Bye, Felicia! Felicia Sonmez of the Washington Post tweets about NBA legend Kobe Bryants's 20-year-old rape allegation just minutes after his tragic death

If it wasn't for the fact that Kobe Bryant was a famous basketball player, Felicia would not have been suspended. I ranted about how the media loves to shame people even in death, so it was refreshing to see someone actually get reprimanded for doing so.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/washington-post-suspends-reporter-who-tweeted-about-kobe-bryant-rape-allegations-following-his-death/2020/01/27/babe9c04-413b-11ea-b5fc-eefa848cde99_story.html

Washington Post reporter who tweeted about Kobe Bryant rape allegations placed on administrative leave

By: Paul Farhi
January 27, 2020 at 7:10 PM EST

The Washington Post has placed on administrative leave a reporter who tweeted a link to a news story about rape allegations against the late basketball star Kobe Bryant after his death on Sunday, saying “her tweets displayed poor judgment that undermined the work of her colleagues.”

The tweet by political reporter Felicia Sonmez sparked a furious backlash on social media, with many deeming it inappropriate just hours after Bryant and his daughter, Gianna, were killed in a helicopter crash outside of Los Angeles. In the wake of her posting, Sonmez said she received death and rape threats and her home address was posted online, compelling her to stay at a hotel overnight.

The Post placed Sonmez on paid leave while newsroom managers look into the episode.

Sonmez sparked the uproar by linking to a 2016 Daily Beast article headlined “Kobe Bryant’s Disturbing Rape Case: The DNA Evidence, the Accuser’s Story, and the Half-Confession.”

The story recounted details of an accusation of sexual assault against Bryant by a 19-year-old woman employed by a Colorado hotel that Bryant visited in 2003. Bryant was charged with sexual assault and false imprisonment, but the charges were dropped after the woman declined to testify. The Los Angeles Lakers star acknowledged having sexual relations with the woman but said the relationship was consensual. He later apologized to the woman, acknowledging that she hadn’t given her consent.

In an interview, Sonmez said her intent was to fill in an important piece of information in the early accounts of Bryant’s life and career and to counter tweets that had popped up dismissing the allegations against Bryant as insignificant.

“It was jarring to me to see the initial coverage [of Bryant’s death] omitting any mention” of the 2003 case, she said. “The early obits and news stories made only passing mention” to it. “The seriousness of those allegations is a valid part of his legacy and his life. Those allegations should not be minimized in any way.”

Sonmez, who has been open about her own experience with sexual assault, said survivors of assault and their family members praised her for highlighting the Bryant allegations. Rather than undermining her colleagues, she said, her tweets did the opposite. “It demonstrates to survivors that we see them and hear them, and they are not ignored,” she said. “No matter how rich and powerful and beloved [an alleged perpetrator is], we will treat them with the seriousness they deserve.”

As the criticism of Sonmez mounted Sunday night, a Post managing editor, Tracy Grant, instructed Sonmez to delete any tweets referring to her original posting. Sonmez complied.

News organizations have repeatedly disciplined employees for social-media postings that run afoul of general newsroom guidelines and violate journalists’ obligation of neutrality. But the rules don’t cover every circumstance and are sometimes irregularly enforced.

In a letter to Grant and Post Executive Editor Martin Baron, The Post’s newsroom union, the Newspaper Guild, protested Sonmez’s suspension.

“We write to share our alarm and dismay that our newsroom leaders have chosen to place Felicia Sonmez on leave over a social media post,” the letter said.

It added: “We understand . . . the hours after Bryant’s death were a fraught time to share reporting about past accusations of sexual assault. The loss of such a beloved figure, and of so many other lives, is a tragedy. But we believe it is our responsibility as a news organization to tell the public the whole truth as we know it — about figures and institutions both popular and unpopular, at moments timely and untimely.”

The letter urged The Post to ensure Sonmez’s safety in the face of threats, to make a statement condemning abuse of its reporters and to rescind any disciplinary action against her.

