I support Fred. But I'm surely not the only one who remembers that Sen. Paul Tsongas, candidate for Democratic nomination for President in 1992, had non-Hodgkin's lymphoma as well, and after being given a clean bill of health by doctors, he soon after suffered a more aggressive attack by the disease and died five years later.

(I remember because I supported him in 1992... until that parvenue jagoff Clinton convinced me he really was a conservative sort of Democrat.)

Paul Tsongas had, I imagine, the aggressive form of the illness, having to endure experimental marrow-transplant surgery to beat it back. Thompson so far has only needed a course of drugs, and he's not even on that fairly light treatment anymore, given his doctor believes the cancer to be both in remission and "indolent" or slow-moving.

Again, I don't want to jump on Thompson -- who I've repeatedly promoted -- and I'm not using his cancer to score points for my boy Rudy (who also had cancer, of course).

Just doing what bloggers do -- remembering, Google-searching. It's not like I'm the only one in America who remembers Paul Tsongas.

Posted by: Ace at 02:49 PM | Comments (23)
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No matter how much "news" comes out of this, MSM, you do not have the power to make me give a fig either way.

In more news I don't care about, Rosie defends Imus, which is predictable, given that she's in a similar situation, Michelle Malkin notes the top four rap singles use the terms "ho" and "nigga" like there's a Spring Slur Sale on at Target, and Snoop Dogg says it's different when he calls black girls nigga ho's because, and I quote,

We're talking about ho's that's in the 'hood that ain't doing shit, that's trying to get a nigga for his money.... We are rappers that have these songs coming from our minds and our souls that are relevant to what we feel.

David Duke just emailed me to say, "Hey, those are the kind of nigga ho's I'm always going on about, too! And believe me, it comes right from my mind and soul and is relevant to what I feel."

I feel stupid even posting this.

Crucified By The FCC: MSNBC announces end of Imus simulcast, which means they'll have to put together a new morning show that gets zero ratings; and the FCC will give Imus the full Stern treatment for his deeply offensive remarks.

They might also want to check out rap stations that may have played this Easy E song from back in the day:

so i grabbed the stupid bitch by her nappy-ass weave

she started talkin shit, wouldnt you know

reached back like a pimp, slapped the hoe

David Duke just emailed me again to say "That song touches my soul."

Thanks to Jay for that.

From an earlier Hot Air post on this idiot story comes this article, which is some sense about nonsense:

Imus isnÂ’t the real bad guy

Instead of wasting time on irrelevant shock jock, black leaders need to be fighting a growing gangster culture.

By JASON WHITLOCK - Columnist

Thank you, Don Imus. YouÂ’ve given us (black people) an excuse to avoid our real problem.

YouÂ’ve given Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson another opportunity to pretend that the old fight, which is now the safe and lucrative fight, is still the most important fight in our push for true economic and social equality.

YouÂ’ve given Vivian Stringer and Rutgers the chance to hold a nationally televised recruiting celebration expertly disguised as a news conference to respond to your poor attempt at humor.

Thank you, Don Imus. You extended Black History Month to April, and we can once again wallow in victimhood, protest like itÂ’s 1965 and delude ourselves into believing that fixing your hatred is more necessary than eradicating our self-hatred.

The bigots win again.

While weÂ’re fixated on a bad joke cracked by an irrelevant, bad shock jock, IÂ’m sure at least one of the marvelous young women on the Rutgers basketball team is somewhere snapping her fingers to the beat of 50 CentÂ’s or Snoop DoggÂ’s or Young JeezyÂ’s latest ode glorifying nappy-headed pimps and hos.

I ainÂ’t saying Jesse, Al and Vivian are gold-diggas, but they donÂ’t have the heart to mount a legitimate campaign against the real black-folk killas.

It is us. At this time, we are our own worst enemies. We have allowed our youths to buy into a culture (hip hop) that has been perverted, corrupted and overtaken by prison culture. The music, attitude and behavior expressed in this culture is anti-black, anti-education, demeaning, self-destructive, pro-drug dealing and violent.

Rather than confront this heinous enemy from within, we sit back and wait for someone like Imus to have a slip of the tongue and make the mistake of repeating the things we say about ourselves.

