Criticizing the Boston Globe-Democrat for bad journalism is mocking the terrible fashion sense of teenage boys: Why would you expect any better?
But the hate-filled, fact-deficient scrawlings of failed political operative Dan Payne in the Boston Globe-Democrat today manages to break new ground—quite an accomplishment for an op-ed page that regularly features the writings of James “I Can’t Find My Meds” Carroll.
Today is—if they haven’t gotten the word at Morrissey Blvd—the 7th anniversary of 9/11. And today—when we remember the mass murder of Americans at the hands of Al Qaeda and the Taliban—is the day that Dan Payne chooses to write:
[Sarah Palin]’s got a Taliban-like tolerance for beliefs unlike her own.
Stay classy, Boston Globe-Democrat! Hey, maybe on December 7th you can print that Gov. Palin is a “Conservative kamikaze who should never have made it past Hawaii!”
If I had the time and interest, or if I believed there was still a fact-checker on the payroll at the BG-D, I would take the time to point out the many glaring fact errors in Payne’s pathetic tirade.
The obvious ones:
“Her support for teaching creationism in public schools” – Wrong, as an AP story reported last weekend. (Payne probably didn’t read it. After all, it appeared in the Boston Globe-Democrat)
“Her rejection of global warming as man-made” –Wrong. She says she—like many climate scientists—isn’t sure that humans are playing a meaningful role in so-called global warming. (Note to Dan: The globe hasn’t “warmed” since 1998. That’s like, almost 10 years or something!)
“Palin told ministry students…the US invaded Iraq as a ‘task that is from God.’” -- Wrong, as has been widely reported.
“This year, as governor, her pork list fattened up to $197.8 million.” Wrong. As the right-wing media outlet CBS reports: “Compared to the previous governor, Palin's earmarks are down 44 percent.” In fact, the year before she took office, the GOP governor she replaced had about $400 million in earmarks in the budget. From $400 million to less than $200 million. That’s a funny way to “fatten up,” isn’t it?
Once again, I don’t expect the Globe-Democrat to suddenly discover journalistic professionalism or standards—certainly not on their op-ed page. But this is a handy reminder never to take anything—ANYTHING—you read there as fact.
Or even modestly fact-checked.
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