Sonmez said that she had been warned previously by Post management about statements on social media regarding her own sexual assault allegations and that this has left her “deeply frustrated.”

Grant on Monday referred to her statement that Sonmez’s conduct had “undermined” her colleagues. She declined further comment.

Cheryl K. Chumley, alt-right nut, uses Predator Panic to promote Trump's stupid anti-Immigrant policies

This same piece of trash wrote a piece in favor of pardoning Joe Arpaio, so I wasn't expecting an award winning journalist.

And soe of you wonder why I have no love for Conservatards.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/aug/10/ice-bust-of-sex-offenders-underscores-horrors-of-s/

ICE bust of sex offenders underscores horrors of sanctuary cities

By Cheryl K. Chumley - The Washington Times - Thursday, August 10, 2017

ANALYSIS/OPINION:
Liberals like to say illegals only come to the United States for job opportunities, to help their families, or to flee persecution.
Some. Others, though, come to prey on little kids and to have illegal sex with minors. Still others — to rape adult women.
And we know this because agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement just busted a bunch of them who were taking advantage of Long Island’s quasi-sanctuary policies to hide their sexual-offense pasts.
And all the liberals go — silent.
It’s quasi because both Suffolk and Nassau counties, home of the majority of Long Island’s municipalities, were until very recently, declared and open sanctuaries for illegals.
But post-President Trump, the jurisdictions, fearing loss of federal funds, made great noise to show they’ve reversed those policies and turned from their sanctuary ways. Saying and doing are two different beasts, though.
What’s on paper may not actually work its way into real life.
What’s written as rule may be tacitly overlooked.
For instance, if a liberal enclave wanted to shelter illegals while appearing to comply with federal immigration policy, it would seem fairly simple for politicians to write one set of rules but speak quietly to police and law enforcers of another set.
Regardless, until just recently, Long Island was an open and welcome embrace for illegals. And this is where it’s led.
Called Operation SOAR, for Sex Offender Alien Removal, the 10-day ICE mission led to the arrest of 32 with past criminal convictions that ranged from sexual abuse to attempted rape. Twelve of the 32 arrested were actually registered sex offenders.
Let’s look at the list of these fine upstanding members of sanctuary city society, shall we?
Agents arrested a Salvadoran national, age 24, who’s facing first-degree sexual abuse charges over alleged contact with a little girl — age 4.
Agents arrested a 36-year-old Guatemalan national with a previous conviction of second-degree rape and child endangerment involving a 13 year old.
Another?
Agents arrested a 32-year-old Honduran with previous convictions tied to sexual abuse and endangering the welfare of a child, this time age 15.
All three are now facing deportation proceedings. And that’s just a drop in the scum bucket of the 32 whom ICE rounded up and detained.
A press release from the agency sums the charges on these dirty dozens this way: “Criminal histories of those arrested during the operation are as follows: acting in a manner to injure a child, assault, third degree attempted rape, burglary, attempted sexual abuse, criminal sex act, endangering the welfare of a child, endangering the welfare of a physically disabled person, forcible touching, promoting a sexual performance by a child, public lewdness, first degree rape, second degree rape, third degree rape, reckless endangerment, first degree sexual abuse, second degree sexual abuse, sexual abuse, forcible compulsion, sexual contact with an individual incapable of consent and sexual misconduct.”
That’s quite a mouthful.
And among the arrested were those who entered America illegally from the likes of the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Mexico — some of the places, for instance, that Trump on the campaign trail referenced as sending their worst across the borders.
For that, Trump was vilified. But now?
Reality strikes. And it goes like this: Open borders bring danger. Sanctuary cities and jurisdictions are enablers. And Long Island’s arrests show, if nothing else, just how dug-in the left has become on its all-courts-press for amnesty and sieve-like borders that its leaders would seem to cavalierly trade law and order — and the safety of its most vulnerable populations, the children — for some of the most evil of society. Oh, that the left would open its eyes on the perils of sanctuary jurisdictions and discard these harmful, horrific policies.

