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"And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." - John 8:32
WEBCommentary Contributor
Author:  Michael J. Gaynor
Bio: Michael J. Gaynor
Date:  July 11, 2007
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Duke Case: Aunt Rebuts Character Assassin

Will The Wilmington Journal publish Mrs. Cornacchia’s terrific, yet temperate, rebuttal? Or is it something beter kept from The Wilmington Journal’s readers?

Beware: provoking an articulate aunt is a fool's errand.

Among other things, Eileen Cornacchia is Collin Finnerty’s maternal aunt and not disposed to suffer fools gladly (especially vicious ones).

A. Peter Bailey, according to The Wilmington Journal, is or was an NNPA columnist, a former editor of Ebony magazine, an original member of The Organization of Afro-American Unity (OAAU)(founded in 1964 by Malcolm X), editor of the OAAU "news" organ Blacklash, co-author of Revelations: The Autobiography of Alvin Ailey, co-author with Rodnell P. Collins (nephew of Malcolm X) of Seventh Child: A Family Memoir of Malcolm X, assistant to John Henrik Clarke with the editing of Malcolm X: The Man and His Times, Associate Director of The Black Theatre Alliance (BTA), editor of the BTA Newsletter, a native of Columbus, Georgia and a graduate of Howard University.

When it comes to the unfairly and even maliciously maligned members of the 2005-2006 Duke University Men’s Lacrosse Team, however, Mr. Bailey is a contemptible character assassin spewing hate and lies that some gullible people unfortunately believe and Mrs. Cornacchia is the ardent defender armed with personal knowledge and not about to give character assassination a pass like the North Carolina authorities gave false accuser Crystal Gail Mangum for making a false gang rape report.

"OUR VOICE, GUEST EDITORIAL BY A. PETER BAILEY, ''ACQUITTED DUKE LACROSS PLAYERS ARE NOT CHOIR BOYS'', WEEK OF JUNE 28-JULY 4, 2007 The Wilmington JournalOriginally posted 7/3/2007

"For historical accuracy it is important that the Duke UniversitylaCrosse players accused, falsely it has been determined by the courts, of rape are not sweet little choir boys. They are pampered white frat boys who pulled together a boisterous, raunchy party to which they invited two Black strippers to 'perform.'

"As for their lives being irrevocably ruined, that is total bull. The good ol’ White frat boy network will see that they are gainfully employed and they themselves will be entertaining their frat brothers with tales of their exploits for the next 40-50 years. That is a much better deal than the one received by hundreds of Black teenagers and young men, who through the years, were lynched or jailed for many years on false accusations of rape of White women.

"***

"One of the most potent weapons used by the Eurocentric conservative talk show propagandists and their allies in the journalistic, academic and political arenas is to accuse one of being politically correct (PC). For instance, if you say that Columbus didn’t “discover the new world,” accusations of political correctness are hurled by the Eurocentric propagandists. My response is that it is better to be (PC) than HI (historically incorrect)."

Mrs. Cornacchia:

"Answer to Peter Bailey:

"For historical accuracy - your words -you should research the facts before before turning a bunch of misinformation into a published opinion piece.

"The boys were white - not a crime in this country.

"The boys were not members of a 'FRAT'.

"The boys were not pampered. - As Collin Finnerty's aunt, I know first-hand how Collin was raised. Hard-working - jobs every summer since he was fourteen. Outstanding academic record at a top-rated Catholic Boy's High School. Spectacular athlete from years of intensive practice. Won the "Outstanding Character" award upon High School graduation.

"True: Collin was not a choir boy - he can't sing very well. But he was an altar boy. Does that count or must one join a choir?

"Collin and Reade did not plan the party, or hire anyone. As sophomores on the team they were required to attend the party put on by the team captains. They were both there for a very short time and have irrefutable documentation that they were not there when the bogus incident supposedly took place.

"You might want to look into whether any minority frat parties on the Duke campus had X-rated entertainment during the 2005-2006 school year.

Non-researched, sloppy journalism of the sort you put forth, only goes to further inflame society's problems. It certainly does nothing to set history straight."

