More proof the corporate-owned alternative newspapers are just as bad as corporate-owned traditional newspapers: L.A. Weekly columnist Erin Aubry Kaplan has harsh words for the way her paper handled its recent anti-trust problem.

Schultz, Sullivan are biased about bias: I was going to comment on Jack Shafer's second installment about media bias, but Andrew Cline (as usual) did it better:

Here's what I have said on the bias page of the Rhetorica Critical Meter:

The press is often thought of as a unified voice with a distinct bias (right or left depending on the critic). This simplistic thinking fits the needs of ideological struggle, but is hardly useful in coming to a better understanding of what is happening in the world.

The second sentence is the crucial point: The struggle over media bias is not a search for an accurate account of what happens when humans practice journalism (e.g. an academic account). The struggle over media bias is a political struggle among warring factions. It is a struggle among those who understand all too well that in politics the winner of the battle of definitions wins the political game. And, as I have said before, one of the most basic truisms of politics in a democracy is: You can't lead if you don't win. That truism speaks to more than simply electoral politics.

Eric Alterman, Bernard Goldberg, and others of their ilk are not academics or concerned professionals in search of truth (despite Alterman's Ph.D.). They are political animals tearing at the corpus of journalism in a battle to yank it away from the political enemy.

Item:
The Daily News ran the story about Brit Hume reupping with FNC for another three year hitch. Here's How Jim Romenesko flags it:
FNC's Ailes calls Hume "the personification of fair and balanced." (NYDN)
Which, of course, is Romenesko's way of saying, "Can you believe it?"

First Amendment? We don' need no steenkin' First Amendment! Congratulations, America! Thanks to Congress, we are now one step closer to being free from the scourge of telemarketers.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The House voted Wednesday to approve a national "do-not-call" list intended to help consumers block unwanted telemarketing calls. A key senator said the program's future remains in doubt.
The House voted 418-7 to allow the Federal Trade Commission to collect fees from telemarketers to fund the registry, which will cost about $16 million in its first year.
"Most people have experienced it -- the annoying ring of the phone just as dinner goes to the table," said Rep. Billy Tauzin, chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee and sponsor of the bill. Tauzin, R-Louisiana, said the bill "will allow hundreds of thousands of American citizens to enjoy the peace and quiet of their own home."

Libertarians have more fun: And make more sense than conservatives, says Susan Lee in the Wall Street Journal.

Conservatives are against gay marriage, they are often ambivalent toward immigrants, and patronizing toward women; they view popular culture as mostly decadent and want to censor music, movies, video games and the Internet. They crusade against medical marijuana. For their part, libertarians argue for legalizing drugs; they are in favor of abortion and against the government prohibition of sex practices among consenting adults. They abhor censorship. In the conservative caricature, libertarians believe in sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll -- but it is not far from the truth. Unfortunately, these debates are often animated by the fact that conservatives see libertarianism only as the face of what it defends: transgendered persons adopting children, video games of violent sadism and, yes, cloning. Simply put, the shocking and repellent decline of civilization. But for libertarians, these are merely some of the many aspects of a civilization that is advancing through vast and minute experiments. The exercise of freedom trumps the discomforts of novelty.

Lee also makes the following point, which explains one of the reasons I am not a member of the Libertarian Party.

Libertarianism is simplicity itself. It proceeds from a single, quite beautiful, concept of the primacy of individual liberty that, in turn, infuses notions of free markets, limited government and the importance of property rights. In terms of public policy, these notions translate into free trade, free immigration, voluntary military service and user fees instead of taxes. Sometimes these policies are argued in a totally unforgiving way so that it's not easy to separate the lunatics from the libertarians. But it's a snap to separate libertarians from conservatives.

I think the strident libertarians -- call them anarcho-capitalists -- don't realize how destructive their strident attitudes makes it less likely true libertarians reforms will happen. I'd like to wake up tomorrow to see the government a little less intrusive into our personal lives. That point seems lost on LP members, who spend more time trying to out-libertarian each other. LP presidential candidate Harry Browne was so into hating all forms of government, he even begrudges the United States the right to defend itself.

Until then, I will remain a lower-case-L libertarian and a member of no party. I will speak for the ideas, not for the platform.

February 12, 2003
Presidential race is starting to look like fun:

(MSNBC) Former Democratic Sen. Carol Moseley-Braun of Illinois, the first black woman elected to the Senate, will file papers to run for president next week, a spokesman said Wednesday.