Posted by: Ace at 02:33 PM | Comments (53)
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Wow. The "reality-based community," huh?

But for some at Duke, the possibility of dropped charges left as many questions as answers -- and a feeling that the full truth of what happened that night in the house on North Buchanan Boulevard may never be known, in part because the investigation was mishandled.

"Since we haven't gone through a normal legal process, we don't know what really happened," said Duke biology professor Sheryl Broverman. "The fact the charges were dropped doesn't mean nothing happened. It just means information wasn't collected appropriately enough to go forward."

Broverman said she couldn't say one way or the other whether the players sexually assaulted the exotic dancer -- and that the investigation did little to clarify that. "For me, it just means we'll never know," she said.

Gives me all sorts of confidence in that "scientific consensus" on "global warming" knowing tenured elite-university biologists don't quite understand DNA.

In fairness, this sub-atomic psychokinetic fissionist seems to have been speaking yesterday, asked about reports that charges would be dropped.

But does anyone really expect her to change her opinion after today's amazing press conference? I don't. The most we can expect is that she'll get a lot quieter about her psychoses.

From the comments at Durham In Wonderland. The article is here.

...

The victims are holding a press appearance now. And by "victims," I mean the accused and their families.

So far nothing much to report.

They're all grinning like schoolgirls who just got asked to prom.

The families and the boys will take no questions. Huh? What's the point, then?

I suppose they're going to make statements, but not answer questions. I guess their statements have been vetted so as not to prejudice or damage the coming blizzard of lawsuits.

BONUS! Shep Smith goes ballistic on Nifong in a video update at Hot Air.

Plus, Finnerty thanks KC Johnson of Durham In Wonderland for his "diligent work" in exposing the truth day after day.

They're Still Not Innocent, Claims FoxNews Panelist! "Something bad" happened at this party, he alleges. Even if they're not guilty of rape, it seems, they're guilty of quasi-rape.

After all -- they were drinking underage! They had strippers at a party! Only "bad," semi-rapist young men do such things!

A Newsday douchebag quoted a Duke adminstrator as saying similar things, and he seemed to be in solidarity with him. At least, he offers no challenge for these sorts of statements.

Fake but accurate. Innocent but guilty... of something.

None of the three have attempted to return to Duke, where as one administrator said, they are "no choirboys," regardless of the outcome of the legal matters. Duke has been humbled, knocked down a peg on the prestigious scale of universities, admits John Burness, a former Stony Brook University official and current senior vice president and media point man at Duke throughout the sordid episode.

...

Duke reviewed its own house and is dealing with the exposed warts. A special committee found, among other issues, what it termed Duke's "own ambiguity regarding underage alcohol consumption [concluding that the university] conveys inconsistent messages and confuses expectations regarding alcohol. Duke University has fostered a number of problems among its undergraduates, including lacrosse players, by its ambivalent policies toward underage and over consumption of alcohol at Duke. The problem now needs serious review and remediation within the university."

The report also cited an unspecified number of lacrosse players [in the past] who have "disturbed neighbors with loud music and noise, both on and off campus. They have publicly urinated both on campus and off. They have shown disrespect for property. Both the number of [lacrosse] team members implicated in this behavior and the number of alcohol related incidents involving them have been excessive compared to other Duke athletic teamsÂ…"

Burness said, "We have much stronger codes that are bring enforced. We have a much higher degree of accountability; there's no ambiguity about that."

...

Even if all charges are dropped against the three players, Burness believes other legal hurdles exist for the university. "We're expecting that there's probably going to be civil suits from folks trying to get money out of us, that comes with the turf."

Burness said there is a segment of the population that has asked him if Duke will apologize to the players if their legal problems disappear. "I said," Burness replied, "for what?"

Public urination, underage drinking, loud music which annoys neighbors... pretty much an indictment of every single male college student living off campus next to quieter, older folks. (And those living on campus do the same -- there just ain't so many complaints about it, because almost all of their neighbors are guilty of similar behavior.)

Is this good behavior? Of course not. But to even bring this small-bore bullshit up when we are talking about boys accused of vicious, violent rape and forcible sodomy is, how do I put this, fucking insane.

