Showing posts with label NC State Bar. Show all posts
Showing posts with label NC State Bar. Show all posts
Wednesday, December 11, 2024
Tuesday, December 24, 2019
Saturday, December 3, 2016
Friday, March 18, 2016
Thursday, February 11, 2016
NC State Bar: A Force from the Dark Side
The correspondence above was posted on Tuesday, January 14, 2016
The correspondence above was posted on Tuesday, January 5, 2016
The correspondence above was posted on Friday, January 1, 2016
The correspondence above was posted on Saturday, December 29, 2015
The correspondence above was posted on Saturday, December 19, 2015
The correspondence above was posted on Thursday, December 17, 2015
The correspondence above was posted on Tuesday, December 15, 2015
The correspondence above was posted on Friday, December 11, 2015
The correspondence above was posted on Wednesday, December 9, 2015
The correspondence above was posted on Thursday, December 3, 2015
The correspondence above was posted on Friday, November 27, 2015
The correspondence above was posted on Wednesday, November 25, 2015
The correspondence above was posted on Saturday, November 21, 2015
The correspondence above was posted on Tuesday, November 17, 2015
The correspondence above was posted on Thursday, November 12, 2015
The correspondence above was posted on Monday, November 9, 2015
The correspondence above was posted on Saturday, November 7, 2015
The correspondence above was posted on Thursday, November 5, 2015
The correspondence above was posted on Tuesday, October 27, 2015
The correspondence above was posted on Monday, October 26, 2015
Tuesday, November 4, 2014
Tuesday, February 5, 2013
February 18th Hearing
Click on the link below to view the flog and the directory.
They both have links to each other.
LINK to Flog: http://www.justice4nifong.com/direc/flog/flog25/flog25.html
LINK to Directory: http://www.justice4nifong.com/direc/flog/flog25/flog25direc.html
Transcript of the flog is below
Word
count: 1,125
The impetus behind the legal action stemmed from two
documents Harr filed in Mangum’s case on August 7, 2012… one a petition for
writ of mandamus to have the Larceny of chose in action charge against her
dismissed, and the other to order her attorney, at the time, Woody Vann, to
turn over all discovery which he had been withholding to her.
Harr drafted and signed these documents as a third party Pro
Se petitioner and stated in the filings his arguments for having standing in
the case.
- he
graduated from UNC-CH with a B.A. degree;
- he
graduated from UNC- CH
- he
worked as a district attorney in
- he has
since been an Orange County Superior Court judge in
The significance of the above is that for more than forty
years, the North Carolina Medical Examiner’s office has been at UNC-CH… moving
in mid-January 2013 to its new facility in Raleigh
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
Prosecution’s not-so-secret weapon v. Mangum’s only weapon
Word count: 2,177
As I have stated before, the trial and inquisition given to Joan of Arc by the English was far fairer and much more humane than the state’s treatment afforded to Crystal Mangum, the Duke Lacrosse case victim/accuser. Ms. Mangum has clearly been subjected to a malign vendetta-driven prosecution by a wide ranging cabal of conspirators with a goal of exacting misguided payback for her role in the Duke Lacrosse case… and you can bet that their pursuit of this persecution is based in part on the fact that she is an African American woman. Those colluding to subvert justice and punish Mangum consist of the medical examiner Dr. Clay Nichols, the mainstream media (which to date has done a magnificent job of concealing the truth from the masses), and the Enablers… individuals and organization who are in positions to help put a halt to the injustices against Mangum, such as the NAACP, but elect to remain silent and do nothing due to lack of will, lack of courage, or both. One of the prosecution’s most valued and no-so-secret weapon is H. Wood Vann, the defense attorney for Crystal Mangum. The fact that he was the Court’s initial choice in appointing a defense attorney, speaks volumes as the entire Tar Heelian justice system has been and is now relying on him to do the bidding of the prosecutors.
Although the State’s initial goal may have been to win a conviction for first degree murder in order to hand Mangum a life sentence, the intervention by the grass roots organization Committee on Justice for Mike Nifong has taken that draconian option out of play and placed the prosecution on defense. The State, representing the city of Durham, is now fighting to extract a plea deal (preferably to a felony) for time served in order to extricate the City of Bull from any civil liability for its malicious prosecution of Mangum. And it is Mangum’s own attorney, Woody Vann, who has been given the mandate to deliver her on a silver platter to Durham prosecutor Charlene Coggins-Franks. You can bet that Mr. Vann will continue to dutifully carry out his assignment as he already indicated that he does not intend to step aside amidst criticism and accusations of some Mangum supporters… accusations against which he has no answer and which include the following:
(1) his failure to file a motion to dismiss the murder charge due to lack of probable cause and a charge based upon a blatantly bogus autopsy report;
(2) his failure to file a motion to dismiss the larceny of chose in action charge due to lack of probable cause;
(3) his withholding important exculpatory evidence from his client including photographs which document her injuries and suggest that Reginald Daye was the aggressor;
(4) his withholding important exculpatory evidence from his client including the report from Dr. Christena L. Roberts which assesses Daye’s cause of death and the autopsy report by Dr. Nichols; and
(5) his testing the waters on behalf of the prosecutors to see if Mangum was ready to accept a plea deal by presenting one to her and advising her to take it… saying that she had a weak case.
For Mr. Vann to suggest that the case for Mangum’s defense is weak when the prosecution is willing to drop a first degree murder charge to assault with a deadly weapon for time served (about 500 days at the time) shows the ludicrous nature of his contentions about the offer. Rest assured that after Ms. Mangum is softened up with more jail time, the plea deal will be offered once more, because the prosecution is not going to take this case to trial, because it has no case. And because, as Mangum’s legal counsel, Mr. Vann holds a position of his client’s trust, he is charged with bringing about her downfall.
On September 18, 2012, Mr. Vann and his collaborators put on a court performance in which he was pretending to valiantly fight to have Ms. Mangum’s bail reduced from $200,000 to $50,000. I felt all along that this event was staged for Mangum’s benefit and that all participants involved in this charade knew that there was absolutely no way in Hades that her bail would be reduced one cent. Vann had been taking a lot of well-deserved criticism from Mangum supporters for not doing anything for his client, so in response he felt forced to put on this little courtroom drama. Mr. Vann’s true allegiances and fidelity are evidenced by his actions in which includes his failure to seek dismissal of the bogus charges against Mangum, his withholding all pertinent discovery and evidence not already in her possession from her, his infrequent visits and lack of communication with his client, and his general lack of urgency and willingness to allow Mangum to unjustly sit in jail separated from her three children. The bottom line is that Mr. Vann has sold his soul to the Blue Devil, as his priorities obviously are to protect Duke University and its hospital from negative publicity.
Because it is obvious to anyone with at least one functioning gray matter neuron that the stab wound inflicted by Mangum was not responsible for Reginald Daye’s brain death and subsequent elective removal from life support a week later and resultant death, the defense and prosecution have even shifted their stories to suggest that Mr. Daye’s brain death was due to a massive aspiration following a bout of emesis. Even the mainstream media is going along with this misdirection by not mentioning the fact that Mr. Daye was improperly intubated by Duke University Hospital staff. This medical mistake that attorneys on both sides and the media are trying to keep covered up led to hypoxia which resulted in brain death and Daye’s comatose state.