So why run for president when a race for Senate is an almost certain win? Because she will be the vice presidential nominee. Look at the facts: Braun will take black votes away from Rev. Al Sharpton. With Braun on the ticket as vice president, there is no risk of losing black votes in the general election. Of course, Bush could replace Dick Chaney with Colin Powell, thereby capturing 80 percent of the vote (instead of the 70 percent he will capture after the inevitable victory in Iraq).

The sad fact is that were it not for her gender and race, Braun would be no one's choice for president or vice president. Her stint in the Illinois House from 1978 to 1988 included one year as majority leader (1983). Known as a champion of women's and minority issues, she opposed Clinton's mostly successful welfare reform measures in 1996 and for her 1993 floor speech (I would describe it as grandstanding ) opposing a federal patent for United Daughters of the Confederacy, whose logo includes the Confederate Battle Flag. She served as Clinton's ambassador to New Zealand.

Braun took a lot of heat for 1996 visit with the late Nigerian dictator Gen. Sani Abacha, whose human rights record she had denounced. Her former fiance and campaign manager was a lobbyist for Nigeria, and Braun opposed the Congressional Black Caucus by opposing sanctions against Nigeria. There are also minor scandals in Braun's past involving how her mother's estate was handled.

On a side note: Braun's entry raises to three the number of current and one-time presidential candidates with whom I have made contact.
During her historic run for the senate, Braun passed through Canton, where I was a reporter. She visited an actual cornfield where she demonstrated her copious knowledge of all things agricultural. I noted at the time that no Democratic office holder from the county bothered to meet with her or have their picture taken with her. Remember, Braun ran against and defeated the popular Sen. Alan J. Dixon. Dixon, a Democrat, voted to confirm for the Supreme Court, despite Anita Hill's testimony that Thomas sexually harassed her.That didn't make her popular with downstate Dems, who would not have shown much support for a Black liberal office holder from Chicago in the first place.

I also shook hands with Ted Kennedy in 1982 when he visited Pekin, Ill., and I briefly interviewed Sen. Paul Simon several times during my career as a reporter in Illinois. In fact, I endorsed Simon on the editorial page of the Daily Eastern News.
I've never met a Republican nominee, although I did attend several "press availabilities" for John Ashcroft back when he was governor of Missouri.

February 11, 2003
Praise the Lord and pass the ammunition! Via e-mail:

An elderly woman had just returned to her home from an evening of Church services when she was startled by an intruder. She caught the man in the act of robbing her home of its valuables and yelled, Stop! Acts 2:38!"
(Repent and be baptized, in the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins may be forgiven.)
The burglar stopped in his tracks.
The woman calmly called the police and explained what she had done.
As the officer cuffed the man to take him in, he asked the burglar, "Why did you just stand there? All the old lady did was yell a scripture to you."
"Scripture?" replied the burglar. "She said she had an Ax and Two 38s!"

Proposed: A federal law prohibiting prosecution of any person on any gun charges stemming from the use of a gun for self defense. In other words, if you defend your home or child from by shooting an intruder with an unlicensed or unregistered gun, you cannot be prosecuted for violating any state or municipal gun laws.

Ziegler, Nixon's spokesman and unlikely "Deep Throat" candidate, dies: From the Associated Press:

Ron Ziegler, the former press secretary to President Nixon who famously called the Watergate break-in a "third-rate burglary," died Monday of a heart attack, his wife said. He was 63. Ziegler died at his home in Coronado, a suburb of San Diego, his wife, Nancy, told The Associated Press.
"CERTAIN ELEMENTS may try to stretch this beyond what it is," Ziegler said of the June 17, 1972, burglary of the Democratic National Committee headquarters that would eventually lead to Nixon's resignation.
As Washington Post reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein tied the scandal to top officials in the Nixon administration, Ziegler routinely dismissed their reports as inaccurate. But the press secretary publicly apologized to them and their newspaper the day after the April 30, 1973, resignations of White House counsel John Dean and Nixon aides John Ehrlichman and H.R. Haldeman.

All Woodward will say about the Deep Throat's identity is that he is one person, not a composite created so sell "All the President's Men." He has also said that Deep Throat's identity will remain a secret until after the sources death. If no such announcement is made during the next week, we can assume Ziegler wasn't the source.

UPDATE: I guess the folks who took Ziegler in the "Who was Deep Throat?" office pool lost their money. No announcement from Woodward today.

February 10, 2003
Dude, you're gettin' a cell: That annoying guy from the Dell computer commercials was arrested on misdemeanor marijuana charges on Feb. 9. At his arraignment, his case was continued for 12 months and will be dropped entirely if he avoids arrest during that time. Benjamin Curtis, who played Steven, the Dell Dude," appeared disheveled after spending a night in jail.

