Friday, January 20, 2006

Raleigh N&O silent on Sen. Kennedy's Owl membership

The self-described "fair and accurate" editors at The Raleigh News & Observer are withholding from readers news that Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.) has been for more then fifty years a member of an exclusive, private club, The Owl, which bars women from membership.

News that Kennedy, "the liberal lion" to his admirers, is an Owl member was first reported by The Washington Times and many bloggers. Once the news became public, Kennedy quickly announced he would quit the discriminatory club "as fast as I can."

Here's part of The Boston Herald's Tuesday, Jan. 17, report:

U.S. Sen. Edward M. Kennedy — who ripped Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito for ties to a group that discriminates against women — says he’s going to quit a club notorious for discriminating against women “as fast as I can.”

Kennedy was outed by conservatives late last week as a current member of The Owl Club, a social club for Harvard alumni that bans women from membership.

In an interview with WHDH Channel 7’s Andy Hiller that aired last night, Kennedy said, “I joined when I . . . 52 years ago, I was a member of the Owl Club, which was basically a fraternal organization.”

Asked by Hiller whether he is still a member, Kennedy said, “I’m not a member; I continue to pay about $100.”

He then said of being a member in a club that discriminates against women, “I shouldn’t be and I’m going to get out of it as fast as I can.”

The Harvard Crimson reports that, in 1984, the university severed ties with clubs like the Owl, citing a federal law championed by Kennedy.
...
Here's some news analysis Barry at Palmetto Pundit provided his readers:
First, (Kennedy) hijacks the floor during the Alito hearings last week and demands a subpoena be issued for documents freely available in The Library of Congress.

Then, he conducts a character assassination on the nominee on the basis that he once was a member of a group at Princeton that discriminated against women.

Finally, he admits that he is a member of the Owl Club, which also discriminates against women, says he will “get out of it as fast as I can”, then says “I’m not a member; I continue to pay about $100.”

$100 for what, Senator Kennedy? Non-membership dues?
Barry has more to say. You can read it all here.

Why isn't the liberal trending left Raleigh News & Observer, a McClatchy paper, reporting on Kennendy and The Owl? Why don't we see any analysis of how liberals are reacting to the news? Are they appalled and outraged? Did they know that when their lion hangs out with owls, they're all males?

I'm sending this post to Editors Sill and Vaden at The N&O. I'll let you know if I hear back.

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