Depo Charge
USA
Today , the New York Times ,
and the Los Angeles Times lead with yesterday's unanimous Supreme
Court decision that the law barring sexual discrimination in the workplace
applies equally to harassment between workers of the same sex. The Washington Post , which runs the Supreme Court story near
the top, goes instead with the most detailed account yet of President Clinton's
deposition in the Paula Jones case. "Today's Papers" couldn't help but notice
that President Clinton didn't comment on the important step the Supreme Court
took to keep the workplace safe from sexual harassment.
It's just common sense that same sex doesn't automatically mean no
harassment, but the reporting on the decision makes it clear that the
legalities have been murky. According to the NYT , the law of sexual harassment is basically a recent Supreme
Court creation, and broadening its application has met with hostility in lower
courts. The NYT reports that Justice Antonin Scalia's opinion for the
Court--issued in the case of a male oil-rig worker complaining about his
treatment by male co-workers--says the acid test for harassment is not the sex
or motivation of the parties, but whether there is sex-based discrimination in
the workplace "so objectively offensive as to alter the conditions of the
victim's employment."
Scalia, notes the Times , went on to claim that the decision does not
abrogate all "genuine but innocuous differences in the ways men and women
routinely interact with members of the same sex and of the opposite sex," and
all the papers give his example: a football coach slapping a player's rear on
the way to the field would be lawful, while the same gesture directed at the
coach's (female or male) secretary might not be. All the dailies note that the
decision drew praise from civil rights and gay rights advocates.
It's interesting to compare the harassment headlines. The NYT says,
"High Court Widens Workplace Claims of Sex Harassment." This is much less clear
than USAT 's "Same-sex Harassment Illegal." (The LAT has virtually
this same to-the-point headline.)
The Post runs its Clinton lead clear across the top. And once again, photo
editors in effect put an opinion on the front page. The accompanying picture of
Clinton has to be the least attractive one of him ever published: Eyes hooded,
JFK-style, talking out of one side of his mouth.
This story, about Clinton's January 17th deposition, represents the most
elaborate press account yet of his description of his relationship with Monica
Lewinsky. Clinton testified, says the paper, that the two exchanged gifts and
that she visited him in his office perhaps five times, and that they may have
been alone together. The president denied having sexual relations with
Lewinsky, which for the purposes of the deposition was defined as fondling and
oral sex, but not kissing on the mouth. Clinton said it was his secretary Betty
Currie who initiated career help for Lewinsky.
In the deposition, Clinton denied that he propositioned Paula Jones and also
denied having sex with three other women he was asked about. He did, however,
say that he'd had sex with Gennifer Flowers--just once, in 1977.
The Post reports that often during the proceeding's five hours,
Clinton had to be asked to speak up. And, says the paper, at a couple of
points, he reacted to something that was said in a "frustrated outburst." It's
odd that the WP was able to find this out without finding out what
prompted it.
The story gives a good picture of the personal degradation involved for
Clinton in giving the deposition: there were seventeen people in attendance.
Obviously, at least one of them was the source for this story. Place your money
on Paula Jones and/or one of her six (!) lawyers.
USAT , the LAT , and the NYT all go front page with the
news that choke-out thug Latrell Sprewell was given his gazillion
dollar contract back by an arbitrator. Everybody has this quote from NBA
commissioner David Stern: "You cannot strike your boss and still hold your
job--unless you play in the NBA...."
The WP reports that, voting along racial lines, the Mississippi state
Senate yesterday rejected a proposal to compensate relatives of those killed in
the state in hate crimes during the civil rights era. Sen. Richard White is
quoted as saying, "I don't think we need to....start scratching these
sores."
Michael Kelly's WP column about Ken Starr vs. Sidney
Blumenthal has one of the more striking author disclaimers you'll ever see:
"....(full disclosure: I worked with Blumenthal at the New Yorker and
didn't like him.)"
