For the Guardian Unlimited, Tom Bower writes about fallen spin-master Alastair Campbell’s startling resignation and the churning troubles for Prime Minister Blair that may be close to spinning out of control:
“…Just 24 hours after Tony Blair emphasized his loyalty to Alastair Campbell, his closest adviser has resigned. The echoes of Watergate are deafening.”
To read more about the unraveling story at No. 10, click here.
Since 1985, in various formats, SLANT -- an independent voice based in the heart of Richmond, Virginia -- has offered its readers original commentary on politics and popular culture. Warning: Occasionally, that means wiseass cartoons and satirical content. Naturally, all rights are reserved.
Sunday, August 31, 2003
Bality, a Richmond Artist to Note
Andras Bality’s studio is in the Fan District and he studied at VCU, so it’s fair to call him a Fan District artist.
Bality’s paintings are the work of an artist who has hit his stride, with the particular style he has developed. It’s a pleasant task studying his canvasses, considering the choices he must have made to depict a scene. Many of the compositions seem to be suggesting a gray sort of day, a lighting situation in which color trumps shadow.
Bality’s work challenges the viewer, without shouting at him. While it’s consistently tasteful and easy to like, he is still experimenting. There's a playful sense to his art that's subtle, like a fleeting eye-twinkle.
Here’s a link to a Bality painting of a Fan District scene:
And, here’s the link to Bality’s web site (there are miniatures of several more paintings there.
Bality’s paintings are the work of an artist who has hit his stride, with the particular style he has developed. It’s a pleasant task studying his canvasses, considering the choices he must have made to depict a scene. Many of the compositions seem to be suggesting a gray sort of day, a lighting situation in which color trumps shadow.
Bality’s work challenges the viewer, without shouting at him. While it’s consistently tasteful and easy to like, he is still experimenting. There's a playful sense to his art that's subtle, like a fleeting eye-twinkle.
Here’s a link to a Bality painting of a Fan District scene:
And, here’s the link to Bality’s web site (there are miniatures of several more paintings there.
Saturday, August 30, 2003
Blair's Chief Spin Doc Quits
Wondering what to make of the sudden resignation of Alastair Campbell, Tony Blair’s communications chief? Is this just an English thing, political infighting? Or is Campbell’s departure really the first to fall in a line of dominos that leads from 10 Downing Street – spanning the Atlantic Ocean – all the way to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue?
Read all about it, courtesy of BBC News:
"A press chief like no other?"
"Pundits divided over Campbell"
Read all about it, courtesy of BBC News:
"A press chief like no other?"
"Pundits divided over Campbell"
Friday, August 29, 2003
Fistfuls of Dollars
Is Dubya’s squint-eyed imitation of Clint Eastwood wearing a little thin for you yet? Only months into a war our wannabe bad-ass cowboy president says will take years and, already, it’s looking like a bigger disaster than many of his policy's harshest critics warned would be the case, before the invasion.
How bad does it have to get before his busy apologists run out of whatever it is they're using for fuel?
For the New York Times Paul Krugman takes an unflinching look at where we stand in Iraq: “…the costs of a ‘bring 'em on’ foreign policy are now looming large indeed. The direct military cost of the occupation is $4 billion a month, and there's no end in sight. But that's only part of the bill.”
Krugman’s analysis is penetrating. Click here to read it.
How bad does it have to get before his busy apologists run out of whatever it is they're using for fuel?
For the New York Times Paul Krugman takes an unflinching look at where we stand in Iraq: “…the costs of a ‘bring 'em on’ foreign policy are now looming large indeed. The direct military cost of the occupation is $4 billion a month, and there's no end in sight. But that's only part of the bill.”
Krugman’s analysis is penetrating. Click here to read it.
Thursday, August 28, 2003
Progress vs. Power
On November 4 Richmonders will have the opportunity to vote, yes or no, on a city charter change calling for the election of a mayor by a citywide vote. The Wilder-Bliley Commission collected enough signatures on petitions to get the proposal on the ballot.
