JOURNALISTIC GIBBERISH

Non-reporters, did you ever publish an item, a letter to the editor or something different, in a newspaper? If so, were you able to do it anonymously or with a "nom de guerre?"

I've always had to give my name, address, tel number, and what have you, so that everyone that sees it knows exactly who authored it.

I want to quote a newspaper item that was credited only to "associated press." An acquaintance saw it in the Billings (MT) Gazette and sent it to me, but it must have appeared in papers all over the world.

The title was " 'Tea Party' Politics Provide Example of Living Democracy." Sounds reasonably complimentary, doesn't it, but here are some excerpts.

"No one is quite sure what to make of this leaderless morass of people ..." The Oxford English Dictionary defines "morass" as "a wet, swampy tract, a bog, a marsh," which, on one hand, is NOT complimentary and, on the other, is nonsensical and betrays an ignorance of our language. It makes as much sense to talk about "a cesspool of people," a "desert of people," or "a volcano of people."

Another example is, "People who (should be 'that') thought no one shared their views now can quickly find out they're part of a mob ..." Do you require a dictionary definition of "mob" to evaluate the objectivity of that cowardly snipe?

Or, try this; "Like any coalition ..., and it probably also includes people whose anger is actually rooted in distrust of the country's first black president." Here's another instance of stupidity when it comes to our language. B.O. is not a black; by definition, he's a mulatto. Jomo Kenyatta and Patrice Lumumba were blacks, but B.O., with one white parent, is a mulatto. Not only for illiteracy should the writer earn an "F" for his propaganda. Unsubstantiated drivel like "probably also includes" and "anger is actually rooted" are deplorable insinuations; the writer-clown has NO evidence so clouds his accusations with innuendo. Are there no editors out there, or are they just as biased as the boobies doing the writing?

Conservatives should instruct masses of people to discredit this sort of junk journalism, not to mention the papers that gazette it, and to lump its perpetrators with the great morass of mischief-makers out to impair or destroy our country.