In addition to protecting Duke University Hospital’s reputation, Mr. Vann is entrusted with eliminating any legal liability Ms. Mangum has against the city of Durham for bringing a malicious prosecution against her. The privileged Duke Lacrosse defendants, who never spent a single day in jail and who were able to shake down Duke University for $20 million each, feel that they are now entitled to receive $10 million each from the city of Durham just because Attorney General Roy Cooper felt pressured by Joe Cheshire to proclaim that the Duke Lacrosse defendants were “innocent.” Not only that, but the mainstream media has lionized and coddled these boys while viciously attacking Crystal Mangum and labeling her as a liar who is emotionally unstable, violent, irrational and a threat to society. In this backdrop, Ms. Mangum’s attorney is trying to wrangle from her a plea deal that would let the city and its prosecutors off the hook for compensation she rightfully deserves for a premeditated vindictive and malicious prosecution that has deprived her of her liberty for nearly a year and a half and deprived her of contact with her three children who love her and need her.
Whereas Mr. Vann is the prosecution’s not-so-secret weapon against Ms. Mangum, the Committee on Justice for Mike Nifong and Mangum’s supporters are her only weapons against an injustice system bent on making her suffer because of politics related to the Duke Lacrosse case. Legal layperson Sidney Harr, a retired physician who has been sounding the alarm about serious problems with the Nichols’ autopsy report of April 14, 2011 since its release to the public in mid-August 2011, has helped Ms. Mangum draft and file motions to the court to dismiss the charges against her. The result netted by his action has been for the North Carolina State Bar to investigate Harr for the unauthorized practice of law; the action originating from complaints by “more than one journalist,” and whose identities have been hidden by the Bar which assumed the role of complainant for that specific purpose. Then, when Harr filed a Pro se petition for writ of mandamus to order prosecutors to dismiss charges against Mangum for lack of probable cause and to order attorney Vann to desist from withholding evidence and discovery from his client Mangum, the State Bar launched another investigation for unauthorized law practice (this one scheduled to be heard on October 24, 2012). However, all of Harr’s complaints filed with the Bar against prosecutors Kelly Gauger and Charlene Coggins-Franks (for malicious prosecution against Mangum without probable cause) and H. Wood Vann (for withholding evidence and prosecution discovery from his client Mangum) were not acted upon.
What contributes to making this an uphill battle for the Committee and Mangum supporters is the silence and idleness of the enablers – NAACP, the ACLU, the North Carolina Coalition Against Domestic Violence (in Durham), politicians (including those in the North Carolina General Assembly), and civil rights and religious community leaders. It is understandable why people refuse to get involved in trying to help Crystal Mangum… they realize that to do so is politically incorrect and they justifiably fear the consequences. A lesson was learned in 2007 in North Carolina when former Durham District Attorney Mike Nifong was persecuted by the state, disbarred by the State Bar, and crucified in the media because he went forward with his prosecution of the three defendants in the Duke Lacrosse case… that lesson being that acting ethically and with professional integrity will not protect an individual from being mauled by the system. This has even been borne out in this situation as Harr has already been confronted twice by the NC State Bar… actions against him initially instigated by the media.
I am of the firm belief that Dr. Clay Nichols felt under duress to go along with the program and issue a report he knew to be fraudulent in order to wrongly implicate Mangum lest he be subjected to the torturous treatment meted out to Mr. Nifong. The politicizing of Duke Lacrosse related issues have cast a pall over the state’s criminal justice system unlike any other case, forcing some good and decent people to unwillingly take part in corruption and others to look the other way. The timorous NAACP is looking the other way and has been quiet as a dormouse when it comes to the gross injustices against Ms. Mangum… as has the aforementioned enablers. Governor Bev Perdue has been apprised of the injustice against Mangum as has Attorney General Roy Cooper, and they have both elected to ignore the issue and allow an innocent mother of three to remain locked behind bars because of a misguided vendetta.
The Committee is engaged in waging a lonely battle for justice with the enablers being effectively throttled by a statewide reign of political-inspired terror that is ant-Nifong and anti-Mangum. After peeling off the veneer to expose the true nature of the prosecution’s not-so-secret weapon, it is time for Crystal Mangum to jettison Mr. Vann… deadweight that is undermining her case while propping up hopes for the prosecution. For example, Mr. Vann has consistently been inconsistent in his explanations about prosecution discovery and evidence. First he tells Ms. Mangum that he has received Dr. Roberts’ report but will withhold it from her. Then, after confronted by the Committee he states that he has not yet received the report. First he tells Ms. Mangum that he will withhold from her the photographs taken by prosecution related to the April 2011 incident… photographs which document her injuries at Daye’s hand and the other exculpatory evidence. Then, after pressed by the Committee, he told Ms. Mangum that he sent the disc containing the photographs to the printer and they came up blank. The most recent explanation is that the photographs provided by the prosecution show only images of smoke damage to the apartment in the 2010 case… that he has no images related to the 2011 case. Durham Police Forensics report (Note: the smoke damage was the result of Durham Police officers allowing clothing on fire in a bathtub to burn for fifteen minutes without any attempt by officers to intervene and douse the blaze by turning on the bathtub spigot or shower.) He gave Mangum no indication as to when he would have possession of the above referenced evidence and discovery. He gave her no indication of any action he might take to expedite there retrieval… documents and evidence that holds the key to her release from custody and the dismissal of charges against her as the photos support her claims of self-defense and the Roberts report will undoubtedly reinforce the baseless foundation for the prosecution’s murder charge.
As this justice system tragedy continues to play out, Mangum’s sole supporters will continue to carry the good fight against the state and its not-so-secret weapon… Woody Vann, a wolf in sheep’s clothing who is guarding the hen house. Even so, it is Mangum who will prevail as truth is on her side… and hopefully other current enablers will eventually muster up the courage to do the right thing by moving from the sidelines and take part in this all-important conflict with justice on the line.
As I have stated before, the trial and inquisition given to Joan of Arc by the English was far fairer and much more humane than the state’s treatment afforded to Crystal Mangum, the Duke Lacrosse case victim/accuser. Ms. Mangum has clearly been subjected to a malign vendetta-driven prosecution by a wide ranging cabal of conspirators with a goal of exacting misguided payback for her role in the Duke Lacrosse case… and you can bet that their pursuit of this persecution is based in part on the fact that she is an African American woman. Those colluding to subvert justice and punish Mangum consist of the medical examiner Dr. Clay Nichols, the mainstream media (which to date has done a magnificent job of concealing the truth from the masses), and the Enablers… individuals and organization who are in positions to help put a halt to the injustices against Mangum, such as the NAACP, but elect to remain silent and do nothing due to lack of will, lack of courage, or both. One of the prosecution’s most valued and no-so-secret weapon is H. Wood Vann, the defense attorney for Crystal Mangum. The fact that he was the Court’s initial choice in appointing a defense attorney, speaks volumes as the entire Tar Heelian justice system has been and is now relying on him to do the bidding of the prosecutors.
Although the State’s initial goal may have been to win a conviction for first degree murder in order to hand Mangum a life sentence, the intervention by the grass roots organization Committee on Justice for Mike Nifong has taken that draconian option out of play and placed the prosecution on defense. The State, representing the city of Durham, is now fighting to extract a plea deal (preferably to a felony) for time served in order to extricate the City of Bull from any civil liability for its malicious prosecution of Mangum. And it is Mangum’s own attorney, Woody Vann, who has been given the mandate to deliver her on a silver platter to Durham prosecutor Charlene Coggins-Franks. You can bet that Mr. Vann will continue to dutifully carry out his assignment as he already indicated that he does not intend to step aside amidst criticism and accusations of some Mangum supporters… accusations against which he has no answer and which include the following:
(1) his failure to file a motion to dismiss the murder charge due to lack of probable cause and a charge based upon a blatantly bogus autopsy report;
(2) his failure to file a motion to dismiss the larceny of chose in action charge due to lack of probable cause;
(3) his withholding important exculpatory evidence from his client including photographs which document her injuries and suggest that Reginald Daye was the aggressor;
(4) his withholding important exculpatory evidence from his client including the report from Dr. Christena L. Roberts which assesses Daye’s cause of death and the autopsy report by Dr. Nichols; and
(5) his testing the waters on behalf of the prosecutors to see if Mangum was ready to accept a plea deal by presenting one to her and advising her to take it… saying that she had a weak case.