Currently, the nine members of City Council select the mayor from their own ranks. Under the Wilder-Bliley proposal, the mayor would be selected directly by the voters, every four years.
The City of Richmond needs this change. Read about why and the peculiar path that has led us to this point in a piece penned by F. T. Rea for STYLE Weekly.
Here’s a little teaser blurb: “In spite of how it might seem to a viewer after watching City Council meetings on television, personalities are not really what’s most wrong at City Hall. No. Cobbled together by conflicting moves made in 1948 and 1977, it’s plainly the system that’s twisted. This is a problem that is limiting our city’s potential all over town. For good reason, citizens of all backgrounds in Richmond have lost faith in their local government.”
Currently, the nine members of City Council select the mayor from their own ranks. Under the Wilder-Bliley proposal, the mayor would be selected directly by the voters, every four years.
The City of Richmond needs this change. Read about why and the peculiar path that has led us to this point in a piece penned by F. T. Rea for STYLE Weekly.
Here’s a little teaser blurb: “In spite of how it might seem to a viewer after watching City Council meetings on television, personalities are not really what’s most wrong at City Hall. No. Cobbled together by conflicting moves made in 1948 and 1977, it’s plainly the system that’s twisted. This is a problem that is limiting our city’s potential all over town. For good reason, citizens of all backgrounds in Richmond have lost faith in their local government.”
Wednesday, August 27, 2003
The Jihad All-Stars
Maureen Dowd dissects the Bush plan, or lack thereof, for fighting terrorism in Iraq:
“…We don't know exactly which of our ghostly Arab enemies are which, how many there are, who's plotting with whom, what weapons they have, how they're getting into Iraq, where they're hiding, or who's financing and organizing them.”
Read Dowd’s piece, The Jihad All-Stars, in the New York Times.
“…We don't know exactly which of our ghostly Arab enemies are which, how many there are, who's plotting with whom, what weapons they have, how they're getting into Iraq, where they're hiding, or who's financing and organizing them.”
Read Dowd’s piece, The Jihad All-Stars, in the New York Times.
The Wal-Marting of America
The term Wal-Marting is making its way into the vernacular of the day. On the surface the term refers unsympathetically to the boring, cookie cutter sameness that national chain stores have brought to our way of life. But that sense of what the likes of Wal-Mart and McDonalds have done to promote what amounts to utter conformity looks at the phenomenon from the outside in.
How about what Wal-Marting might mean from the inside out?
As we approach Labor Day take a look at Harold Meyerson’s examination of the effect Wal-Mart is having on the American labor force. Here's a sample blurb:
“…Controlling as it does so much of the low-end retail market, Wal-Mart has, with great success, pressured suppliers to cut their labor costs. No other American company has done as much to destroy what's left of the U.S. clothing and textile industry or been so loyal a friend to the dankest sweatshops of the developing world.”
Read the article in the Washington Post.
How about what Wal-Marting might mean from the inside out?
As we approach Labor Day take a look at Harold Meyerson’s examination of the effect Wal-Mart is having on the American labor force. Here's a sample blurb:
“…Controlling as it does so much of the low-end retail market, Wal-Mart has, with great success, pressured suppliers to cut their labor costs. No other American company has done as much to destroy what's left of the U.S. clothing and textile industry or been so loyal a friend to the dankest sweatshops of the developing world.”
Read the article in the Washington Post.
Monday, August 25, 2003
The Snipe Hunt in Iraq Continues
Scott Ritter, a former United Nations weapons inspector in Iraq, writes about the baffling methodology that has been/is being used to find the infamous WMD presence President Bush said was the most pressing reason for launching his go-it-alone war to liberate the suffering people of Iraq: “Some 1,500 American investigators are scouring the Iraqi countryside for evidence of weapons of mass destruction that has so far eluded them…”.
After reading Ritter’s OpEd piece in the New York Times we are left to wonder -- what was/is really going on with the so-called search for WMDs?
