Author Archives: Michael Froomkin

Our newspapers too often write in code. But sometimes the code is easy to crack. Take today. In the course of a write up of the stupid and inflammatory things said by Cong. Hostettler on the floor of the House (albeit not very different things from what you hear on hate radio or read in some blogs) the Washington Post's Mike Allen describes the scene in which the gentleman-by-courtesy had to eat his words:

GOP Congressman Calls Democrats Anti-Christian: Eventually, Hostettler rose and read a sentence that had been written out for him in large block letters by a young Republican floor aide: “Mr. Chairman, I ask unanimous consent to withdraw the last sentence I spoke.”

Large. Block. Letters. (Written by a child!)

Incidentally, the name Hostettler may be familiar:

Hostettler was in the news last year when he took a registered Glock 9mm semiautomatic handgun to Louisville International Airport as he was preparing to board a flight to Washington. The congressman, who said he had forgotten he had placed the gun in the briefcase, pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor and received a suspended sentence.

As an academic, I'm very pro-Truth. I think trying to figure out what it is and then sharing it is a big part of my job. (Even if it's inherently an elusive sort of a concept. But there can be truths about that, too…)

Society, however, doesn't seem too excited about truth. Consider this depressing post by Digby at Hullabaloo:

During the campaign Bush repeatedly lied about the reasons for the Iraq war, even based upon the irrefutable public record, and as best I can tell the travelling press corp never bothered to comment upon it

Then he documents it at some length.

Depressed enough yet? Consider his next post about what the cable networks think is newsworthy. Hint: a lot involves someone named “Natalee Holloway”; not much involves the real issues of the day.

Update: The science version — for this administration reality is just an option….and not such an attractive one.