� Summers | Main | The Greatest Love Songs: Old School Version �
February 18, 2005
Pitchfork for Mr. Hume
The blogosphere is becoming more of an obtuse spheroid every day now some of its more egotistical members are beginning to become obsessed with their own power. Such is the typical workings of the human mind. I believe that this constitutes a twofer among the seven deadly sins, pride and greed.
I hear that Al Franken is one of the ringleaders of this latest blog mob, but like much else at Air America, the website isn't functioning properly. So let's drop it on the head of Oliver Willis. The story:
Brit Hume is the anchor of Fox News Channel's prime time news report, Special Report with Brit Hume, and he makes things up. On February 3rd, Hume intentionally manipulated the words of the 32nd president, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, to make it appear as if FDR supported privatization of social security. This is a brazen falsehood. President Roosevelt's grandson, James Roosevelt Jr., describes Hume's journalistic malfeasance as an "an outrageous distortion". We agree.
The blogosphere has found its rope, now everything is a hanging offense. Methinks, somebody is about to get fisked or even sued, and it will be a blogger. Stay tuned.
Posted by mbowen at February 18, 2005 10:06 AM
Trackback Pings
TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.visioncircle.org/mt/mt-tb.cgi/3309
Comments
Interesting timing, as I just posted on the same nonsense. I'm probably a bit long-winded (as usual), but when I read the FDR quote in question he specifically recommends a three part program:
1. today's workers support today's retirees
2. compulsory annuity
3. voluntary annuity
The first is SS "as we know and love it" and the last I see as fulfilled by IRA, 401(k), etc. The missing piece of the puzzle is the compulsory annuity, which sound a damn site like the Bush plan.
What Willis et. al. conveniently ignore is that the first part is the only part FDR specifically identified as being eventaully supplanted in "perhaps thirty years," which would have left us today only with compulsory and voluntary annuities. Sounds like a good plan to me.
I don't give a damn what FDR's grandson says when I can read FDR's own words myself. Unless, of course, the New Age lefties now believe the blood ties impart some mystic connection beyond the grave allowing the descendents to speak to their ancestors to answer today's questions.
Posted by: submandave at February 18, 2005 10:43 AM
Check out Willis's source for his attempted gotcha: David Brock's "Media Matters." Ya gotta love a guy who links to a web site of an ex journalist and admitted liar as proof that some other journalist is a liar.
Posted by: Xrlq at February 18, 2005 02:11 PM
Hume has done things like this before.
He will continue.
Posted by: DarkStar at February 18, 2005 03:45 PM
This craps getting out of hand. Leftwing bloggers are feeling like they need payback for Eason and Rather. This will just generate into a stupid competiton to see how many MSM folks you can bring down. If it keeps up the blogosphere will go the way of usenet & AOL chat rooms.
Posted by: BH at February 21, 2005 11:09 AM