Leftist Blogger: 'Spitting on Soldier Not News'

"Phriendly Jaime" at West of Shockoe (the twit at Shockoe didn't realize that changing the title of a Blogger post also changes the URL, here's the new link) thinks prosecuting Lauren Maggi, accused of spitting in a soldier's face at Syracuse's Hancock Airport on November 22, is a waste of time.

And PJ has taken issue with me for blogging about the shameful incident. Unfortunately for PJ, he doesn't have his facts straight, but that doesn't prevent the typical, leftist rant that follows his snap judgement.

Worse, he doesn't think spitting in a soldier's face is a crime worth wasting taxpayers' money on, and anyway, PJ implies that the soldier is probably lying about the whole thing.

Phriendly Jaime's rant begins:

A few choice Republican "bloggers" are trying to make a story out of a laughable tidbit they heard on Fox news from Jon Gibson. This is what they report:
Syracuse radio station WFBL reports that Lauren Maggi, 35, of Thurber Street was charged with harassment for spitting in a soldier's face at Hancock Airport.

PJ's first mistake: Gibson's story came after my original post, and Jawa Report crosspost. That's why it quotes a radio station, which Gibson's piece does not; there was almost no posted news of the incident at the time. It was through research that I learned the proper spelling of Maggi's last name, and the fact (ignored by PJ) that she had been arrested for endangering the welfare of a minor in January.

Now PJ quotes information that became available later in the day, and with which both the Jawa and TDPB posts were updated:

The incident happened over the Thanksgiving holiday. Maggi approached a soldier from the 10th Mountain Division, who apparently was not in uniform, and asked if he was a soldier. When he said yes, Maggi allegedly spit in his face.
And this is what the majority of them DON'T report, because it makes their non-story a...NON-STORY.
Jason Jones, 21, told police a woman he did not know walked up to him near the United Airlines ticket counter, asked him if he was a Fort Drum solider and, when he responded that he was, spat in his face.

Police searched the airport garage and located a woman fitting the description that Jones provided, who was later identified as Maggi. Police escorted her into the terminal, where Jones identified her as the woman who had spit on him. A second soldier on the scene supported Jones' accusation, police said.

Maggi offered no explanation for her conduct, police said. She could not be reached for comment Thursday night.

I made sure to update with this information because it's so damning; the victim and a corroborating witness identified her, and she offered no defense, apparently not even denying the charge.

How does PJ interpret this news? Very strangely indeed:

Do you see what I am getting at?

No, thank God my mind works in a normal, rational manner so that leftist "thinking" is pretty much alien to me.

Someone, WITHOUT ANY PROOF WHATSOEVER, walked up to a police officer and told them "something". The officer found "someone" who matched the accuser's "description" and asked her what happened. She offered no explanation, yet she admitted nothing, and they charged her. Because there is no way to prove it happened, she'll go to court, and she'll most likely walk without being charged. So, in essence, Republican bloggers and Fox news would rather tax payer's money be wasted, all to try to make Democratic supporters and liberals look like they hate the troops. Real productive.

PJ, eyewitness testimony is called "proof." Another eyewitness other than the victim is called "corroborating evidence," and the fact that police were able to find Maggi based on the victim's description further bolsters his account of events. All of this will come out in court.

The best part of all of this? No one has any idea whether or not this woman is a Democrat. I hope someone asks her, because even if the story of her "harassment" is true, it would be too funny to watch the Republicans delete their blogs and forget the incident altogether to save face.

The word "Democrat" isn't mentioned in my post, though I think it's a pretty safe bet that a woman who spits in a soldier's face doesn't belong to the party of Lincoln.

Let's make this short, sweet, and to the point, shall we?

First of all, if a stroy [sic] is only reported on Fox News by Jon Gibson, it isn't news. Period. Do you see Democratic bloggers reporting things heard on Air America, without any reputable sources to back it up? No. So, be responsible and get some adequate sources before you let your fingers type nonsense and tripe.

But PJ, if you'd bothered to read the story, including the parts you excerpted, you'd realize that Gibson was the last one to the story, not the first. Let's review: I heard the story on WFBL radio, researched the name and came up with a bare bones blurb at Syracuse.com, as well as additional information about an earlier crime, and posted. Subsequently, Syracuse.com updated their site with more details, which I used to update my posts. I discovered Gibson's story today, and have mentioned it only in this post.

Second, by ignoring the whole story and only cutting and pasting the points that work for you, you make yourself even less credible than you were before. It makes you look, well, stupid, and people are left to wonder why you blog in the first place.

I have to agree with that statement, PJ, so tell us, why do you blog in the first place?

Lastly, distorting facts and truth is not blogging, it is a cry for attention and a sign of an emotional problem. People experiencing this ought to get themselves to the appropriate doctors as soon as possible.

Well, PJ, you've got your attention, are you enjoying it? Hope your doctor has an appointment opening up real soon. Maybe you should ask about Paxil and something to help your attention deficit disorder.