For Mr. Vann to suggest that the case for Mangum’s defense is weak when the prosecution is willing to drop a first degree murder charge to assault with a deadly weapon for time served (about 500 days at the time) shows the ludicrous nature of his contentions about the offer. Rest assured that after Ms. Mangum is softened up with more jail time, the plea deal will be offered once more, because the prosecution is not going to take this case to trial, because it has no case. And because, as Mangum’s legal counsel, Mr. Vann holds a position of his client’s trust, he is charged with bringing about her downfall.
On September 18, 2012, Mr. Vann and his collaborators put on a court performance in which he was pretending to valiantly fight to have Ms. Mangum’s bail reduced from $200,000 to $50,000. I felt all along that this event was staged for Mangum’s benefit and that all participants involved in this charade knew that there was absolutely no way in Hades that her bail would be reduced one cent. Vann had been taking a lot of well-deserved criticism from Mangum supporters for not doing anything for his client, so in response he felt forced to put on this little courtroom drama. Mr. Vann’s true allegiances and fidelity are evidenced by his actions in which includes his failure to seek dismissal of the bogus charges against Mangum, his withholding all pertinent discovery and evidence not already in her possession from her, his infrequent visits and lack of communication with his client, and his general lack of urgency and willingness to allow Mangum to unjustly sit in jail separated from her three children. The bottom line is that Mr. Vann has sold his soul to the Blue Devil, as his priorities obviously are to protect Duke University and its hospital from negative publicity.
Because it is obvious to anyone with at least one functioning gray matter neuron that the stab wound inflicted by Mangum was not responsible for Reginald Daye’s brain death and subsequent elective removal from life support a week later and resultant death, the defense and prosecution have even shifted their stories to suggest that Mr. Daye’s brain death was due to a massive aspiration following a bout of emesis. Even the mainstream media is going along with this misdirection by not mentioning the fact that Mr. Daye was improperly intubated by Duke University Hospital staff. This medical mistake that attorneys on both sides and the media are trying to keep covered up led to hypoxia which resulted in brain death and Daye’s comatose state.
In addition to protecting Duke University Hospital’s reputation, Mr. Vann is entrusted with eliminating any legal liability Ms. Mangum has against the city of Durham for bringing a malicious prosecution against her. The privileged Duke Lacrosse defendants, who never spent a single day in jail and who were able to shake down Duke University for $20 million each, feel that they are now entitled to receive $10 million each from the city of Durham just because Attorney General Roy Cooper felt pressured by Joe Cheshire to proclaim that the Duke Lacrosse defendants were “innocent.” Not only that, but the mainstream media has lionized and coddled these boys while viciously attacking Crystal Mangum and labeling her as a liar who is emotionally unstable, violent, irrational and a threat to society. In this backdrop, Ms. Mangum’s attorney is trying to wrangle from her a plea deal that would let the city and its prosecutors off the hook for compensation she rightfully deserves for a premeditated vindictive and malicious prosecution that has deprived her of her liberty for nearly a year and a half and deprived her of contact with her three children who love her and need her.
Whereas Mr. Vann is the prosecution’s not-so-secret weapon against Ms. Mangum, the Committee on Justice for Mike Nifong and Mangum’s supporters are her only weapons against an injustice system bent on making her suffer because of politics related to the Duke Lacrosse case. Legal layperson Sidney Harr, a retired physician who has been sounding the alarm about serious problems with the Nichols’ autopsy report of April 14, 2011 since its release to the public in mid-August 2011, has helped Ms. Mangum draft and file motions to the court to dismiss the charges against her. The result netted by his action has been for the North Carolina State Bar to investigate Harr for the unauthorized practice of law; the action originating from complaints by “more than one journalist,” and whose identities have been hidden by the Bar which assumed the role of complainant for that specific purpose. Then, when Harr filed a Pro se petition for writ of mandamus to order prosecutors to dismiss charges against Mangum for lack of probable cause and to order attorney Vann to desist from withholding evidence and discovery from his client Mangum, the State Bar launched another investigation for unauthorized law practice (this one scheduled to be heard on October 24, 2012). However, all of Harr’s complaints filed with the Bar against prosecutors Kelly Gauger and Charlene Coggins-Franks (for malicious prosecution against Mangum without probable cause) and H. Wood Vann (for withholding evidence and prosecution discovery from his client Mangum) were not acted upon.
What contributes to making this an uphill battle for the Committee and Mangum supporters is the silence and idleness of the enablers – NAACP, the ACLU, the North Carolina Coalition Against Domestic Violence (in Durham), politicians (including those in the North Carolina General Assembly), and civil rights and religious community leaders. It is understandable why people refuse to get involved in trying to help Crystal Mangum… they realize that to do so is politically incorrect and they justifiably fear the consequences. A lesson was learned in 2007 in North Carolina when former Durham District Attorney Mike Nifong was persecuted by the state, disbarred by the State Bar, and crucified in the media because he went forward with his prosecution of the three defendants in the Duke Lacrosse case… that lesson being that acting ethically and with professional integrity will not protect an individual from being mauled by the system. This has even been borne out in this situation as Harr has already been confronted twice by the NC State Bar… actions against him initially instigated by the media.
I am of the firm belief that Dr. Clay Nichols felt under duress to go along with the program and issue a report he knew to be fraudulent in order to wrongly implicate Mangum lest he be subjected to the torturous treatment meted out to Mr. Nifong. The politicizing of Duke Lacrosse related issues have cast a pall over the state’s criminal justice system unlike any other case, forcing some good and decent people to unwillingly take part in corruption and others to look the other way. The timorous NAACP is looking the other way and has been quiet as a dormouse when it comes to the gross injustices against Ms. Mangum… as has the aforementioned enablers. Governor Bev Perdue has been apprised of the injustice against Mangum as has Attorney General Roy Cooper, and they have both elected to ignore the issue and allow an innocent mother of three to remain locked behind bars because of a misguided vendetta.
The Committee is engaged in waging a lonely battle for justice with the enablers being effectively throttled by a statewide reign of political-inspired terror that is ant-Nifong and anti-Mangum. After peeling off the veneer to expose the true nature of the prosecution’s not-so-secret weapon, it is time for Crystal Mangum to jettison Mr. Vann… deadweight that is undermining her case while propping up hopes for the prosecution. For example, Mr. Vann has consistently been inconsistent in his explanations about prosecution discovery and evidence. First he tells Ms. Mangum that he has received Dr. Roberts’ report but will withhold it from her. Then, after confronted by the Committee he states that he has not yet received the report. First he tells Ms. Mangum that he will withhold from her the photographs taken by prosecution related to the April 2011 incident… photographs which document her injuries at Daye’s hand and the other exculpatory evidence. Then, after pressed by the Committee, he told Ms. Mangum that he sent the disc containing the photographs to the printer and they came up blank. The most recent explanation is that the photographs provided by the prosecution show only images of smoke damage to the apartment in the 2010 case… that he has no images related to the 2011 case. Durham Police Forensics report (Note: the smoke damage was the result of Durham Police officers allowing clothing on fire in a bathtub to burn for fifteen minutes without any attempt by officers to intervene and douse the blaze by turning on the bathtub spigot or shower.) He gave Mangum no indication as to when he would have possession of the above referenced evidence and discovery. He gave her no indication of any action he might take to expedite there retrieval… documents and evidence that holds the key to her release from custody and the dismissal of charges against her as the photos support her claims of self-defense and the Roberts report will undoubtedly reinforce the baseless foundation for the prosecution’s murder charge.
