Linking the link of a link of a link: a cautionary tale

[PixelPusher]

This story involves right wing blogs, but could just as easily happen to lefty blogs as well...

Why the Instapundit can't read, the Reliapundit can't think, the Carpetbagger can't calm down, and the MSM can't win...



One of the best things about going to work for the Mainstream Media colossus is that you get to find out where all the bodies are buried, how the big media conspire to advance their implacable agenda against the army of bloggers and truth-tellers who dare to speak the truth. So imagine my excitement when I stumbled across this j'accuse from the Instapundit: "MISSING MURTHA at the L.A. Times?" The Instapundit? He never lies, screws things up, or breathlessly runs off with less than half the story, does he? If he hints that the L.A. Times is suppressing something, I'd better check it out.

So I check on the Instapundit's source: Pajamas Media's own page, which reveals that the Times did an exposé on Pennsylvania Rep. John Murtha's brother Bob, but that now, when the chips are down, the paper is burying the story! "You would think, with Murtha running hard for House Majority Leader, the LAT would still have the article on its site, but it seems to be missing," says PJM.

You sure would! So I check with Pajamas' own source, the trustworthily named Reliapundit, who observes that "the actual article has 'mysteriously' disappeared from the LATIMEs own website."

Clearly, the rightwing blogosphere has got the L.A. Times dead to rights: We're suppressing compromising news so we can support our transparently leftwing, pro-Murtha agenda.

But there's a catch: Reliapundit found this story at the Carpetbagger's blog. And the Carpetbagger isn't angry at the L.A. Times because we're leftwing shills carrying Murtha's water. He's mad because we're rightwing shills making baseless accusations about Murtha.

More confusingly, Carpetbagger's post, from which all the others originate, is dated June 13, 2005. So while the collective brain power of Pajamas Media (which I understand can generate almost enough energy to light a cigarette) couldn't solve the mystery of why the Times disappeared this story, I can: The L.A. Times doesn't archive stories older than 60 days.

Also, we've been editorializing against Murtha's speaker bid all week.

[Spurminator]

lol

[RuffnReadyOzStyle]

Indeed.

Check your sources, link to the primary source if at all possible, and when it comes to the internet, never take anyone's word for anything. There are a lot of lying s bags with agendas out there.

There's a great example of this in my Stern Report thread, 3rd page - xray has copied in a story (no link) by a climate change skeptic, Dennis Avery, who is actually an economist (not scientist) and works closely with notable climate skeptic Fred S Singer (another of Ray's favourites). Only problem for Ray is that I can do my research, so I found the original scientific paper on which Avery's spin-piece was based. The actual paper, the primary source, said something very different to the BS Avery made up. Caught dead to rights.

[RandomGuy]

BUT I READ IT ON THE INTERNET, IT MUST BE TRUE!*



*Actually said to me by someone who was convinced in 1998 that the Chinese were going to invade Panama.