Regarding such brutal futility, as appears to be in the air in Iraq, perhaps Marvin Gaye put it best in his classic 1971 anti-war song: “What’s Going On?”
After reading Ritter’s OpEd piece in the New York Times we are left to wonder -- what was/is really going on with the so-called search for WMDs?
Regarding such brutal futility, as appears to be in the air in Iraq, perhaps Marvin Gaye put it best in his classic 1971 anti-war song: “What’s Going On?”
Sunday, August 24, 2003
Three Trains Crossing
On a pretty summer Sunday take a break from the noisy news of the day to click on this link to view a colorized (circa 1940’s) shot of what was billed as, “the only point in the world where three trunk line trains may cross each other at the same time, and over their separate tracks.”
Depicted in a wonderful old postcard, one this scribbler remembers seeing as a child, is a scene of three trains, on three different levels, passing over the same point in Shockoe Bottom. To see more of these charming postcards visit the VCU Special Collection of vintage postcards.
Depicted in a wonderful old postcard, one this scribbler remembers seeing as a child, is a scene of three trains, on three different levels, passing over the same point in Shockoe Bottom. To see more of these charming postcards visit the VCU Special Collection of vintage postcards.
Saturday, August 23, 2003
Anti-Occupation Rally
For information about the rally to protest the American occupation of Iraq, being staged in Richmond’s Monroe Park on Sunday, August 24, at 4:30 p.m., visit the Richmond Independent Media Center.
Is Kerry the Donkey With the Best Legs?
Candidate Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) profiled by washingtonpost.com
Searching for Needles of Truth in Haystacks of Sham
Which is the Bush administration more interested in -- finding out how 9/11 was accomplished by its perpetrators and allowed for by our government, or in covering its own ass?
Gail Sheehy writes: “…So afraid is the Bush administration of what could be revealed by inquiries into its failures to protect Americans from terrorist attack, it is unabashedly using Kremlin tactics to muzzle members of Congress and thwart the current federal commission investigating the failures of Sept. 11.”
That excerpt is from Sheehy’s eye-opening account of the efforts of four dauntless 9/11 widows to find the truth, the whole truth, about what killed their husbands. The story of the complex shell game that is being used to deny those women the facts, and thus keep us all in the dark, is both bewildering and chilling. Read it in the New York Observer.
Gail Sheehy writes: “…So afraid is the Bush administration of what could be revealed by inquiries into its failures to protect Americans from terrorist attack, it is unabashedly using Kremlin tactics to muzzle members of Congress and thwart the current federal commission investigating the failures of Sept. 11.”
That excerpt is from Sheehy’s eye-opening account of the efforts of four dauntless 9/11 widows to find the truth, the whole truth, about what killed their husbands. The story of the complex shell game that is being used to deny those women the facts, and thus keep us all in the dark, is both bewildering and chilling. Read it in the New York Observer.
Friday, August 22, 2003
Fox Denied; Franken Unrepentant
Today Fox News struck out with its absurd attempt to block sales of comedian/political commentator Al Franken’s new headline-making book, Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them: A Fair and Balanced Look at the Right.
Newsday reports: “’There are hard cases and there are easy cases,’ U.S. District Judge Denny Chin told Fox's lawyers Friday. ‘This is an easy case in my view and wholly without merit, both factually and legally.'”
Afterwards, claiming the publicity had increased demand for his book, Franken said, "I'd like to thank Fox's lawyers for filing one of the stupidest briefs I've ever seen in my life."
Read the fair and balanced Newsday.com piece.
Newsday reports: “’There are hard cases and there are easy cases,’ U.S. District Judge Denny Chin told Fox's lawyers Friday. ‘This is an easy case in my view and wholly without merit, both factually and legally.'”
Afterwards, claiming the publicity had increased demand for his book, Franken said, "I'd like to thank Fox's lawyers for filing one of the stupidest briefs I've ever seen in my life."
