I don’t know the politics of former Florida Rep. Mark Foley, but I do know he’s a Republican and I love seeing Republicans torn off their pedestals for “moral” violations when the Republican Party — and conservatives, in general — love playing the moral absolutist card to the hilt! It seems Rep. Foley was involved in some scandalous Internet conversation with a 16-year-old Capitol Hill page. Oh, yeah…it was a boy. Conservatives beware: Attempt to define “morality” and put it in your sanctimonious box, then more of this shit will come out and you’ll be exposed as the hypocrites many of you are.

Here is one of many of Rep. Foley’s instant message communications with the teen:

MaF54: What are ya wearing?

Teen: Tshirt and shorts

MaF54: Love to slip them off of ya.

Funny.

Update: It seems Foley may be a bit more liberal than the average Republican. Or, so says Wikipedia.

Posted by Mike Matthews in Filth at 8:31 PM PDT

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In the previous post I referred to Tom Carper as a “fuckwad.” This descriptor has been totally earned in light of the fact that Carper was one of 11 Democrat senators who voted to give the president more authority to legally deny alleged terrorists rights to trials. Carper voted “Yea” on S. 3930, which is “a bill to authorize trial by military commission for violations of the law of war, and for other purposes.”

The “and for other purposes” is always the most telling of these types of bills. One amendment to this bill, authored by Pennsylvania Republican Arlen Specter, would have assured all detainees the legal right to habeas corpus. However, this was defeated in a 51-48 vote. This means detainees will be unable to file against the United States to challenge their detentions. How American. Oh, wait…I’m emboldening the enemy. Some will argue that non-US citizens have no legal right to such freedoms guaranteed to legal US citizens. To which I say: bullshit. If the US is most interested in spreading democracy around the world, then the least they can allow alleged terrorists is the right to file suit against ridiculously long prison sentances in which charges have yet to be leveled against them.

The bill Carper signed, though it does prohibit “grave breaches” of the Geneva Conventions, including “cruel and unusual punishment” is interesting…because it kind of forgets to define what exactly “cruel and unusual punishment really is.” Kind of like a fascist organization called the FCC handing down fines for “indecency” when “indecency” hasn’t been explicitly defined. So, in short…torture away, but we’ll define what torture really is once the prisoner is dead and a commission has been formed. That’s just like right-wing loons (and, now, Sen. Tom Carper) who consistently move the goalposts when it comes to such issues.

I have a new purpose now. I will try and attend all public debates in which Sen. Carper will be taking on Jan Ting. I will force this issue upon Sen. Carper and demand an answer. I have already phoned his Wilmington and Washington, DC offices asking for an explanation. It’s a Friday night, so I’ll wait until Monday at the latest to receive an answer from Sen. Carper’s “people.”

How this man — a man who the State of Delaware has elected to office for more than 30 years — can go about kowtowing to some on the Right amazes me. He must answer for this. And I’ll — hopefully — see to it that he does.

Tom Carper may know of more interesting avenues for abuse (see Celia Cohen’s Only in Delaware, pages 293-294), however, the US Constitution should not be one of them.

Posted by Mike Matthews in General, Craziness at 7:52 PM PDT

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There are few politicians I genuinely like. Jack Markell is one of them. I’m going to keep this short, because Celia Cohen has done a great job of summing up Jack’s announcement speech from yesterday. She took from his excellent re-election speech the same thing I did: Confusion as to whether or not he’s running for treasurer or governor (as many suspect he will be in 2008). I don’t often commend politicians for their speeches, but I personally walked up to Jack and told him what a great speech he gave.

The man clearly has aspirations higher than that of lowly state treasurer. He’s immensely polished, has thousands of Delawareans behind him and runs a political machine that is ridiculously professional (Dana Rohrbough and crew deserve something for the hard work) and all-encompassing. As well, I like him because he’s one of a few local politicians whose blog is actually readable, unlike fuckwad Tom Carper’s hot mess.
John Carney had better beware.

_____________________________________________

Related: For those interested, I put up some clips of Markell’s speech on YouTube. Click here and here.

