Last week, someone created an account (“Jimmy”) with the gay news blog “Joe. My. God,” and left a homophobic slur in an entry discussing the failed vote on the “don’t ask, don’t tell” US Military policy. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that the comment was posted forty-six minutes and fifty seconds after Senate Republicans blocked a defense department bill, which contained a possible repeal of the DADT.
Offensive comments in the internet are hardly surprising. People often abuse the cloak of anonymity provided by the internet to spout their hateful and hate-filled views. This case, however, is different. Joe Jarvis, the eponymous blog owner and moderator, was able to trace the IP address that had been used to post the slur. “JMG,” left this comment:
“IP address: 156.33.20.72
Atlanta, Georgia
ISP: United States Senate
Anybody want to work on this?”
Jimmy’s homophobic comment, as it turns out, originated from the office of US Senator Saxby Chambliss (R-Georgia). In a statement, Sen. Chambliss’s office admitted that it was the source of the bigoted comment. However, the culprit had apparently not yet been found, which was why the investigation was being turned over to the Senate Sergeant at Arms. Frankly, I find this last claim disgusting and unbelievable. A US Senator’s staff is typically small. Sen. Chambliss, or his senior advisers, should know his staffers well enough to be able to identify the guilty party. This smells like a cover-up to me.
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