Read the fair and balanced Newsday.com piece.
Bringing It On
In “Behind the Failure” E. J. Dionne, Jr. writes about the Bush administration’s utter misunderstanding of the reality on the ground in Iraq before it launched its go-it-alone war, and the rash statements that have flowed from that mistake.
“...consider our president's statement on July 2 in response to a question about attackers targeting our troops. ‘Bring 'em on,’ our president declared. ‘We've got the force necessary to deal with the security situation.’ Mr. President, they're bringing it on.”
Read the article in the Washington Post.
“...consider our president's statement on July 2 in response to a question about attackers targeting our troops. ‘Bring 'em on,’ our president declared. ‘We've got the force necessary to deal with the security situation.’ Mr. President, they're bringing it on.”
Read the article in the Washington Post.
Tuesday, August 19, 2003
Gotta go, gotta go...
by F. T. Rea
RICHMOND, VA (August 19, 2003): The horns wailed as they entered the Arthur Ashe Center. At about 12:30 p.m. a brass New Orleans-style procession playing "Just A Closer Walk With Thee" led the family, friends and fans of the late L. Eric "Rick" Stanley into the memorial ceremony.
It was a service for the deejay known to his local listeners as Eric E. Eric Stanley died on August 12, 2003.
The program billed the occasion as a "celebration of life." What followed the procession, two hours-plus of music and colorful Rick Stanley anecdotes with a somewhat restrained dose of old-time religion, lived up to the billing.
Many of the faces in the crowd of approximately 1,500 were familiar to anyone who has followed the live music scene in Richmond over the last 20-some years. Interestingly, for a city reputed to be trapped in habits that separate blacks from whites, Stanley once again demonstrated his unique ability to appeal to both sides of Broad Street.
Eric Stanley, who was 53 when cancer took his life, was the host and producer of the Bebop, Boogie, & Blues Review, a radio show of his own invention that was heard most recently on WJMO-105.7FM on Sunday nights. As well, he was a promoter/producer of many live shows.
Stanley's bright-eyed daughter, Erin Stanley, closed her remarks with her father's trademark radio sign-off: "Gotta go, gotta go..."
Tears flowed – of course they did – but the overall mood in the room was decidedly upbeat. Stanley's presence was symbolized throughout the cavernous space by photographs and other traditional remembrances on display, which included his own harmonica – a Hohner Pro Harp, a 10-hole diatonic with black cover-plates.
For the recessional the musicians played "When the Saints Go Marching In" to lead the gathering into the sunlight.
Those who were so disposed went to the closest restaurant/bar, Dabney's, where a lively reception ensued, and lingered. No doubt, it was a crowd Rick Stanley would have enjoyed being a part of.
His silent black harmonica was there.
RICHMOND, VA (August 19, 2003): The horns wailed as they entered the Arthur Ashe Center. At about 12:30 p.m. a brass New Orleans-style procession playing "Just A Closer Walk With Thee" led the family, friends and fans of the late L. Eric "Rick" Stanley into the memorial ceremony.
It was a service for the deejay known to his local listeners as Eric E. Eric Stanley died on August 12, 2003.
The program billed the occasion as a "celebration of life." What followed the procession, two hours-plus of music and colorful Rick Stanley anecdotes with a somewhat restrained dose of old-time religion, lived up to the billing.
Many of the faces in the crowd of approximately 1,500 were familiar to anyone who has followed the live music scene in Richmond over the last 20-some years. Interestingly, for a city reputed to be trapped in habits that separate blacks from whites, Stanley once again demonstrated his unique ability to appeal to both sides of Broad Street.
Eric Stanley, who was 53 when cancer took his life, was the host and producer of the Bebop, Boogie, & Blues Review, a radio show of his own invention that was heard most recently on WJMO-105.7FM on Sunday nights. As well, he was a promoter/producer of many live shows.
