Epistolaria
Letters, letters. The Czar is like a magnet for these things, and wonders whether his Castle Colleagues are as sufficiently bugged. But then, the Czar suspects the responses would be something along these lines:
Fan: Just a quick note to say how much we all love you guys.
‘Puter: Thanks back, asshat. Hey, you want to have a serious vomit sometime, try equal parts chili garlic sauce and cinnamon whiskey. Guaranteed up chuck. I’m drinking one now!
Volgi: Sigh. I got a rock. No one ever writes me.
Mandarin: Obey me. You’re welcome. Obey me.
GorT: Contrary to the Czar’s satire, this unit does indeed receive a significant amount of fan mail. However, quick analysis shows that none of it is worth re-publishing. The editing alone would take precious nanoseconds. End of line.
Dr. J.: Hey, what the heck? I answer all my fan mail, too, jackass. Just like you.
That out of our system, we received an email from JAB. Yes! She from the Double-Wide, who writes of differential equations:
| Dear Your Czarness: Today I read that Rolling Stone has kinda/sorta stated that their story “documenting” the gang-rape of a UVA student at a fraternity house cannot actually stand up to the light of day. Personally, I am greatly relieved that it appears that something horribly depraved seems not to have happened. I am sorry that any young woman is so unbalanced that she would create such a terrible story, but it would have been even worse if the “facts” had been, well, factual. For this story to have been true, there must have been dozens of UVA students and administrators who were complicit after the “fact” in addition to the actual “rapists.” Aside from the obvious trauma to said young woman, think of the guilt of the so-called “friends” who advised “Jackie” not to report the crime because it would negatively impact her and their social standing. What half-sentient college administrator would ignore or quash an investigation of such a ghastly event? Think of the grotesque conspiracy that would have gone into “planning” this assault. Think of the appalling conspiracy of silence of 7 +/- perpetrators in the intervening 2 years. I think the correct description of such young men would be sociopaths. So this is, in a way, good news, if for no other reason that 7 +/- sociopaths and dozens of “accomplices” have not been walking the streets for a couple of years. I do not recommend rejoicing, but why is such news met with gloom (at best) and denunciation of those who have exposed the story to much-deserved, but belated, scrutiny? The dominant reaction seems to be one of disappointment that 7 +/- fraternity members won’t be arrested, and their “white privilege” stands unchecked. People (often of the female persuasion) have gone so far as to excuse the Rolling Stone “reporter” for failing to check sources because she strove to expose the pervasive “rape culture” on college campuses. Of the story of “Jackie,” Zerlina Maxwell in the Washington Post wrote: “It helped dramatize what happens when the claims of victims are not taken seriously.” Maybe in a parallel universe, but from where I sit, it proves quite the opposite—that all accusations of a crime should be treated both seriously and with a degree of skepticism which would allow the evidence collected to stand up to scrutiny in a court of law where the perpetrators could be convicted of their crimes. This unseemly disappointment stands in stark contrast to the response to the arrest of a suspect in the murder of UVA student, Hannah Graham, whose body was found weeks after she went missing from downtown Charlottesville. The suspect has since been linked by DNA to another woman’s murder and at least two rapes. Actual rapes, mind you, not “rape culture.” Actual murders. Yet there has been no glee as the legal case(s) have progressed and implicated the suspect in horrific crimes. No gloating that enough proof has been found to charge a young man in his twenties with multiple, hideous crimes. The administration of UVA has not called any emergency meetings to close down the department where the suspect worked. The suspect’s house has not been picketed or marred with graffiti. No one has, to my knowledge, issued blanket threats to the friends of the accused. The suspect’s family, friends and associates have not been condemned to guilt by association. Rather we have witnessed a professional police investigation, and sober legal proceedings aimed at solving and punishing an awful, awful crime (or crimes). And all of this is as it should be, but why were the young men accused of raping “Jackie” not treated in the same way? The Charlottesville police are both competent and the proper investigators of crime in …Charlottesville. Legally. [Unless Mr. Puter can do some ’splainin’ to the contrary] The fraternity boys at Phi Kappa Psi have been accused of terrible crimes, both of commission and conspiracy. If the facts continue to testify to their innocence, I hope that someone with Emile Zola’s writing skills may yet pen a “J’accuse” to indict those who wished to pervert justice to serve a political ideology. Regardless of one’s political leanings, the illegitimate condemnation of Capt. Dreyfuss should stand as a warning never to fabricate evidence to serve a political purpose. Yours from the Doublewide, |
Not much left for the Czar to comment here, as JAB hsa done her usual thorough job. In point of fact, as of this writing, Rolling Stone has not retracted, the story, but merely issued a statement that they no longer stand behind it. In other words, “Yeah, we decided to do our job after the fact and none of the facts checked out. But we’ll leave it up there because it still serves the narrative that white college kids are rape-happy.” Or some such.
