Birmingham, Alabama Mayor Larry Langford has been arrested.
His party is not mentioned in the story at AL.com.
Langford is Democrat (even Wikipedia took a while before naming his party).
Here are key paragraphs from the story:
Birmingham Mayor Larry Langford was arrested this morning on federal charges and is being held at the federal courthouse, the FBI and other federal officials confirm.
.... A special grand jury for several months has been investigating county bond deals and Langford's financial dealings. Langford was Jefferson County Commission president 2002-06.
..... The Langford, LaPierre and Blount indictments are under seal, so details of the charges are not available.
Langford, LaPierre and Montgomery investment banker Bill Blount are accused in a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission lawsuit of not disclosing $156,000 in payments to Langford. The SEC has accused Blount of paying Langford through LaPierre as part of a plan to secure Jefferson County financial business when Langford was Jefferson County Commission president. (Read the May 2008 story)
The SEC lawsuit against Birmingham Mayor Larry Langford fails to show how friends' personal payments to Langford led to $6.7 million in government business, their lawyers said in a filing seeking dismissal of the suit this summer.
The point that Democrats seldom have their party identification mentioned in stories about them when they are in trouble has made been made often. It will continue to be made until the treatment of Dems and Repulbicans in stories of this nature is equivalent.
Cross-posted at BizzyBlog.com.
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Duh, I don't see any bias
December 1, 2008 - 13:08 ET by NewsbusterbrownDuh, I don't see any bias here, duh.
“There are no easy answers' but there are simple answers. We must have the courage to do what we know is morally right.” - Ronald Reagan (1964 Republican Convention)
Just wait until some
December 1, 2008 - 13:35 ET by mattmJust wait until some republican rolls a stop sign!
Stop the presses, mattm!
December 1, 2008 - 13:54 ET by Mica the MagnificentDid you say a republican rolled a stop sign?
Some say the stop sign was actually a stopped school bus. Another annoymous source said a child saw the republican's car and was severely frightened!
Congress may investigate.
Tom.. Larry Lanford (D) has a colorful past..
December 1, 2008 - 13:58 ET by Gary HallTom. No pun intended, but Democrat(ic) politician Larry Langford, D(ic), has a very colorful past, according to this piece, in the Birmingham Weekly:
Larry Langford’s Greatest Hits - Thirty years in the taking
A few highlights:
What a guy. Gary (;~/
In fairness.
December 1, 2008 - 14:13 ET by Mike BrattonBeing a resident of the greater Birmingham metropolitan area, I have been entertained by the antics of Larry Langford (or "La-La," as he is also known) since moving here.
The AL.com story probably--probably--doesn't mention his party affiliation because the vast majority of residents already know he's a Democrat, just as they know he was once a TV weatherman. I don't think their effort was one of typical media obfuscation.
Nevertheless, and particularly since their story was picked up by Drudge, Langford's affiliation should be front and center, as should the (D) affiliation of his co-defendants. William Blount is the former chair of the Alabama Democrat Party, and Al LaPierre is its former executive director.
--Mike
www.thebrattonreport...
→ Celebrate!!!
December 1, 2008 - 14:26 ET by Cool ArrowCelebrate the end of racism in America.
Did I mnention he's Democrat?
Langford is going down. I
December 1, 2008 - 14:28 ET by suzycreamcheeseLangford is going down. I don't live in B'ham but I do work here and who knows what's going to happen to this city. He never should have been elected because he has financially ruined everything he touched as an elected leader.
I'm not surprised his party identification wasn't mentioned. But he's an African-American mayor of an inner city. Take a wild guess.
To be honest
December 1, 2008 - 14:54 ET by VarzilFirst off, AL.com is just a hosting service for Alabama Newspapers. In the story mentioned above, it was the Birmingham News that was reporting.
Secondly, the newspaper almost always endorses Republicans, especially in national elections. They endorsed McCain and Senator Jeff Sessions this year for example.
Thirdly, locals don't really see that as an issue with Langford. LaLa has been in local politics for so long, everyone in the area knows he is a Democrat. It is no great secret and we all know that as Mayor of Birmingham, he could not be anything but a Democrat. A Republican would not stand a chance running for Mayor here. In fact, the city is so heavily Dem, there is never more than one or two of the 9 Council that can be anything else. The last time I can remember was back in the 90's when there was one Repub and one Libertarian and 7 Democrats.
Fourthly, they never failed to mention Don Siegelthief's party affiliation and regularly mention the party affiliation of other local politicians when they get into trouble. Dem or otherwise.
Secondly, the newspaper
December 1, 2008 - 16:43 ET by NewsbusterbrownSecondly, the newspaper almost always endorses Republicans, especially in national elections. They endorsed McCain and Senator Jeff Sessions this year for example.
Big deal. The Wall Street Journal also endorses Republicans, but that has nothing to do with it's much less conservative reporters.
Thirdly, locals don't really see that as an issue with Langford.
Yeah, that's usually one of the excuses when the (D) is not shown after the alleged guilty party's name. I don't buy it.
“There are no easy answers' but there are simple answers. We must have the courage to do what we know is morally right.” - Ronald Reagan (1964 Republican Convention)
the AP headers also failed to add party designation
December 1, 2008 - 20:02 ET by UndercoverConservativeAny place the AP carried the story also failed to mention party affiliation. It's a joke around here, that if there's a political corruption story, I search the document for party affiliation and if it's missing, well, you know.
The sad part is, of all the scandals involving Republican politicians or if a Republican is implemented in any way, the AP story *ALWAYS* carries the party affiliation. Not a single one that I've been able to find has failed to drop R's and Republican in the story, usually the headline. Even if the guy/gal *used* to be a Republican, it's often mentioned.
Until I see even 2:1 of unmentioned Democrat affiliation to unmentioned Republican affiliation, there's no way in h3ll I'll buy the "no bias" claims. But I've got to find at least one AP article where they leave out the Republicans before I can calculate a real ratio-zero's do funny things.
"to call an illegal immigrant an "undocumented alien" is the same as calling a streetcorner drug dealer an "unlicensed pharmacist".
"You spend your money anyway you want and respect other's rights to do the same"
Where's JasonC?
December 2, 2008 - 01:27 ET by ahusserHe is the usal staunch lefty defender of why the no (D) theory.
Change: When the winds of change blow hard enough, the most trivial of things can become deadly projectiles. From a Poster