A night in jail is what the average American busted for carrying a small bag of pot can expect. But this guy, who most people couldn't identify by name, gets his minor pot bust broadcast all over the world on CNN. Google News posted no less than 158 links to news articles about his extremely minor pot bust.

Of course, the headline writers had a field day and went with the obvious puns:
Dude, Yer' Gettin A Cell! Dell Dude Arrested
Dude, you're getting a record
Dude, yer gettin' arrested
Bummer - Dell dude charged with pot possession
Dude...You're Busted!
NYC cops tell Dell Dude: You're getting arrested!
Dude! Dell Pitchman Busted On Pot Charges

Computer pitchman arrested on misdemeanor drug charge.

Fame, ain't it a bitch.

Will Benjamin lose his cushy Dell gig? Depends on how sensitive Dell is to the whole drug issue. If Dell is smart, they will realize that among the young computer users thay are obviously targeting with their advertising in the first place will hardly consider a minor pot bust a serious offence. Heck, it might make the stodgy company seem a little more hip.

The Smoking Gun has the straight poop, as usual.

UPDATE: Folks, I decided to use the "Dude, your're gettin' a cell" headline LOOOOONG before I even read these other headlines. So stop casting complaining ...

Sullivan takes on Romenesko: Andrew Sullivan says he detects left-leaning tendencies by media blog pioneer James Romenesko.

In fact, see if you can find any stories in the past week that deviate even slightly from left-liberal politics. Romenesko has every right to run a left-liberal blog on the media, of course. But he should be candid about his biases. He's a propagandist. And a very good one.

When the guy who draws the Tom Tomorrow strip said that conservatives make lousy editorial cartoonists, Romenesko did conservatives a favor by linking to the article. He provided site visitors a direct link to letters that refuted the statement.

BTW:This site, formerly called Media News and available at Medianews.org, is now just called Romenesko. The change came about because some corporate dweeb claimed copyright infringement.

Alice returns: I want to report that Alice in T.V. Land -- a great site for former print newsies who love to chortle about our idiotic counterparts on television -- has resumed blogging. She posted on Feb. 5 with an article about CNN's lead anchor Aaron Brown going golfing on the day Columbia crashed, but there has been nothing posted since. I hope this return isn't as temporary after he last return from self-imposed hiatus. She originally stopped posting on June 14, but resumed on July 27 with a post blaming her absence on suddenly losing her addiction to blogging. Then came the nearly seven-month long absence. That's an awful lot of lousy television news.

UPDATE: I just remembered that it was Alice that turned me on to the America's most popular obscure small-town newspaper and its fantastic police blotter.

February 9, 2003
Drew Barrymore update: The heavenly Drew discusses how she avoids the spotlight in this interview with the Edmonton Journal.

"I love going out dancing," she confides. "I don't do it that often, but I love cutting up a rug. I like going to the movies. And I love going to Magic Mountain. I went there twice last month -- I love the roller-coaster. I enjoy being with friends."
These are girl-next-door pursuits. So how does Barrymore, one of the most photographed people in Hollywood, get away with it? How does she deal with being recognized in public? Or does she travel with a retinue of bodyguards?
She shakes her head vigorously. "No, I just wear a hat and sunglasses." Oh yes, she also makes faces in order to look different. This even works at Magic Mountain, one of Southern California's most popular theme parks.

Drew's latest movie, "Confessions of a Dangerous Mind," is now showing in theaters. "Charlie's Angles 2: Full Throttle" is due to hit theaters on June 27, 2003.

Sexist jokes like this are wrong, just plain wrong: I found the following joke on Rodger Schultz's site, Curmudgeonly & Skeptical:

Q: How do you make five pounds of fat look good?
A: Put a nipple on it.

Top 10 exit soon? Lowly Georgia Tech upset No. 8-ranked Maryland. Rodger Schultz has yet to post any comments.

February 7, 2003
A journalist with the right idea: When I watch press conferences, I catch the cream of the reportorial crop ask long-winded, multi-part questions that seem designed more to show off how much the reporter knows than to actually illicit information from the person being questioned. When the person being asked the question dodges, evades or otherwise spins the question, there is almost never a follow-up. Even worse on those questions that seem designed to beat the subject into agreeing with whatever conclusion the interviewer has come to a subject.
Then there is Brian Lamb, the host of C-SPAN's "Booknotes" program. If he asks a question it is because he wants to know the answer, or he wants to hear the subject's answer. This interview from the Ft. Wayne Journal Gazette can be a primer for journalism students on how to conduct an interview:

Lamb stands out among author interviewers on two counts. He reads the book, and he asks short questions that allow the author to talk - often at length. On one typical show last month, in fact, the "Booknotes" guest spoke 8,026 words. Lamb uttered 1,251.

