Given a chance to revise and extend its 9:58 a.m. report (covered this afternoon at NewsBusters; at BizzyBlog) on the June 13 altercation between Wisconsin Supreme Court Judges David Prosser, Jr. and Ann Walsh Bradley, the Associated Press’s 5:29 p.m. version persists in telling its national audience only one side of the story.
Although the fact is that accounts as to who was the aggressor completely differ, the wire service’s oddly unbylined story (a 650-word AP item usually has a byline — it’s almost as if someone doesn’t want their name on it) will cause its readers, including subscribing news outlets around the country, to believe that the only open question is whether and how hard Prosser choked Bradley. One suspects that AP’s “fairness” defense will be the employment of these three words in Paragraph 8: “While accounts differ …” Sorry guys, that doesn’t cut it when the accounts are totally opposite.
Here are excerpts from that AP report (saved here for future reference, fair use and discussion purposes):
A member of the Wisconsin Supreme Court’s liberal faction has accused a conservative justice of choking her during an argument in her office earlier this month – a charge he denied.
Supreme Court Justice Ann Walsh Bradley told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that Justice David Prosser put her in a chokehold during the dispute. She contacted the newspaper late Saturday after Prosser denied rumors about the altercation.
“The facts are that I was demanding that he get out of my office and he put his hands around my neck in anger in a chokehold,” Bradley told the newspaper.
… The argument took place June 13, the day before the court, in a 4-3 decision that included a blistering dissent, ruled that Dane County Circuit Judge Maryann Sumi overstepped her authority when she declared the polarizing union law void. While accounts differ, the justices were apparently discussing the decision and its timing.
The AP ignored the opposing version of the story which appeared early Saturday evening at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, even though the time stamp on the wire service’s report is over 20 hours later, and even though it was an earlier Journal Sentinel report which formed the basis for both the current story and the AP’s coverage this morning (bolds are mine):
Since when has AP been considered a reliable news source? I still remember CPT Jamiel who managed to be all over Baghdad every night observing the Sunni vs Shia street fights and Mosque burnings. The AP made those 42 stories up out of thin air!
Uh huh.
There are blocking techniques that can end up hitting the opponent’s jugglar, as it was designed to do. Then again the blocking technique is intended to be done with a knife held inward.
But hey Greg, apparently you’ve had combat training.
@Mr. Irons, #3:
As a matter of fact I have.
Fortunately I’ve never had to utilize it to defend myself against a 6o year old woman who was angry at me for refusing to get out of her office.
I suppose Prosser might fall back on the position he took following an earlier incident: “I probably overreacted, but I think it was entirely warranted.”
The latest Milwaukee Journal Sentinel article. Two separate probes into the incident have been opened.
Really, you have? Are you certified by the Police? Certified by Russian Police? Certified by State law to be considered an armed and dangerous weapon while being unarmed? I am.
Do tell me what knowledge do you know of combat and have you ever had to break someone’s limbs to defend another? I have been though such situtions. Your stance of defending this woman proves you have no experience or understanding in blocking stances be it Boxing, Akido, Taekwondoe, or Russian Martial Arts (which I referenced to orginally.)
Plus I would like to point out this woman did not go to the police instantly, which is what should have happened, instead she screeched to the media. So now the police will be taking a look at building video records, and audio mics, as offices are video taped now in most public falicilites or have you lost recollection of this little tidbit as well? If she was, “choked” then why does his arms have burising and her neck doesn’t have marks?
@Mr. Irons, #6:
Evidently the incident was reported to Capitol Police Chief Charles Tubbs soon after it happened. The media didn’t hear about it until nearly 2 weeks had passed.
You asked a question and got a truthful answer, so far as it went. I don’t much care whether someone thinks I’m a former soldier, a shopping mall rent-a-cop, or a ninja turtle. The last think I’d want anyone to think about me is that I might be dangerous.
Yeah the event was reported to the police by witnesses, whom also pointed out Bradley assaulted Prosser with one even making a statement of, “Bradely, what is wrong with you? You don’t act this way.”
So far witness reports contradict the Liberal Judge’s story of Prosser being the aggressor, claiming she went fists into him.
And if you have combat training you are not to hide that fact to people as an unarmed specialist is as deadly (or worse) as someone with a gun given the right improvisation of items on hand, especialy those who threaten you in any case of verbal or physical assault. If you fail to indicate suffient warning to the aggressive party of the situation (typically three warnings for verbal aggressors, one for physical), and end up seriously wounding or killing someone then you are at fault and deemed unfit for the licensing and further training and can end up in jail or death row. You just proved to me you are not combat trained and certified as you should have known that little basic tidbit of a law about combat training.