Little People

PowerLine (Best Blog of the year as rated by Time magazine) continues to slap around Big Old Media.

You can read about the dustup here and here, but here is the damning quote for the hapless Star Tribune:

I spoke yesterday with Coleman's editor at the Star Tribune to complain about the factual inaccuracies in Coleman's column and to ask the Star Tribune to run corrections. . . .

Among other things, the editor advised me that Coleman's attack on us involved no reporting, and that the column's factual misrepresentations were to be read in that light. Moreover, certain of the misrepresentations were to be construed as sarcasm rather than taken at face value.

Finally, according to the editor, Coleman's false assertion that he didn't know and we didn't say whether we might be on the take from some campaign, political party or anonymous benefactor, appeared to violate no Star Tribune standard. In his meeting with Coleman after my discussion with the editor yesterday morning, Coleman had told the editor that he "assumed" we received a stipend from the Claremont Institute. (Wrong. As we expressly stated here in response to Coleman's slander earlier this month, "we are not paid by anyone" for our work on the site. What part of "not" doesn't Coleman understand?)

I asked the editor what standards Coleman's column was subject to at the Star Tribune. He said he didn't know; he would have to research the answer to that question and get back to me.

Now, just think for a moment on that last sentence.

What would any Big Old Media paper do to any professional who said he didn't know what his professional standards were, but would "get back" to them with an answer?

Crucify is one verb that comes to mind.

Big Old Media is populated with hundreds of little people who cannot withstand, nor tolerate, the bright light of accuracy. They have been playing the American public for stupid sheep for a long time. Problem is, we haven't been stupid, we have been ignorant.

The Internet, and Blogs in particular, allow all of us to read our way out of ignorance like we would have never been able to do thirty, or even ten, years ago.

2005 is going to be a great year for enlightenment.

A lousy year for the lazy elite.