A Philadelphia judge today ruled against reducing or dropping any of the charges brought against three Bucks County defendants accused of attacking a gay couple last September in Center City.
The attack left one man with a broken jaw and other facial injuries.
After reviewing more than 100 pages of testimony from the preliminary hearing stage, Judge Frank Palumbo ruled that Kevin Harrigan, Philip Williams, and Kathryn Knott will stand trial for all charges filed thus far.
Unfortunately, no hate crime charges at this time.
Karma is a bitch. And it would seem no one knows that better today than (former?) communications director for GOP Congressman Stephen Fincher, Elizabeth Lauten.
As I reported over the weekend, Ms. Lauten took the Book of Face and criticized Malia and Sasha Obama for not showing enough “class” when attending this year’s Thanksgiving Turkey Pardon, a light-hearted holiday event at the White House.
MNSBC is now reporting that the high priestess of all things “class” is in the process of resigning, which is appropriate.
Lauten then deleted the rant, and posted this “apology” which also quickly disappeared:
Politics is a strange game, yes. But there are rules. And one hard and fast rule is that children of politicians are out of bounds. Period.
It’s strange that someone with the title “Communications Director” – whose skill sould be understanding the media and messaging of a congressman – would be so tone deaf. Her job would be to put out fires, not start them.
Elizabeth Lauten is the communications director for GOP Congressman Stephen Fincher of Tennessee. That basically means she usually helps put out fires, not start them.
She recently took to Facebook to insult sixteen-year-old Malia, and thirteen-year-old Sasha Obama, after deciding they didn’t look properly interested or dressed for the traditional “pardoning” of the White House turkey. This is usually a friendly, family-oriented holiday event.
Here’s just a taste of what Lauten had to say about two teenagers who never ran for office and are just living their teen years the best they can in the public spotlight – and doing a great job in my opinion:
“Try showing a little class. At least respect the part you play.”
“Dress like you deserve respect, not a spot at a bar.”
Mind you, these weren’t some off-hand comments made to a friend over cocktails.
Lauten specifically went on Facebook to deliver her attack on these teenagers. Wonderful “family values.”
After some thought – and a call from her boss I bet – Lauten deleted the attack on the Obama children and posted this “apology,” which she also quickly deleted. What a great example of having the courage of her convictions.
I’m not a religious expert, but I’m guessing if it took “hours” of prayer to figure out what she did wrong, there’s a bigger problem.
By the way – here’s a pic of how Malia and Sasha were dressed at the event. I think they look like normal teenagers, which is all they are being asked to be:
So, what do you all think? Are the children of politicians fair game as targets? Are Malia and Sasha allowed to be teenagers?
