Calling Bullshit : The Statesman loves ‘GOTCHA!’ reporting
Here’s a fun story… during a recent Ed Board meeting at the Statesman, the Board spent a large part of the meeting talking not about what the candidate would do if elected to the office for which they were running. No, they talked only about the candidate’s personal life. The candidate was Glen Maxey who, in 2000, approached DA Earle for help with his then partner, Brian Eager. Eager was and is mentally ill and suffered from hallucinations combined with addiction problems. When he was arrested for a DWI as well as cocaine possession and faced jail time, Maxey went to Earle to explain that Eager was mentally ill and asked if there were any special treatment programs available through TDC. The DA, according to Maxey, didn’t know anything about treatment for the mentally ill and went ahead with the prosecution, securing what they had requested… 5 years probation and 1 day of jail time. Eager received no treatment and was subsequently arrested and jailed again in 2003. Maxey and Eager have since split up and Maxey says he did not ask for ’special treatment’ for Eager, other than about treatment programs for the mentally ill. Earle’s recollection does not contradict this account since asking about treatment programs was, apparently to him, asking for a lesser punishment than his office was seeking.
Now, it’s well known the Statesman hates them some Glen so they aren’t exactly an unbiased source. To be honest, I’m not really sure why the Statesman even endorses candidates since few people, if any, pay attention to them. As a sign of how seriously you should take them, Hank Gilbert who ran for Agriculture Commission was appalled that during HIS meeting with the board, Arnold Garcia appeared to fall asleep while Gilbert was discussing alternative energy crops, cane ethanol and how it could reshape Texas Agriculture and help us to kick the foreign oil habit. Todd Staples, his opponent, was a big fan of toll roads. The Statesman endorsed Staples.
All that aside, are there any of us who can say we wouldn’t ask for something similar for a loved one if we knew the DA? How much respect would you have for someone who didn’t? For me, the answer is ‘not much’. Despite the Statesman’s sledgehammer attempt to paint Maxey as a politico demanding special treatment, all it really does is show that the man actually cares enough about people to try and get them help. I can’t think of any better quality for candidate who, if elected, will have the power to foreclose on people.
Relates Post by BossKitty:
I went to Ronnie Earle as a person in need