Oh, sure, maybe they didn't "rape" a girl. But you know -- they were blasting Ben Folds' cover of Bitches Ain't Shit a couple of nights, while, eyewtinesses reports say, they were drinking beer despite being two years below the legal drinking age!

So, you know, who's really to blame here? They were asking for it. Look at how they behaved. They were dressing like hooligans with their caps all backwards 'n shit, shakin' their little tight white asses; they were almost begging to be raped by the legal system and Duke University.

The Statements Of The Boys, Their Lawyers, And Their Families: Seemed kind of sweet but uneventful to me, but if you want the full skinny, KC Johnson liveblogged every statement. Just keep scrollin', as the man says.

Duke's Official Response: Um, they manage to admit the obvious:

Let's be clear about what was said today. The Attorney General did not dismiss the allegations on narrow, equivocal or legalistic ground. He
determined our students to be innocent of the charges and said they were "the tragic result of a rush to accuse." In short, he used the strongest language of vindication.

But refuse to take any responsibility for what happened, or apologize for the adminstration's behavior, or confess any error whatsoever:

From the outset, I have been careful to note that these students were entitled to the presumption of innocence and I looked to the legal system to determine the merit of the charges. Now, finally, that process has given us a decision based on a thorough and objective review of the evidence. This is what we have all needed from the start. I trust the State Bar's review will be equally thorough so that we can understand the District Attorney's conduct in this case. As for Duke, while not reliving the past year, we won't be afraid to go back and learn what we can from this difficult experience.

During the past year, the world has known these young men, their teammates and a great university largely through the filter of unproven allegations. I trust that today's decision will begin a new day for all involved.

Meanwhile, the Group of 88 remains unrepentant. A tenured Duke biology professor says she still thinks that maybe a rape occurred.

A new day will begin, sure enough. A day of a massive lawsuits against Duke, among others.

I imagine the Sol Rosenberg rule of lawsuits will obtain -- Sue everybody. (Except the accuser; they've decided she's a "troubled young woman." Also, she has no cash.)

Thanks to Sluey.

Posted by: Ace at 12:03 PM | Comments (76)
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Good. Why pretend anymore? There is not the slimmest legal pretext to continue hiding her identity.

I considered doing that myself a while ago. Wrote up a post justifying it. Decided there was no good reason to do so; it really didn't matter what her name was, everyone who wanted to know would know it anyway; and it I was just making controversy for the sake of controversy.

In other words, I chickened out.

But this mentally-unstable, drugged-out "exotic dancer"/part-time hooker moonlighting as a rape-charge fabulist is Crystal Gail Mangum, as anyone who cared to know already did.

Previously Claimed... Boyfriend and two other men abducted her and took her fifteen miles away and raped her. Later filed, but backed away from, charges, supposedly for "fear for her life."

Her father states he does not believe such an incident occurred. Her mother believes her. She went to a psychiatrist and has been on medication.

Full article here.

According to her father, the year after the alleged Creedmoor rape, Mangum saw a psychiatrist and took prescription medication for a year because trauma from the assault had left her suicidal.

...

By 2002, Mangum seems to have given up her dreams of seeing the world. She was back in her hometown, trying to get a job as a stripper. In June 2002, she was arrested on a multitude of charges while working at a topless dance club called Diamond Girls. According to police, she removed a customer's keys to his taxicab while giving him a lap dance, then stole the taxi while he was in the bathroom. Police chased her at speeds up to 70 miles per hour — frequently in the wrong lane — and when an officer tried to approach her, she barely missed running him over, and struck his patrol car instead. She tried to escape again, but a flat tire ended the second leg of her getaway. Finally in custody, she was found to have a blood-alcohol content of 0.19 (the state limit is 0.0 . While being questioned, Mangum passed out and was taken to a hospital.

In the end, Mangum had racked up 10 charges, including driving while impaired, driving with a revoked license (her license has been suspended three times), eluding police, reckless driving, failure to heed a siren and lights, assault on an officer and larceny of a motor vehicle. In 2003, she pleaded guilty to four misdemeanors: larceny, speeding to elude arrest, assault on a government official and DWI.
...

Sometime in the last two years, according to her parents, Mangum suffered a mental breakdown and was taken to a hospital in Raleigh. They said they didn't know what caused the breakdown but said she felt burdened by mounting debts.....

