crossposted on Holy Bullies and Headless Monsters
The Plum Line is reporting that Fox News has issued an online correction of the Kevin Jennings article, making sure to include information to include the defense of the young man (Brewster) whom Jennings supposedly gave advice to in 1988. The statement is important because many have accused Jennings of "condoning statutory rape:"
When Jennings was a young teacher a teenager confided in him about having sex with a stranger and Jennings didn’t report it to authorities. Jennings has said he regrets his actions.
The “statutory rape” charge is based on the assertion that the kid was 15 years old at the time, a claim originally floated, wrongly, by Jennings himself, and continuously amplified by Fox News and the right even after it had been corrected.
On Friday Media Matters produced what it said was the kid’s drivers license, showing that the kid was 16, legal age of consent in Massachuttes, and also produced a Facebook exchange that seemed to show that a Fox News reporter had been informed directly by the kid himself that they’d misrepresented his age.
Fox News has now issued an online correction.
Plum Line now asks a very appropriate question: since Sean Hannity heavily pushed the claim of statutory rape, will he make a correction.
In that same vein, I asked the exact question about the site Politico. In a recent article, Glenn Thrush said that U.S. Rep. Steven King (R-Iowa) was demanding Jennings' dismissal.
Thrush, unfortunately, pushed the inaccurate claim that Brewster was 15-yas 15-years-old.
I emailed Thrush informing him of his error and he has updated his article making the change.
Editor's note - Those who want to aid Jennings can join the Support Kevin Jennings facebook group. It refutes all of the lies lodged against him.
Very nice front page story today about the Volunteer Vacation program:
It's an unusual offer.Come to Maine for a vacation, but instead of climbing mountains or kayaking the coast, you can spend your free time working for the group that's campaigning against the ballot proposal to overturn the state's new same-sex marriage law.
Volunteer vacation week for the No on 1/Protect Maine Equality campaign began Sunday.
Volunteers from around the state and the country are being asked to serve as full-time campaign staffers during October.
Volunteers can stay on as long as they like, and may be offered housing or travel assistance.
"Our lives are in the balance here. We need to make sure we get our supporters out to vote," said Darlene Huntress, a No on 1 official.
Now don't get me started on talking about Darlene; if there is a native Mainer (8th or 10th generation; I forget which) who I trust 100% to always tell the truth, work harder than anyone else, do a fantastic job and keep a cheerful and upbeat attitude, it's Dar!
Hey, I gotta give shout-outs and credit where credit is due sometimes! ;)
More below the fold about the PPH No On 1 article...
I stopped by No On 1 HQ on Sunday in the middle of the first orientation session and was so pleased to see how large a turnout they had:
Jesse Connolly addressing the crowd
It was fun to meet so many people that previously I had only spoken with via Internet or the occasional conference call; got a great big bear hug from my new buddy Paul Hogarth, who is now in Bangor. Check out his diaries/ posts about Maine here.
I also got to hear bunches of the actual training and was impressed with the thoroughness, deatils, etc... but the sheer VOLUME of people volunteering kept hitting me!
This was a fantastic first weekend; they had 40 people working the phonebanks in just this ONE location. &l
So many, MANY thanks to everyone who has or will be participating; you can't really know how much we appreciate your help.
And if I may suggest: the Cortland apples are exceptionally large and delicious this year- grab some while you're here and enjoy the foliage! :)
The Blend has learned that Congressman Patrick Murphy (D-PA), the lead sponsor of H.R. 1283, the Military Readiness Enhancement Act (which would repeal DADT) is scheduled to take to the floor of the House to host a Special Order Hour today. It will occur around 9 PM ET tonight and broadcast live on C-SPAN. He plans to highlight the impact of DADT on National Security, and push for additional co-sponsors.
A Special Order is time set aside in advance by any House member to speak about a topic of their choice.
***
You can see my interview with the Congressman from Netroots Nation here (with transcript). A snippet:
PS: Do you think it's okay to have a public whip count, so people can see how things are going?
CPM: Yes, and that's why I ask people to go on "Let Them Serve", that's my website; again, "Let Them Serve". Look at what the webcount is; look at who's my co-sponsors.
I have 168 co-sponsors right now, and if your congressman or congresswoman isn't on it, I ask you please - call their office, email them, write them letters, write "letters to the editors".
...PS: And what do you think, um, that during the next set of hearings, that people on the other side are going to present? After all, last time around, Elaine Donnelly testified quite candidly and humorously- it did not do the other side much justice.
CPM: Yeah, well, listen, I have respect for Ms. Donnelly. I don't appreciate the fact that she now questions my military service and I don't frankly appreciate the fact that she doesn't think that the American soldier is as professional as the 26 other countries that allow their troops to serve openly.
But listen, that's what America is America for; and she's entitled to her opinion and her... even if I think that opinion is wrong. And um, I anticipate a strong fight from the forces of the status quo; I und; I understand it, you know, but I didn't come to Congress to be nice to everybody and just go along to get along. I came to Congress to make sure I fight for the values and principles I believe in and how I was raised, and where I think our country needs to go.
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