Stanley's bright-eyed daughter, Erin Stanley, closed her remarks with her father's trademark radio sign-off: "Gotta go, gotta go..."
Tears flowed – of course they did – but the overall mood in the room was decidedly upbeat. Stanley's presence was symbolized throughout the cavernous space by photographs and other traditional remembrances on display, which included his own harmonica – a Hohner Pro Harp, a 10-hole diatonic with black cover-plates.
For the recessional the musicians played "When the Saints Go Marching In" to lead the gathering into the sunlight.
Those who were so disposed went to the closest restaurant/bar, Dabney's, where a lively reception ensued, and lingered. No doubt, it was a crowd Rick Stanley would have enjoyed being a part of.
His silent black harmonica was there.
Tuesday, August 12, 2003
Al Franken Sued Over Slogan
Fox News Channel has sued humorist Al Franken to prevent him from using the phrase "fair and balanced" in the title of his upcoming book. Read the Washington Post story.
Then, there's this reaction:"Save Al Franken!"
Then, there's this reaction:"Save Al Franken!"
Eric Stanley Dies
Eric Stanley, 53, known to his Bebop Boogie & Blues Revue listeners as Eric E -- longtime Richmond deejay and promoter of live music -- died today (Tuesday, August 12) at 7 a.m..
The music/entertainment community in the greater Richmond area will miss one of their own. Stanley's radio audience, which spanned the two sides of Broad Street in a way that was quite unusual in Richmond, will miss his unique approach to broadcasting.
A memorial service will be held at noon on Tuesday, August 19, at the Arthur Ashe Center, on the Boulevard, just north of The Diamond.
To read more about Eric Stanley click here.
The music/entertainment community in the greater Richmond area will miss one of their own. Stanley's radio audience, which spanned the two sides of Broad Street in a way that was quite unusual in Richmond, will miss his unique approach to broadcasting.
A memorial service will be held at noon on Tuesday, August 19, at the Arthur Ashe Center, on the Boulevard, just north of The Diamond.
To read more about Eric Stanley click here.
Monday, August 11, 2003
Nagle Fires Back at Edwards
Ed Note: On Sunday whistle-blower Nancy Nagle issued a challenge to Henrico County school superintendent Dr. Mark Edwards. It came to SLANT as an email, which the reader will find below. Nagle’s thrown-gauntlet is being published in its entirety:
Dr. Edwards,
This is in response to your Q & A interview printed in the August publication of Richmond Magazine. When [you] asked about me calling the police, you stated that I called "weeks after it had been reported by the principal". Then you went into your "spin" of rhetorical language of HCPS confidentiality policies. You further make the inference that when a teacher is innocent of such accusations, a career could be unnecessarily ruined by reporting prematurely. Betty's resignation, due to "family issues" was accepted on December 16th, 2002 and we both know that closed the HCPS book on Betty Moore. I contacted the police on February 3rd, 2003. That's not premature
When you state that the principal reported the abuse to the appropriate authorities weeks before I contacted the police, are you referring to the "one" incident (Tamia Tootles hand slapping incident) that he reported to CPS after the nurse supervisor followed up several days after their meeting? So out of 2 pages of documented allegations of abuse that were delivered to him between the dates of December 4th and December 6th, he felt the need to only report one incident? Do you agree and defend this reporting practice and do you truly feel that it was sufficient? Would it be sufficient if it was your child?
Why didn't he report each and every allegation...including the one that Betty pleaded guilty to on May 1st? That would be the incident involving little Pierre Evans on November 26th, 2002. You see, if he had reported each and every incident, then a proper investigation by CPS would have been conducted and then that agency would have decided whether HCPD needed to be called. I contend that HCPS had enough information to call HCPD themselves. But that never happened and I believe that it never would have happened.
I know Cuffee questioned named witnesses and none of them denied that the incidents occurred. I know that Deborah Brown was one of them. I know that when he asked Mrs. Brown if she had ever witnessed Betty striking a child, her response was, "with her hand...with an object...how do you mean because I've seen her do both?" So, based upon that response, why didn't he report the incidents involving Mrs. Brown as a witness?