In 2006, Mangum was working as a stripper in at least one club and for one service. She was adamant that she never worked as a prostitute, and told police that in only one instance did she have sex with a customer, a man she thought was "nice." According to employees of clubs she worked at, she was known as a problem dancer, frequently clashing with customers and other dancers and often passing out.

...

As time went on, her romantic life didn't get more stable, either. According to reports, Mangum said she'd had sex with at least three men in the days leading up to the Duke lacrosse incident, including her boyfriend and two of the men who drove her to dancing gigs. Somewhere around this time, she again became pregnant. She gave birth to a premature girl in January 2007.

Shep Smith is saying FoxNews also thought hard about identifying her when it becase clear to everyone but Nifong and Amanda Marcotte that she was lying and that the accused were innocent. But they too shied away from doing so.

It's Old: As I say in the comments, I know everyone knew all this, or could find this out with a three-second internet search. What's newsworthy here is not her name, or her photo, or her record -- all that was available for those who looked.

But it was embargoed by news organizations, who stood on ceremony pretending she was entitled to rape-shield sort of protection of her identity. The news here here isn't the news itself.

The news here is the decision to actually report the news.

I'm not criticizing them for that decsion. I made the same decision to stand on ceremony and go along with the legal pretext she was a "rape accuser" in a live rape prosecution.

Just saying, that's all changed now.

Posted by: Ace at 11:41 AM | Comments (156)
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"No credible evidence that an attack occurred"

Another Update: Video of the best bits at Hot Air.

Update: Text of Statement. Here.

Choice bits follow. All bold and italics added.

The result [of our investigation] is that these cases are over, and no more criminal proceedings will occur.

We believe that these cases were the result of a tragic rush to accuse and a failure to verify serious allegations. Based on the significant inconsistencies between the evidence and the various accounts given by the accusing witness, we believe these three individuals are innocent of these charges.

We approached this case with the understanding that rape and sexual assault victims often have some inconsistencies in their accounts of a traumatic event. However, in this case, the inconsistencies were so significant and so contrary to the evidence that we have no credible evidence that an attack occurred in that house that night.

The prosecuting witness in this case responded to questions and offered information. She did want to move forward with the prosecution.

However, the contradictions in her many versions of what occurred and the conflicts between what she said occurred and other evidence, like photographs and phone records, could not be rectified.

Our investigation shows that:

The eyewitness identification procedures were faulty and unreliable. No DNA confirms the accuser's story. No other witness confirms her story. Other evidence contradicts her story. She contradicts herself. Next week, we'll be providing a written summary of the important factual findings and some of the specific contradictions that have led us to the conclusion that no attack occurred.

In this case, with the weight of the state behind him, the Durham district attorney pushed forward unchecked. There were many points in the case where caution would have served justice better than bravado. And in the rush to condemn, a community and a state lost the ability to see clearly. Regardless of the reasons this case was pushed forward, the result was wrong. Today, we need to learn from this and keep it from happening again to anybody.

Now, we have good district attorneys in North Carolina who are both tough and fair. And we need these forceful, independent prosecutors to put criminals away and protect the public. But we also need checks and balances to protect the innocent. This case shows the enormous consequences of overreaching by a prosecutor. What has been learned here is that the internal checks on a criminal charge — sworn statements, reasonable grounds, proper suspect photo lineups, accurate and fair discovery — all are critically important.

Therefore, I propose a law that the North Carolina Supreme Court have the authority to remove a case from a prosecutor in limited circumstances. This would give the courts a new tool to deal with a prosecutor who needs to step away from a case where justice demands.

Update: Wow. I was wrong. He flat out said they were innocent, and now he's on the serious contradictions in the accuser's claims.

"We believe that this case is the result of a tragic rush to accuse and a serious failure to investigate serious allegations"

An example of "overreaching" on Nifong's part; now proposing additional protections for accused; wants a law to permit Supreme Court to remove case from prosectuor in appropriate cases.

"Nifong's law." He didn't say that, but that's what it will be called. A fitting effin' tribute to this bastard.

-- suggests that people involved in this case (i.e., Nifong, his corrupt investigators) might want to consider issuing apology to Duke 3

-- "any state can have a rogue prosecutor'' -- pretty much calling Nifong that.

