Stefanik’s defense of sexual assault has reached new heights of hypocrisy
Moreau Town Board accused of holding illegal meeting
Civil litigation is designed to provide monetary damages where no criminal charges can be filed.
For instance, while O.J. Simpson was acquitted of a double murder in a criminal trial, he was held liable for those killings in a civil case.
Juries have the power to dispense justice, not just with a guilty or not guilty verdict, but in the amount it awards for damages.
There is this scene in the Paul Newman movie The Verdict where the jury finds a hospital and its doctors liable of malpractice. And when the judge tells them they have to return to the jury room and decide on a monetary award, the jury foreman’s asked the judge if it is possible to give the plaintiff more than what they asked.
The judge tells them they can award any amount they like.
On Friday, a jury in New York City had to decide how much Donald Trump should be punished for continuing to defame 80-year-old writer E. Jean Carroll for his continued malice toward her on social media.
The jury deliberated for three hours.
When it returned, it awarded E. Jean Carroll $83 million.
The jury was sending a message with its award and the message was not that they were liberal, it was not that they did not like Donald Trump, it was that you can’t use your power to ruin people’s lives.
The weekend before, Rep. Elise Stefanik told an NBC reporter she did not believed E. Jean Carroll’s accusations. More than likely, Rep. Stefanik does not believe any of the other 18 women who have accused Donald Trump of sexual misconduct over the years.
So after the judgement was announced Friday, Stefanik defended Trump again in an odd statement in which she did not mention any particular details of the Carroll case.
“Today’s outrageous verdict against President Trump simply continues to prove his point: Democrats have destructively politicized and weaponized our justice system against their political enemies,” the statement reads.
It ignores the detail this case was brought by E. Jean Carroll, a private citizen.
It ignores Donald Trump was found guilty of sexual assault by a jury.
It completely ignores it was another jury who found that $83 million in damages should be paid to Carroll.
What the hell is Elise Stefanik talking about?
It is inconceivable Elise Stefanik does not understand how the justice system works.
The facts are simple. E. Jean Carroll sued Donald Trump for sexual assault and a jury found him liable for that assault. Another jury decided how much to award Carroll for Trump’s continued defamation.
This is how our legal system works.
This has nothing to do with political parties or politics.
What it does show is Stefanik’s disdain for her constituents, for her failure to stand up to cases of sexual assault and her transparent attempts to further her own career by defending the former president.
As for E. Jean Carroll, it could be a long time before she gets any of the money, but she already has plans for it. “I’m not going to waste a cent of this,” she said. “We’re going to do something good with it.”
Wouldn’t it be nice if Elise Stefanik tried to do something good with the power and influence she commands instead of defending sexual assaults by prominent politicians.
On Saturday, The Post-Star published Beth Wadleigh’s letter to the editor.
Wadleigh, who said she has written previous letters criticizing the behavior of Stefanik, announced she was calling out the voters of the 21st Congressional District directly.
Wadleigh said she was disgusted to Stefanik proclaim on national television that those convicted in the attack on the U.S. Capitol on January 6 were “hostages.”
Of course, her letter was probably written before Stefanik’s full-throated defense of Trump for sexual assault. I hope we see another letter from Wadleigh on that subject.
“Are there not enough decent people here to vote her out?” Wadleigh asks in her letter. “Is it OK with you, her supporters, that people broke into the Capitol and defecated and smeared it on the walls? Is it OK they attacked police officers who in this case were simply standing their ground? Is it OK that they erected gallows and were screaming `Hang Pence?’ Is it OK that MAGA maniacs called for the death of Pelosi?”
She asked local voters to review Stefanik’s “hate-filled” social media posts and ask them if they approve of those messages..
“Your silence is complicity and you should feel ashamed. No one should think this is normal. This isn’t a matter of red and blue It’s a matter of decent and Stefanik has failed miserable times and again.”
We should salute Beth Wadleigh for her letter.
We should ask why more aren’t asking the same questions.
I do believe there are good people in our communities, so it remains mystifying why they condone the behavior of Jan. 6 and look past the criminal charges against the former president.
It is time for the good people of the 21st Congressional District to hold Elise Stefanik accountable.
Covid vaccine hesitancy
Over the Christmas holidays a family member showed up with a case of the flu.
We asked if they had gotten the flu shot, or the latest Covid vaccine. It was negative on both counts. What was of more concern, was the lackadaisical matter in which our concerns were dismissed.
Of course, we all got sick soon after Christmas.
There was a guest essay in the New York Times Sunday from Dr. Danielle Ofri and her concerns about her patients hesitancy to get the latest Covid vaccine.
It was startling to see that as of early January, there is still an average of over 1,700 Americans dying weekly of Covid.
It was even more startling to see that as of Jan. 19, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicated only 21.18 percent of adults have received the latest Covid vaccine. Twice that number has gotten the flu vaccine.
Dr. Ofri writes that she regularly received “hesitancy” among her patients for getting another Covid vaccine and regularly has to turn into a salesperson to keep her patients safe. Oddly, they don’t have any hesitancy about other vaccines.
The essay is worth a read.
Illegal meeting
Bravos to Moreau resident Brigid Martin for exposing what appears to be an illegal Town Board meeting in Moreau.
When Martin, the former town historian, saw a group of Town Board members at the municipal building on Jan. 19 with the town’s lawyer, it appeared the board had a quorum and would be able to conduct business and hold votes.
The state’s open meetings law does not allow a Town Board meeting unless it is advertised ahead of time so the public has a chance to attend. In this case there was no advertisement.
Town boards can meet behind closed doors under certain circumstances - talking about pending litigation is one, personnel matters is another - but there must be a motion to go into executive session and a reason given for that executive session.
There was no record that was done in this case.
Martin took a photo of the group meeting and sent it to The Post-Star.
Writer’s Project
I will be the guest speaker today at SUNY Adirondack for the Writer’s Project. It is the first in a series of lectures on writing.
The event begins at 12:30 p.m. and will be held in the lecture room at Dearlove Hall (Room 206).
I’m looking forward to talking about writing, my years at the newspaper and my third act since retirement.
Sedition Stefanik is auditioning for an audience of one. Above everything else, self interest is her primary concern. One does not have to be a rocket scientist to understand what she is doing. Her goal is for the diabolical sociopathic narcissist to named her as his running mate. For that she will sell her soul, discard those she is supposed to represent and ignore her pledge to defend the Constitution.
In 2022 54 Republicans holding elected office in Warren County publicly endorsed Stefanik. In 2020 I believe it was 50. You can find these lists or lists from other counties by Googling “Elise Stefanik endorsement” and the election year and county you are interested in. It seems likely Stefanik’s election staff will be compiling lists for this election cycle and if she runs for office again those list will be published - assuming that local Republicans are still willing to publicly endorse her. I was surprised at how far down the election structure Stefanik reaches, touting endorsements from Highway Superintendents. I haven’t seen endorsements from Animal Control Warden, Coroner, or Library Trustee, but that may be next. It shows how well structured her campaigns have been and how much money she has for paying staff to build those lists across the many counties of the district. It might be worth comparing those lists from election to election to see how tight a hold Stefanik has on your local government.