As this justice system tragedy continues to play out, Mangum’s sole supporters will continue to carry the good fight against the state and its not-so-secret weapon… Woody Vann, a wolf in sheep’s clothing who is guarding the hen house. Even so, it is Mangum who will prevail as truth is on her side… and hopefully other current enablers will eventually muster up the courage to do the right thing by moving from the sidelines and take part in this all-important conflict with justice on the line.
Monday, August 20, 2012
Mainstream media’s big role in the conspiracy against Crystal Mangum
Word count: 1904
The truth will set Crystal Mangum free. That is a proposition of which I have been a proponent for some time. Durhamians and Tar Heelians would put a kibosh on the baseless and vendetta-driven criminal charges against Crystal Mangum (the Duke Lacrosse victim/accuser) if they only knew the truth about events of April 3, 2011, that were responsible for Mangum’s current entanglement with the law. But the masses are ignorant of the truth… in the dark, left standing amidst the shadows of a moonless night. The reason for the misguided opinions and sentiments surrounding this injustice is due to actions and inactions of the mainstream media… all acting in concert with one another and their fellow co-conspirators. Media’s main contribution to the conspiracy against Mangum is to keep the truth hidden… buried deep beneath diversions, misstatements, selective omissions, misinterpretations, and outright lies. Instead of acting as a torch of enlightenment in the Mangum case, it has been functioning as a shroud to strike the death knell for justice.
For the prosecution to be able to bring such bogus and baseless charges against Ms. Mangum, with a straight face, requires the devoted participation of four additional center-stage actors: (1) the medical examiner (to provide the fraudulent autopsy report upon which to base the prosecution); (2) extremely pliable turncoat defense attorneys (to look the other way, pull punches, and advise against Mangum’s best self-interests); (3) enablers (individuals and organizations [NAACP, ACLU, etc.] who are in a position to do or say something to positively impact the situation, but elect to remain silent… mostly out of fear, having learned their lessons from the persecution of former Durham District Attorney Mike Nifong); and (4) the mainstream media. Of the aforementioned four, the media is one of the crooked prosecution’s most valued allies because of the influence it has over the public… a public that for the most part places a great deal of trust in the media to provide honest and accurate reporting.
Although the mainstream media has been charged with being a public watchdog, to expose corruption in government and business that adversely affects the civilian citizens, when it comes to the Duke Lacrosse case or any of its participants, all bets are off. The driving force behind the remarkable unity of all media outlets stems from the fact that Rae Evans, mother of one of the Duke Lacrosse defendants, was an executive at CBS News for more than a decade. Afterward, she founded a highly successful Washington DC public relations firm of which she is president and CEO. In addition, her husband is an attorney in a prestigious DC law firm. As strong as her ties are to the other media outlets, there is no doubt that she possesses sway as to how stories are spun, and she has not kept her feelings hidden. During an interview with CBS’s “60 Minutes” show, Ms. Evans stated that she wanted Mr. Nifong to “pay every day for the rest of his life” (as retribution for his having the audacity to prosecute her son and the other lacrosse players). Defying journalistic codes of good standards, CBS never disclosed Ms. Evans’ ties to the station during any of its programs which featured its biased stories about the Duke Lacrosse case.
Another factor which drives the selective, skewed, and one-sided reporting of the Crystal Mangum case is the media’s desire to protect Duke University’s reputation and to mitigate the civil liability which Durham has self-inflicted upon itself with its unjust treatment of Mangum. The quandary at the root of the murder charge against Mangum is the fact that Reginald Daye’s death was not caused by the stab wound inflicted by Mangum. An unrelated botched intubation by Duke University Hospital staff, which resulted in brain death, led to Daye’s elective removal from life support… the proximate cause of his death. The media, through the prosecution’s charge against Mangum, has done its best to shift blame for Daye’s death from the Duke hospital, where it truly belongs, to Crystal Mangum.
Shortly after the stabbing of Reginald Daye by his live-in companion Mangum, the mainstream media flourished with articles about the stabbing, ABC-11 even falsely stating that Daye was repeatedly stabbed by Mangum. Lacking a lot of specifics, especially Mangum’s side of the story, the media devoted little attention to the incident itself, and focused much on the so-called “2010 arson” incident involving Mangum, and her role in the Duke Lacrosse case… never failing to misleadingly mention that the Duke Lacrosse defendants were declared “innocent.” Mangum was represented by media as emotionally unstable, mentally ill, and a perpetual prevaricator with a penchant for being physically violent with her boyfriends… none of which is true. On the other hand, the media hid from the public Reginald Daye’s criminal history (which included assault on a female), the fact that he was an alcoholic, and that he was highly intoxicated at the time of the incident. The media never bothered to mention that Mangum sustained physical injuries, including a swollen lower lip and a cut around her left eye. Nor did the media report findings at the scene of the incident which included clumps of Mangum’s hair, and a bathroom door that had been kicked in by Daye. In fact, the media, at all times, painted Mr. Daye in the most positive light.
As the media became more aware of the weaknesses in the prosecution’s case, its coverage of the case markedly diminished. On the third postoperative night, after Duke University Hospital staff intubated the esophagus rather than the trachea which resulted in Daye’s comatose state, the media went into a self-imposed news embargo on the subject. For a week, while Daye lay in a coma, the media kept the public in the dark as to the serious and significant turn of events in Daye’s medical condition. It was not until after Daye died a week later that the people were even informed about the fact that Daye had been in a weeklong coma. A suddenly apathetic media all of a sudden had no curiosity as to how Daye’s condition dramatically evolved from “expected to make a full recovery” to “irreversible brain-damaged induced coma.” Instead, the media placed the blame for Daye’s death on Mangum… never mentioning the botched intubation and, with the exception of only one media source, not mentioning that Daye was even on life support and that his elective removal from it preceded his death.
There was a flurry of media activity when the autopsy report was released to the public four months after it was written by Medical Examiner Clay Nichols. The media falsely proclaimed to the people that the stab wound inflicted by Mangum perforated “six” organs… the left lung, the diaphragm (not an organ, but a muscle), the left kidney, the stomach, the spleen, and the colon. As I revealed online in the operative report I procured from prosecution discovery, only the spleen and colon were damaged by the knife wound. In addition, other medical reports from prosecution discovery contradicted that Daye sustained any lesions to his left upper extremity which Dr. Nichols interpreted as being “defensive injuries.” Although the lack of credibility of the autopsy report by Nichols was brought to the attention of the mainstream media, they never attempted to question its accuracy or to set the record straight. Instead, the media chose to let their readers and viewers continue to believe that Daye’s death was due to the perforation of six organs by a single stab wound to the torso with a steak knife.
Specifically, I made contact with WRAL and its investigative team (including manager Randall Kerr), and ABC-11 at its downtown Raleigh studio, to enlighten them about the problems with the Daye autopsy report by Dr. Nichols. I even hand-delivered a letter to Jim Goodmon, the president and CEO of Capital Broadcasting Company which owns WRAL and FOX 50 among other media holdings. Per the usual response I have received from the media, I was ignored. As I was aware, the problem was not that the media did not know that what they reported regarding the autopsy report was incorrect and misleading, but that they did not want the general public to know. Such is still the case as the media continues to ignore the injustices in Mangum’s plight.