Posted by Mike Matthews in First State Filth at 7:23 PM PDT

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I was shocked to read this morning that Sen. James Vaughn (heretofore known as Sen. Sandbag) may have been considering giving up his re-election bid to another Democrat, Stephanie Hansen. Dave at First State Politics covered this story first and it piqued my interest because I’d met Ms. Hansen on a previous occasion earlier this year. Ms. Hansen was the attorney for the town of Seaford during that totally salacious visit from the nutsos from the Westboro Baptist Church at the funeral of Cpl. Cory Palmer. My friends and I found Ms. Hansen to be a wealth of knowledge and a totally awesome woman in light of the day’s events. Which made me even more excited when I read Dave’s post this morning. From First State Politics:

Well, I am told that the Democrats are lining up Stephanie Hansen to do the ol’ switcheroo with Jim Vaughn on the 14th senate ballot should Vaughn’s health deteriorate further.

I have to wonder why the D’s would choose someone with such baggage to put on the ballot when they have alternatives without the full Samsonite collection. Let’s see — corruption and bribery charges against her husband, who plead guilty to tax evasion, her current occupation as a development attorney in a district where mismanaged growth is the number one issue, and on and on.

Well, I was interested so I got in touch with my anonymous source who told me that Ms. Hansen has NEVER been approached by anyone to run in the place of Sen. Vaughn. No overtures were made. In fact, my source has informed me that Ms. Hansen and her husband, Chris Roberts are “happy on the farm” on which they live with their children.

I’m not aware of the “baggage” Dave is referring to when it comes to Ms. Hansen, though I am knowledgable of the controversy surrounding her husband, Chris Roberts, who was featured in a blurb at the end of Ron Williams’s column from Wednesday. Perhaps the fact that Ms. Hansen was president of New Castle County Council automatically attaches some baggage…

Overall, this news would have been exciting had it truly come to fruition. Sen. Sandbag is a menace. He’s gonna die soon and that damned open government bill is still lodged in his desk. Ms. Hansen would have made a great alternative. Alas, it wasn’t meant to be.

Posted by Mike Matthews in First State Filth at 7:02 PM PDT

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You know, sometimes in fairy tales, ogres need rest after devouring little girls and boys. I’m not entirely sure whether Rep. Mike Castle has devoured any girls or boys lately, but I do know he’s been resting more than usual in the past week.

As many of you know, the esteemed Congressman (Delaware’s only House representative) suffered a “minor stroke” on Saturday. Speculation has run rampant over the last week after many have questioned the severity of Rep. Castle’s condition. I have it on good authority…with no less than three confirmed, separate, reliable sources, that Rep. Castle’s stroke was, indeed WORSE than The News Journal has reported. Conversations with some have told me that Castle was on a ventilator for quite a while because the stroke he suffered briefly — but seriously — affected the brain’s thalamus. My curiosity was piqued even further after Nancy Willing made the following “thalamus” comment (the 12:52 am comment) on Jason Scott’s blog Delaware Liberal. The News Journal has not reported this and seems to be quite content with its coverage.

Willing’s point is essentially what I’ve heard from several political junkies — Democrats and Republicans alike. So, rather than attempt to put this into my own words, I’ll defer to Nancy Willing’s comment:

He does indeed owe it to the voters to come out and campaign strongly to prove that he is not impaired. His stroke affected the THALAMUS, the relay center of almost all brain activity.

This could well be much more than the current GOPer spin.

We have such a great confliction of the truth so far….stroke no stroke one stroke two strokes (only known after the MRI) that we must surely see for ourselves how he is.

I’m inclined to agree with Nancy. So, it seems The News Journal has concluded its coverage of the Congressman’s medical condition. That leaves people like me to pick up the slack. To be sure, Castle’s people have acknowledged the “thalamus connection,” as I’ll call it. They even wrote about it in a press release from Sept. 25.

I do wish Mr. Castle a safe and quick recovery, though I do feel his staff certainly owes the public a more forthcoming response to these latest charges. I doubt the ogre would be happy to know so much smelly spin is emanating from his team of fresh-faced politicos.

