Amazing how fast news stories move. The last Inspection had been up less than a week at the main site: endofthenet.org, and a new accusation surfaced. Rather than a rehash of old accusations settled out of court, this accusation came from someone who was outraged that Cain wouldn’t admit to his past indiscretions, since she too had been harassed by him. This, to a certain extent, changes my opinion regarding Mr. Cain’s problems. But as with most Inspection columns there is a story beneath the story, so hang on… I’ll get there.

In this country we are supposed to have a right to be considered innocent in the eyes of the law until proven guilty. Supposed to. Once a case is settled: out of court or not, we’re also supposed to live up to what we agreed to. Those who settle cases out of court should stick to their promises, no matter how vile anyone thinks that part of our system is. And I promise you, to me it’s more than “vile.”

However, there is a difference between these new accusation, no matter how long ago the offense happened, and old accusations the accused thought had been settled. Nothing was “settled” here, and it does color in previous accusations. So my stance has changed: Mr. Cain now needs to settle at least this sad affair before he goes on with his campaign.

But that is not what this edition of Inspection is really about.

Listening to the press conference I noted that after Sharon Bialek left the podium her lawyer stepped up and took questions. I suppose the press was happy about her leaving, considering now they didn’t have to call Ms. Bialek a slut, a money grubbing whore or a homeless, jobless wench looking to take advantage of some poor, defenseless, former pizza exec Black man, to her face.

Now where have I read about that kind of behavior when questioning a someone before?

 

Oh, yeah: some of the worst behavior of prosecutors during rape trials when questioning the victim of said rape. And bad cops when they question victims. It was also a bit akin to caning someone for doing something politically incorrect, or what apparently the press thought “inappropriate.”

Doesn’t matter it was the lawyer rather than Ms. Bialek.

Don’t think they even considered for a second the irony: that their sole goal in this grilling seemed to be to accuse a possible victim of inappropriate behavior of having nothing but inappropriate motives by behaving inappropriately themselves.

The first question was all about how much money they were going to make. The lawyer pointed out they had already been told that no court case was planned, there was no intent to file charges. Why did she even bother answering that question? It was asked again and again anyway. Another question was about if she was just some welfare mother on assistance only trying to profit from this. Again with the “profit” motive question? The lawyer pointed out Ms. Bialek was gainfully employed and wasn’t on welfare, or any kind of assistance. Question after question attempted to paint her in the worst way.

How bad? From the questions you would think her just some mentally deranged slut who had simply asked for it, practically begging to go down on poor Herman’s own personal candy cane. Not one damn question even hinted that the mainstream media took anything she said seriously. Not one damn question really addressed a single accusation. Every question was some attempt to slander Bialek.

I was so damn mad I really wanted to hop in my Cessna and fly right down to the press conference and start slugging the reporters.

I am rarely, if ever, a violent man. So I didn’t.

Plus, I don’t own a Cessna.

Damn it!

Now if this they were all the usual FOX shills who dare to refer to themselves as “reporters” at this news conference I might only say, “Figures.” There wouldn’t be a reason to type this edition of Inspection. But this was NBC, ABC, CBS, PBS, New York Times… it was all the biggies… slinging slander shisen in the form of highly questionable turd burger questions.

Funny how I don’t remember Monica being grilled like this, or those who accused Weiner, or Linda Tripp.

In fact I remember just the opposite. The media grilled Clinton, Weiner, Hart… etc. Guilt was assumed. Those who did the accusing were treated as victims and saints who never told a lie, even when it was pointed out by a few brave leftward pundits they weren’t exactly telling the truth. You could tell reporters for the mainstream media felt accusers were to be believed, never doubted, treated as fragile victims of a hideous monster.

Funny how the mainstream media holds their ears and does a Sargent Schultz routine “I hear nothing! I hear nothing!” when someone on the Left points out problems with accusations, or problematic stories told by rightward candidates who have been accused.

You know, like Cain claiming he didn’t even know these women?

Why you might even think it’s because 99.9% of the mainstream media reporters are working for, or have to kowtow to, Murdoch, Moon, Scaife, defense contractors, conglomerate owners who run mega-business, the philosophically Koch-ed up bros., and the multitude of monied movers and shakers on the Right.

Of course: they are.

