From: News That Matters - July 16, 2008
There's quite the controversy up in
Pawling with reporter Michael Woyton of the Poughkeepsie Journal
pouring gasoline on the fire through what passes for journalism in
the corporate media of
today.
Republican Town Supervisor Beth Coursen, a Philipstown native, who has
steered a rather independent political path over the years, is no newbie to criticism
but this time it's taken on a dramatically nasty
tone with Pawling Republican Party chairman Glenn Carey leading the charge.
Why the war against one of his own? It's because he claimed that she called him
a 'faggot' in a private conversation held as an aside during a public meeting.
Mr. Carey took the floor - out of turn - and announced to those assembled his
version of the details of this alleged affront. Ms. Coursen then apologized to
the audience for leaving the dais thus
accidentally allowing Mr. Carey's outburst.
Did Mr. Carey hear what he heard or did he hear what he wanted to
hear? When he interrupted the town meeting and stepped before the public
to make his pronouncement, did he do so from accurate memory or from
selective memory? In other words, since his relationship with the Supervisor
is almost
always confrontational and angry words are often exchanged between them,
is it possible that in the heat of the moment
he simply misconstrued the conversation? I believe he did and he owes Ms.
Coursen and the Town of Pawling an apology.
Here's the story:
At a meeting on July 2nd, 2008, Supervisor Coursen mentioned, after yet another
round of public and pointed criticism from Mr. Carey, that the minutes from a
recently held Comprehensive Plan meeting had not yet been posted to the town's
website due to a backlog on the Planning Board clerk's desk. With the meeting
continuing on, Supervisor Coursen rose from the dais to get a glass of water
when Mr. Carey met her on the side and offered to come into town hall and post
those minutes on his own. While that's a nice thing to offer, what responsible
entity
would allow a political enemy, especially - and note this - the chair
of a political party, access to a town's website?
"Everyone
knows what you are..."
Giving someone access to your website is giving someone the keys to your public
relations kingdom. What would it look like if the Town of Southeast were to allow
Democratic Party Chair Lynne Eckardt access to their website to post missing
minutes? Would the Town of Carmel allow Republican Party chair Anthony Scannapieco
access to their website?
Does the Town of Kent allow me?
Let's look at two similar yet dissimilar statements. One comes from the
accuser and was reported in the paper while the other comes from the source and
is more likely the accurate of the two for what will become obvious reasons in
just a moment:
"She took a step
forward and said, 'I'm not giving you access to the town Web
site, and you're
a faggot and everybody knows it.'"
"She
took a step forward and said, "Everyone
knows what you are, there is no way you are getting access to
the Town's website."
The impractical grammar
in Mr Carey's reported statement which any pre-law
student could build an entire case on notwithstanding...
So you're angry and confrontational and the person before you is your political
nemesis and you're always looking for something wrong with them, always looking
to turn a word or a phrase to your advantage even if it's not genuine, always
looking for fault. That's where Mr. Carey is coming from so which of those
two statements are you going to "hear"? Which of those statements best supports
your animosity and political goals?
(Trust me, this happens all the time.
Those of you who received the acidic email post this past weekend, the
most widely distributed email in all of email history, know exactly what
I'm talking about.)
Now for the test:
Q: What could Mr. Carey's sexual orientation possibly
have to do with his access to the town's website?
A: Nothing. Absolutely nothing at all.
In this more objective light, Mr. Carey's
version of the story crumbles into dust.
I'm guessing that Mr. Carey, who actually
is
gay and serves as a business manager at the Trinity-Pawling school, would
not be that upset about being called out. He maintains a personal dating page
at gay.com and it's no secret around town what his sexual preferences are, just
as there are no secrets about mine. But he's apparently jumped on this bandwagon
in a continuing attempt to undo the successes Ms. Coursen has had in Pawling
since being elected to the Supervisor's seat. That the Poughkeepsie Journal was
alerted to this story by another political enemy of Ms. Coursen's and felt it
important to repeat ancient news while searching the rumor mills to find negative
things to 'report', smacks of either
political favoritism or just very poor journalism.
