Posted on 12/03/2005 4:52:41 AM PST by billorites
Supreme Judicial Court Chief Justice Margaret Marshall publicly apologized yesterday for making an off-the-cuff and - politically speaking, at least - off-color joke about “red states” during a commencement speech in May.
The Judicial Conduct Commission investigated Marshall after a complaint was made by an unidentified Bay State resident “intimately involved in the political process,” said one source familiar with the probe.
Marshall has become a controversial political figure, particularly with the anti-gay-marriage movement, because she authored the SJC’s ruling legalizing homosexual marriage in 2003.
JCC executive director Jill Pearson said she could not divulge the name of the complainant, who contacted the commission after Marshall’s May 22 graduation speech at Brandeis University.
The complainant did not attend the speech, Pearson added.
The speech began with Marshall greeting the audience, acknowledging the hundreds of blue and white balloons at the ceremony and joking: “No red states here.”
Marshall said in her apology released by the JCC yesterday: “The comment was an unconsidered, spontaneous attempt to connect with the exuberant, celebratory feeling in the audience, reflecting the ballons I had seen. I did not intend to say anything of a political nature . . . I regretted the comment as soon as I said it, and that has never waned.”
I would be more inclined to accept her explanation of "mistake" were she not married to the egregious Anthony Lewis, formerly of the New York Times opinion page.
Mr. Lewis is described by Noam Chomsky as being "far left in the spectrum." No small praise indeed.
Snort.
While Chomsky's statement is redundant and superfluous, given that we all know the good Mr. Lewis, no one can claim we don't have Mr. Lewis's political coordinates accurately triangulated.
The complainant did not attend the speech, Pearson added.
Just the rumor of the comment offended this complainant.
The right to live unoffended continues its grim and relentless march through the populace.
Whilst I certainly agree that we all know Mr. Lewis, having Noam Chomsky describe you as "far left" is a rather breathtaking superlative, akin to having Michael Moore call you "really, really fat."
I'm still wondering how conservative states got colored red.
"I'm still wondering how conservative states got colored red."
Let's just take it as "the red states are the life's blood of the nation - without them the nation couldn't survive.
:)
Nah, it's an attempt for the left to run from the red of communism which they would love to wrap themselves in, when not on camera. We're the loyal blue states and the press can shove it.
And by their "unconsidered, spontaneous attempt to connect with the exuberant, celebratory feeling in the audience," ye shall know them...
Sad but true - too bad the Pubs can't (just for a month) completely refuse to buy liberal rags, watch liberal television, etc. Let these rags be supported by the welfare trash and felons that make up a large part of the liberal landscape!
The old Freudian slip "It'll get you every time.
The Good Justice might try to remember that just because the conservative movement doesn't yell and scream like her liberals do, that we aren't there. Typical liberal mindset...open mouth...insert foot!! Too bad she's too stupid to know to keep her mouth shut in those kinds of situations.
She's apologizing now for a comment she made last MAY? Sure took her long enough!
What has perplexed me is the desire for 'conservatives' to appear on networks like CNN. If it's a liberal whack job like CNN, just don't go on. You know, we lend credibility because we show up on the programs where it's 4 to 1 against us. Just don't show up. After a while people will realize that the programs are exclusively anti-US and tune out. CNN would tank in six months.
Libs only appologize when caught and feel forced to.
I'm wondering what would happen if cable companies actually offered the option of paying only for channels you want. What if all Republicans had the option of choosing Fox News and not being forced to have CNN?? What would all the high paid talking heads on CNN do without the Republican dollar to keep them in the upper tax brackets? Why are we being forced to pay for a channel that constantly chooses to offend us?
I may be wrong, but can't you call your cable company and block CNN. I know you can rig it so it won't come up, but if I remember correctly, you can also ask them to take it off your setup. That might be a very good idea.
I say that, because CNN can claim it goes into so many households. If that number were to drop by say 50%, ouch! Advertising bucks would dry up like the Sahara.
Is this creature a krinton appointment?
http://www.answers.com/main/ntquery?sm1=b2ZmLXRoZS1jdWZmIGFuZCAtIHBvbGl0aWNhbGx5IHNwZWFraW5nLCBhdCBsZWFzdCAtIG9mZi1jb2xvciBqb2tlIGFib3V0IOKAnHJlZCBzdGF0ZXPigJ0gZHVyaW5nIGEgY29tbWVuY2VtZW50IHNwZWVjaCBpbiBNYXkuICBUaGUgSnVkaWNpYWwgQ29uZHVjdCBDb21taXNzaW9uIGludmVzdGlnYXRlZCBNYXJzaGFsbCBhZnRlciBhIGNvbXBsYWludCB3YXMg&fw=11&fc=0&ss=-1&es=-1&gwp=11&ver=1.0.2.84&method=1
Since the increased popularity of color television, the national colors of red and blue have traditionally been used by the mass media to represent the two major parties in U.S. elections. According to Washington Monthly, networks have assigned these colors to the two major parties based on a system designed to prevent bias or the perception of bias [1] (http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2004_11/005157.php). This system alternates the color assigned to the candidate of the incumbent party for every election. This is demonstrated in the table to the right.
In keeping with this system, most (but not all) of the major U.S. outlets were using red for the Republicans and blue for the Democrats for the elections of 2000 and 2004. Political commentators and ordinary citizens alike have broadly adopted the practice of referring to U.S. states and counties as either "red " or "blue" based on the results of the last election.
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