When it comes to mainstream: there is no damn “Left Wing media.” And it wouldn’t matter one whit if every reporter on the planet is an avowed, card carrying, Commie. It’s the owners and their marionette editors and program directors that matter.

Have you ever worked on a paper, or some on air media? I have. Editors and program directors pretty much define the art of owner ass kissery. Without them you don’t stay on the air, your stories go into the dumpster… then you go in the employment dumpster if you keep it up.

Yes, this is the mainstream media we have now, and have had for too damn long. Over eager to turn Monica Lewinsky into some poor victim, no matter how consensual the acts were, and then turning around and Cain-ing anyone who dare challenge rightward pols.

I’ve especially enjoyed talking head talking points from the likes of Limbaugh, for example: “the Left is good at this kind of thing.”

No, they really suck at it Mr. Limbaugh, or your prescription drug addled brain would have you in jail, and your trips south of the border where little kids await your pleasure would have you in court to answer those questions to prove your innocence… or guilt.

It’s all about race?

Right. Sure. Just like the Clinton prosecution was all the fault of “Femi-Nazis.”

Your term, Limbaugh, not mine.

You know what this all about, whether it be Cain, or Weiner, or Clinton, or McCain and his “illegitimate black child?”

I make no claim regarding any of those who have made the accusations. maybe some are true. Maybe none. Maybe all. I still believe in an innocent until proven guilty justice system, though that’s not what we have, or how we treat the accused as a society.

But in regards to those who have intentionally pushed this story forward, 24 hours a day, and started this mud fight: this kind of bare knuckle politics is almost always about shaming people out of the way politically. Sometimes they deserve it. Sometimes they don’t. Sometimes they kind of sort of don’t… and kind of sort of do. Yet you can tell who the actors behind actually promoting these kinds of mud fights are by assessing who would have had the most political advantage if Clinton resigned, Cain stops running, Weiner goes away, Hart gets out of politics, Edwards stops running for anything.

And who has the most to gain in the most current mud brawl, to create yet another media circus?

Not the ladies. Not the Dems.

Perry.

Romney.

And, of course, the mainstream media.

If you think right now Barack Obama is shaking in his boots at Herman Cain then, please, get help: soon. The whole “Democratic machine” nonsense is a ruse, a strawman. And people’s lives might be destroyed along the way due to the fact this is how we do politics these days: the Rove way. And the Cain situation has the stink of Karl Rove-like smear-based politics all over it. Even if the “smears” are absolutely true: not my point.

Yes, I do believe the new accusations should be looked into, and if Mr. Cain were an honest person he would put his campaign on hiatus for at least a few weeks to clear this up in an open and straight forward fashion. This is important, for if it doesn’t stop now its only going to get worse. Outright denial is only doing more harm: it’s like setting up a rather nasty bear trap and then daring someone to push you into it. You know someone will.

He should at least be just a tad humble about it, and being concerned about the women’s concerns, could only help. He doesn’t have to admit to anything, necessarily, unless of course he is guilty. He has at least, without sarcasm, without trying to slander them, make everyone know that he is concerned that anyone might interpret anything he has done this way. Show concern for the ladies. Can you be a gentleman, please?

But his record so far regarding responding well to these accusations? Well there’s only one word that applies: it “sucks.”

Now let’s go back to the press conference and comparing it to the consensual Monica issue of old. Due to the style politics we play these days there’s always a rapist and a rape-ee. Just a short a few days ago I heard a caller to The Thom Hartmann Show claim that Monica had practically been raped. Had he ever even heard of the term “consensual?” That she was not under age?

In a way I blame the caller far less than Gingrich and his gang of thugs who were trying anyway they could to humiliate the president, from Monica, to claiming there were hidden secret messages sent by mail to Socks the Cat.

This was the political form of rape that unfold in the 90s.

And, now, back to the present tense: something some Republicans don’t know a damn thing about when it comes to the definition of “is.” During that press conference I watched another form of rape: verbal political rape broadcasted to the whole damn world. The rapists were the mainstream media, out to do whatever they could to save Herman Cain’s pathetic butt-ski. Out to destroy the reputation of a woman who felt she had been wronged. They might as well have ripped off her clothes and gang banged Sharon Bialek.

We are a very, very sick society, politically and sexually. And I’m not sure there’s any hope for us, at least not in what’s left of my lifetime.

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