Tommy Christopher Out At Mediaite
Mediaite and its illustrious White House Correspondent Tommy Christopher have parted ways, The Mirror has learned. And it wasn’t voluntary. We’re told Christopher was fired. Details are still forthcoming.
In the past year there were murmurings that editorial leadership was not pleased with Christopher, particularly his reporting on racial issues. Editors were well aware of the varying difficulties involved in working with him and privately voiced concerns.
That said, he’s a character and a pretty decent writer — in 2010, he even live-tweeted his own heart attack and lived to tell about it. Or tweet about it, as the case may be. In 2011, he suffered gangrene of the appendix, but mostly kept it under wraps.
I hate “reporting” like this, and I’ll wait for some official word (which, granted, may never come) rather than unsourced rumor before I conclude Christopher was fired. In what may be some corporate ass-covering, Mediaite is acting like they loved the guy:
We are also saying goodbye to long-time columnist, important liberal voice, and all-around rabble-rouser Tommy Christopher. As the longest-standing member of Mediaite, he has consistently been an important part of the media conversation and an able sparring partner for conservative columnists everywhere and on our site!
Whether he was fired or not, the Daily Caller observation about the annoying aspects of Christopher’s writing on race is spot-on, though I am surprised that Mediaite was bothered by it. Christopher is the epitome of (goofy) White Guilt, and if you look at every racially charged issue from the point of view that holds that the white guy is always the racist, you’ll easily be able to emulate Christopher’s views. And insufferable self-righteousness? That is Tommy Christopher’s life blood.
He’s basically the guy who bristles every time you level any criticism, no matter how just, and claims you are misrepresenting him . . . but feels totally entitled to call you dishonest, unethical, and racist.
He’ll be missed. Or something.
Thanks to Dana, who DRJ correctly suggests ought to just be a guest blogger.
Ding.
Patterico (9c670f) — 2/25/2014 @ 9:27 pmhe was a momo
but not in a good way
happyfeet (8ce051) — 2/25/2014 @ 9:44 pmif i ever had to make a report on “racial issues” i would be super-sweet and say only nice things
happyfeet (8ce051) — 2/25/2014 @ 9:45 pmHe’s out. Mediaite reporting it: http://www.mediaite.com/online/hello-mediaite-changes-and-farewell-to-tommy-christopher/
Donald Douglas (@AmPowerBlog) (4ab6be) — 2/25/2014 @ 10:29 pmi still say Dana should be a guest blogger too.
😎
redc1c4 (abd49e) — 2/25/2014 @ 10:48 pmHey, Tommy Christopher needs a new gig.
Former Conservative (6e026c) — 2/25/2014 @ 11:24 pmI wonder how I’d be treated if I had his position:
Races exist, they are somewhat different (but more the same), and that’s OK? Besides, it’s a fact, like it or not?
Yeah, probably wouldn’t work. You you’re not supposed to say the Earth is round on that topic.
Well I do. It’s round.
Former Conservative (6e026c) — 2/25/2014 @ 11:26 pmNow that Tommy has ObamaCare he is free of the onerous requirements to do actual work, so this is a win-win for everyone. Yay Obama! Maybe his first guest-post at Patterico’s Pontifications can be about how awesome it is to be unemployed in the Obama Welfare State.
JVW (709bc7) — 2/25/2014 @ 11:51 pmand now for something important to discuss…
do the general facts of this case sound familiar to anyone?
http://legalinsurrection.com/2014/02/video-kansas-city-policeman-shoots-attacker-on-top-and-punching/
redc1c4 (abd49e) — 2/26/2014 @ 12:05 amInteresting that listening to the people talking at red’s link, they thought they were making sure that any police brutality would be caught on camera. (“What did he do, what did he do?”, when they thought the cop was being too rough on the uncooperative assailant.)
MD in Philly (f9371b) — 2/26/2014 @ 5:18 amAnother example of how God tests us.
Rodney King's Spirit (ca9e04) — 2/26/2014 @ 6:08 amOT but congruent–ESPN gives wall-to-wall coverage to gay CBA round ball and Arena league foot ball players:
http://www.breitbart.com/Breitbart-Sports/2014/02/25/Michael-Sam-Combine
gary gulrud (e2cef3) — 2/26/2014 @ 6:14 amOfficer Hubbard was working off-duty security at the hotel, wearing his uniform, and responded to the conflict, catching up with the departing Bruno some distance down the street.
No, it’s not like Zimmerman. The initial aggressor (I will presume that) was retreating, not confronting and attacking. In order for this shooting to be a righteous, we must presume that the off-duty police officer had a duty to detain the dead man. If not, he was now the aggressor, the dead man had a right to defend himself, using whatever force is necessary by an unarmed man against a man visibly armed with a firearm. And just f*** it! On his wedding night! Just f*** it!
nk (dbc370) — 2/26/2014 @ 6:24 amnk, you don’t think an off-duty police officer has a duty, or at least endorsement, to apprehend a person guilty of assault?
