Oops, My Bad Redux
The interesting thing about Sen. Larry Craig's misadventure is not so much the story itself but rather the way it's a litmus test for conflicting opinions. Like any good parable, the facts are simple. A "family values" legislator with a record of voting against any legislation that protected gays or their rights was arrested for cruising a man in an airport toilet. Something questionable certainly took place because the senator pled guilty to having done it. The moral is, if you want to live in the closet be careful what you do in bathrooms.
posted by John M Crowther @ 7:17 AM
8 Comments:
Moral: if you want to live in the closet, better keep all in the closet, I would say. This is either the most misunderstood man in the world or the stupidest in the world. My vote is the latter. If I had not done something wrong but was accused, the very first thing I would do would be to say I did it. Makes perfect sense to me. Grrrrrrrooooooooaaaaaaan!
Another great cartoon, John C
A good cartoon John. But if you could think of one to match your last sentence that would have been even better.roger
Firstly... John... you KNOW I like your cartoons! *wink* LOL
Re: the commentary. You've got to wonder how (or rather why) these things get reported in the first place.
Lee... you were wondering where people get those labels from... well it's from the media who seem to be playing patsy to the highest bidder for the most sensational headlines possible.
They don't care about the big picture... they don't care about their country's reputation or who gets hurt along the way.. they are only looking at the short term political/financial gains and clearly enjoy stirring the pot.
What we end up with is a media that seems to be representing... not the news of a great nation with a vast majority of decent fair-minded people... but the trivial detritus of the minority generated by the few who get caught out doing the wrong thing and having to explain themselves when they have no rational explanation for what they have done.
This doesn't just happen in the US... but the world could be forgiven for thinking that it does.
Reporting the news 24/7 - 365 days of the year is a pressure cooker - it's all fuelled by greed.
The media needs to grow a backbone and get some scruples and start focussing (and reporting) on the bigger picture.
But sadly that's not NEARLY as good a story.
Apologies John.. didn't mean to write a novel! You can delete this if you like.
I will never one of your comments, Jean. I think our view expressed here is certainly valid a lot of the time, BUT.... I'm not sure what you mean by "the trivial detritus of the minority generated by the few who get caught out doing the wrong thing and having to explain themselves when they have no rational explanation for what they have done."
We're not talking here about just anyone, Craig is a powerful long-time legislator. And the subject isn't homosexuality, it's about the character of a national leader, blatant hypocrisy, and an illegal action by a man who has a voting record that completely contradicts the action. The media not only is right to report it, the have a responsibility to report it. The question here is why it took so long for the media to do its job.
Sorry, a couple of typos. The first sentence should read:
I will never delete one of your comments, Jean. I think your view expressed here is certainly valid a lot of the time,
John... "a lot of the time"? Gosh that's a relief! *wink* (((LOL)))
By detritus... I meant the trivial dirt that's dug up to cover up (and sometimes glorify) the real issues.
I have no problem with the media reporting the facts... ie. the disgraceful behaviour of a national leader should always be reported... but to focus on the dirt and whip up such a frenzy of "gossy" and intimate dirty laundry is (in my view) less than professional at best... and downright dangerous at worst... and embarrassing for the nation.
I suspect the good and decent people of the United States do not want the world to think this is all they are made of.
The media doesn't need a muzzle... it just needs to get it's priorities right and report the stuff that really matters. Loose lips sink ships.
As for the crook pollies... it's up to the rest of us (in a well oiled democracy) to get rid of them on polling day.
My opinion of course...
Holy coos, just heard that most of the accusations were made by anonymous sources. Since when do we hang a person on anonymous remarks. Beginning to think that there is something fishy about this affair. The man is stupid, that is true, anyone who get brow beaten and admits to a wrong if they are innocent is very, very dumb. However, and now my little secret comes out, as someone who was questioned by the police in the 70s for anti-VN actions, I can tell you that it is very scary and if I had not been a very bull-headed indignant Scottish teenager who believed that I was firmly in the right, I might have confessed to framing Queen Mary for the overthrow of Elizabeth the First or starting WWII. Not sure how I would have reacted if I had been an elderly gent in the public eye. As I said from the beginning, maybe he is mostly guilty of being one of the dumbest men in the Senate.
Lee, for the record the "anonymous sources" that have been mentioned do not refer to the June arrest or the charges stemming therefrom that the senator pled guilty to. They refer to alleged past indiscretions, and are independent one from the other. If one goes around wearing a target, someone is liable to take aim at them.
Post a Comment
<< Home