Last word (for now) on Randi Rhodes
I passed on the info about Randi Rhodes here and by email. While I indicated I’d wait to pass judgment till the facts were known and tried to publish more info as quickly as I could find it, I still don’t know exactly what caused her injuries, but it appears it was a fall, not an attack.
Personally, I think an Air America announcer was highly irresponsible to broadcast what he did. It appears he recognizes that and owned up to his mistake. I hope the network deals with the matter in a professional manner, too.
At the same time, I apologize for passing on flawed information that ultimately was based on hearsay and speculation. Despite my suggestion that others wait for the facts to come in, I apologize to our readers and to all my peer bloggers for my efforts to get out a rumor that proved false.
Update - the Miami Herald adds:
In a phone interview Tuesday afternoon, her attorney, Robert V. Gaulin, said that Rhodes “was disoriented after she hit the ground and sustained facial injuries…We have no reason to believe she was a target…She’s at the doctor.'’
He wouldn’t elaborate on her injuries but said she was in pain. He said that onlookers helped.
“She was assisted and went on her way. She did not at the time file a police report.'’
Gaulin noted that ‘’some people get hit from behind. She did not walk into anything,'’ but he wouldn’t say if Rhodes believes she was hit from behind.
Simon the Yorkshire terrier, he said, “was not involved.'’
He called the situation ‘’a mess,'’ adding that Elliott “didn’t talk to us and didn’t get any information from us.'’
“No reason to believe she was a target” means simply that. She’s not aware of an attack. If bystanders aided her, none have claimed seeing an attack. One commenter at Gawker made an unverified claim that she had downed 14 Bloody Marys at an Irish pub and was abusive to the staff before departing and falling.
So let me ask you readers: Have you ever downed 14 mixed drinks? Ever go to a bar with no purse nor wallet, accompanied by your dog, and been served 14 drinks? Do bartenders even serve 14 drinks to a nice customer, never mind an abusive one?
With others assisting her, I think we should wait for verification of any of that, as others were on the scene.
And from all I’ve seen today around the blogosphere, the person whose credibility is clearly lost is Jon Elliott. I’ll continue to report facts obtained from reliable sources, which won’t include him.
October 17th, 2007 at 10:01 am
apology accepted and appreciated - thanks for setting an example. when we’re wrong, we’re wrong. i will direct my mental energies on this matter toward wishing randi a speedy recovery.
it’s troublesome how easy it is to enter into an embattled mindset, and it does speak to the times, but the only person in control over what i think and say about things is me.
October 17th, 2007 at 3:56 pm
I am amazed at the reaction suggesting that anyone who publicized this story should be ashamed of themselves. As you said elsewhere, Kevin, this was broadcast on AAR by someone who listeners had reason to believe had inside information.
The mainstream media make mistakes every day. Sometimes they issue retractions. Many of their worst lies remain unatoned for… twenty years later, the NYT will write a piece sweeping up all the elephant droppings and no one will know they were lied to except the occasional historian.
You also mentioned the incident of an attack on Thom Hartmann, but I say look at what right-wingers had to say about the attack on Randi. Many expressed indifference or contempt. Some said she got what was coming to her. Some even said they were sorry she wasn’t killed!
The atmosphere in the United States is repressive. I think the story spread because it was believable and because there’s an undercurrent of resentment against the repression.
October 17th, 2007 at 4:09 pm
I apologized, akin to a retraction. I don’t feel ashamed and am in complete agreement with you.
The language of eliminationism is constant on the right. Unfortunately, a few commenters on the left use it, too, but that’s a tiny percentage compared to the right. And we don’t make death threats to the Dixie Chicks or the parents of badly injured children.