The police officer was in uniform, which should have communicated to the assailant that he was being arrested by a police officer, not jumped by some stranger with unknown intent.
Even the witnesses who first wanted to make sure the officer didn’t use unnecessary violence told the guy to not refuse arrest.
It was a terrible and tragic incident, yes, but it was the dead man who first attacked a cab driver then resisted arrest for it.
MD in Philly (f9371b) — 2/26/2014 @ 6:42 amI don’t want to argue the officer, here, was wrong. Just to emphasize the differences between this case and Zimmerman’s. Zimmerman not only did not try to detain Martin but Martin, in fact, lay in wait and ambushed Zimmerman. Also, it’s very cold outside and all the girls going to the bus stop or the el are bundled up from head to toe so I’m entertaining myself with you guys.
nk (dbc370) — 2/26/2014 @ 6:53 amAccording to the law, you’re not supposed to be worried that the policeman is going to harm you, which is the case 100% of the time, bit was probably here. If the policeman is not wearing a uniform he is supposed to identify himself.
What happened here?
The article says that for some reason off-duty firefighter Anthony Bruno had gotten into an argument with a taxi driver, and assaulted him.
Off duty police officer Donald Hubbard, who was working as a security guard at the hotel where the taxi had stopped, saw this and apparently attempted to intervene. It sounds like maybe when Anthomy Bruno saw him coming to the aid of the taxi driver, he started running away. By the time Officer Hubbard reached him, he was leaving. It had stopped.
Hubbard, it says was working off-duty as a security guard “wearing his uniform” (Security guard uniform? Police Department uniform? What kind of a uniform is that?)
Anyway, he attempted to detain him. Anthony Bruno did not like being detained, and he may even have felt he didn’t deserve to get arrested for that. Or maybe he just didn’t want to be detained for the authorities. Firefighter Anthony Bruno may have been worried about losing his city job. I don’t know what the policy might be there.
There was a certain right to do that on the part of any citizen. In any case, this was probably clearly not a malicious, causeless, assault, and Bruno knew what this was all about.
Anthony Bruno then started to beat up Donald Hubbard, (whom he may not have realized was more than a just a security guard, and whom he may not have realized was armed with a gun, and was a full fledged honest to goodness police officer!) and attempted to attack him.
This was possibly just in order to escape. He couldn’t out-run him, so he wanted to knock him out or worse.
He was starting to win the fight when the police officer pulled out his gun, and shot him twice.
Sammy Finkelman (20d02d) — 2/26/2014 @ 7:05 amI have a thread on that shooting now, so please take all discussion of that incident here.
Patterico (9c670f) — 2/26/2014 @ 7:09 amI agree with you. The main similarity, as we agree, was that there was an unarmed person on top of an armed person banging his head into the concrete, and the man on the bottom thought he was justified at the moment to pull his firearm and shoot.
There is the difference you mentioned, another difference that there was no race difference for race-baiters to draw attention to, and a video of the event which would confirm the officer’s story.
Yes, after hitting the 50’s it is cold and snowing again today here also.
MD in Philly (f9371b) — 2/26/2014 @ 7:10 am27 degrees last night. This morning very light dusting of snow. Irregular, footprint shaped ice coated snow remains in places. There should also be a dusting of snow tomorrow afternoon.
Before today: 56.6 inches of snow this winter. Second highest, but another 19 inches would be needed to break a record.
Sammy Finkelman (20d02d) — 2/26/2014 @ 7:18 amCould it be that mmy Christopher was fired because someone was worried about some kind of a legal case? That would be the only kind of thing maybe in which they would fire him, but act so
friendly.
If so, what would that be?
Maybe this is consistent with TC breaking his contract or being in a contract dispute.
Sammy Finkelman (20d02d) — 2/26/2014 @ 7:30 am18, 19. Weather Channel is having one of those one-up-manship challenges re: who’s had the tougher winter–Minneapolis or Philadelphia.
Snowfall totals are essentially identical. How they reached the total rather different.
gary gulrud (e2cef3) — 2/26/2014 @ 7:45 amTommy is a big tweeter. Has Tommy tweeted anything about this?
elissa (8fee5e) — 2/26/2014 @ 7:54 amThis.
The off-duty cop kneeling on the now-dead-man’s head, thus endangering his life and the physical safety and integrity of his brain, didn’t help matters.
Former Conservative (6e026c) — 2/26/2014 @ 8:49 amDoes he have to turn in his J-card?
SarahW (267b14) — 2/26/2014 @ 5:52 pmTeh Xtopher! He will be missed. 🙁
Icy (7a4abd) — 2/27/2014 @ 6:40 am