Posted by Mike Matthews in First State Filth at 10:28 PM PDT

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For those of you groaning that now Susan is going to bore us with stories of her Vermont vacation, fear not. At least, not much.

Vermont is not a vacation, it’s an attitude. It is the most freedom-loving place I’ve ever been, and I lived in California for five years. That being said, I had to wait until I returned home to find out that public nudity is legal in Vermont. A friend told me, and I looked it up. Sure enough, Vermont declined to legislate nudity when given the chance, choosing instead to let winter take care of the nudists. Common sense in action.

Now, in spite of being just a tad chubby, I am still cute as the proverbial button. That doesn’t mean I’d choose to bare my considerable bosoms on Main Street. Except for that one time, but that was after a night at Deer Park. I just find it really refreshing that not all people find it necessary to legislate every single thing. Not to mention, it’s a perfect antidote to all the Christine O’Donnell’s of this world.

Miss O’Donnell, of the gleaming Chiclet-like teeth, should take her moral legislation hopes, and place them where the sun doesn’t shine. Or better yet, up George Bush’s ass. If she chooses to save herself for marriage, fine and dandy. That is her right, and I will defend her right to be wrong. But I think the disastrous reign of Mr. Bush has amply demonstrated what happens when government attempts to circumvent existing laws, and make new ones to suit their own aims. Sooner or later, someone will point out that the Emperor is not wearing any clothes.

Posted by Susan in Common Sense at 11:29 AM PDT

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Nigella Lawson has always been one of my favorite celebrity chefs. She’s been off-the-air in the States for a while (although the Style Network shows repeats from time-to-time), but she’s now making a well-overdue return via the Food Network. Queen Bee of food at The News Journal, Patricia Talorico, has a great profile of Lawson in today’s paper. Her new series, “Nigella Feast,” will hopefully include some of the same spoon-licking that made her previous show, “Nigella Bites,” such awesome “gastro-porn,” as Talorico puts it.

Posted by Mike Matthews in Food and recipes at 11:17 AM PDT

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Dana Garrett got the scoop this evening well before The News Journal. From Delaware Watch:

Delaware Watch has learned that state Senator James Vaughn has been hospitalized for pneumonia. Although the reports differ, it appears that the 80-year-old senator has been in the hospital over the weekend. Concern about his condition flared recently when he didn’t attend a political fund-raiser on his own campaign this past Friday night. Senator Vaughn, who is the chair of the state senate judiciary committee, also didn’t attend the recent special legislative session for the appointment of two Family Court judges. It has also been reported that Vaughn hasn’t been seen campaigning in the last few weeks.

Vaughn’s condition is particularly noteworthy because of the reports that he has been undergoing treatment for cancer.

I could write a 10-page thesis on this, but I won’t. Maybe later. All I’ll say is I wish Sen. Sandbag Vaughn the best wishes for good health.

Posted by Mike Matthews in First State Filth at 11:56 PM PDT

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Christine O’Donnell is returning. She will not go down easily. She’s a fighter. And she’s looking to take even more votes from Jan Ting than the likely 14% he’d garner in November. Ms. O’Donnell will be running as a write-in candidate and she’ll discuss her prospects on that oh-so-great Southern Delaware radio station WGMD. Here’s the press release:

*******NEWS RELEASE*******

Former US Senate candidate Christine O’Donnell to be Interviewed on

WGMD 92.7 FM TODAY to Discuss Buzz About a Write-In Candidacy
Lewes, DE - Christine O’Donnell will be on WGMD 92.7 FM TODAY, Tuesday 9/26, at 3:00pm. Host Randy Nelson and frequent guest Jud Bennett of the Coastal Conservative Network will be interviewing Christine and inviting people to call in with their questions and comments.
As a late entrant into the US Senate primary in Delaware, Ms. O’Donnell recently surprised people by capturing 18 percent of the Republican vote in the primary on Sept.12. With little time and even less money, this turnout, in a traditionally “blue state,” clearly demonstrates that morality is not dead in America. We especially need you to call in and voice your support for the issues that we hold dear, and that Christine is willing to stand for on our behalf.
Show your support of the strong and courageous stand that Christine O’Donnell is taking on the issues that define and protect our nation - call in to the show at 203-945-9292.
Many have asked Christine to continue in the US Senate race as a write-in candidate, and she has been prayerfully considering this option. Be sure to listen if you can!

