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« Victims Rights Activist Endorses Bryant's Senate Bid | Main | Sans Flames » September 7, 2005"I don't think he did anything wrong."Yesterday I linked to a story in the Chattanooga Times-Free Press about U.S. Rep. Harold Ford Jr. catching some grief for giving $1,000 from his campaign coffers to a Chicago nightclub owner facing trial for involuntary manslaughter over the deaths of 21 people at his club. Today, a Memphis reader emailed me the following as additional information: There's more to the Dwain Kyles case than Jr. contributing to his defense fund. Kyles used his connections with prominent African American political leaders to continue in business despite numerous code violations, violations which led to the 21 deaths.I had forgotten those details, but the Memphis reader sent links to stories from the Northwest Indiana Times, the National Review, and CBS News. Kyles is charged with involuntary manslaughter in a Feb. 17, 2003, incident at his nightclub in which 21 people were killed and dozens injured in a stampede after pepper spray was used to quell a disturbance on an upstairs dance floor. Ford, running for the Tennessee Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate, says he authorized $1,000 in campaign funds be given to Kyles' legal defense fund because Kyles is a friend. A few years before the stampede tragedy, Kyles refused to comply with a court order to close the nightclub. Ford told the Chattanooga paper: "I don't think he did anything wrong." But if Ford's good friend Dwain Kyles had complied with the court order, 21 people would still be alive today. So, give Dwain Kyles $1,000 for his legal defense if you must, Rep. Ford. But perhaps you might also give some to help the kids of some of those 21 people who died at Kyle's nightclub. NBA star Jalen Rose set up a foundation for just that purpose. (If you'd like to help "match" Ford's contribution to Dwain Kyles by giving to the foundation to help the children of the people who died at Kyle's nightclub, contact The Jalen Rose Foundation.) Comments
Oh, *that* nightclub stampede. That's the one where Jesse got involved and then blamed the Fire Dept. for not shutting them down after he personally protested them enforcing Codes in the first place. That makes sense. Posted by: smantix at September 7, 2005 02:53 PMIf I had given Ford money for his campaign (stop laughing, I'm trying to make a point here), I wouldn't be too happy to find out it got diverted to the defense of a sleazy nightclub owner whose negligence may have killed a whole bunch of people. I'd be expecting my money to go to paying felons to register new voters, bribing election officals and buying cemetery records to use at the polls like usual. Posted by: Bob at September 7, 2005 04:08 PMBob! You owe me a new keyboard for that. Posted by: kafir memphian at September 7, 2005 08:15 PMIf this guy is such a close friend, why is the money coming from the campaign fund and not Jr. himself? Posted by: RustyO at September 7, 2005 08:40 PMHmm, post has been up for more than 10 minutes without Chris Jackson falling all over himself to explain why Bill has it all wrong and is just another right-winger trying to destroy Ford's career, etc. Hey, Chris, no need to bother, I think I just hit all your points. Posted by: Michael Chaney at September 8, 2005 08:53 AMI heard from a reputable source that the money sent to that man was a total mistake. How typical of the nutty Republican attack machine to blow this up into a big deal because they have no plan to help ordinary Americans improve their lives. Just look at this Katrina mess! Harold Ford, Jr. is someone who cares about the issues facing ordinary Tennesseans and wants to help. Instead of just trying to win, why don't you out of touch extremists try to think of a way that you can actually get this country moving again? Posted by: Richie at September 8, 2005 07:15 PMRichie, I heard from a reputable source that the money sent to that man, who is a criminal defendant, was an intentional act. That source is Harold Ford, Jr. himself. He defended the donation in the Chattanooga Times Free Press. Ford can't just blame this one on his staff. I think Richie sounds an awful lot like Chris W. Jackson. Has he created an alter ego to keep from getting flamed? Posted by: Observer at September 8, 2005 10:18 PMPost a comment
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