These guys really exceeded my expectations. They did themselves great credit, and they've gone a long way towards restoring faith in prosecutors by being so stand-up.

...

MORE: "We have considered that [possibility of pursuing charges against accuser for perjury and false accusation]." HOWEVER, they claim they she might actually believe her lies, and therefore will not purse such charges.

Kind of a mix on that score. It's a cutesy way out of a mess, but it does strongly suggest she's nuts, so that's something at least.

But... refuses to comment on whether or not she's "mentally unstable." Says in the "best interests of justice" not to discuss evidence under seal.

Still, he doesn't exactly vouch for her sanity.

...

Original, erroneous -- and uncharitable -- speculation about what Roy Cooper's statement would be below the fold. I was happily wrong. I'm burying it because speculation isn't really newsworthy anymore, is it?

more...

Posted by: Ace at 11:12 AM | Comments (55)
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and the resulting post?

A thing of beauty. I mean, seriously, how else to describe a post that contains the following passage?

Now, figuring out whose name goes in the hat? There's a logistics/P.R. nightmare I would not want to wrestle. Good luck, staffers, as you explain the refusal of Queen C*** of F*** Mountain's application for inclusion, despite the fact that she was once on the payroll of a well-respected Democratic VP candidate.

I wonder to whom she could be referring? The subject of this post, maybe?

Anyway, the whole post is interesting. Apparently McCain wants to do semi-weekly conference calls with bloggers (to be selected randomly from the aforementioned hat) should he be elected president.

But why are you still here? You should be at MKH's site reading the whole thing.

Go. Now.

You'll thank me later. Ingrates.

Ace's Update -- McCain's First Big Speech On Iraq. Doublin' down. Now that is the kind of maverick postioning I can get behind.

Before I left for Iraq, I watched with regret as the House of Representatives voted to deny our troops the support necessary to carry out their new mission. Democratic leaders smiled and cheered as the last votes were counted. What were they celebrating? Defeat? Surrender? In Iraq, only our enemies were cheering. A defeat for the United States is a cause for mourning not celebrating. And determining how the United States can avert such a disaster should encourage the most sober, public-spirited reasoning among our elected leaders not the giddy anticipation of the next election. Democrats who voted to authorize this war, and criticized the failed strategy that has led us to this perilous moment, have the same responsibility I do, to offer support when that failure is recognized and the right strategy is proposed and the right commanders take the field to implement it or, at the least, to offer an alternative strategy that has some relationship to realityÂ…

Democrats, who deny our soldiers the means to prevent an American defeat, have chosen another road. It may appear to be the easier course of action, but it is a much more reckless one, and it does them no credit even if it gives them an advantage in the next election. This is an historic choice, with ramifications for Americans not even born yet. LetÂ’s put aside for a moment the small politics of the day. The judgment of history should be the approval we seek, not the temporary favor of the latest public opinion poll.

Posted by: Jack M. at 10:50 AM | Comments (11)
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A Royals outfielder proves this hotly-debated proposition.

Damn.

Posted by: Ace at 10:33 AM | Comments (27)
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Oh, it was a slur only against Republicans? Never mind then!

My Bad.....

I deeply regret that I have offended gay people. I said things that I do not really mean, before I had thought them through... I was wrong and I seriously apologize!

Call me up today and let me have it! I will apologize and try to make clear what I really meant to say... which was that everybody needs to unite right now, and step outside of their own neighborhoods, groups, races and classes to stop Bush's war on our country and our people. I love gays and I hate division. I am just a big idiot with a big mouth sometimes. I will learn to be more careful! Please forgive me, I am so sorry!!!!

What I Meant To Say:

The leaders of gay groups need to align with the leaders of Acorn, and other groups of poor and desperate Americans and fight against those who oppress all of us!

I have met too many gays who are Republicans, and I cannot understand how they could choose that!

Let's all leave our own bedrooms, kitchens, neighborhoods and groups and meet each other to form a diverse army that stands for Democracy and Economic Justice!!!!

(Again I apologize for any pain or hurt I have caused those whom I have always loved and befriended).