Christine O’Donnell is a veteran network news analyst on morality and family issues. Her weekly television appearances have included CNN, C-SPAN, Fox News Channel, MSNBC, CNBC, ABC, MTV and CBN. Her writings have been published in The Washington Post and Cultural Dissident, to name just a few. She is regularly quoted in print media such as USA Today, Glamour Magazine, the Associated Press, and others. She is a savvy and articulate debater, with strong convictions and the ability to use logic rather than anger when facing opponents who would only like to dismiss her faith.

Way hot. Way…way hot.

Posted by Mike Matthews in First State Filth at 10:24 AM PDT

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Update: Story is now complete. Enjoy.

It’s clear to any sane individual that Sen. Tom Carper is about to continue his ridiculous streak of incumbancy in Delaware politics. The only question — ever — is who will step up to be Carper’s inevitable victim. Law Professor Jan Ting boldly goes where so few will by jumping on the grenade for the Delaware GOP. And the two proved they can play nice together, indeed, at a debate this afternoon at the Lifelong Learning Center at the University of Delaware’s Wilmington campus. Yup. Old people. The debate was rather muted and totally short. That’s about as accurate and interesting a summary as I can provide.

It started innocently enough. I waltzed into Arsht Hall looking like hot shit. I was nearly accosted by some old hag who harassed me, telling me that if I wasn’t a member of the press, then I wasn’t welcome. I informed her that I was publisher and owner of the most important press machine in the state: downwithabsolutes.com. I scolded her for having never heard of my site and asked the dear lady to move aside so I could join the rest of the political junkies surely ready to hear a pleasant dose of bullshit. The witch contemplated for a second, said “Oh…I dunno” and then allowed me to pass.

I entered the room in which the debate was to be held and was astonished: I was one of a handful of people not wearing Depends or relying on dentures to chew my food. Out of about 200 people in the room, there may have been 20 non-geriatrics and most of them were from the press. Of course, I include Tom Carper among the geriatrics because that gaunt, hunch-backed motherfucker looks like he’s pushing 87.

I immediately hovered to the back of the room. Good thing. At the commencement of activities, we were told that “only students” were allowed to sit in the chairs and that “only students” would be allowed to ask questions. Of course, the word “students” in this case could have been easily replaced with “corpses,” but let us not parse words.

The activities started off innocuously enough. Each candidate was allowed 20 (20?!?!?) minutes for an opening statement, with five minute rebuttals to follow-up. Smiley Jan Ting cautiously stood behind the podium and (for the 164th time) recounted his parents’ history on coming to America and his ridiculously impressive resume as a law professor at both Temple University and Widener University. He respectfully kept his opening remarks well under 20 minutes.

Unfortunately, Tom Carper didn’t know when (or how) to shut the hell up. He was so bad that one elderly gentleman in the back of the hall said the good senator needs to take a public speaking course. I found this to be quite perceptive. Almost immediately, I said to myself…”This guy is one mumblin’ idiot.” His words ran into each other and there was little clarity. His volume was low and he wasn’t particularly engaging. However, it’s not as condescending as Jan Ting’s constant finger-wagging, which was getting quite tiresome as the debate wound down.

