(1) Rep Jim Jordan is having a tough week. His 21 year old nephew Eli Stickley died in a car wreck on Thursday night. Also, he's dealing with the usual rough & tumble of politics, as detailed below. What follows is an attempt to separate fact from fiction. 
(2) Any loss like young Eli's is tragic for the immediate & extended family & friends. Eventuall, more will be known about what caused him to lose control of the car. I always err on the side of Occam's Razor, esp. when I see conspiracy fantasists making their usual claims.
(3) Eli's uncle is a politician so, of course, conspiracists couldn't just allow his parents to bury him in peace. No, out come the claims that foul play was involved. Never mind that statistically, young males have a higher rate of road fatalities than other groups.
(4) Eli was driving a 2004 black Nissan Frontier on westbound I-74 near the Andover exit in Henry County. However, this map suggests you can only drive north or southbound here, so I'm a little confused at this point. (Shaded area is Henry County.)
(5) Incident occurred at 8:19 p.m. The Sunset in nearby Chicago two days later is 8.27pm. If he was driving westbound, he may have had the setting sun in his eyes.
Conspiracists ignore factors like this & rush toward unrelated factors like the occupation of the driver's uncle.
Conspiracists ignore factors like this & rush toward unrelated factors like the occupation of the driver's uncle.
(6) Eli turned 21 in December last year. Driver factors being the cause of a single vehicle crash on a summer evening while driving on the interstate is starting to look statistically more probable than a political hit job. To me, anyway. Fatigue, sunstrike, inexperience, etc?
(7) I mean no disrespect to Eli or his family. I have no information to suggest alcohol or drugs were involved. But neither do the conspiracists have any information to suggest foul play was involved. That's the point I am making.
(8) Jim Jordan's extended family is probably large. Given the sizable GOP majority in the House, & greater number of hours their family members spend traveling on rural roads, the incidence of road fatalities is probably higher than it is for Democrats.
(9) Jim Jordan is not the only GOP Rep or Senator known for going after Democrat malfeasance. There are dozens. Despite the future Speaker vacancy, & the recent Rosenstein-Wray hearing, IMO there's still no particular reason to target the family of this Congressman iso any other.
(10) As readers of my other threads will know, I have no animus toward Rosenstein, Wray, Sessions, or any other official appointed by & still serving at the pleasure of President Trump. In my considered opinion, he believes they are doing just fine in their roles in the admin.
(11) I've reached the point where if you don't trust Sessions, Rosenstein & Wray to keep the oath they've made to the American people, as part of the team serving the duly elected Pres., then that's your problem, not mine. This isn't a TV legal drama. Prosecutions need to stick.
(12) So no, I'm not a particular fan of the way Rep Jim Jordan attacked Rosenstein the other day. And I don't see Rosenstein as someone who would or could do ANYTHING unlawful, unfair or violent against anyone, let alone an innocent 21yo whose uncle happens to be a politician.
(13) Perkins Coie is a big company, so it's not unusual to have a number of high profile clients, like a College and a political party. Big deal.
Coincidences DO happen in life. Confirmation bias is a thing. Facts matter.
Coincidences DO happen in life. Confirmation bias is a thing. Facts matter.
(14) It's been hard to find any further details about the crash but there are some in this article, summarized in my next tweet. Jeff Jordan, Jim's brother, is quoted. Their sister is Eli's mother. The family is from Urbana, Ohio.
whio.com/sports/coach-f…
whio.com/sports/coach-f…
(15) Eli Stickley was in Urbana, OH on Monday, & I think he left there on Thursday morning - by 8.19pm he had been driving all day.
His passenger was his g/f & they were heading to Iowa to see his twin sister Moriah's b/f compete at a wrestling event there.
His passenger was his g/f & they were heading to Iowa to see his twin sister Moriah's b/f compete at a wrestling event there.
(16) The journey from OH to IA was westbound, but the section of I-74 on which the crash occurred was northbound. IDK yet exactly where on the road it was but there's a slightly NW section before the Andover exit, where trees may have caused flickering glare from the setting sun.