Well played, Roseanne. I mean, it's complete nonsense -- your problem was obviously with left-leaning gays for concentrating too much on their own agenda rather than fighting harder for the broader leftist economic agenda -- but by just claiming you were talking about Republicans, all will be forgiven. The gays who matter -- leftist gays -- will just say "Oh sure, we hate those guys too."

But it the claim of what was meant does not track with what was actually said at all:

Never once in my 54 years have I ever once heard a gay or lesbian person who's politically active say one thing about anything that was not about them. They don't care about minimum wage, they don't care about any other group other than their own self because you know, some people say being gay and lesbian is a totally narcissistic thing and sometimes I wonder. I've never heard any of them say anything except for 'Accept me 'cause I'm gay.' It's just, it's screwed. It's no different than the evangelicals, it's the same mindset. They want you to accept Jesus and you guys want us to all believe it's ok to be gay.

First of all, she said all gays. She said she "never once" heard a gay express a single political thought apart from one on gay issues.

Second of all, it doesn't even make sense if she was addressing Republican gays. Republican-leaning gays are the least strident on sexual issues, by and large -- if the leftist gay agenda was that important to them, they wouldn't, couldn't be Republicans. So she's was, um, what? Telling Republican gays to stop focusing only on gay issues (which they don't) in order to dedicate themselves to other political issues they care about -- issues on which they completely disagree with Roseanne?

Yes, that's right. Her claim is that she was merely telling Republican gays to stop talking about an issue on which Roseanne agrees with them in order to pursue issues on which they disagree with her? She thinks Republican gays are in the party for our stance on gay issues, and if they just stop pushing that Republican sexual agenda, they'll dedicate themselves to raising taxes and social spending?

Please. Not even Roseanne is that stupid.

But apparently she thinks her audience is. And, guess what -- she's right.

Posted by: Ace at 09:33 AM | Comments (43)
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Pretty much announcing, "Yeah, I'm a lefty, there's a different rule for me."

That's a Newsbusters link, by the way, not a Tbogg one. I got tipped about this the other day but why throw him the traffic?

Posted by: Ace at 09:18 AM | Comments (12)
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Sounds kind of bad, but then Rudy's had prostate cancer and McCain's had skin cancer.

Fred Thompson, the potential presidential candidate better known as television's gruff "Law & Order" district attorney, said Wednesday he was diagnosed with lymphoma more than two years ago but the cancer shouldn't affect his life expectancy.

In an interview with Fox News Channel's Neil Cavuto, the former Tennessee senator, 64, said a doctor conducting a physical in 2004 found a bump on his neck, which turned out to be non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. He said the disease is in remission with no illness or symptoms, and it won't affect his decision about whether to seek the Republican nomination.

"I wouldn't be doing this if I wasn't satisfied in my own mind as to the nature of it and the fact that not only will I have an average lifespan but in the meantime I will not be affected in anyway by it," Thompson said. "Now of course nobody knows the future but that has been in the history for almost three years now in terms of no symptoms and no sickness."'

Thompson's physician, Dr. Bruce Cheson, hematology chief at Georgetown University Hospital, said the prognosis is good.

"Some lymphomas are very aggressive, but people with slow-growing types, like Senator Thompson's, more often die from natural causes associated with old age, rather than from the disease," Cheson said in a statement.

Thompson's disclosure comes just weeks after Elizabeth Edwards, wife of Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards, revealed that her cancer had returned. White House spokesman Tony Snow recently underwent surgery for cancer that had spread to his liver.

Over at Red State, which seems overwhelmed by a Drudge link, he says the cancer will not affect his decision whether or not to run for president.

shortly after a routine physical, I was diagnosed with what the doctors call an indolent lymphoma. Of the 30-plus kinds of lymphoma this is a "good" kind, if there is such a thing.

I have had no illness from it, or even any symptoms. My life expectancy should not be affected. I am in remission, and it is very treatable with drugs if treatment is needed in the future--and with no debilitating side effects.

Well, maybe. But it might affect a lot of people's decision to support him. Unlike McCain and Giuliani, who at least have, for the moment, been deemed cured, he seems to have this for life. It may be the slow-growing kind, but who knows.

I wish him well and still think he's a very strong candidate. But it's a concern, not just for him but for the country should he be elected.

Posted by: Ace at 09:08 AM | Comments (25)
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