As far as content, the candidates offered nothing new. Carper ran on his “successes” as a Delaware politician for 30 years. He even talked about a US House Bill he once authored in the 80s demanding term limits. Funny. Though the bill didn’t pass, I find it odd that this man would bring up such a thing. Surely, Jan Ting wasn’t going to let this opportunity slip by for a follow-up. When quizzed why he was once in favor or term limits but now is so comfortable in his incumbancy, Carper quipped “My wife is for term limits.” The audience — the ones who hadn’t yet been taken out for oxygen — giggled. Check out DelawareOnline’s more accurate account of this comment by clicking here.
The rest has been ably documented by The News Journal’s Mike Billington. As Billington reports, Ting did indeed seem a bit too comfortable distancing himself from the Bush Administration, which is an admirable move since so many Delawareans are a) Democrats and b) hateful of Bush. However, this seems totally disingenious when he attempts to sell a ridiculous bill of goods claiming that he’s a great, terrific, fantabulous Republican who will “change things” and “make everything SOOOOO much better” than the Republicans currently fouling up DC. One insider humorously coined it Ting’s “I will send a lightning bolt to Washington” speech. Smiley Ting’s exuberance is either a total goof or totally creepy. Is this campaign mere parody…realizing that he has no chance in hell to win against Carper? Or is Smiley Ting just so naturally giddy and effervescent that his presence on the Delaware political scene is actually refreshing?
Ting continued to smile and play the illegal immigration angle while Carper seemed more interested in dropping the names of his “bipartisan” Senate allies. He spoke of a torrid late-night bipartisan phone call to Maine Sen. Olympia Snowe. He also spoke of his fondness for Rep. Mike Castle, whom he sent his best wishes and prayers for a speedy recovery. In fact, Carper was dropping so many names that I had to wonder whether the good senator had written them on his palm so he could remember. His in-front-of-the-podium antics were fun to watch. He got up close to the geriatrics who seemed to really enjoy his antics. I didn’t. Because I’d heard it before.

Most interesting was the press release I received from Ting’s campaign manager, College Republican Seth Wimer. Wimer wrote the release and then, oddly, quotes himself within:

“Mr. Carper spent a lot of time talking generalities while Jan talked
substance,” said Ting’s campaign manager, Seth Wimer. “In fact, Mr.
Carper spent a substantial portion of the debate reminiscing about his
time in the House of Representatives and his time as Governor, rather
than talking about the time he has spent collecting a paycheck in the
US Senate.”

Hmmm…very interesting. Even more interesting is the fact that the press release was titled “In first head-to-head debate, Ting comes out on top.” I suppose that’s a convenient take on the battle. Even though Ting’s public speaking ability far outshines Carper’s, his evasiveness cancels out any possibility that he came “out on top” over Carper’s benign rhetoric. Such are the benefits of partisanry…If you’d like to read the full press release, my homeboy Dave has it on his blog, First State Politics.

Overall…a totally drab event. The candidates were too congenial and didn’t offer enough to differentiate themselves from each other. Mistakes in Iraq=Bad. Illegal Immigration=Bad. Tax Code=Confusing. That’s about the gist of it all. Tame. Muted. Dull.

In the end, it can be summed up like this: Tom Carper will win and Jan Ting will grin.

Posted by Mike Matthews in First State Filth at 5:54 PM PDT

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Tears are flowing today. Christine O’Donnell’s site is down.

Posted by Mike Matthews in First State Filth at 11:34 AM PDT

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The National Intelligence Estimate confirms what liberals — and, to some extent, Democrats — have been crowing about since the start of the Iraq War in 2003: That war has made terrorist threats more likely:

The classified National Intelligence Estimate attributes a more direct role to the Iraq war in fueling radicalism than that presented either in recent White House documents or in a report released Wednesday by the House Intelligence Committee, according to several officials in Washington involved in preparing the assessment or who have read the final document.

The intelligence estimate, completed in April, is the first formal appraisal of global terrorism by United States intelligence agencies since the Iraq war began, and represents a consensus view of the 16 disparate spy services inside government. Titled “Trends in Global Terrorism: Implications for the United States,’’ it asserts that Islamic radicalism, rather than being in retreat, has metastasized and spread across the globe.

Somewhere out there conservatives continue to keep their heads in the sand. What is is they say about leading a horse to water…?

