Blogs vs. Big Media, Part 39
This morning I read in a blog that Senator Barbara Boxer had told a verifiable falsehood during the course of her silly attack on Condoleezza Rice yesterday. I linked the post and expounded on it.
Today I also read a description of the Rice-Boxer exchange in the L.A. Times. There was no fact-checking of Boxer in the article, which gloated that Boxer’s “sweeping” presentation had “riled” the “usually cool and collected diplomat.” The piece closes with this:
So by the end of the day, Feinstein, the centrist stateswoman, had made inroads with a woman who would very likely be the next secretary of State.
And Boxer, the passionate standard-bearer, had succeeded in getting that woman’s goat.
Missions accomplished.
Good for Boxer! She set out to get Condi Rice’s goat, and she got it. Mission accomplished. A job well done.
Meanwhile, it takes a blogger to point out that one of the few verifiable assertions of fact in Boxer’s “sweeping” presentation was flatly false.
(By the way: I wonder how Faye Fiore, the reporter who wrote the L.A. Times article, would feel if she were the star of a public hearing during which a U.S. Senator attacked her with falsehoods? Do you think that would get Faye Fiore’s goat?)
Can blogs replace Big Media? No, they can’t. Can they sometimes do a better job than Big Media does at covering an issue — especially when the coverage involves fact-checking? As the above comparison shows, they can.
I agree, the Left seems fixated on thinking gettingsomeone “riled”, “speechless”, “livid”, “furious”, and so on constitutes a great victory. Even if these conclusions are true, they certainly have nothing to do with the issues. But what else is new concerning the ability or these journalists, etc., to think rationally?
There is virtually no alternative but to conclude that the thought process involved is chaotic and neurotic - non-productive, save for a few chance occurrences of relevence.
Comment by J. Peden — 1/20/2005 @ 12:10 am
I read this in the comments section over at http://www.murdoconline.net/ during a discussion about the first lie:
Quote:
Boxer also said:
“You never even mention indirectly the 1,366 American troops that have died. . . . And 25 percent of those dead are from my home state.”
According to Casualties.org, the number of California servicemen who’ve died is 157, which is about 11.5% of the total, less than half the proportion Boxer claimed.
This was researched by the guys on the For Your Eyes Only discussion group. Obviously her staff didn’t do a good job of getting their facts straight.
Comment by Drew — 1/20/2005 @ 6:24 am
I read this in the comments section over at http://www.murdoconline.net/ during a discussion about the first lie:
Quote:
Boxer also said:
“You never even mention indirectly the 1,366 American troops that have died. . . . And 25 percent of those dead are from my home state.”
According to Casualties.org, the number of California servicemen who’ve died is 157, which is about 11.5% of the total, less than half the proportion Boxer claimed.
This was researched by the guys on the For Your Eyes Only discussion group. Obviously her staff didn’t do a good job of getting their facts straight.
Comment by Drew — 1/20/2005 @ 6:25 am
It’s not just Boxer telling obvious falsehoods; Sen. Coleman claimed that 82% of the people who voted in Afghanistan’s election were women.
Comment by aphrael — 1/20/2005 @ 9:36 am
Jesus. I read the article and was aghast at the tone. Was it an editorial or a news article? And what kind of editor in their right mind would ever allow the phrase “And Boxer, the passionate standard-bearer, had succeeded in getting that woman’s goat”???????? Amazing.
Comment by darleene — 1/20/2005 @ 10:19 am
The Politics of Forgetting Our Fallen
One of my pet peeves is when politicians deny the sacrifices by our military for political points. Especially when we’re talking about the ultimate sacrifice. Senator Barbara Boxer did just that today at the Senate Foreign Relations confirmation hear…
Trackback by Sisyphean Musings — 1/20/2005 @ 11:42 am
I have been waiting for the LAT to print real facts for 45 years - fruitlessly! If a progressive/leftist says it to them it is a fact!
Comment by Rod Stanton — 1/21/2005 @ 3:25 pm