Great Moments in Journalism - Take 4

The New York Times has just broken another Michael R. Gordon Middle East expose.

Hezbollah Trains Iraqis in Iran, Officials Say

• - New York Times

Yesterday -A U.S. official said the account of Hezbollah’s role was provided by militia members who were captured in Iraq.

» Full Story on New York Times

As anyone familiar with Mr. Gordon's work can see, the title covers the meat of the story pretty effectively. Mr. Gordon, with the able assistance of his editors and the NY Times, smears and ties together Iraqi insurgents, Hezbollah, and Iran in one simple story. A hat trick, us hockey crazed Canucks might say. And, as usual, all on the inside information provided by...wait for it... unnamed US government officials!

Before war is declared on Iran, a few questions might be in order;

Who are the sources? Are they the same guys who passed on the previous false information for Mr. Gordon and Ms. Miller? Why can't you name them?
Who are the editors? The same enablers who have blindly approved the previous stories?

And finally, don't you ever learn?

I must admit to being surprised that the 'sources' did not try to sneak in a few more of the bad guys du jour like al Qaeda, the Taliban, and Syria. Perhaps the Times and the sources thought that might be a little over the top for the increasingly cynical audience they are trying to influence? Or sadly, they may be in the follow up to this travesty.

Harnessing Bloggers for the Greater Good

Today I read an opinion piece in the NY Times by Mr. R. Klain [Speaking Truth Without Power - Campaign Stops - 2008 Elections - Opinion - New York Times Blog] which deals with the lack of impact by progressive blogs on the Democratic primary. Well, sort of.
I'll skip the bulk of his article and get to his last line where he bemoans the fact that
"the leading Democratic candidates still have a long way to go before they harness these strong voices for their campaigns."
I think Mr. Klain [I hope its not a nom de plume for Joe Klein] misses the point of blogs in general. Bloggers highly value their independence from particular candidates and organizations. They arose primarily because of the frustration that previous candidates and organizations were acting contrary to what they had campaigned for, and had been supported for, which actions were in general anti-progressive. Finding absolutely no outlet in the mainstream media to be heard, thanks largely to the submission of the press to the powers that be, the internet was used to protest and then galvanize opposition to the anti-progressives.
Based on that history and the general mind set of progressive bloggers, there will be great resistance to be 'harnessed' for a candidate or the Democratic party. I think you have seen how that worked out for conservatives vis a vis George W. Bush and the Republican party in general.
But Mr. Klain and the MSM and the other hierarchies cannot comprehend that. I think Captain America sums it up best below from the classic Marvel Comic Daredevil #233 by Frank Miller:

[Click to expand. Unless you have great eyesight.]

Mr. William Kristol's Reward

I just learned of Mr. Kristol's promotion to the the Op Ed pages of the 'Greatest Newspaper in the World' TM.

Why not? I believe balance is necessary to a great mainstream media outlet like the Times. Accuracy and sanity? Not so much. I could fill the rest of this page [and a few more] with the peerless prognostications [Ed. note - I looked for a font that was called sarcastic/ironic but settled for italics] of Mr. Kristol but that has been done better by better bloggers than I.

Since the NY Times seems determined to add voices of Mr. Kristol's calibre , I offered the resume of my nephew Ben as a columnist specializing on sports, particularly the NFL. Some of his highlights; he finished last in his NFL Fantasy league, he regularly touts the Detroit Lions as Super Bowl contenders, and has annually predicted the return of Barry Sanders [to various teams] to the NFL since his retirement in 1999.

But no, it is in the name of balance that Mr. Kristol has been added. As if the redoubtable group of Brooks, Cohen, Dowd, Freidman, Michael Gordon, Judith Miller [oops-my mistake], and their various enablers on the Editorial staff are not enough to offset the partisan, left wing ravings of Mr. Krugman and uhhh, Mr. Kristof [wherever he is].

Surely, in the name of balance and incompetence, the flagship of the fourth estate could fit in a few more contrary voices to add to their list of right wing leaning pundits, reporters, and editors?