The Other McCain

"One should either write ruthlessly what one believes to be the truth, or else shut up." — Arthur Koestler

CA-36: The Facts of the Case

 The New York Times is on the story: Ms. Hahn, a Los Angeles City Councilwoman and a Democrat, released a statement deeming the ad “degrading to women in the worst way.” . . . The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee sent out a fundraising e-mail, calling for $150,000 in donations to help fight “vile right-wing attacks […]

Because I Know What’s News

“Has there ever been more manufactured and phony hype about a certifiable non-issue than so-called WeinerGate?” — John Guardiano, “Weinergate: What’s the Big Deal?” Frum Forum Few things annoy me more than having my news judgment questioned. Disagree on policy or doubt me on politics — we might argue, but such arguments do not call […]

Wow! Strange Plot Twists in #WeinerGate’s Third Act

A sentence you won’t see me write very often: Tommy Christopher has done some excellent reporting. Tommy’s story about @PatriotUSA and a 16-year-old girl who (falsely) claimed her friend was involved in Twitter “sexting” with Rep. Anthony Weiner is an absolute must-read. (BTW, Mediaite has posted Tommy’s story as five different pages, without a “single page view” or […]

Brutal. Simply Brutal.

Something I hadn’t previously noticed is how Rachel Maddow employed the word “creep” against Anthony Weiner: (Hat-tip: PoliticalPAW.) Meanwhile, the latest spin on WeinerGate provokes Ace of Spades to lay down an incredibly brutal interrogation on the Prime Suspect — an instant blogospheric classic. And, yeah, I’ve got a new WeinerGate column up at The […]

#WeinerGate: Where the Story Goes Next

Weiner calls lewd photo on Twitter a ‘distraction’ — Washington Post Lawmaker in Twitter Case Assails Reporters — New York Times Yesterday’s televised meltdown was, I think, complete vindication for those of us in the online community who spent Memorial Day weekend trying to convince people that #WeinerGate was an honest-to-goodness genuine news story. It’s not only […]

The Power of Simple Sentences

Why is Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.) ready to “move on” now? Some statements are either true or false. Expressing things in simple declarative sentences helps clarify meaning, so that we can either agree or disagree as to the truth or falsehood of such statements. Here are three examples: SENTENCE 1 On Nov. 22, 1963, Lee Harvey […]

Da Tech Guy, Da Columnist
UPDATE: While Praying Pete Is Lifted Up, Guess Who’s Still Falling Down?

Peter Ingemi, a.k.a. Da Tech Guy, has a column in the New York Post explaining why #WeinerGate can be understood in 140 characters or less. UPDATE: The contrast could not be more remarkable. Pete’s column is linked nearly everwhere — Instalanched, linked by Donald Douglas and Dan Collins, his very own Memeorandum thread — and meanwhile, […]

Never Burn a Source

Nothing is more essential to a newsman’s craft than trust. If your sources can’t trust you to keep a secret, they’re not going to tell you everything you need to know, because sometimes you need to know more than you can actually report. Therefore, to breach confidentiality — to burn a source by reporting what […]

« go back — keep looking »