Another tactic utilized by the media is to not so subtly defile supporters of Mangum by presenting them as being lawless, unstable, and irresponsible. The headlines may blare that “Mangum supporter is being investigated by the State Bar,” but it is that which is underlying that story that is concealed. When approaching her one year anniversary of incarceration with no activity by her attorney of record, Mangum requested my assistance in drafting motions for her. I innocently drafted three motions based upon prosecution discovery that she sent me. She signed the motions and I filed them with the court. According to the State Bar, more than one journalist complained about me practicing law without a license… which propelled the Bar to investigate me. In order to conceal the identities of the journalists, the Bar itself assumed the role of the complainant in the action against me. Although the alleged wrongdoing against me was trivial and petty, the media, and the State Bar both made a mountain out of this tiny molehill. Diversion ruled the day, as the media brought attention to the alleged unauthorized practice of filing the motions (even questioning whether or not Mangum knowledge or consent for their filings), while disregarding the issues addressed by contents of the motions.
The selective and biased reporting by the media is not without severe consequences with respect to the administration of justice. Its role in the conspiracy against Mangum has helped keep a person innocent of committing a crime (and actually being a victim of crimes against her by Daye) incarcerated for 505 days as of today’s posting… and counting. The media is doing a disservice to Ms. Mangum, to Lady Justice, to the cause of “equal justice for all,” and to the public which reads its reports and views its broadcasts. In all fairness I do not fault reporters, news anchors, managers, and editors on the lower rungs of the media business, as the policies regarding how stories about Mangum are to be presented are determined by those at the top. Mr. Goodmon, as president and CEO is to be held accountable, rather than anchor David Crabtree, for example. Presidents and CEOs of ABC-11 and NBC-17 are guilty of failing in their duty to the public, as well. The media conspiracy in this Mangum criminal issue is long on fidelity and ubiquitous throughout the country.
Unfortunately, it doesn’t help persuade the mainstream media to do the right thing when enablers, such as politicians, retired judges, the governor, the Attorney General’s Office, civil rights leaders and organizations, including the North Carolina Coalition Against Domestic Violence, sit on their hands and allow their mouths to be muzzled. Only the Committee on Justice for Mike Nifong is speaking out against the injustice towards Crystal Mangum… and as would be expected, the media has gone out of its way to minimize the group and discredit it whenever possible.
The media’s handling of the Crystal Mangum case has been disgraceful, and its subscribers and the public at large deserve better.
The truth will set Crystal Mangum free. That is a proposition of which I have been a proponent for some time. Durhamians and Tar Heelians would put a kibosh on the baseless and vendetta-driven criminal charges against Crystal Mangum (the Duke Lacrosse victim/accuser) if they only knew the truth about events of April 3, 2011, that were responsible for Mangum’s current entanglement with the law. But the masses are ignorant of the truth… in the dark, left standing amidst the shadows of a moonless night. The reason for the misguided opinions and sentiments surrounding this injustice is due to actions and inactions of the mainstream media… all acting in concert with one another and their fellow co-conspirators. Media’s main contribution to the conspiracy against Mangum is to keep the truth hidden… buried deep beneath diversions, misstatements, selective omissions, misinterpretations, and outright lies. Instead of acting as a torch of enlightenment in the Mangum case, it has been functioning as a shroud to strike the death knell for justice.
For the prosecution to be able to bring such bogus and baseless charges against Ms. Mangum, with a straight face, requires the devoted participation of four additional center-stage actors: (1) the medical examiner (to provide the fraudulent autopsy report upon which to base the prosecution); (2) extremely pliable turncoat defense attorneys (to look the other way, pull punches, and advise against Mangum’s best self-interests); (3) enablers (individuals and organizations [NAACP, ACLU, etc.] who are in a position to do or say something to positively impact the situation, but elect to remain silent… mostly out of fear, having learned their lessons from the persecution of former Durham District Attorney Mike Nifong); and (4) the mainstream media. Of the aforementioned four, the media is one of the crooked prosecution’s most valued allies because of the influence it has over the public… a public that for the most part places a great deal of trust in the media to provide honest and accurate reporting.
Although the mainstream media has been charged with being a public watchdog, to expose corruption in government and business that adversely affects the civilian citizens, when it comes to the Duke Lacrosse case or any of its participants, all bets are off. The driving force behind the remarkable unity of all media outlets stems from the fact that Rae Evans, mother of one of the Duke Lacrosse defendants, was an executive at CBS News for more than a decade. Afterward, she founded a highly successful Washington DC public relations firm of which she is president and CEO. In addition, her husband is an attorney in a prestigious DC law firm. As strong as her ties are to the other media outlets, there is no doubt that she possesses sway as to how stories are spun, and she has not kept her feelings hidden. During an interview with CBS’s “60 Minutes” show, Ms. Evans stated that she wanted Mr. Nifong to “pay every day for the rest of his life” (as retribution for his having the audacity to prosecute her son and the other lacrosse players). Defying journalistic codes of good standards, CBS never disclosed Ms. Evans’ ties to the station during any of its programs which featured its biased stories about the Duke Lacrosse case.
Another factor which drives the selective, skewed, and one-sided reporting of the Crystal Mangum case is the media’s desire to protect Duke University’s reputation and to mitigate the civil liability which Durham has self-inflicted upon itself with its unjust treatment of Mangum. The quandary at the root of the murder charge against Mangum is the fact that Reginald Daye’s death was not caused by the stab wound inflicted by Mangum. An unrelated botched intubation by Duke University Hospital staff, which resulted in brain death, led to Daye’s elective removal from life support… the proximate cause of his death. The media, through the prosecution’s charge against Mangum, has done its best to shift blame for Daye’s death from the Duke hospital, where it truly belongs, to Crystal Mangum.
Shortly after the stabbing of Reginald Daye by his live-in companion Mangum, the mainstream media flourished with articles about the stabbing, ABC-11 even falsely stating that Daye was repeatedly stabbed by Mangum. Lacking a lot of specifics, especially Mangum’s side of the story, the media devoted little attention to the incident itself, and focused much on the so-called “2010 arson” incident involving Mangum, and her role in the Duke Lacrosse case… never failing to misleadingly mention that the Duke Lacrosse defendants were declared “innocent.” Mangum was represented by media as emotionally unstable, mentally ill, and a perpetual prevaricator with a penchant for being physically violent with her boyfriends… none of which is true. On the other hand, the media hid from the public Reginald Daye’s criminal history (which included assault on a female), the fact that he was an alcoholic, and that he was highly intoxicated at the time of the incident. The media never bothered to mention that Mangum sustained physical injuries, including a swollen lower lip and a cut around her left eye. Nor did the media report findings at the scene of the incident which included clumps of Mangum’s hair, and a bathroom door that had been kicked in by Daye. In fact, the media, at all times, painted Mr. Daye in the most positive light.
As the media became more aware of the weaknesses in the prosecution’s case, its coverage of the case markedly diminished. On the third postoperative night, after Duke University Hospital staff intubated the esophagus rather than the trachea which resulted in Daye’s comatose state, the media went into a self-imposed news embargo on the subject. For a week, while Daye lay in a coma, the media kept the public in the dark as to the serious and significant turn of events in Daye’s medical condition. It was not until after Daye died a week later that the people were even informed about the fact that Daye had been in a weeklong coma. A suddenly apathetic media all of a sudden had no curiosity as to how Daye’s condition dramatically evolved from “expected to make a full recovery” to “irreversible brain-damaged induced coma.” Instead, the media placed the blame for Daye’s death on Mangum… never mentioning the botched intubation and, with the exception of only one media source, not mentioning that Daye was even on life support and that his elective removal from it preceded his death.
