:: Running from the Thought Police ::

:: Thursday, February 16, 2006 ::

It's A World Of Laughter, A World Of Tears

It's a world of hopes, and a world of fears
There's so much that we share
That it's time we're aware

It's a Small World after all!



Now that you've got that earworm stuck in your heads, it's time for me to demonstrate how small that world is. Remember my roundup of this past weekend's blog responses to the DI's running of the Muhammad cartoons? In that post I linked to Junaid Afeef, a Muslim-American lawyer who said that he supports the Daily Illini's publishing of the cartoons. It now appears that he's the new lawyer of the DI's Editor in Chief, Acton Gorton, who was suspended (along with Opinions Editor Chuck Prochaska) over the running of the cartoons.

It's a small world after all.

And, to add insult to injury, I've been told that the Daily Illini found out about this not from Gorton, or even from Mr. Afeef, but from the Chicago Tribune.

Meanwhile, the Daily Illini's suspended editor, Acton Gorton, on Wednesday hired a Chicago-based Muslim-American civil rights attorney, Junaid Afeef. Gorton said he was defamed by the Illini's retraction editorial, which blamed the decision to publish the cartoons on a "renegade editor."

"I just want to make sure I have good representation for whatever happens now," Gorton said. "My career is in jeopardy."

Yeah, and you put it in jeopardy as a consequence of your actions. I don't feel particularly sorry.

Also, I'm wondering what he needs a lawyer for. Since he's gone out and made himself a public figure by contacting other media himself, he can't sue for libel and expect to succeed in court (or, at least, that's my understanding). Curiouser and curiouser, Mr. Gorton's actions become.

:: The Squire 12:00 AM :: email this post :: ::
...