Meanwhile, the main stream media has done what needed to be done: they made this a story about themselves. Look how many online editorials, columns, and think-pieces are now revolving around the same theme: “Our publication would certainly checked the details first, and would never have run with such a fabrication. Tut-tut, Rolling Stone, not that we ever considered you a legitimate news source since your kid reporters all went to the wrong schools.” In other words, “Rolling Stone is proof our publication is better.” The MSM is capitalizing on this story for self-marketing purposes now.
The real story here is that, from what we can tell, only the leftist MSM outlets believed this story at first; the American public shrugged and reminded themselves that no one seriously believes the media anymore about anything. If there was truth to this story, Jon Stewart would have ambushed some fraternity kids in a mock interview for comedic effect.
Yeah, yeah. Intelligent people are sick and tired of Jon Stewart being confused as a real news source. It isn’t his fault. The American press is so bad right now that people would rather get fake news from The Daily Show than sift through pages of undergraduate crap from the big names. The Daily Show is the product of the overall MSM failure, not an example of it.
Rant over. On another point, the Czar is well aware that some women…how to put this…promote rape stories about themselves. They often follow a pattern: they claim (falsely or not) to have been victims of sexual abuse as a child, and then tell a lurid, weirdly detailed story about being raped as an adult. The details are more consistent with a fantasy—colorful dialogue, bizarre sexual practices, descriptions of clothing and sights and sounds and smells—more appropriate for fiction than reality. Think about this: if you have ever been involved in a horrible tragedy or attack, your narrative description is totally unlike fiction. You don’t remember details like dialogue or what people necessarily wore. You remember small, odd details that present themselves, yes, but not detailed descriptions. You remember gross motions, not fine details. Know what we mean? The tone of her account was off, and no doubt the cops were wise within seconds that she was fabricating the story. It’s an attention-getting device, usually to gain unwarranted sympathy. This seems to be another such case here, which indeed—as many have pointed out—detracts from real accusations. But what are ya gonna do? Men do it too (“Dear editor….I never thought this would happen to me…”), and both men and women have made up these stories for thousands of years. It isn’t going to stop now.
Given that enrollment and UVA is allegedly down over this story, and the otherwise decent fraternity ΦΚΨ has been ruined forever, she will certainly be sued. She wanted to be a victim—well, there are expensive attorneys now about to make her a real one.
On a totally different note, Operative BJ writes in:
| Your Majesty, It occurs to this menial minion that the “Reverend” Sharpton seems to be spending a lot of time supporting and praising folks who tell lies for their own aggrandizement, and that he repeats those lies—even knowing they are lies—over and over again. He does this in front of crowds that chant “Praise Jesus!” and “Hallelujah!” and “Tell it on the mountain!” as Sharpton repeats those lies over and over and over. Uh… doesn’t the “Reverend” Sharpton recall the admonition against lying, especially when the lie is meant as an accusation? I seem to remember something a bit stronger than the rarely-charged local/state/federal crime of perjury: “Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.” That admonition came from the highest authority, one who – supposedly – the “Reverend” Sharpton takes his instructions from. Either the “Reverend” Sharpton is being irreligous, which would immediately cast doubt on the authenticity of his honorific, or the “Reverend” Sharpton really is the racist demagogue he’s accused of being. If only the “Reverend” Sharpton had more respect for biblical teachings — and for his fellow human beings… I can hope, can’t I? I know better than to lie to you, O Fearsome One, for I know that lying to you could cause me to end up at the bottom of the castle moat as food for the alligators. This one can only hope that the “Reverend” Sharpton might drop by your digs sometime. |
Not much to say. The Czar does not recall if he is on record or not for this, but let him forever be so now: Al Sharpton, like his close competitor Jesse Jackson, are nothing more than professional con men. They have never been honest with themselves or others, and look out only for themselves. They are deceitful, unpleasant, and very small men. Yes, the Czar has encountered Jackson personally and found the reality matches his opinion too well.
Божію Поспѣшествующею Милостію Мы, Дима Грозный Императоръ и Самодержецъ Всероссiйскiй, цѣсарь Московскiй. The Czar was born in the steppes of Russia in 1267, and was cheated out of total control of all Russia upon the death of Boris Mikhailovich, who replaced Alexander Yaroslav Nevsky in 1263. However, in 1283, our Czar was passed over due to a clerical error and the rule of all Russia went to his second cousin Daniil (Даниил Александрович), whom Czar still resents. As a half-hearted apology, the Czar was awarded control over Muscovy, inconveniently located 5,000 miles away just outside Chicago. He now spends his time seething about this and writing about other stuff that bothers him.