There was a flurry of media activity when the autopsy report was released to the public four months after it was written by Medical Examiner Clay Nichols. The media falsely proclaimed to the people that the stab wound inflicted by Mangum perforated “six” organs… the left lung, the diaphragm (not an organ, but a muscle), the left kidney, the stomach, the spleen, and the colon. As I revealed online in the operative report I procured from prosecution discovery, only the spleen and colon were damaged by the knife wound. In addition, other medical reports from prosecution discovery contradicted that Daye sustained any lesions to his left upper extremity which Dr. Nichols interpreted as being “defensive injuries.” Although the lack of credibility of the autopsy report by Nichols was brought to the attention of the mainstream media, they never attempted to question its accuracy or to set the record straight. Instead, the media chose to let their readers and viewers continue to believe that Daye’s death was due to the perforation of six organs by a single stab wound to the torso with a steak knife.
Specifically, I made contact with WRAL and its investigative team (including manager Randall Kerr), and ABC-11 at its downtown Raleigh studio, to enlighten them about the problems with the Daye autopsy report by Dr. Nichols. I even hand-delivered a letter to Jim Goodmon, the president and CEO of Capital Broadcasting Company which owns WRAL and FOX 50 among other media holdings. Per the usual response I have received from the media, I was ignored. As I was aware, the problem was not that the media did not know that what they reported regarding the autopsy report was incorrect and misleading, but that they did not want the general public to know. Such is still the case as the media continues to ignore the injustices in Mangum’s plight.
Another tactic utilized by the media is to not so subtly defile supporters of Mangum by presenting them as being lawless, unstable, and irresponsible. The headlines may blare that “Mangum supporter is being investigated by the State Bar,” but it is that which is underlying that story that is concealed. When approaching her one year anniversary of incarceration with no activity by her attorney of record, Mangum requested my assistance in drafting motions for her. I innocently drafted three motions based upon prosecution discovery that she sent me. She signed the motions and I filed them with the court. According to the State Bar, more than one journalist complained about me practicing law without a license… which propelled the Bar to investigate me. In order to conceal the identities of the journalists, the Bar itself assumed the role of the complainant in the action against me. Although the alleged wrongdoing against me was trivial and petty, the media, and the State Bar both made a mountain out of this tiny molehill. Diversion ruled the day, as the media brought attention to the alleged unauthorized practice of filing the motions (even questioning whether or not Mangum knowledge or consent for their filings), while disregarding the issues addressed by contents of the motions.
The selective and biased reporting by the media is not without severe consequences with respect to the administration of justice. Its role in the conspiracy against Mangum has helped keep a person innocent of committing a crime (and actually being a victim of crimes against her by Daye) incarcerated for 505 days as of today’s posting… and counting. The media is doing a disservice to Ms. Mangum, to Lady Justice, to the cause of “equal justice for all,” and to the public which reads its reports and views its broadcasts. In all fairness I do not fault reporters, news anchors, managers, and editors on the lower rungs of the media business, as the policies regarding how stories about Mangum are to be presented are determined by those at the top. Mr. Goodmon, as president and CEO is to be held accountable, rather than anchor David Crabtree, for example. Presidents and CEOs of ABC-11 and NBC-17 are guilty of failing in their duty to the public, as well. The media conspiracy in this Mangum criminal issue is long on fidelity and ubiquitous throughout the country.
Unfortunately, it doesn’t help persuade the mainstream media to do the right thing when enablers, such as politicians, retired judges, the governor, the Attorney General’s Office, civil rights leaders and organizations, including the North Carolina Coalition Against Domestic Violence, sit on their hands and allow their mouths to be muzzled. Only the Committee on Justice for Mike Nifong is speaking out against the injustice towards Crystal Mangum… and as would be expected, the media has gone out of its way to minimize the group and discredit it whenever possible.
The media’s handling of the Crystal Mangum case has been disgraceful, and its subscribers and the public at large deserve better.
Thursday, January 20, 2011
A simple question that Nifong detractors cannot answer
As I have so frequently stated, the Grievance Commission of the North Carolina State Bar used all of the creative juices it could muster to come up with an excuse for disbarring former Durham District Attorney Mike Nifong. They are so elaborate and nonsensical that not even Nifong bashers can make sense of them. The problem stems from the fact that no one can explain why Mike Nifong was disbarred… the only prosecutor to be disbarred by the North Carolina State Bar since its inception in 1933. He certainly did not withhold discovery from defense attorneys of the Duke Lacrosse defendants. He had his staff deliver more than a thousand pages of discovery in three sets to attorneys for the defendants within 24 hours of the defense’s motion. What the media doesn’t want the public to know is that defense attorneys did not reciprocate when prosecutors sought discovery held by defense.
Unlike other prosecutors, Mr. Nifong did not fabricate confessions, arrange for eyewitnesses to appear out of the woodwork, or make plea deals with jail house snitches to provide perjured testimony. Mike Nifong acted honorably and in good faith in prosecuting the complaint of sexual assault in the Duke, and assumed the mantle of “Minister of Justice” by initiating the dismissal of the rape charges when the standards required for a charge were not deemed to be met in his opinion.
Some may say that Mr. Nifong made some statements before the media that were inappropriate, inflammatory, or denied the defendants of a fair trial. The only problem with this argument is that these statements were made early on in the investigation and well before any defendants were indicted. The generalized statements were made in an attempt to flush out any courageous and conscientious partygoers into voluntarily coming forward and cooperating with the police investigation. No way was there anything within the statements made to the media that should warrant any action against Mr. Nifong.
Finally, there is the issue about so-called lies Mr. Nifong made to the court. I have been trying to find out what lies were told. One commenter referred me to a transcript by the State Bar Grievance Commission head, which, no doubt included a lot of legalese mumbo-jumbo which was an attempt to pull the old Jedi mind-trick on the gullible, naïve, and mindless. The explanation is so convoluted that not even blog commenters can recite in a clear and cogent manner what lie(s) Mr. Nifong is alleged to have told which resulted in his disbarment and contempt of court judgment.
One needs to keep in mind that making a statement which may be inaccurate or contain misstatement of facts, does not constitute telling a lie. A lie requires mental consciousness of making a statement that is false. It would appear that F. Lane Williamson, who was the head of the Grievance panel responsible for Mr. Nifong’s disbarment, has mind-reading capabilities as he has determined that Mike Nifong prosecuted the three Duke Lacrosse defendants in order to court that black vote in Durham to enhance his chances of winning election to the D.A. position to which he had been appointed. If you just give it a scintilla’s worth of thought, you could tell that that is the perfect prescription for losing an election… any election. The way for Mike Nifong to assure a victory would have been for him to drop all charges and the investigation immediately… as he was pressured to do by the Powers-That-Be. And because he acted independently in following the principles of “equal justice for all,” the state set out to make sure that he was made an example of. Their campaign was most effective, as Rowan County District Attorney Bill Kenerly, in handling the prosecution of former Governor Mike Easley with kid gloves and giving him a rare deal, stated that he was not going to make a “Mike Nifong mistake.”
You can bet that no other prosecutor will make the “Mike Nifong mistake” because it could definitely cost him/her their law license… even though he/she may do nothing to warrant such action. That is no comfort as the State Bar head honchos are very creative and can come up with a creative reason for disbarment, like they did in the Mike Nifong case.
Creative reasons are commonly used to defend unjust actions. Case in point has to do with my ouster and near arrest on the Duke University campus. Although I was at the campus on an invitation to an event open to the public, I was kicked off the campus for no reason other than being a Nifong supporter. When I pressed the university for a reason for my ouster, the creative response I got was that I was asked to leave because I was “soliciting” which was defined as handing out my business card and asking them to visit my website. (I handed out but a half dozen cards to individuals with whom I had engaged in conversation while awaiting for the event to take place.)
In case you may have missed it before, I will provide a link below to the audio and transcript of the dialogue that I had with the security guard.