Mr. Cuffee knew by under-reporting to CPS and NOT contacting parents that there would NEVER be a CPS outcome of a "founded" case, let alone a police investigation. He told people to "let it blow over" and to "be Mrs. Moore's friend during this difficult time". He exalted her as "a valuable employee that will be missed". On December 12th when Betty was being questioned at CO, a CO administrator was asked by an ECSE teacher, "is there something going on with one of our preschool teachers?" The administrator responded with, "Dr. Edwards is handling that personally." The ECSE teacher reported that conversation firsthand to me the same day.
I felt it was time for simple, straight talk from me, the "whistleblower", the "informant", the "source". Since you personally handled this matter from the beginning, you must now deal with the outcome. You can't do the minimum and then feign having followed "appropriate procedures". It creates continued outrage. It makes closure difficult for people affected by your actions.
Would you be interested in a joint interview involving the two of us by an agreed upon news source? We could answer direct questions based upon a timeline of events and then the public and your constituents can decide if "appropriate procedures" were indeed followed. The CPS investigation is complete. The HCPD investigation is complete. You are obviously willing to answer questions and make public statements regarding the case now. Remember when you couldn't comment because there was "an ongoing investigation" and the case involved "confidential personnel information"?
But then, later, your office began issuing public statements about the case. Remember when you made the public statement to Nicole Johnson of RTD back in May? That was the one where you stated Mr. Cuffee had "contacted each and every parent personally". This was supposedly the response of some newly found duty on the part of Mr. Cuffee to discuss and answer the abuse allegations.
But, Dr. Edwards, what you failed to explain is that he had just made those contacts....the day before...when he asked the ECSE teacher that replaced Betty for a list of the names & phone numbers of all the students in her class...this was, of course, a full five months after the abuse was reported. Further, you left out the fact that he frantically started making these calls after your office was contacted by Ms. Johnson for a comment on a story she was working on based upon how the parents had NEVER been contacted by anybody at HCPS.
Do you remember the TAC meeting on May 15th, 2003? That's the one where you made statements about and fielded questions in regard to the article in the RTD that ran on the same day. That story was about me having received a reprimand for reporting the abuse and speaking to the press. You see, I faxed my certified letter from Lyle Evans to the reporter. When you used that meeting as a forum to defend your actions, you referred to me as "that teacher" and you used your "ongoing investigation" defense. When do I get to make statements and field questions to TAC representatives regarding my own actions?
So, I think a joint interview might be a more honest and fair way to answer the same questions at the same time. I have nothing to hide. I decided a long time ago that as long as I simply told the truth and followed my heart, I would have no regrets. Can you say the same?
-- Nancy Nagle
Ed Note: On Monday attorney Steve Sommers told SLANT that two more lawsuits stemming from the alleged cover-up of Betty Moore's repeated abuse of children will be filed later this week. When asked why they were not filed with the two in the Richmond Times-Dispatch story about suits flied on Friday, Sommers said: "No reason for the delay, other than the length and complexity of the matters."
Dr. Edwards,
This is in response to your Q & A interview printed in the August publication of Richmond Magazine. When [you] asked about me calling the police, you stated that I called "weeks after it had been reported by the principal". Then you went into your "spin" of rhetorical language of HCPS confidentiality policies. You further make the inference that when a teacher is innocent of such accusations, a career could be unnecessarily ruined by reporting prematurely. Betty's resignation, due to "family issues" was accepted on December 16th, 2002 and we both know that closed the HCPS book on Betty Moore. I contacted the police on February 3rd, 2003. That's not premature
When you state that the principal reported the abuse to the appropriate authorities weeks before I contacted the police, are you referring to the "one" incident (Tamia Tootles hand slapping incident) that he reported to CPS after the nurse supervisor followed up several days after their meeting? So out of 2 pages of documented allegations of abuse that were delivered to him between the dates of December 4th and December 6th, he felt the need to only report one incident? Do you agree and defend this reporting practice and do you truly feel that it was sufficient? Would it be sufficient if it was your child?
