liberals like child porn too!

[papalovesmambo]

Posted: 5/9/08 at 7:26pm

"the lion of the left" goes down for sending out kiddie porn.

irony: he won an award for an expose on the financial and sexual improprieties of the church.

bernie ward: he's not only a reporter, he's a participant!
"god talk" has been cancelled due to the host's proclivity for naked children

[amalou]

Posted: 5/9/08 at 8:56pm

My first reaction was "who??" But I'm not surprised. Anyone can be a pervert.

[Bluemoon]

Posted: 5/9/08 at 9:58pm

Oh dear. I was waiting for this to appear on the OT board.

First a disclosure: Bernie Ward has been a close friend of mine for 29 years. He is my daughter's godfather (yeah, I know, I know) and my husband and I are godparents for his eldest daughter. This has been very hard for his family and friends and frankly there have been times when we have screamed "WTF were you thinking?"

I have read all the transcripts and the indictment. It's sickening. Did he do it? Yes.
Why did he do it? Not clear. He says it was research and role play, breaking into a seedy, perverted world to expose it. I do remember him talking about wanting to do a book on the subject about 5 years ago. Was this the book research? He says yes. But it was still wrong and it is still illegal and he is still guilty. The law does not take intent into consideration in these cases.

Remember the $400 hammer defense spending revelations in the early 80s? The $600 toilet seats? That was also Bernie, who was working as an aide to Sen. Barbara Boxer at the time. He snuck onto a local Air Force base with a hidden camera and wined and dined (mostly wined) officials who laughed about it and spilled the beans. Bernie was interviewed in both Time and Newsweek, garnering him a lot of accolades for his work - illegal though it was. It was then that he embarked on what we called "Bernie style journalism" - get the story by any means necessary, legal or illegal. Is this the sad result of Bernie style journalism gone to extremes? Possibly. I want to believe that.

What I do know is that this man isn't just "some pervert" to me. He's my friend's husband, my goddaughter's father and the man who flew 3,000 miles to sit with me in the hospital when my husband was in critical condition. We all have many sides to us - many layers upon layers to our personalities. It is tragic when the worst of our nature imperils the best of our nature.

[amalou]

Posted: 5/9/08 at 10:37pm

Wow. That changes things. Sorry for calling him a pervert. Usually when I read headlines like that it makes my stomach churn and the last thing that crossed my mind would be that he was doing some kind of research. I mean, I obviously don't even know if that's 100% true but thanks for sharing some info and I'm sorry for any difficulties this is causing you. Whatever the case may be, it's a shame.

[Bluemoon]

Posted: 5/9/08 at 10:59pm

No need to apologize. People who traffic in child porn are perverts. I was saying that he may be a pervert, but he's not *just* a pervert to me. He's also a friend.

And it IS a shame - particularly for the children who are exploited.

[DG]

Posted: 5/9/08 at 11:04pm

Moony - I am sorry for all the pain involved in this scenario.

Despite the desperate attempts of many, life just isn't something that can be easily encapsulated or categorized. Even in situations that some might think are distinctly black and white.

May ALL those touched and/or involved find peace in their mind and heart.