"One of the things about interviewers in television is they abhor a vacuum," Lamb said. "Commercial television doesn't allow them to have a pause. Interviewers are almost trained putting words in people's mouths. They ask closed questions. They say to the guest: You think that George Bush is a great president, don't you? Well, we have just the opposite approach: What kind of president do you think George Bush is?

"That person can take that anywhere they want to. You're not prejudicing their answer. You're not forcing them to say, 'No, I don't think he's a great president.' It flows. They're not used to that."

All the while, the guy's head is bobbing up and down with every other word, as if the spastic motion of his bobbling head lent actual importance to his lame-ass question, rather than making it even more comical than it was.

Ashcroft, being a pro, just smiled and said he loved to visit Cape and reiterated importance the earthquake center was to people who live along the New Madrid fault. I was afraid Ashcroft would glance over at me and see how had it was struggling to stifle laughter. The sad thing is, this clown (the television guy, not Ashcroft) probably went away thinking he really gave that politician a hard time. He's probably working in a major market now.

Oh by the way ... on the evening news that day, the clip of Ashcroft the used was of him answering my questions.

That's what I like about competing with televisison ... it is soooooo easy to look good by comparision. Except for those rare exceptions like Brian Lamb.

February 6, 2003
The point has been beaten to death, Jim: Anyone else catch the very special episode of Enterprise on Wednesday? in "Stigma," T'Pol contracts rare syndrome as a result of a forced mind-meld. Most Vulcans who suffer from this ailment belong to a minority of Vulcans who have the ability to mild meld. This minority is oppressed on Vulcan because mild melds are considered a form of intimacy. And because the majority of Vulcans prefer to suppress their emotions, mild melds are considered repulsive. T'Pol tries to keep her condition secret, but is accidentally outed when Dr. Phlox tries to secure Vulcan research on the disease. T'Pol is about to be recalled and her commission revoked, but when it is revealed she is an "innocent victim" of the disease, not a member of this minority, she is allowed to stay on Enterprise. A Vulcan doctor who revealed he is a member of this minority group loses his job, however.

Science fiction has always been a vehicle to discuss troubling real-life issues in futuristic settings. The original Star Trek series tackled racism, the Cold War, Civil Rights and other issues of the day. But unlike most original Trek, this episode of Enterprise was horribly ham-handed and and devoid of artistic sensibility. Instead of being moved by T'Pol's plight, I watched the show waiting to see how the writers could make it even more obvious they were talking about AIDS/HIV. The beauty of using science fiction to discuss controversial issues is that it sneaks the issue past the readers prejudices and preconceived notions. The allegory could not have been more obvious if Paramount ran was a flashing banner at the bottom of the screen -- "This episode of about AIDS." They waited until the episode was over when they ran a phone number for an AIDS group. This wasn't entertainment. It was propaganda, and Paramount admits it. Hell, they are bragging about it.

Another point: Discrimination against AIDS/HIV patients still exists, but I am also sure that the type of open discrimination displayed by the Vulcans in this episode is not the major worry faced by HIV patients today. Perhaps 20 years ago when people were first learning to overcome their fears and lack of knowledge of the disease. Today, discrimination against AIDS patients is less widespread and probably a lot more subtle than this very special episode would imply.

"Stigma" was written by Star Trek franchise honchos Rick Berman and Brannon Braga, probably because they couldn't pay another writer to sign his or her name to this clunker.

Biased about biased: That's the conclusion that Slate's Jack Shafer has reached concerning accusations from the left that the press has a right wing bias, as well as the right's similar complaint about the left.

Just because you can excavate a political component from any accusation of press bias doesn't mean all press criticism is partisan or motivated by self-interest. Clearly, unadulterated bias contaminates many stories and can even infect the entire Washington press corps from time to time. But because most charges of bias are never distant from somebody's active political agenda, no discussion about press bias?specific or general?should begin without this extended throat clearing.

The world's smallest violin ...
... is playing for Dominick Dunne. Take it for what it's worth, but according to the New York Post, Dunne has cancelled appearances because he is distraught over the $11 million slander suit filed by disgraced former congress critter Gary Condit.

It was on [Larry] King's show that Dunne discussed rumors that Condit, through his connections to Arab diplomats and Hells Angels, had intern Chandra Levy abducted, killed and thrown out of a plane into the ocean. Levy's body later was discovered in a Washington, D.C., park.
Condit's lawsuit names Dunne as the sole defendant. Condit's lawyer, L. Lin Wood, has racked up hefty damage awards for Jon and Patsy Ramsey over allegations they were responsible for the death of their daughter, JonBenet.