Why didn't he report each and every allegation...including the one that Betty pleaded guilty to on May 1st? That would be the incident involving little Pierre Evans on November 26th, 2002. You see, if he had reported each and every incident, then a proper investigation by CPS would have been conducted and then that agency would have decided whether HCPD needed to be called. I contend that HCPS had enough information to call HCPD themselves. But that never happened and I believe that it never would have happened.
I know Cuffee questioned named witnesses and none of them denied that the incidents occurred. I know that Deborah Brown was one of them. I know that when he asked Mrs. Brown if she had ever witnessed Betty striking a child, her response was, "with her hand...with an object...how do you mean because I've seen her do both?" So, based upon that response, why didn't he report the incidents involving Mrs. Brown as a witness?
Mr. Cuffee knew by under-reporting to CPS and NOT contacting parents that there would NEVER be a CPS outcome of a "founded" case, let alone a police investigation. He told people to "let it blow over" and to "be Mrs. Moore's friend during this difficult time". He exalted her as "a valuable employee that will be missed". On December 12th when Betty was being questioned at CO, a CO administrator was asked by an ECSE teacher, "is there something going on with one of our preschool teachers?" The administrator responded with, "Dr. Edwards is handling that personally." The ECSE teacher reported that conversation firsthand to me the same day.
I felt it was time for simple, straight talk from me, the "whistleblower", the "informant", the "source". Since you personally handled this matter from the beginning, you must now deal with the outcome. You can't do the minimum and then feign having followed "appropriate procedures". It creates continued outrage. It makes closure difficult for people affected by your actions.
Would you be interested in a joint interview involving the two of us by an agreed upon news source? We could answer direct questions based upon a timeline of events and then the public and your constituents can decide if "appropriate procedures" were indeed followed. The CPS investigation is complete. The HCPD investigation is complete. You are obviously willing to answer questions and make public statements regarding the case now. Remember when you couldn't comment because there was "an ongoing investigation" and the case involved "confidential personnel information"?
But then, later, your office began issuing public statements about the case. Remember when you made the public statement to Nicole Johnson of RTD back in May? That was the one where you stated Mr. Cuffee had "contacted each and every parent personally". This was supposedly the response of some newly found duty on the part of Mr. Cuffee to discuss and answer the abuse allegations.
But, Dr. Edwards, what you failed to explain is that he had just made those contacts....the day before...when he asked the ECSE teacher that replaced Betty for a list of the names & phone numbers of all the students in her class...this was, of course, a full five months after the abuse was reported. Further, you left out the fact that he frantically started making these calls after your office was contacted by Ms. Johnson for a comment on a story she was working on based upon how the parents had NEVER been contacted by anybody at HCPS.
Do you remember the TAC meeting on May 15th, 2003? That's the one where you made statements about and fielded questions in regard to the article in the RTD that ran on the same day. That story was about me having received a reprimand for reporting the abuse and speaking to the press. You see, I faxed my certified letter from Lyle Evans to the reporter. When you used that meeting as a forum to defend your actions, you referred to me as "that teacher" and you used your "ongoing investigation" defense. When do I get to make statements and field questions to TAC representatives regarding my own actions?
So, I think a joint interview might be a more honest and fair way to answer the same questions at the same time. I have nothing to hide. I decided a long time ago that as long as I simply told the truth and followed my heart, I would have no regrets. Can you say the same?
-- Nancy Nagle
Ed Note: On Monday attorney Steve Sommers told SLANT that two more lawsuits stemming from the alleged cover-up of Betty Moore's repeated abuse of children will be filed later this week. When asked why they were not filed with the two in the Richmond Times-Dispatch story about suits flied on Friday, Sommers said: "No reason for the delay, other than the length and complexity of the matters."
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)