January 17, 2007
Your Daily Dose of Whatever Gate We're Calling It
So yes, we have a predilection for hitting up Fox News occasionally. We like to look at it as testing our mental fortitude, a way to see how far we could go before our blood pressure rises to the point we have to throw things. Somehow, this weekend we missed Matt Gonzalez appearing on Fox's "The Lineup" to talk about the Yale Choral Group story (Yalegate? Doughgate? Choirgate?). Oh, and your host of the Lineup? The former Mrs. Gavin Newsom, Kimberly Guilfoyle.
Talk about tension city-- here was the political rival of the Mayor chatting it up with the Mayor's ex-wife. And according to Matier & Ross, Kimberly signed off with these words: "all right, Matt Gonzalez, and we will see if you run for mayor again." Now just imagine what it's like seeing one of your ex'es talking to one of your rivals. Now picture said ex then rooting on your rival to do something that makes them your rival. Boy, if we were a drinking man, it would be things like this that make us drink.
We actually spent some time looking for the transcript or the video of it but couldn't find it. It being Fox News, we could find tons of stuff on the Peterson Case, Natalee Holloway, or whether Democrats are worse than Osama Bin Laden, but nothing on this.
In other news, the LA Times weighs in on the story with catty comments everywhere. After the jump, some choice quotes:
Sharyar Aziz on Heather Fong's insistence that there was nobody around after the fight to make a statement: "I found her statement shocking... I was in a state of disbelief [that] the chief of police of a major city would make public comments I knew in fact were untrue."
Leanna Dawydiak on Gavin's comment that she served alcohol to minors: "Who the heck does he think he is? Talk about kids drinking! Here you have a guy who's over 40 taking underage girls to bars where they're drinking stuff that sure looks like alcohol."
Ross Mirkarimi making a big deal out of this: "His outrage needs to be re-proportioned toward the most severe crimes and less to those that affect his own political image outside San Francisco."
And finally, Peter Ragone in response to Mirkarimi's quote: "Ross Mirkarimi can't walk and chew gum at the same time. What he doesn't understand is that the mayor of a major American city has to be able to focus on more than one thing at once."
Mee....oooow.
And finally, the Chronicle went to Yale to see what Yalies think about the case. As much sympathy as we have for the members of the Baker's Dozen, we stopped reading the article after reading someone with the name Wookie Kim said this about the incident: "I couldn't believe that anyone could do that to a Yale student."
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Ragone should perhaps apply for a job at Fox News as well. If one wants to see Democrats act like Republicans, San Francisco is the place to look.
OMFG! Transcript of suspect's account of his interview by private detective!!!!
page 271!!
"....Jean leaves, having placed a Fortunoff crystal ashtray on the desk next to the untouched San Pellegrino.
"Well," I cough, swallowing two Nuprin, dry. "I didn't know him that well."
How well did you know him?" he asks.
I'm...at a loss," I tell him, somewhat truthfully. "He was part of that whole...Yale thing, you know."
"Yale thing?" he asks, confused.
I pause, having no idea what I'm talking about. "Yeah...Yale thing."
What do you mean...Yale thing?" Now he's intrigued.
I pause again - what do I mean? "Well, I think, for one, that he was probably a closet homosexual." I have no idea; doubt it, considering his taste in babes. "Who did a lot of cocaine...."
I pause, then add, a bit shakily, "That Yale thing." I'm sure I say this bizarrely, but there's no other way to put it.
It's very quiet in the office right now. The room suddenly seems cramped and sweltering and even though the air-conditioning is on full blast, the air seems fake, recycled.
"So..." Kimball looks at his book helplessly. "There's noting you can tell me about Paul Owen?"
"Well." I sigh. "He led what I supposed was an orderly life, I guess." Really stumped, I offer, "He...ate a balanced diet."
Hello SFist,
I am the "Wookie Kim" who was quoted in the SF Chronicle yesterday. I just wanted to say that the Chronicle reporter who asked me (and my friend) questions took great liberty to paraphrase what I said (and, presumably, what the other quoted people said). The point of what I stated in the lead quote of the story was not that I thought it audacious that one would attack a YALE student; instead I found it shocking that people would have the guts to attack a group of students traveling and singing for the benefit of others, regardless of what college they were from. This is not evident from the quote, because the author seems to have excluded the explanatory part of what I said, which came immediately after, as a part of the same sentence.
I don't know how reputable the SF Chronicle is as a news source, but I am very disappointed in the way the author misrepresented my statements in order to add "shock value" to her story. I also regret that this article has added to the Yale-student-as-a-pompous-asshole stereotype.
Perhaps I shouldn't ever volunteer to answer questions with the media again.
Sincerely,
Wookie