In the real world of journalism, a guy can be videotaped stabbing his wife to death and have signed a confession, but woe unto any reporter who dares identify the guy as anything other than "alleged murderer." After all, juries have been know to acquit event those who are obviously guilty and any guy who kills his wife is shamless enough to file a lawsuit.

Condit is a public figure, so doesn't enjoy the same protection from libel and slander that we mere mortals enjoy. Condit has to prove that Dunne acted with "malice," which means he said what he did with reckless disregard to whether it was true or not. I don't know about you, but repeating without attribution that Condit committed murder sounds pretty reckless.

Folks, too many people are using the First Amendment and other protections to commit some atrocious journalism. It's time to thin the herd. I hope Condit wins and Dunne loses everything he owns. There are those who would offer support to Dunne in the name of Freedom of the Press. I think the fewer Dunne we have buzzing around, making the rest of us look bad, the more people will respect us and thereby strengthen Freedom of the Press.

The best contribution Dominick Dunne can make to the profession of journalism is to serve as a negative example. Let his lawsuit-induced poverty serve as a lesson to those who play fast and loose with the facts.

I have never worked for any of these publishers ... From an article in Editor & Publisher:

While newspaper-industry think tanks and academics struggle to discover a magical metric that establishes a link between a happy newsroom and a healthy bottom line, some publishers and editors are content to go with their guts. And big-newsroom boosters can be found within the publicly held chains that feel the hot breath of Wall Street every quarter, as well as at family-owned papers.

Every day, the Daily Herald in Arlington Heights, Ill., publishes the famous motto of its founder H.C. Paddock: "Our aim: To fear God, tell the truth, and make money." Yet, as sweeping as that philosophy is, it doesn't fully explain why the family-owned paper with an average daily circulation of 149,882 maintains a newsroom that is nearly twice the industry average -- and disputed rule of thumb -- of one full-time equivalent (FTE) for each thousand in circulation.

One of my first employers was the Canton Daily Ledger, then owned by Conrad Black's American Publishing Company. These cheap bastards never heard of this rule of thumb. They took every opportunity to screw the employees of overtime hours and benefits. Cutbacks in news coverage were common. One day, I walked in to find on my desk a copy of my editor's obituary (he had been hospitalized with cancer). He was permanently replaced by the very nice woman who laid out the society page every day. It seemed she knew how to use Quark XPress. Her position was not filled, so she continued with doing her old job and her new job. Of course, many of her editing duties were assumed by the other staffers. We had a full-time photographer, until someone got the bright idea that he should also be responsible for handling the big press press camera. He ended up opening his own studio. When the sports editor resigned to take a job selling insurance, he was replaced by the part-time sports reporter. I don't recall, but I do not believe he was able to hire a new stringer. I escaped to a newspaper owned by Freedom Communications, and they kicked ass. Did they replace me? I never bothered to ask.

No paper I've worked for has been as bad, and I've worked for some real jerks. The second worst treatment I've received was when I worked for a labor newspaper.

What many publishers do not understand is that understaffed newspapers are not good newspapers. Understaffed newspapers might impress stockholders, but that trick won't work forever. Eventually, newspapers run out of staffers they can cut and still be able to sell advertising. However, fully staffed newspapers are those with enough news and sports coverage that people cannot afford to not buy. Cover the news, and people will buy the paper. When circulation rises, so do ad rates.

It seems simple, but corporations can not and will not consider the future beyond the next quarterly statement.

Of course, as long as corporations buy and sell newspapers like pork bellies, I expect to continue to see layoffs.

Except for a monthly column for a neighborhood newspaper, I've left journalism to become study to become a teacher. The bureaucracy is worse, but not by much. I expect the job security will be better.

Anti-Idiotarian child abuse:

As a veteran of many such staged protests, I have seen this sight many times. Invariably, the newspaper coverage includes a photo of a cute kid carrying a sign. All joking aside, I appreciate parents wanting to instill some sense of committment to public service. Too bad these people are teaching their kids to despise their country and treasure the lives of their enimies more than their own. Thanks to The Ville for the photo.

February 4, 2003
Abandoning all pretense of artistic sensibility: I just saw a commercial for ABC's upcoming special "Are You Hot? The Search for America's Sexiest People." Coming next season: "60 Minutes of Gratuitous Jiggling Breasts." Thanks to Rodger Schultz for the link.

February 3, 2003
Good advice, let's follow it: Ricky West has advice for Blogger Dawn Olsen, who has started to question her liberal beliefs.

