no similar disciplinary action. The reason for the moral-cleansing program devised for the lacrosse team could scarcely have been missed."


3 posted on 01/11/2007 3:45:25 AM PST by Peach (The Clintons pardoned more terrorists than they captured or killed.)
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To: abb; Howlin

ping


4 posted on 01/11/2007 3:45:42 AM PST by Locomotive Breath (In the shuffling madness)
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To: Peach

20 seconds - heh heh heh.


5 posted on 01/11/2007 3:49:57 AM PST by Locomotive Breath (In the shuffling madness)
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To: aculeus
Is Nifong still trying to prosecute these boys on kidnapping and other frivolous charges?

The only person in this whole mess who ought to be brought up on charges is Nifong!

6 posted on 01/11/2007 3:54:11 AM PST by sirchtruth (No one has the RIGHT not to be offended...)
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To: sirchtruth
The only person in this whole mess who ought to be brought up on charges is Nifong!

I think the stripper should face charges for filing a fraudulent police report (or whatever terminology is appropriate). I don't know what her motive was in initially claiming rape because from what little I've read it sure sounded as if she was high on something after they left the frat house. I don't know if she'd have enough 'snap' while under the influence to think about possible large sums of money she might be able to sue for.

Who knows! She may have been motified by fear of some sort but even if that's the why part, she still needs to face consequences and responsibility.

7 posted on 01/11/2007 4:05:42 AM PST by Sally'sConcerns
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To: Sally'sConcerns

motified = motivated!

Need coffee!

Need new brain!!!


8 posted on 01/11/2007 4:06:52 AM PST by Sally'sConcerns
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To: aculeus

Mr. Nifong should be prosecuted along with the idiots at Duke who were so quick to condemn because they are "rich white boys". I wish the LaCrosse coach would sue Duke then go after the individual professors who went ballistic and all agreed to the boys quilt. Being a rich, white boy sure allows many privileges, one of which is facing 30 years in prison and a destroyed reputation. What has all this "politically correct" nonsense brought us? An inability to address the real criminals, in this case, Nifong and the black stripper.


9 posted on 01/11/2007 4:08:44 AM PST by Rockiette (Democrats are not intelligent!)
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To: sirchtruth

Nifong AND the two strippers who tried to scam money from the Duke boys. Guess they didn't feel they had been paid enough for their services. Nifong is an embarrassment. What really steams me is the irreperable harm he has caused to race relations in Durham. One good outcome is that grifters Sharpton and Jackson look stupid as usual.


10 posted on 01/11/2007 4:13:37 AM PST by SWEETSUNNYSOUTH
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To: aculeus

bump


11 posted on 01/11/2007 4:14:14 AM PST by Dr. Scarpetta
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To: sirchtruth

Yes, and yes.


12 posted on 01/11/2007 4:14:16 AM PST by DB
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To: aculeus

And maybe the other lesson these boys learn is that hiring strippers and participating in other sleazy activities can cause you problems.


13 posted on 01/11/2007 4:16:00 AM PST by cinives (On some planets what I do is considered normal.)
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To: aculeus

thank you so much for finding and posting a Dorothy Rabinowitz column. She's brilliant!


14 posted on 01/11/2007 4:16:09 AM PST by YaYa123
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To: aculeus

so anybody know which party this nifong is a member of?


15 posted on 01/11/2007 4:16:56 AM PST by wildcatf4f3 (Find out what brand the Ethiopians are drinking and send a case to all my generals.)
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To: aculeus

And let's not forget the other "dancer" who was shopping for a New York literary agent within 4 days of the supposed event.


16 posted on 01/11/2007 4:25:39 AM PST by MindBender26 (Having my own CAR-15 in RVN meant never having to say I was sorry....)
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To: Sally'sConcerns
She was acting irrationally. The police were about to involuntarily commit her to a psychiatric facility. She claimed she was raped so they would not do that and took her to a hospital instead.
17 posted on 01/11/2007 4:30:57 AM PST by Locomotive Breath (In the shuffling madness)
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Comment #18 Removed by Moderator

To: wildcatf4f3
"...so anybody know which party this nifong is a member of?"

More importantly, which university he attended? I think some people take this rivalry thing a bit too far... ;-)

19 posted on 01/11/2007 4:31:13 AM PST by Hatteras
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To: aculeus

Wow! The great Dorothy Rabinowitz takes it on!


20 posted on 01/11/2007 4:32:49 AM PST by BunnySlippers (SAY YES TO RUDY !!!)
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