LINK: http://justice4nifong.com/direc/irepoDirec/irepoB/irB4.htm
Unlike other prosecutors, Mr. Nifong did not fabricate confessions, arrange for eyewitnesses to appear out of the woodwork, or make plea deals with jail house snitches to provide perjured testimony. Mike Nifong acted honorably and in good faith in prosecuting the complaint of sexual assault in the Duke, and assumed the mantle of “Minister of Justice” by initiating the dismissal of the rape charges when the standards required for a charge were not deemed to be met in his opinion.
Some may say that Mr. Nifong made some statements before the media that were inappropriate, inflammatory, or denied the defendants of a fair trial. The only problem with this argument is that these statements were made early on in the investigation and well before any defendants were indicted. The generalized statements were made in an attempt to flush out any courageous and conscientious partygoers into voluntarily coming forward and cooperating with the police investigation. No way was there anything within the statements made to the media that should warrant any action against Mr. Nifong.
Finally, there is the issue about so-called lies Mr. Nifong made to the court. I have been trying to find out what lies were told. One commenter referred me to a transcript by the State Bar Grievance Commission head, which, no doubt included a lot of legalese mumbo-jumbo which was an attempt to pull the old Jedi mind-trick on the gullible, naïve, and mindless. The explanation is so convoluted that not even blog commenters can recite in a clear and cogent manner what lie(s) Mr. Nifong is alleged to have told which resulted in his disbarment and contempt of court judgment.
One needs to keep in mind that making a statement which may be inaccurate or contain misstatement of facts, does not constitute telling a lie. A lie requires mental consciousness of making a statement that is false. It would appear that F. Lane Williamson, who was the head of the Grievance panel responsible for Mr. Nifong’s disbarment, has mind-reading capabilities as he has determined that Mike Nifong prosecuted the three Duke Lacrosse defendants in order to court that black vote in Durham to enhance his chances of winning election to the D.A. position to which he had been appointed. If you just give it a scintilla’s worth of thought, you could tell that that is the perfect prescription for losing an election… any election. The way for Mike Nifong to assure a victory would have been for him to drop all charges and the investigation immediately… as he was pressured to do by the Powers-That-Be. And because he acted independently in following the principles of “equal justice for all,” the state set out to make sure that he was made an example of. Their campaign was most effective, as Rowan County District Attorney Bill Kenerly, in handling the prosecution of former Governor Mike Easley with kid gloves and giving him a rare deal, stated that he was not going to make a “Mike Nifong mistake.”
You can bet that no other prosecutor will make the “Mike Nifong mistake” because it could definitely cost him/her their law license… even though he/she may do nothing to warrant such action. That is no comfort as the State Bar head honchos are very creative and can come up with a creative reason for disbarment, like they did in the Mike Nifong case.
Creative reasons are commonly used to defend unjust actions. Case in point has to do with my ouster and near arrest on the Duke University campus. Although I was at the campus on an invitation to an event open to the public, I was kicked off the campus for no reason other than being a Nifong supporter. When I pressed the university for a reason for my ouster, the creative response I got was that I was asked to leave because I was “soliciting” which was defined as handing out my business card and asking them to visit my website. (I handed out but a half dozen cards to individuals with whom I had engaged in conversation while awaiting for the event to take place.)
In case you may have missed it before, I will provide a link below to the audio and transcript of the dialogue that I had with the security guard.
LINK: http://justice4nifong.com/direc/irepoDirec/irepoB/irB4.htm
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Going along with public opinion can lead to disastrous results… just ask the Carolina Panthers
The National Football League team Carolina Panthers have gotten off to a dismal 0-3 start this year, in large measure due to significant deficiencies in a key player position, quarterback. Earlier in the year, it jettisoned the seasoned veteran QB starter of previous seasons Jake Delhomme, where an injury currently prevents him from competing. Matt Moore was anointed as starter at quarterback at the beginning of the season. Stepping in as a backup during last season, Moore showed flashes of competence, and at times even played extremely well. The franchise decision makers settled on Jimmy Clausen, a rookie fresh from Notre Dame University as Moore’s backup. After the first two games ended in the L column, Moore was pulled and his backup Clausen was given the starting nod for game number three. Unfortunately, the outcome was no different than before.
Meanwhile, in Philadelphia, the Eagles are riding a 2-1 record, in large measure due to the arm and legs of its QB Michael Vick. After a forced 18 month hiatus, imposed by the justice system because of his role in a dog-fighting enterprise, Michael Vick was slated as a backup quarterback to the less experienced starter Kevin Kolb (only two previous pro starts). When Kolb was knocked out of the game in the second quarter, Vick nearly brought the Eagles a come from behind victory. Vick’s play in the second game of the season (while Kolb sat out due to a concussion), not only garnered a victory for the Eagles, but earned him the starting position. In game three, the Eagles handily prevailed with Vick posting a three touchdown passing game.
What makes Michael Vick so valuable is his ability to escape from the pocket and eat up big chunks of yardage. This particular talent opens up passing opportunities which would not be available to pure pocket passers and QBs slow of foot. Vick is also gifted with a powerful and accurate throwing arm. However one of his greatest assets might just be his many years of league experience in which he as faced many defenses, game situations, and pressures.
Now, I do not profess to be a sports fanatic, or even an aficionado. So, how, you may wonder, does this discussion relate to the usual topics of discussion on this blog? Simple. It explains how going along with public opinion does not always result in a positive outcome. In this case specifically, Michael Vick could easily have been on the Carolina Panther roster. He could have been designated as the starter which he deserved to be, or brought in off the bench to dig the Panthers out of a hole in trying to secure a come from behind victory. And after his release from prison, Vick was available to any NFL team for a song. But they all passed on him… even the Oakland Raiders. Teams that desperately were in need of a quarterback, did not even give Vick an opportunity. None, that is, except the Philadelphia Eagles. Let’s face it, Vick is no slouch at the position, and is, in fact, a shoo-in for the Hall of Fame in Canton.
Why did Carolina, Oakland, and other teams in dire need of talent in the most important position in the game, willing to overlook Michael Vick? It was certainly not because he lacked talent. There was a generalized view that because of his dog-fighting past Vick was a pariah intended to be ostracized. Owners of football teams were wary of P.E.T.A. and the public outcry against Vick’s past involvement with the promotion and involvement in dog-fighting, and they silently decided amongst themselves to basically blacklist Vick from the game and to penalize him by preventing him from making a living by playing the game he loved. Everyone, including the Carolina Panthers, was on board… except for the Philadelphia Eagles. Now the bigwigs and owners of the Carolina Panthers are probably kicking themselves in the rear end for letting the golden opportunity of having a talented, quality, exciting quarterback like Michael Vick end up with the Eagles when it was well within their grasp. And if they are not kicking themselves, they should be as they languish in their division’s cellar.
Believe it or not, I do like dogs… although I am more of a cat person. Also, I detest dog-fighting for sport… and other sports which pit animals against one another in brutal battles to the death. I also believe that Michael Vick’s punishment was excessive because of his celebrity, however, to his credit, he handled it with much dignity. He served the time for the crime with which he was convicted, and he should have been free to pursue his career without the animosity and hostility to which he was subjected. And, yes, the Carolina Panthers, with its quarterback uncertainties, should have leapt at the chance to acquire him when he first hit the market. But bowing to media and public opinion and sentiment, Carolina decided to go along with the other teams and freeze Vick out of the league… which was where his career was headed when Vick finally received a chance with the Eagles.