Dawn, if you feel yourself being pulled back to the left whenever you hear an idiotic comment by Jerry Falwell or see some quote from a far RW nut, just remember that it's not a requirement for you to DEFEND the indefensible in the other parties.

UPDATE: I forgot to add a link to an earlier article of mine about Dawn.

Astrosurfing update: Ombudsgod linked to my article on astroturfing, in which I commented that there is a taint of elitism in some of the complaints. He added:

Having authored Op-Eds for other people I have some sympathy for Bill's argument. Why should a different standard apply to the letters to the editor than to the Op-Eds? Or is the problem not so much that the letters are authored by professionals, as that the letters aren't unique?

Iraqi retaliation a myth? James Taranto speculates that those who worry an attack on Iraq will lead to massive retaliation are spreading a hoax similar to the Y2K bug.

One more Y2K-Y2K3 similarity: The people pushing both scares most vigorously are doing so out of a vested interest. The biggest Y2K doomsayers were the computer consultants who raked in big bucks peddling prophylactic programming. The Y2K3 alarmists' motives vary and are ideological and political as well as financial: They oppose American strength and Western democracy, or they wish to see President Bush fail, or (as in the case of the French and Germans) they think Saddam's continued rule will be more profitable to them than a free Iraq.

Like George McGovern, the Y2K3 doomsayers are projecting their own political views onto America's worst enemies. No one denies that a terrorist attack on America is a possibility, regardless of what America does in Iraq. But if such an attack does occur after the liberation of Iraq -- heaven forbid -- the doomsayers will say we told you so. An awkward position, that -- claiming vindication on the grounds that Osama bin Laden agrees with their views of American foreign policy.

A cure for astroturfing: Ombudsblog chirps in on the practice of astroturfing -- the practice of faking grassroots political movements ("astroturf" being the opposite of "grass"). There has been much bandwidth used by media bloggers about the practice, specifically how virtually identical letters to the editor appear in multiple newspapers. These letters are often written by professional political workers but submitted to like-minded 'civilians.'

Media watchers who complain about the practice correctly admit both political parties use astroturfing. But there is something about the complaints that strikes me as fundamentally elitist. Professional politicians hire professional speech writers and all sorts of spinmasters. No one accuses them of plagiarism, yet that is the charge some critics of astroturfing level at those who send these letters to their editor of their local newspaper. Bull. These letters to the editor were written with the understanding someone else would sign their name to them. Joe Blow citizens should be afforded the same courtesy given to the powerful.

If newspapers really want to stop astroturf letters from dirtying their op-ed pages, a few simple steps can be followed. First, no letter should be printed without verification. That's just basic journalism. It prevents someone from submitting a letter in someone else's name. A newspaper worried about astroturfing can not only get verification for who sent the letter in, they can ask the person submitted the letter if they are in fact the author. If the letter appears elsewhere, ban the letter writer.

UPDATE: Moments after I posted this article, Romenesko's Media News posted a link to a Boston Globe article by ombudsperson Christine Chinlundcomplaining about four astroturf letters it carried during the past year. She says its a matter of trust -- readers have a right to expect that the person who signs a letter is the actual author. I say that as long as newspaper verifies the identity of the person who signs the letter, there is no ethical problem. By signing the letter, the signer states that the words are his or hers.

Really people, this is much ado about nothing.

Oops. CNN makes a boo-boo. Thanks to the Anti-Idiotarian Rottweiler for the link.

Political persecution: So much for academic freedom under the John Ashcroft's Justice Department. According to the New York Times, a biology professor is being investigated by the Justice Department for his failure to consider Creationism a legitimate science.

Prompted by a complaint from the Liberty Legal Institute, a group of Christian lawyers, the department is investigating whether Michael L. Dini, an associate professor of biology at Texas Tech University here, discriminated against students on the basis of religion when he posted a demand on his Web site that students wanting a letter of recommendation for postgraduate studies "truthfully and forthrightly affirm a scientific answer" to the question of how the human species originated.

Creationism is not a science. Science considers all the facts. Creationism plucks accepts only those bits and pieces of the facts that tend to support the religious belief that the universe was created as described in the Book of Genesis. It is pseudoscience.

By keeping followers of pseudoscience from getting advanced degrees, this professor is actually helping the cause of science. He is keeping these people out of teaching positions where they can spread their fakery.

I wonder who else is in my clique: Chris Mooney has some words of wisdom about the Blogging phenomena. Blogs have changed journalism. probably for the better. But there are problems.

