The correction the New York Times issued today for another Maureen Dowd fabrication was neither a correction nor an acknowledgment that it was even wrong in the first place. Moreover, the lack of an actual correction undermined the newspaper's credibility when another reporter  shed light on the subject without acknowledging Dowd's glaring error.

Today's episode marks a sad chapter in the demise of the once great newspaper that reported the Pentagon Papers despite the threat of jail for its publishers.  Instead of intrepid reporting, the current leadership at The Grey Lady sat on the blockbuster eavesdropping story for more than a year, claiming it didn't want to influence the 2004 presidential election. Guess what? By sitting on the story, cravenly kow-towing to the Bush Administration, the Times guaranteed that it DID influence the election...of George W. Bush.

The small town of Gerard Missouri had a drug problem — specifically, a meth problem — until a man claiming to be a federal agent showed up and began racking up drug collars in the rural community of just 1,100 residents.

That is until a reporter from the local weekly newspaper discovered that the "agent," Bill Jakob, was just a wannabe cop playing a DEA agent. The fiasco has led to multi-million dollar lawsuits by those "arrested," the dismissal of three of Gerard's five police officers, and a potential impeachment of the mayor

A Republican fundraising firm routinely solicited donations from its direct mail network long after its supposed candidates had dropped out of the races that the firm had been hired to raise money for.

According to Boston Globe reporter Frank Phillips, the Washington, DC based company, BMW Direct Inc., kept more than 90 percent of the money it raised, doling out a paltry four percent to a challenger to Congressman Barney Frank.

David Addington, testifying today before the Conyers Committee, showed why he is smug, arrogant, and believes he is above the law...like his predecessor, Scooter Libby.

Addington, the chief of staff to Vice Dick Cheney, was evasive when asked about the Unitary Executive Theory. Although he claimed to have heard about and read about in newspapers, he nonetheless said he had no idea what it was. That response strained credibility so much it brought to mind Bill Gates' answer at the Microsoft anti-trust trial.

ATLANTA - The number of Americans with diabetes is reaching epidemic proportions, cautioned a new study by The Center for Disease Control. The study found that the number of Americans diagnosed with Diabetes has increased 15 percent in the past two years.

According to the CDC,  24 million Americans have diabetes, or about eight percent of the total U.S. population. The disease is currently the seventh highest risk factor for death, said a study from the National Institute of Health.

One question about public campaign financing that has yet to be asked by the MSM is why did the GOP flip-flop and suddenly embrace taxpayer-financed public elections. Indeed, you could probably count on one hand the number of Republicans that have publicly announced support for public financing.

I would also like to echo another criticism of the MSM for mistakenly reporting that Barack Obama broke a pledge to seek public financing this November. Obama did nothing of the sort as he agreed to public financing IF a unilateral agreement was reached with the Republican nominee.

Two California physicians, sued for refusing to treat a lesbian, are attempting to justify their decision on religious grounds.

The matter which is now before the California Supreme Court originated 10 years ago. Justices will need to weigh whether the civil rights of the patient are more important than the relgious beliefs of the doctors.

The proposed sale of Anheuser Busch to a Belgian importer, InBev, may be scuttled by Missouri's two US Senators over a perception that an American icon will now be controlled by a foreign firm.

The St. Louis-based beer maker has done such an excellent job at obscuring its sordid history that millions of Americans don't know that AB has been accused of stealing a centuries old brand name and selling the beer under the name Budweiser so immigrants from Czechoslovakia and German would think they were drinking the same beer they enjoyed back in Europe.

Kansas Obstetrician Dr. George Teller has maintained his Wichita area practice for more than 30 years. Anti-choice activists have unsuccessfully tried to shut down his practice, threatening him with intimidation and violence, even shooting the doctor in both arms.

Tiller, who is one of a handful of doctors that performs late term abortions, is facing a new obstacle: a citizen-petitioned grand jury. The anti-choice activists dusted off a statute that is more than 120 years old and originally intended as a tool to fight political corruption in a last ditch effort to shut down Tiller's clinic.

Talibangelists in Northern Virginia certainly hope their plan to create a chain of "pro-life" drugstores is a success. The problem is that is that is blatantly discriminatory, unconstitutional, and against the oath that doctors and pharmacists agree to when they receive their license.

Officials for the DMC pharmacy in Chantilly, Va. said that they will refuse to stock contraceptives of any kind, citing a moral obligation that also appears to run counter to their oath as a health care provider.

The Republican Party, which paints itself as being competent in managing money, was a 'victim" of embezzlement by the former treasurer of the RCCC.  Although the party investigated Christopher Ward and determined that he pocketed nearly $750,000 in RCCC funds, no criminal complaint has been made and Ward has yet to be charged with any crime.

According to the New York Times, Ward earned $120,000 as RCCC treasurer, overseeing $360 million in donations. Ward also was compensated an additional $10,000 as treasurer for the President'sDinner Committee, the GOP largest annual fund-raiser, wrote reporter Leslie Wayne yesterday.

Pete Donaghy, the former NBA referee that admitted to conspiring with gamblers, threw other referees and league officials under the proverbial bus when he suggested that certain refs and league officials pre-determined the outcome of specific playoff series.

Knowledgable sports fans that have engaged in gambling, both illegal and legal, have suggested for years that certain sporting events are fixed. Donaghy's comments, while they may be self-serving in that he might be hoping for a reduced sentence, may be spot on.

The "vaunted" Bush/McCain economy that has brought us the sup-prime meltdown, record food prices, and $4 gasoline is now adversely affecting the super wealthy of Manhattan according to a story in today's NY Times.

Ninety-nine percent of Americans will read this story and want to whip out the world's smallest violin, but even socialites are cutting back on luxury items, which suggests we may not be able to spend our way out of this current recession.

Just finished reading a diary by Kloris about Harold Ickes using "hijacked" to describe the Clinton campaigns quibble over four delegates was completely inappropriate.

In case Ickes forgot, which is impossible with CommanderGuy TM in the White House, those four planes on Sept. 11 were all hijacked. The difference is that Ickes used hyperbole to express mock indignation and in doing so offended millions of Americans.

The Boston Globe reported that the state Republican Party's bright new star, Jim Ogonowski, failed to obtain enough signatures to be eligible for that party's primary election.

According to reporter Frank Phillips, Ogonowski was a mere 82 signatures short of the minimum of 10,000 needed to qualify for the ballot as of yesterday's certification deadline.

The New York Post reports that World Trade Center developer Larry Silverstein is having difficulty attracting tenants to the unfinished "Freedom" tower.

According to columnist Steve Cuozzo, the brokerage firm Merrill Lynch is having second thoughts about moving into the proposed Tower 3 and is asking Silverstein and the Port Authority of NY & NJ for changes which will both add considerable expense to the project and delay completion of some of the other buildings in the complex.

Hillary Clinton has taken Rovian measures when counting the votes during primary season, excluding Obama's totals in four states that held caucuses AND by not counting his votes in either Florida or Michigan, while of course counting her votes in those two states.

Senator Clinton's math brings up a very good question which I believe has yet to be asked by anyone in the MSM: if you won't count votes cast in the four states with caucuses, should she even receive any delegates from those states either?

The wing nut faction that functions as the Republican Party reached a nadir in foreign policy when President Bush announced that the United States will not undergo diplomatic talks of any kind with unfriendly nations.

So the GOP now sees fit to act like petulant, spoiled brats that refuse to acknowledge those they disagree with – kind of like their domestic policy now that you mentioned it. To put it simply, they have turned American foreign policy for the last 200 plus years on its head because they decided they won't talk to Iran, Syria, North Korea, or any other so-called "rogue" states.