Posted by Mike Matthews in First State Filth at 11:11 PM PDT

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When it was announced that Soundgarden and Audioslave front-man Chris Cornell was chosen to sing the new James Bond theme song, I was a bit disappointed. Well, after hearing his song You Know My Name, I still am. Go stream it and tell me what you think. I believe this would’ve made a great Bond song…10 years ago. I’ve never been a fan of Cornell’s voice and I feel he’s totally ill-suited for this kind of thing. Too loud and brash. And while there’s some orchestration, I think it’s too muted for a Bond film. Who knows? It may grow on me…

Posted by Mike Matthews in James Bond at 10:24 AM PDT

Talk dirty to me »

Mike Castle is in the hospital. Rumor has it that he had a stroke. Ogres generally have a shorter life expectancy than average men and women. But let’s hope for this ogre’s sake he makes a quick recovery and comes back swinging to take some good shots at Mr. Crazy, Dennis Spivack.

Posted by Mike Matthews in First State Filth at 12:06 AM PDT

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Yes, it’s another crackhead. I meant to put this up earlier in the week. Again, as we left the station Monday night, several crackheads were walking around and heard some of us tripping our car alarms in unison. Comedian Mike Petro brought along a real camera this time and decided to tape the action. This time, though, was quite familiar. The crackhead trolling the street was a woman who came on the show several months ago. On that live show, she performed several songs and added some fresh commentary to the day’s news events. So, this reunion was quite touching and it’s all on video. This is even better than the crackhead singing his ABCs.

Click here. 

Posted by Mike Matthews in General at 4:18 PM PDT

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Just got an email from the great Dan Gaffney, who pointed me to the station’s ultimate explanation, via station-owner David Schoumacher. In the interest of fairness, I have absolutely no problem with posting the station’s mea culpa right here. It’s quite telling. It’s really long so Dan, David, and Jared should be thankful I’m giving them this much valuable space! Check it:

A young woman named Jasmine Woods has now publicly admitted that she was the “voice” of the WGMD “Girls Gone Wild” story. We feel that releases us of our pledge to her that we would maintain her anonymity.The facts are these….and simple.Ms Woods had, at the time of the incident, been an occasional and parttime telephone receptionist for WGMD. She was never involved in our news coverage and was not “on assignment” or working or in any way representing WGMD when she went to the GGW bus. We learned of her participation afterwards.

Our morning host, Jared Morris, was discussing the GGW bus and its presence in Dewey Beach on the air. He wondered about the propriety of the promotion and several listeners called and expressed an opinion.

In another room in the station, Ms Woods discussed the story with a fellow employee. She said she had gone to the GGW bus on a lark…drank…but didn’t pose for pictures. Jared walked by, overheard the conversation, and asked Ms Woods if she would be willing to talk about it on the air.

Ms Woods declined, saying she didn’t think there was anything wrong with it although she, and others, were underage. To prove there was no harm in what was going on she finally said that two Dewey Beach police officers were there and taking part in the fun.

That was the first time we knew that there had been underage drinking on the bus and that police officers were present. Morris felt both were important elements and deserved publication. He discussed the story with Dan Gaffney, his supervisor, and then convinced Ms Woods to record what happened with our pledge we would protect her identity and alter her voice so it would not be recognizable.

She still did not understand that it was a serious charge but finally agreed to the recording as a “personal favor” to Morris. Afterwards, because he understood that it was bound to be a controversial story, Gaffney phoned me and outlined the facts and how we had come into possession of the recording and the need to protect Ms Woods’ identity.

I told Gaffney to gain corroboration from others and with that we went with the story. The recording prompted a flurry of calls and considerable controversy.

Ms Woods did not return to work after that and we called to inquire. She said she wanted to take time off, we granted it, and she never reported back.

Not only did the Dewey Beach police investigation confirm the essential elements of the story….that there was drinking on the bus, that some of the participants were underage, that their officers were present and at least one was drinking…but by coincidence a lengthy magazine article appeared in Los Angeles a few days later that described exactly the scene Ms Woods had pictured for our listeners.

Now, several other elements have been controversial.

1. Jared Morris was surprised by one call he should have anticipated: he was asked if our source worked for the station and he denied it. He thought the fact that she was not “working” for us at the bus gave him some leeway to deny the fact. He made a mistake in judgement but in my mind understandable given his lack of experience in handling controversial stories.

