Here. One note: for personal reasons, I had to dip into the “backup” file this week. The cartoon has never run online or in any of my papers, but it was published in my last compilation — so if you’re one of the dozen or so people who bought that book, it’ll be a rerun for you.
Media malpractice
From Bradblog:
Just two days after the Times described the “outlandish” dress of O’Keefe, the Congress of the United States passed legislation to remove federal funding for ACORN. (A federal judge later found the legislation to be “unconstitutional”.)
The Times has so far refused to retract, apologize, and investigate how and why it got the story so incredibly wrong, time and again, even though many have written to the paper’s Public Editor, Clark Hoyt (Public@NYTimes.com) to request that he recommend exactly that. Hoyt had previously chided the paper in his column, for being “slow off the mark” in having waited “nearly a week after the first video was posted” before covering the videos. A special editor was then assigned to devote attention to “issues that are dominating Fox News and talk radio.”
As Brad notes, the Times engaged in extensive self-criticism for “missing” a story that’s now been revealed as deceitful at minimum. I think it’s fine to have a “special editor” keeping an eye on wingnut concerns, as long as that special editor is given the leeway to point out that 99% of the time, they’re outright wrong if not batshit crazy.
If you feel inspired to send a note to Hoyt, be polite. Flies, honey, vinegar.
The Wall Street Casino
New ad from Americans United for Change:
I tried to make a similar point eleven years ago:
New cartoon
The times they are a-changin
I’m sorry to learn that my friend Keith Knight has parted ways with Salon. It has been a privilege and an honor to share the digital comics page with him lo these many years. But you can still keep up with his work over at his own spiffy, newly-redesigned site. I definitely will.