... [A]s the experiment progresses, the limitations of Blogging have also become apparent. Bloggers tend to form online cliques and pat one another on the back. Few of them have been able to keep up the same level of quality for long periods of time: If a thousand flowers bloom in the Blogosphere, many wilt fairly quickly. And though bloggers don't claim to be objective, their personal obsessions can still become grating. For example, there's a large swath of the conservative Blogosphere that seems almost entirely devoted to attacking The New York Times and especially columnist Paul Krugman, as if no other major newspaper or columnist deserved reproach.

February 2, 2003
'We'll bury our dead. But then we must move on.' Glenn Reynolds says we must remember our pioneer roots and not let the Columbia tragedy keep us from expanding into space.

The fact is, Earth isn't room enough, not over the long term. Marshall McLuhan wrote about a "global village," but he forgot just how stultifying life in a small town can be, especially when there's nowhere else to go. We need a space program that looks outward, and forward.

Such a program may or may not include NASA. NASA hasn't lived up to its pioneering image since, well, some time before I hit puberty. Instead, it has played it safe, and played politics, and produced very little return for the money that has been put into it, most of which has gone to pay for bureaucracy, not space.

February 1, 2003
Iraq is glad Columbia destroyed: According to published reports, the Iraqi government says God is punishing America.

 Hail Columbia! The history of the Columbia is available here.

A chance to show integrity and faith in America's future: President Bush should issue orders that the shuttle fleet will not be grounded and the March mission to the international space station will not be delayed or scrapped. Bush wants a mission to Mars and that won't happen if we cancel the space program for 18 months to two years while we point finders and wring our hands in worry.

Unfortunately, this will not be the case. According to an TIME science correspondent Jeffrey Kluger , there may be a two year delay.

TIME.com: What are the immediate implications for the space program of Saturday's disaster?

JK: Following the precedent of the Challenger disaster in 1986, it's unlikely that NASA will undertake any further shuttle missions or any other manned space flights for the next two years. One immediate problem, though, is the International Space Station, which currently has a crew of three on board. They might consider one further flight to bring that crew home -- the other option would be for them to return aboard a Russian Soyuz craft, which isn't the most comfortable or the safest ride. Beyond that, however, the space station is likely to be left unoccupied for a long time. NASA won't want to use the shuttle again until it can establish the cause of today's accident, and fix it. Now that we've lost two shuttles out of a fleet of five, it's even conceivable that the shuttle won't fly again. The shuttle was built as a space truck, and then the International Space Station was built to give it something to do. Both programs are likely to suffer as a result of this disaster.

In my opinion, this is bull. I could see this happening under previous administrations, but Bush W. doesn't seem the type to call a halt the space exploration because of this tragic setback.

Stolen from the Washington Post Web site: Profiles of the Columbia crew:

Commander Rick Husband, 45, Air Force colonel from Amarillo, Texas. The former test pilot was selected as an astronaut in 1994 on his fourth try. He made up his mind as a child that that was what he was going to do with his life.

"It's been pretty much a lifelong dream and just a thrill to be able to get to actually live it out," he said in an interview before Columbia's launch, his second spaceflight. His first spaceflight, in 1999, was the first shuttle mission to dock with the International Space Station. He has logged more than 235 hours in space.

Husband received a bachelor of science in mechanical engineering from Texas Tech University in 1980 and a master of science in mechanical engineering from California State University-Fresno in 1990.

Pilot William McCool, 41, Navy commander from Lubbock, Texas, and father of three sons. He graduated second in his 1983 class at the Naval Academy, went on to test pilot school and became an astronaut in 1996. This was his first spaceflight.

McCool earned a bachelor of science in applied science from the U.S. Naval Academy, a master of science in computer science from the University of Maryland in 1985, and a master of science in aeronautical engineering from the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School in 1992.

Payload commander Michael Anderson, 43, the son of an Air Force man who grew up on military bases. He was flying for the Air Force when NASA chose him in 1994 as one of only a handful of black astronauts. He traveled to Russia's Mir space station in 1998. The lieutenant colonel was in charge of Columbia's dozens of science experiments. His home is in Spokane, Wash.

Anderson received a bachelor of science in physics/astronomy from University of Washington in 1981 and a master of science in physics from Creighton University in 1990. He has logged more than 211 hours in space.

Mission specialist Kalpana Chawla, 41, emigrated to United States from India in 1980s and became an astronaut in 1994. On only other spaceflight, in 1996, she made mistakes that sent science satellite tumbling out of control. Other astronauts had to go on spacewalk to capture it.

Chawla received a bachelor of science in aeronautical engineering from Punjap Engineering College, India, in 1982, a master of science in aerospace engineering from the University of Texas-Arlington in 1984, and a doctorate in aerospace engineering from the University of Colorado-Boulder in 1988. She is an FAA Certified Flight Instructor and has logged more than 376 hours in space.