There was nothing in the published report about her accomplishments as Supervisor,
only scuttlebutt about her personal style, an unsubstantiated overheard conversation,
and most importantly, since Ms Coursen's version of the statement in question
is
nowhere to be seen, leaves the reader to discern the facts from an "he said,
she said" argument. The Journal adding, "Coursen said the
accusation was "categorically false." also makes it appear to the reader
that negative words actually were exchanged.
"Everyone knows what you are..."
Yes, everyone knows what you are Mr. Carey: Everyone knows Glenn Carey
is the chairman of the Republican Committee and as such should not have access
to a municipal website.
That's where this story should have ended.
I'm criticizing Mr. Carey only because this latest
attack is just one more in a series he has been involved with over the years
with no other goal than to weaken and unseat a popular and dedicated independent-minded
Town
Supervisor - and one from his own party. And I am still confused as to how anyone
who is gay could be a Republican and sleep at night or look at themselves in
the mirror in the
morning.
Still, if Mr. Carey's ego has been artificially injured
by serendipitously being called a faggot, whether real or imagined, and he thinks
he can make political hay of it, let me help him get over this tiny affront and
better direct his efforts.
Here's what some notable
Republicans have actually said about faggots like him and me:
Radio Commentator Alan Stang:
..."It was
a total triumph for California faggots. Indeed, it gets worse. The new law
will force every hospital in the state to support homosexuality or be sued
if they don’t, and the law applies even to private and church hospitals."
Jerry Falwell: (On 9/11) "... I really believe that
the pagans, and the abortionists, and the feminists, and the gays and the lesbians
who are actively trying to make that an alternative lifestyle, the ACLU, People
For the American Way -- all of them who have tried to secularize America --
I point the finger in their face and say "you helped this happen."
Gary Bauer: "... No to same-sex marriages
No to saying that way of life is acceptable!"
Trent Lott: (the question: Is Homosexuality a Sin?) "Yeah,
it is. In America right now there's an element that want to make that alternative
lifestyle acceptable. You still love that person and you should not try to
mistreat them or treat them as outcasts. You should try to show them a way
to deal with that problem, just like alcohol ... others have a sex addiction
or are kleptomaniacs."
Oklahoma State Representative Sally Kern: "Studies
show no society that has totally embraced homosexuality has lasted more than
a few decades... It is not a lifestyle that is good for this nation."
Pat Robertson (On Orlando, FL, hosting a gay pride
celebration): "This is not a message of hate; this is a message of redemption.
But if a condition like this will bring about the destruction of your nation;
if it will bring about terrorist bombs; if it'll bring about earthquakes, tornadoes,
and possibly a meteor, it isn't necessarily something we ought to open our
arms to. And I would warn Orlando that you're right in the way of some serious
hurricanes, and I don't think I'd be waving those [rainbow] flags in God's
face if I were you."
And lastly,
The Campaign for Children and Families is boycotting
McDonalds: "It is about McDonald's, as a corporation,
refusing to remain neutral in the culture wars. McDonald's has chosen not to
remain neutral but
to give the full weight of their corporation to promoting the homosexual agenda,
including homosexual marriage."
I can assure Mr. Carey that those quoted above would not give him access to their
websites and it's not because of his political
affiliation!
So
Mr. Carey, skip the Coursen thing and bring some unity to your town by letting
her continue to resolve Pawling's pressing issues, bringing in monies for the
Whaley Lake dam and other projects and
putting the town on a solid footing. Be a good Republican chair and back your
own Supervisor. Or, move down here to Putnam County where our Republican
Legislature and Republican County Executive will allow you to register your relationship.
You are kinda handsome so call me or write. We'll date. We'll co-habitate, we'll
register and I'll give you more fruitful things to think about - and that's a
promise.
And for today at least, that's the News That Matters.
JmG
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