[RC] Fwd: Best of the Web Today - January 12, 2011

[David R. Block]

Title: WSJ.com - Best of the Web Today Mail HTML - 1 colmn

How to Demonize Those you Disagree With Using Out of Context Quotations, by Paul Krugman. AKA How to Show the World that You Are a Hack Journalist, by Paul Krugman David   "I don't understand why the same newspaper commentators who bemoan the terrible education given to poor people are always so eager to have those poor people get out and vote."--P. J. O'Rourke -------- Original Message -------- Subject: Best of the Web Today - January 12, 2011 Date: Wed, 12 Jan 2011 14:43:31 -0500 From: WSJ.com Editors <acc...@interactive.wsj.com> Reply-To: opinionjour...@wsj.com To: david.r.bl...@verizon.net   Online Journal E-Mail Center    January 12, 2011 -- 2:39 p.m. EST See all of today's editorials and op-eds, video interviews and commentary on Opinion Journal. VIEW TODAY'S FULL COLUMN FORMAT THIS COLUMN FOR PRINTING Big Lies and Little Ones Paul Krugman's only example turns out to have been fraudulent. By JAMES TARANTO advertisement Yesterday we noted that Paul Krugman, the New York Times's star columnist, had offered only one example to bolster his claim that "eliminationist rhetoric" is "coming, overwhelmingly, from the right." To quote Krugman's Monday column: It's hard to imagine a Democratic member of Congress urging constituents to be "armed and dangerous" without being ostracized; but Representative Michele Bachmann, who did just that, is a rising star in the G.O.P. As we noted in yesterday's column, in October then-Rep. Paul Kanjorski, a Pennsylvania Democrat, mused about assassinating a fellow politician. Not only was he not ostracized; he was rewarded with a spot yesterday on the op-ed page of Krugman's newspaper. Associated Press Rep. Bachmann, fraud victim. But what about the Bachmann quote? We doubted whether these three words, presented without context, constituted "eliminationist rhetoric" as Krugman claimed they did. Our skepticism turned out to have been well founded. In March 2009, the left-wing site ThinkProgress attempted to present Bachmann in an unfavorable light by using a longer version of this comment. Bogger Dave Evers nonetheless found the site guilty of "selective quoting" and made his case by presenting the quote in its full context. It's not terribly interesting but is important to commit to the record. Here is what Bachmann said (Evers tells us that the ellipses reflect pauses, not omitted text): But you can get all the latest information on this event, this . . . a must-go-to event with this Chris Horner. People will learn . . . it will be fascinating. We met with Chris Horner last week, 20 members of Congress. It takes a lot to wow members of Congress after a while. This wowed them. And I am going to have materials for people when they leave. I want people in Minnesota armed and dangerous on this issue of the energy tax because we need to fight back. Thomas Jefferson told us, having a revolution every now and then is a good thing, and the people--we the people--are going to have to fight back hard if we're not going to lose our country. And I think this has the potential of changing the dynamic of freedom forever in the United States and that's why I want everyone to come out and hear. So go to bachmann.house.gov and you can get all the information. Now, if Krugman had said the words "armed and dangerous" were ill-chosen, we would have agreed. If he had said they were irresponsible, that would be a legitimate opinion, albeit one we would be inclined to discount as partisan. VIEW TODAY'S FULL COLUMN FORMAT THIS COLUMN FOR PRINTING  ALSO ON THE EDITORIAL PAGE • Dr. E. Fuller Torrey: A Predictable Tragedy in Arizona • Lenore Skenazy: Eek! A Male! • Jenkins: The Jared Loughner Problem  OPINION VIDEO CENTER Opinion Journal: Texas Is the Model Dallas Fed president Richard Fisher says there's a reason the Lone Star State... Opinion Journal: A Sheriff Misfires Columnist James Taranto on Tucson's loudmouth lawman and his ... See all Opinion Videos TODAY'S MOST POPULAR: OPINION 1. Opinion: Best of the Web Today: The Authoritarian Media 2. Opinion: Lenore Skenazy: Eek! A Male! 3. Opinion: Dr. E. Fuller Torrey: A Predictable Tragedy in Arizona 4. Opinion: Jenkins: The Jared Loughner Problem 5. Opinion: John Steele Gordon: If You Can't Stand the Heat . . . MORE TO UNSUBSCRIBE DIRECTLY from this list, click here. Your request will take effect within 48 hours. TO VIEW OR CHANGE any of your e-mail settings, click here. You are currently subscribed as david.r.bl...@verizon.net FOR FURTHER ASSISTANCE, please contact Customer Service at 1-800-JOURNAL (1-800-568-7625) between the hours of 7 am - 10 pm Monday - Friday ET and 8 am - 3 pm Saturday ET or e-mail onlinejour...@wsj.com. Copyright 2011 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy Contact Us -- Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community <RadicalCentrism@googlegroups.com> Google Group: http://groups.google.com/group/RadicalCentrism Radical Centrism website and blog: http://RadicalCentrism.org