Alt-Right Trump- and gun-loving conspiracy nut puts the MAD in Maddison

Well, for all you you who isn't familiar with the ridiculous Alt-Right conspiracy theory known as "#PizzaGate" (stupid hashtags), here is a brief summary by Vox:

"The totally false conspiracy theory claims that Hillary Clinton and her former campaign manager, John Podesta, ran a child sex ring at a pizzeria in DC, Comet Ping Pong. Over the past few weeks, Donald Trump supporters and white supremacists on social media have pushed the conspiracy theory — leading to headlines like “Pizzagate: How 4Chan Uncovered the Sick World of Washington’s Occult Elite” on fake news websites."

"Like many ridiculous things on the internet, Pizzagate appears to have begun on the troll haven and message board 4chan. After Podesta’s emails were hacked (likely by Russian agents) and WikiLeaks published them, 4chan users in October found emails between Podesta and Alefantis about a Clinton fundraiser that happened early in the campaign.

From there, people began speculating without any evidence that the restaurant was part of a broader child trafficking ring run by the Democratic Party — a popular but entirely false conspiracy theory on the fringes of conservative media. And the conspiracy theories jumped over to Reddit, where the popular Trump subreddit r/The_Donald championed it; Twitter, where pro-Trump tweeters have continued to promote it; and Facebook, where fake news outlets have written and shared articles about it."

As the story goes, this nut named Edgar Maddison Welch walks into the pizza joint with a loaded assault rifle and a determination of rescuing these non-existent child sex slaves and fires a warning shot. After searching the pizza parlor for nearly an hour, he found absolutely no evidence at all of this non-existent pedo ring. No underground tunnels (What is this? The McMartin Trial?), no kids chained up in meat lockers, no ANYTHING.

PizzaGate has been proven to be fake, apparently confirmed by Welch himself by his actions. Yet, the Alt-Right conspiracy nutballs are already claiming this asshat is a "crisis actor," but honestly, how much roof does on need to prove something is false?

Here are more details about Welch, according to Heavy.com:

1. His father Harry was elected President of the North Carolina Crime Stoppers Association (two terms). Served as Executive Director for Protect-A-Child, a national, non-profit organization to prevent abuse and abduction of children. Appointed by Governor Jim Martin to the Governor’s Commission on Child Victimization.” (In other words, a victim industry blowhard)
2. Edgar has been a registered Republican since 2006;
3. On his Facebook page, Welch “likes” conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, and his website, Infowars, and has posted anti-Muslim videos in the past.In 2014, Welch shared a Youtube video on his Facebook page titled “Bible prophecy and the Coming Muslim anti-Christ,” writing, “great, please watch,” along with two quotes from the Bible. In 2015, he shared a video called “A Message to President Obama from a former Muslim,” in which a man explains that ISIS is representative of the entire Muslim religion, and says stopping Islam will stop terrorism. He also shared several videos and posts about how the “end of times” is coming soon.
4. Welch has a criminal record, including a conviction for driving under the influence in 2013, which led to a sentence of 60 days in jail, according to court records. He was previously convicted in 2007 of driving after consuming alcohol while under 21. He is also under investigation for an incident involving Welch hitting a pedestrian in October. 
5. One of his guns confiscated after his arrest was unlicensed. 

If it is on the Internet it MUST be true, right? It seems to be a common thread among vigilante scumbags, be it Jessica Lessley or Laura Ahearn. Look, if you think 4chan is a website for truthful information, then you are likely clinically braindead. I expect things to get worse as the Alt-Right gains power under Trump. I know I'm already going to piss off Trumpophiles so I'll just leave this from soon-to-be National Insecurity Advisor Gen. Flynn and his spawn. Like father, like son...