2. Morris handled the editing of the interview and at one point Gaffney said the recording was destroyed. That should not have been said. The fact is the original recording and the electronically altered recording still exist. They, and copies, were removed from the station for safekeeping.

3. WGMD was never confronted with a subpoena in this matter. We did receive a letter from the city attorney asking us for information including the recordings for their internal investigation. As all news organizations do, we refused to cooperate voluntarily. If a subpoena were to be issued in a criminal investigation, we would necessarily submit.

4. It was clear that the Dewey Beach police knew the identity of our source from the beginning and that they had interviewed others at the scene who corroborated her story. But since Ms Woods had not volunteered to identify herself, we continued to protect her. There were several young women involved and to confirm even that our source was a WGMD parttime employee would be tantamount to an identification in the small community of Dewey Beach.

5. A recording of the actual broadcast did not make it into our podcast system, along with many others, because it had been damaged earlier by electric surges. Repairs to station equipment, including the podcast recorder, were on the order of $10,000.

To sum up, the story was accurate and important for WGMD to report. We could only have reported it by concealing the identity of the source. That was the correct and ethical thing to do. Using information from an employee who was “off-duty” and observes a news story is also entirely proper in our trade. Using information from someone who is not a reporter is also entirely proper. Using information from someone who admits they broke the law is also entirely proper; that is usually the only way news organizations learn a law has been broken.

While the fact Ms Woods was a parttime employee for WGMD did not in any alter the truth of her story, we should not have denied that on the air. We should have simply refused to answer the question.

Understand this: if it had occured to us, I might well have authorized Ms Woods to go to the bus under the employ of WGMD and observe the scene. I would have authorized her to ask to be served liquor or beer just to see if her identification was checked but to leave after she was handed a drink…without drinking it. It is a sign of my declining aggressiveness as a reporter that that did not occur to me.

Finally, what has happened to Ms Woods in recent days is sad. It is also sad that the police, who generally give no details to the press in cases like this, immediately gave a full airing to Ms Woods problems. To me, whatever she did, their actions following her arrest smack exactly of the retaliation she, and we, feared.

Posted by Mike Matthews in First State Filth at 9:32 AM PDT

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Check it out at Kilroy’s Delaware. This is one of the more interesting thing’s I’ve seen on Kilroy’s blog of late. I think he’s got some good stuff going on there.

Posted by Mike Matthews in First State Filth at 11:02 PM PDT

Talk dirty to me »

Vermont is a beautiful state, home of the Green Mountains, Ben and Jerry’s, the Family Von Trapp and many, many apples. Close to Canada, dotted with covered bridges, with a prestigious culinary institute, and quaint little villages inhabited by people who want to get away from all the hubbub. A place where they put a sign for an orchard on one of the two interstates. A bucolic, conservation minded state that voted blue in the last election, and can appreciate an “impeach Cheney first” bumper sticker. Full of pumpkins, artisan cheeses, homemade jam, maple syrup, and other Very Good Things. I’ll bet you could learn to yodel up there. Altogether a delightful location in which to find oneself, especially this time of year. At least I hope it is. I’ll let you know for sure next week.

After a sojourn at the Hudson Valley Garlic Festival, home of Garlic(!)Ice Cream, we will be travelling to Vermont in the truckster, doggie in the back seat, securely seatbelted, but close enough to hang his ginormous nose out the window. We have pet friendly lodgings, and plan to spend the next week eating apples, visiting Ben and Jerry, admiring foliage, fine old architecture, glorious scenery, reading books and maybe a hike or two. I’m looking for a quieter atmosphere. If I had a laptop, I wouldn’t bring it.

Have a good week. Play nice, and don’t buy a house in Elsmere.

Posted by Susan in Personal at 7:26 PM PDT

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This has to be the worst news blurb I’ve ever seen on WGMD’s newsfeed. It doesn’t even read like it was written by a professional:

______________________________________________________

I guess Dan and company deserve some credit for even addressing this on their site. However, it doesn’t quite explain station owner David Schoumacher’s Nazi-like censorious actions of silencing the debate on the station’s Listener Forum.