Had Carolina Panther owners had the courage to do the right thing and bring Vick on board early on, it would have been to their benefit. Instead, they folded to pressures of public opinion and passed on him, despite knowledge that he could have undoubtedly been a great addition to the team. Now the Panthers are hurting at the quarterback position and they have no one to blame but themselves. Other teams, like the Oakland Raiders, are in the same boat. But going along with public opinion is safe, and does not require courage.
That is why the vast majority of individuals, who have been spoon-fed gobs of Carpetbagger Jihad anti-Nifong propaganda succumb to the Jedi mind-tricks of the media and espouse vitriolic sentiment against former Durham District Attorney Mike Nifong. They feel the security in being among the vast majority of people in their beliefs. Plus, it requires no courage to side with the majority and those perceived to be in power.
Members of the Committee on Justice for Mike Nifong are vastly outnumbered in their support of justice for Mike Nifong… and to acknowledge their position which is markedly in the minority, takes a tremendous amount of courage. And courage has been tested, as I was nearly arrested on the Duke University campus earlier this year solely because of my support for Mike Nifong. And no one represents courage like Mike Nifong, who weathered the public sentiment whipped up against him by the biased media storm, as he carried forth with his prosecution in the Duke Lacrosse case. (The North Carolina State Bar had to intervene with its trumped up ethics charges in order to get Nifong off the case, the first step in getting charges dropped against the three Duke lacrosse lads from families of wealth, status, and privilege.)
Mike Nifong mustered up the courage to go against prevailing wishes of the state and media-generated sentiment of the public when he pursued the charges against the Duke Lacrosse defendants. Members of the Committee on Justice for Mike Nifong mustered up courage to support justice for Mike Nifong against overwhelming anti-Nifong public opinion. Taking an unpopular stand did not, and probably will not, accrue to the benefit of Mr. Nifong or his supporters in the near term. However, the same cannot be said for the Carolina Panthers. Had the Panther owners shown some guts to go against the flow of the opinions held by the public and NFL, they would undoubtedly have a better record and be in contention for making the playoffs.
In life, people are often presented with opportunities to go with the flow or swim upstream against the tide. Which direction you go is not the issue of importance. Choosing to take the right path, even when it is in the face of a hurricane, is the right thing to do. Just keep in mind that the greater the headwinds, the more courage will be required.
Meanwhile, in Philadelphia, the Eagles are riding a 2-1 record, in large measure due to the arm and legs of its QB Michael Vick. After a forced 18 month hiatus, imposed by the justice system because of his role in a dog-fighting enterprise, Michael Vick was slated as a backup quarterback to the less experienced starter Kevin Kolb (only two previous pro starts). When Kolb was knocked out of the game in the second quarter, Vick nearly brought the Eagles a come from behind victory. Vick’s play in the second game of the season (while Kolb sat out due to a concussion), not only garnered a victory for the Eagles, but earned him the starting position. In game three, the Eagles handily prevailed with Vick posting a three touchdown passing game.
What makes Michael Vick so valuable is his ability to escape from the pocket and eat up big chunks of yardage. This particular talent opens up passing opportunities which would not be available to pure pocket passers and QBs slow of foot. Vick is also gifted with a powerful and accurate throwing arm. However one of his greatest assets might just be his many years of league experience in which he as faced many defenses, game situations, and pressures.
Now, I do not profess to be a sports fanatic, or even an aficionado. So, how, you may wonder, does this discussion relate to the usual topics of discussion on this blog? Simple. It explains how going along with public opinion does not always result in a positive outcome. In this case specifically, Michael Vick could easily have been on the Carolina Panther roster. He could have been designated as the starter which he deserved to be, or brought in off the bench to dig the Panthers out of a hole in trying to secure a come from behind victory. And after his release from prison, Vick was available to any NFL team for a song. But they all passed on him… even the Oakland Raiders. Teams that desperately were in need of a quarterback, did not even give Vick an opportunity. None, that is, except the Philadelphia Eagles. Let’s face it, Vick is no slouch at the position, and is, in fact, a shoo-in for the Hall of Fame in Canton.
Why did Carolina, Oakland, and other teams in dire need of talent in the most important position in the game, willing to overlook Michael Vick? It was certainly not because he lacked talent. There was a generalized view that because of his dog-fighting past Vick was a pariah intended to be ostracized. Owners of football teams were wary of P.E.T.A. and the public outcry against Vick’s past involvement with the promotion and involvement in dog-fighting, and they silently decided amongst themselves to basically blacklist Vick from the game and to penalize him by preventing him from making a living by playing the game he loved. Everyone, including the Carolina Panthers, was on board… except for the Philadelphia Eagles. Now the bigwigs and owners of the Carolina Panthers are probably kicking themselves in the rear end for letting the golden opportunity of having a talented, quality, exciting quarterback like Michael Vick end up with the Eagles when it was well within their grasp. And if they are not kicking themselves, they should be as they languish in their division’s cellar.
Believe it or not, I do like dogs… although I am more of a cat person. Also, I detest dog-fighting for sport… and other sports which pit animals against one another in brutal battles to the death. I also believe that Michael Vick’s punishment was excessive because of his celebrity, however, to his credit, he handled it with much dignity. He served the time for the crime with which he was convicted, and he should have been free to pursue his career without the animosity and hostility to which he was subjected. And, yes, the Carolina Panthers, with its quarterback uncertainties, should have leapt at the chance to acquire him when he first hit the market. But bowing to media and public opinion and sentiment, Carolina decided to go along with the other teams and freeze Vick out of the league… which was where his career was headed when Vick finally received a chance with the Eagles.
Had Carolina Panther owners had the courage to do the right thing and bring Vick on board early on, it would have been to their benefit. Instead, they folded to pressures of public opinion and passed on him, despite knowledge that he could have undoubtedly been a great addition to the team. Now the Panthers are hurting at the quarterback position and they have no one to blame but themselves. Other teams, like the Oakland Raiders, are in the same boat. But going along with public opinion is safe, and does not require courage.
That is why the vast majority of individuals, who have been spoon-fed gobs of Carpetbagger Jihad anti-Nifong propaganda succumb to the Jedi mind-tricks of the media and espouse vitriolic sentiment against former Durham District Attorney Mike Nifong. They feel the security in being among the vast majority of people in their beliefs. Plus, it requires no courage to side with the majority and those perceived to be in power.
Members of the Committee on Justice for Mike Nifong are vastly outnumbered in their support of justice for Mike Nifong… and to acknowledge their position which is markedly in the minority, takes a tremendous amount of courage. And courage has been tested, as I was nearly arrested on the Duke University campus earlier this year solely because of my support for Mike Nifong. And no one represents courage like Mike Nifong, who weathered the public sentiment whipped up against him by the biased media storm, as he carried forth with his prosecution in the Duke Lacrosse case. (The North Carolina State Bar had to intervene with its trumped up ethics charges in order to get Nifong off the case, the first step in getting charges dropped against the three Duke lacrosse lads from families of wealth, status, and privilege.)
Mike Nifong mustered up the courage to go against prevailing wishes of the state and media-generated sentiment of the public when he pursued the charges against the Duke Lacrosse defendants. Members of the Committee on Justice for Mike Nifong mustered up courage to support justice for Mike Nifong against overwhelming anti-Nifong public opinion. Taking an unpopular stand did not, and probably will not, accrue to the benefit of Mr. Nifong or his supporters in the near term. However, the same cannot be said for the Carolina Panthers. Had the Panther owners shown some guts to go against the flow of the opinions held by the public and NFL, they would undoubtedly have a better record and be in contention for making the playoffs.
In life, people are often presented with opportunities to go with the flow or swim upstream against the tide. Which direction you go is not the issue of importance. Choosing to take the right path, even when it is in the face of a hurricane, is the right thing to do. Just keep in mind that the greater the headwinds, the more courage will be required.
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