Ah, Thanksgiving. A time for food, family and football -- not necessarily in that order. Not to mention columns capitalizing on the holiday season.
In that spirit, Citycide offers journalistic thanks for:
For one thing, we won't have to endure the tortured conspiracy theories advanced by Kopp's supporters since his March, 2001 arrest in France. These fanciful tales, available on any number of anti-abortion (sorry, but the term "pro-life" carries a monstrously hypocritical ring, given the views they express) Web sites, hold that law enforcement officials at every level decided to gang up on poor James Charles because, well, just because.
The sniper himself put those imaginative stories to rest with a detailed account of how and why he came to execute Dr. Slepian for the crime of performing legal medical acts, then flee like the pathetic coward he is.
With the reasonable majority of the pro-life camp getting as far away from Kopp as they can, as quickly as possible, the possibility of yet another rabidly meaningless confrontation between protesters on both sides of the issue, like the one that took place in Buffalo in 1992, seems increasingly unlikely.
The early returns indicate that reasonable debate and legitimate political pressure have replaced screaming, crying and crawling around on the ground, or attempting to justify indefensible acts of violence. Here's hoping it stays that way.
In an interview with the Niagara Falls Reporter, Barket maintained Kopp had no choice but to sit in the woods and wait for Dr. Slepian to take his soup out of the microwave.
"This was 10 o'clock at night, there were a bunch of abortions scheduled for the next day," Barket said. "This was the last, best chance to stop those from happening."
That logic ignores the fact that the women scheduled to exercise a right preserved throughout the United States and upheld by myriad court decisions over the last 30 years could reschedule their appointments with dozens of other providers. If Barket somehow convinces a jury to think the same way (assuming a judge even allows the line of defense), it also creates an open season on doctors.
The lawyer's remarkably feeble response?
"In my humble opinion, the course of Jim's life over five years is not a pleasant path for anyone to walk," Barket offered. "So I'm not sure others would want to follow him."
"It doesn't change our approach," Clark said. "Not one silly little millimeter. It doesn't change it at all. We will argue the rules of evidence aren't suspended because this guy thinks he has some license from God to do what he did."
We take great pride in pointing out that our own John Hanchette is the lone Pulitzer Prize-winning writer working for a Western New York newspaper, but he may have some company soon.
For most of its history, the team itself has acquitted itself well, without ever claiming the coveted Stanley Cup. This allows pundits and fans alike to commiserate over our community-wide inferiority complex and bemoan the dastardly schemes of the National Hockey League's front office. Which, as we all know, hates Buffalo and the rest of Western New York.
The franchise's founding family, the Knoxes, largely got a free pass from the press because they brought the NHL to the area and seemed like generally nice people.
They did, however, hire Larry Quinn, whose expertise centered on rounding up government subsidies for construction projects and chumming around with fellow country-club types, to run the hockey team. Then came the Rigases, who took control of the team amidst nearly as much adulation as Mark Hamister receives these days. We all know how well that worked out.
Enter Hamister. The nursing-home maven and Buffalo Destroyers owner, along with local native and investment manager Todd Berman, vowed last week to keep the Sabres in HSBC Arena. They were less clear on just how much they're spending, or how much of the dough is coming from the state, county or city (except Hamister's concession that "governmental units" are involved).
Normally, we'd point out here that Hamister serves as chairman of the beloved Buffalo Niagara Partnership, the same role filled in that organization's adoring little brother, the Niagara USA Chamber, by Niagara Gazette publisher Steve Braver. And that such a position provides access to government handouts unavailable to a fellow suitor who, say, just ran for governor against George Pataki, saying some pretty nasty things about the incumbent along the way. And that "governmental units" that constantly cry poverty have no business paying for a hockey team.
But, hey. It's the holidays. Go Sabres!
That sets her apart from most of the carefully polished double-talkers in her profession. It also provides us with material most writers can only dream about.
And once it's open, the characters it draws will make for some great stories.
| Niagara Falls Reporter | www.niagarafallsreporter.com | November 26 2002 |