Hypocritical with a capital `H’
Morning briefing
Tuesday, March 2, 2021
Hypocritical with a capital H
Rep. Elise Stefanik has poured out a steady diet of tweets - including Monday night - demanding that New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo resign because of accusations of sexual assault.
What Rep. Stefanik didn’t tweet about was the continued problem of sexual assaults in the military. PBS reporter Nick Schifrin reported Monday night that the number of sexual assaults in the military has doubled over the past 10 years.
Just last week the Pentagon named a new commission that has 90 days to recommend solutions to this longstanding problem in the military. Considering how often Rep. Stefanik has expressed her concerns about the soldiers at Fort Drum and the fact she is a member of the House Armed Services Committee, it seems like her energies cold be better spent on this issue.
When Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand was holding hearings over sexual assaults in the military five years ago about whether commanders should be taken out of the chain of command when sexual assault accusations are made, I remember asking Rep. Stefanik where she stood on the issue. She said in an editorial board meeting at The Post-Star that the chain of command should be maintained despite repeated cases that showed that victims were not getting justice. She said she was told by officials at Fort Drum there was no problem.
Schifrin reported on PBS that the Army has admitted that soldiers are more likely to get raped by someone in the same uniform than they are to be shot by the enemy. Even worse, solders are more likely to get away with sexual assault.
When Schifrin asked retired Sgt. 1st Class Quinton McNair to grade how well the military has done in stamping out sexual abuse, he replied, “It would be an absolute F.”
“Stefanik is standing on the quicksand of her ardent support for Donald Trump,” the editorial charged.
“What both Trump and Cuomo are accused of doing is reprehensible,” the editorial stated. “Trump should have been held to account long ago; Cuomo should be now - but not by Stefanik or any other Republican official who supported Trump despite the many charges made against him.”
I’d take Stefanik’s attack one step further as nothing more than political grandstanding. She is no friend to any woman who has been sexually harassed or assaulted, especially those she represents at Fort Drum.
She has been hypocritical with a capital H and she and her constituents would be better served if she addressed the problem in the military and let state officials deal with Mr. Cuomo.
Feeding the wood stove
When the calendar turns over into March, this is the time when I calibrate if I have enough wood to get through the rest of the winter.
I’ve got more than two face cords, so I’m in good shape. The problem is that I’m not sure if I can get to the wood. Wet snow, combined with long stretches of cold has left the wood encased in ice and waist-high piles of snow.
I’m hoping for a thaw.
JG3 in doghouse
I don’t know if Syracuse Coach Jim Boeheim has a doghouse, but if he does, Joe Girard III is in it.
Syracuse upset North Carolina Monday night to keep its NCAA Tournament hopes alive, but with Girard on the bench for almost the entire second half.
Girard scored Syracuse’s first two points of the game, but was pulled from the game after five minutes after missing two 3-pointers and a couple turnovers. When he returned 10 minutes later, he made a sloppy pass that resulted in another turnover and Boeheim immediately pulled him from the lineup and he only returned because of an injury to his replacement, Kadary Richmond, with 3:51 left. Syracuse was up 9 at the time and barely held on for a 72-70 victory.
Girard played just 10 minutes and scored four points. Richmond had six points and nine assists.
Girard twice went 1 for 2 from the free throw line in the last minute to give the Orange their final margin of victory.
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