Monday, March 15, 2004

Morons Crush

It's amusing to watch all the wingnut bloggers sprouting self-righteous wood over the New York Times' cease-and-desist efforts regarding The National Debate's fake NYT Columnist Corrections page. Instacracker, for instance, whines like a wounded animal about the Times trying to "shut down The National Debate."

I'll make it simple for you simpletons. The Times is objecting to the TND's wholesale copying of its visual images and webpage format (which is, apparently, a literal cut-and-paste job). It doesn't give a rat's ass about TND's content. The point that the Times doesn't publish corrections for its columnists' errors has been blogged many times, many ways. Not a single one of those bloggers heard from the Times' attorneys. It did not happen. Bob Somerby fillets David Brooks, Bill Safire and Lizzy Bumiller in today's Howler -- will he get a letter from NYTCo.'s high-priced mouthpiece? No. Did Sully Joe or Donald Foreskin or Midget Mick or Tennessee Dim ever get a letter from the Times threatening legal action because of their incessant Times bashing? Hell, no. Have I been subject to service of process for pointing out the fabrications of Nick Pistof and Bill Safliar? Fuck, no.

Would it be asking too much of idiots like Hillbilly McInbred to give up just a bit of their limitless self-regard and stop pretending that Times is trying to "crush dissent" in the blogosphere? No. But what would they write about then?

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