Mission specialist David Brown, 46, a Navy captain, pilot and doctor. He joined the Navy after a medical internship, went on to fly the A-6E Intruder and F-18. He became an astronaut in 1996. Columbia's mission was his first spaceflight.

Brown received a bachelor of science in biology from the College of William and Mary in 1978 and a doctorate in medicine form Eastern Virginia Medical School in 1982.

Mission specialist Laurel Blair Salton Clark, 41, a Navy diving medical officer aboard submarines, then flight surgeon who became an astronaut in 1996. On board Columbia for her first spaceflight, Clark was to help with science experiments. She has an 8-year-old son. Her home is in Racine, Wis.

Clark received a bachelor of science in zoology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1983 and a doctorate in medicine from the same school in 1987.

Payload specialist Ilan Ramon, 48, a colonel in Israel's air force and the first Israeli in space. His mother and grandmother survived Auschwitz death camp. Father fought for Israel's statehood alongside grandfather. Ramon fought in Yom Kippur War 1973 and Lebanon War 1982.

He served as a fighter pilot 1970s, 1980s and early 1990s, flew F-16s and F-4s. He was chosen as Israel's first astronaut in 1997, then moved to Houston the next year to train for shuttle flight. His wife and four children live in Tel Aviv.

Ramon received a bachelor of science in electronics and computer engineering form the University of Tel Aviv, Israel, in 1987.

In memory of the Columbia:

Update: The early indication is that terrorism is considered highly unlikley. The explosion happened at 200,000 feet, which I would suspect is beyond the range of ground to air missles. Some tiles apparently fell off a wing during takeoff, however. The conspiracy theorists are working overtime, I bet.

January 31, 2003
Dave Barry gets it right: Finally, Dave has a blog that doesn't look like crap. Here is a sample of the kind of deep, introspective social commentary we have come to expect from Dave.

RUMOR UPDATE
At this time we have found no -- repeat, NO -- substantiation of the rumor that, as a child, "Joe Millionaire" played Cindy, the youngest girl in the Brady Bunch. Please do not circulate this rumor widely on the Internet! Thank you.

Also, I have to thank Dave for linking to the best music site on the Net.

Lack of ethical standards at ABC: The Disney-owned network's talking head Cokie Roberts has long been known as willing to trade her celebrity status for a few bucks. Now, she wants to be a both reporter (must ... suppress ... derisive ... laughter) and a participant in government by joining President Bush's Council on Service and Civic Participation. Apparently, the been counters at ABC have concluded there is no ethical problem in Cokie doing so, according to an article in the Cleveland Plain Dealer.

Though ABC's Roberts provides analysis on subjects including Bush, an ABC News spokeswoman said the network gave its approval and saw no conflict of interest in her serving on the president's council.

"Not only does she have a family with a long history of commitment to public service and she herself has a personal commitment to public service, but she also has a very strong and distinguished track record of being an absolutely fair and objective observer and analyst," said network spokeswoman Su-Lin Nichols.

If ABC cannot see the ethical quagmire in letting its journalists (still ... repressing ... derisive ... laughter) serve on these kinds of feel-good organizations, let me explain it to them. Sure, Cokie isn't going to directly campaigning for Bush or other GOP candidates by virtue of service on this organization. But this council is sure as Hell going to be used by Bush during the coming campaign as evidence of his compassionate conservatism. It also sure as hell creates an appearance of bias.

News organizations cannot pick and choose what types of government participation are benign and harmless in terms of participation by the journalisms they employ. Even the most basic form of government participation -- voting -- leads to complaints from the left and the right. Now, ABC is letting one of its celebrity journalists take what is essentially a political appointment. Ugh. This decision might lead to the creation of a new ABC soap opera: "As the Stomach Turns."

Lest I be accused of being an idiotarian, I will state that I am completely in favor of more volunteerism and less social spending. It's a more efficient way of helping the poor and needy than government spending programs. Charities give help to those who need it; the government distributes to those who qualify. If you don't believe me, compare the dress and attitudes of those who receive help from the Salvation Army with those who buy their groceries with Food Stamps.

Thanks for the link: I am Boston Herald columnist Cosmo Macero Jr.'s list of "read daily" blogs. Wow. Of course, as a Central Illinois resident who is lucky to see an occasional New York Times at the convenience store, I have no idea who Cosmo Macero Jr. is. Thanks for the link, though.

Idiot that I am, I originally identified Macero as a columnist for the Boston Globe. I have correctred the original post. Macero's non-blog site is here. Thanks to K.C. O'Neill for spotting the error.

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