Posted on 05/06/2006 5:31:24 AM PDT by governsleastgovernsbest
by Mark Finkelstein
May 6, 2006
Let's imagine it was, oh, Karl Rove who had been involved in a car accident under circumstances identical to those surrounding Patrick Kennedy. Think the Today show would be focusing on his 'courage' and largely taking at face value his claim that prescription medicines caused the crash? Or would they be asking another question: was Kennedy telling the truth when he claimed that no alcohol was involved?
That 'Today' was in a decidedly forgiving mood was clear from the show's very opening. Note the graphic Today attached to Kennedy's image: "Seeking Treatment". Not "Telling the Truth?" or "Drinking & Driving?"
In his subsequent report, NBC reporter Chip Reid clearly seemed to endorse Kennedy's version of events. We first were treated a clip of Kennedy's statement about his addiction to painkillers, concluding with his observation that "I struggle every day with this disease as do millions of Americans."
The very next words out of Reid's mouth: "That struggle came to a head this week in a bizarre traffic accident on Capitol Hill." Translation: Kennedy's version of the accident is true. It was the 'struggle' with prescription drugs, not alcohol, at the root of the accident.
Reid later referred to Kennedy's announcement that he was entering rehab as a "big step." Oh, the bravey! Again, had this been Rove or another disfavored Republican, one can imagine the MSM skeptically suggesting a decison to enter rehab was nothing more than part of a carefully-orchestrated PR campaign.
Now, it's true that Reid mentioned that Capitol Hill police officers suspected Kennedy was driving under the influence of alcohol. But Reid mentioned only the police report stating "Kennedy's eyes were red and watery, speech was slightly slurred and balance was unsure." No mention that police reportedly smelled the odor of alcohol on Kennedy. No mention that police at the scene wanted to perform a sobriety test and were prevented from doing so by supervisors who ordered Kennedy be given a lift home. Reid left it for viewers to infer that the police mistakenly confused Kennedy's pill-induced symptoms as stemming from alcohol.
We were later treated to file footage of father Ted Kennedy saying he was proud of Patrick, and to Sen. Kennedy's current statement saluting Patrick's "courage."
Not a word from Today of a reported eyewitness who saw Patrick Kennedy drinking prior to the crash at the 'Hawk & Dove' bar. No apparent investigative reporting on NBC's part to determine the truth.
Curiously incurious, those NBC folks, wouldn't you say?
Headline I expect to see:
"Drug manufacturer comes under scrutiny; Kennedy family mulls lawsuit"
Culture of Hypocritical Criminality...
It lacks pizazz, but that's all I could come up with....
a royal flush ......... down the toilet.
It's my opinion that a black-out is a black-out, whether it was caused by alcohol alone, drugs alone, or a combination of the two.
A black-out is a very serious happening, requiring immediate REAL treatment, not simply a drying out time in a "program". This man should not be taking ANY drugs or alcohol. Unless of course he just wants to "control" his problem, and not do the real 12 step program. Was he not just in a treatment program at Christmas time??
What is he waiting for? An accident which KILLS another person when he is driving while impaired???
Apparently his "bottom" is very, very low...
I don't have a clue where he lives. Someone in another post here states Fox has him seen in two bars that a.m.
None of this matters. This will be long gone in a couple weeks, just as McKinney's altercation passed quietly away. The fact of him going into rehab virtually assures this.
These two instances are proof that two realities exist when it comes to law enforcement (and subsequent media coverage).
It sounds as though he will never hit bottom as long as he is in office and able to claim no ill-effects in his life from his use of drugs and alcohol...
From a non-political point of view, the best thing that could happen to him is that he is thrown out of office. It may be the only thing that makes him understand that his path is the path of death and ruin for himself and many people around him who love him.
He is not just hurting himself, he is hurting many people around him as well, but he does not recognize the silent damage he is doing to those close to him.
Now thats a good question I have not heard asked yet. Inquiring minds want to know.
The names of the officers involved, both the ones who tried to conduct sobriety tests, and their superiors who prevented them from doing so, will come out in due course. The names are certainly no secret from "Officer Greg Baird, acting chairman of the USCP FOP", or from local DC reporters. The Watch Captain who was on duty at the time, has already been re-assigned.
Absolutely.
Without it, we would never have heard about the Kennedy patterns of irresponsibility.
When Vice President Cheney has a hunting accident, the media goons grill Scott McClellan with questions like, "Will VP Cheney be charged with criminal or violent conduct?"
When Kennedy pushes back drinks with his drugs, and then gets behind the wheel of a car, he is called "courageous" for admitting his "problem."
The MSM's bitter venom toward all things Republican is obvious (even for the slightest mistakes, IE a hunting accident). What is really pathetic about groups like CNN and the NYT is their refusal to report intentional bad behavior on the DNC side.
"a black-out is a black-out, whether it was caused by alcohol alone, drugs alone, or a combination of the two"
Sure. And considering his statements, it still doesn't sound as though his rehab is going to be successful this time either.
I think we can expect to hear more episodes in the future.
Maybe his family can give him a chauffeur for his birthday, so at least he won't be endangering others on the road?
Boston Herald's Joe Dwinell, tells MSNBC the rank and file DC Capital Police want the book thrown at Patrick Kennedy. Dwinell says Capital Hill Police detectives have investigated Patrick Kennedy's drinking at the Hawk & Dove bar on Wednesday night.
Do you think it a possibility that his dad, "Splash" might have been in the car with Patches that night. You know "Splash" lots of experience in covering things like this up.
the main stream media has selective reporting syndrome
More on the accident three weeks ago ...
http://www.boston.com/news/local/rhode_island/articles/2006/05/06/kennedys_behavior_driving_is_questioned_by_eyewitness/
Kennedy's behavior, driving is questioned by eyewitness
By Jonathan Saltzman, Globe Staff | May 6, 2006
NEWPORT, R.I. -- A woman who witnessed a two-car collision involving Representative Patrick J. Kennedy outside a Portsmouth, R.I., drugstore last month said he had been weaving and driving aggressively beforehand and was impaired when she confronted him outside his car afterward.
''He was swaying, and his eyes were glazed," said Sheila Lash, 75, of Newport, who alleges that Kennedy briefly drove against traffic on April 15 before he turned his car into the CVS parking lot and collided with another car turning in from the opposite direction. ''Then he said the most unlikely thing: 'I'm so sorry for the fuss.'
(snip)
''I said, 'Excuse me, do you realize what you did up on East Main Road? You could have hit me,' " she recalled.
It was only when he apologized, she said, that she realized who he was.
''I went, 'Oh, my goodness, you're Patrick Kennedy,' " she said. ''He kind of nodded his head."
It's as simple as that...and the fact that the MSM are liberal.
Did your momma not teach you that two wrongs don't make a right?
Limbaugh is guilty of using drugs illicitly. Kennedy is guilty of the same. Birds of a feather? Or is Kennedy to be held to a different standard of addiction?
Nor will you, I'm sure.
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