Yes, Mrs. Cornnachia. But Mr. Bailey no more wants to “set history straight” than the North Carolina prosecutors want to prosecute Ms. Mangum, for fear of antagonizing the black base, or Duke University wants discovery and a trial that will show how it betrayed and manipulated the team members.

LieStoppers:

“Just when we thought nothing could surprise us in Durham’s now closed production of the Theatre of the Absurd, the Nifong/Mangum Hoax again stretches the bounds of amazement.

”It appears that the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) (20 U.S.C. § 1232g; 34 CFR Part 99) protected key card records of Duke University students which District Attorney Mike Nifong sought by subpoena 0n May 31, 2006 were actually provided to the Durham Police Department, and in turn to the ex-DA, on March 31, 2006. Although Nifong had access to the records for months, he pretended to seek them with his subpoena and then, incredibly, argued vigorously for their production in a July court hearing.

”A review of the case notes and State Bar deposition of Sgt. Mark Gottlieb reveals that the private key card records were obtained from Duke University without a court order and in violation of FERPA. Gottlieb's deposition also reveals that the information provided illegally by Duke University contributed to the indictment of Collin Finnerty while leading directly to the indictment of Reade Seligmann. The key card date, illegally obtained and purposefully misconstrued by Sgt. Gottlieb, offered the only ‘corroboration’ presented to the Grand Jury of Seligmann's presence at the scene of the imagined crimes.”

Mr. Bailey, black strippers were NOT requested, but were accepted when they came instead of the white and the hispanic that were supposed to have come, and it is the political correctness extremists who rely on historical inaccuracy and the great majority of the team members who would benefit from close examination instead of character assassination.

Good News: Mrs. Cornacchia is not the type of person who is intimidated by scurrilous lies she knows to be scurrilous lies and is the type who actually knows what she writes (or talks) about.

Will The Wilmington Journal publish Mrs. Cornacchia’s terrific, yet temperate, rebuttal?

Or is it something beter kept from The Wilmington Journal’s readers?

Michael J. Gaynor

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Biography - Michael J. Gaynor

Michael J. Gaynor has been practicing law in New York since 1973. A former partner at Fulton, Duncombe & Rowe and Gaynor & Bass, he is a solo practitioner admitted to practice in New York state and federal courts and an Association of the Bar of the City of New York member.

Gaynor graduated magna cum laude, with Honors in Social Science, from Hofstra University's New College, and received his J.D. degree from St. John's Law School, where he won the American Jurisprudence Award in Evidence and served as an editor of the Law Review and the St. Thomas More Institute for Legal Research. He wrote on the Pentagon Papers case for the Review and obscenity law for The Catholic Lawyer and edited the Law Review's commentary on significant developments in New York law.

The day after graduating, Gaynor joined the Fulton firm, where he focused on litigation and corporate law. In 1997 Gaynor and Emily Bass formed Gaynor & Bass and then conducted a general legal practice, emphasizing litigation, and represented corporations, individuals and a New York City labor union. Notably, Gaynor & Bass prevailed in the Second Circuit in a seminal copyright infringement case, Tasini v. New York Times, against newspaper and magazine publishers and Lexis-Nexis. The U.S. Supreme Court affirmed, 7 to 2, holding that the copyrights of freelance writers had been infringed when their work was put online without permission or compensation.

Gaynor currently contributes regularly to www.MichNews.com, www.RenewAmerica.com, www.WebCommentary.com, www.PostChronicle.com and www.therealitycheck.org and has contributed to many other websites. He has written extensively on political and religious issues, notably the Terry Schiavo case, the Duke "no rape" case, ACORN and canon law, and appeared as a guest on television and radio. He was acknowledged in Until Proven Innocent, by Stuart Taylor and KC Johnson, and Culture of Corruption, by Michelle Malkin. He appeared on "Your World With Cavuto" to promote an eBay boycott that he initiated and "The World Over With Raymond Arroyo" (EWTN) to discuss the legal implications of the Schiavo case. On October 22, 2008, Gaynor was the first to report that The New York Times had killed an Obama/ACORN expose on which a Times reporter had been working with ACORN whistleblower Anita MonCrief.

Gaynor's email address is gaynormike@aol.com.


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