Nancy Willing posits:

What is a pity is that calamity Jaz did not get help when she exhibited substance abuse in the past. This unfortunate tale will be good fodder for WGMD listeners, what few they have.

How well put!

Posted by Mike Matthews in First State Filth at 3:07 PM PDT

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The Dixie Chicks were on Ellen yesterday, talking about the censure they’ve been subject to, the idiots who’ve been boycotting their music, and their lack of airtime on radio stations. It’s about damn time. In 2003, at the height of the Bush hysteria, Natalie Maines of the Dixie Chicks said this on a London stage:

Maines told the audience earlier this week, “Just so you know, we’re ashamed the president of the United States is from Texas.”

The Chicks still don’t get any airplay, but commercial radio sucks so bad, no one I know listens to it anyway. Unless, of course, it’s the great Al Mascitti on WDEL.

Taking the Long Way is a beautiful CD, and an eloquent answer to those who would seek to stop all discourse on the disaster that is our current Cowboy in Chief. The Dixie Chicks recieved death threats over their remark, and like the Pope, haven’t retracted the statement. Personally, I’d have gone further. I’m ashamed of this President, and the people who elected him.

Stay the course, Chicks. You’ll be here long after Bush is impeached.

Posted by Susan in Music, ODB (Our Dumb Bush) at 8:44 AM PDT

14 Comments | Gimme some more »

Wow…hate to break it to Dan “The Douche” Gaffney, but his ass is fried on this one. While I gently reported the rumor that one of WGMD’s employees — an underage 18-year-old woman — was involved in the whole Girls Gone Wild scandal, it seems this young woman was out committing other interesting crimes. From a late-night report over at Delaware Online:

An 18-year-old woman arrested in Dewey Beach early Wednesday was identified as the anonymous radio show guest who sparked a furor this summer with her allegations that city police officers gave her drinks on the “Girls Gone Wild” tour bus.

The woman, whose voice was disguised “to protect her identity” on a WGMD/92.7 show in August, said she boarded the bus while it was parked at the Starboard Restaurant & Bar, a popular tavern on Del. 1, and drank with the officers. A WGMD official could not be reached for comment on Wednesday night.
Jasmine Woods, who was wanted in a break-in early Wednesday, was stopped about 5 a.m. by a Dewey Beach police officer who heard a state police broadcast of her description.

Woods, a passenger in a blue Ford Focus, first identified herself as Bonnie Chandler when the vehicle was stopped at Coastal Highway and New Orleans Street, said Dewey Beach Patrolman John Jenney.

After Jenney checked the IDs of both the car’s occupants, he returned to Woods and told her the system had not recognized the Chandler identity.

“I said, ‘Jasmine, why don’t you go ahead and tell me who you really are,’” he said. “She said, ‘I’m not Jasmine, my roommate is Jasmine.’”

Jenney then told Woods he would walk her to her residence and speak with her roommate.

After walking 10 or 15 steps, he said, Woods broke down and said she worked for WGMD and had caused a lot of problems for the Dewey Beach Police Department. She said, ‘I’m scared,’ Jenney recalled. “‘I don’t want to go to jail.’ She kept asking me if she was going to jail.”

Dewey Beach police charged Woods with criminal impersonation, Jenney said, and she was turned over to Delaware State Police.

So, we’ve learned today that Gaffney and Crew committed, in the least, an unethical act by using this underage boozer to advance a sensational — if somewhat true — story that resulted in the firing/resignation of two Dewey Beach police officers. Truly unethical was their DESTRUCTION of the interview evidence this UNDERAGE boozer helped them produce on the day following the events. (Day OF the events, actually, since she reported to work several hours AFTER her illegal acts). What exactly were Gaffney and Crew afraid of? Could they have known that their evidence may have been damning against the girl and the station had the case gone further?

Now we know why the asshats over at WGMD’s message boards have been in such a censorious mood of late. Thanks to Ryan Cormier for tipping me off to this. As well, the anonymous source who sent me this little treasure in an email early this morning.

Special thanks to Dan Gaffney and his crew of fucktards who keep screwing shi