Unflacked
BOB KOHN’S REVIEW of Alan Shipnuck’s The Battle for Augusta (“Bad Times,” May 24) claims that Augusta National Golf Club public relations agent Jim McCarthy inspired me (and other web journalists) to attack the New York Times for its saturation coverage of Martha Burk’s campaign against the men-only club.
According to Kohn’s review, McCarthy funneled information beneficial to his client to “about a dozen bloggers and media critics, including Andrew Sullivan, Mickey Kaus, Jack Shafer, and Jim Romenesko.” Kohn finishes the paragraph by writing, “the seeds sown by McCarthy brought forth a full crop of [anti-Times] criticism from the blogging community.”
The implication here is that McCarthy’s whisperings caused me to write about the Times and Augusta. Not so. By the time McCarthy first contacted me, I had already written two pieces about the Times’s coverage. My third piece contains nothing from McCarthy’s seed bank. If you don’t believe me, ask McCarthy.
Where did Kohn get the idea that my articles were products of McCarthy’s flackery? It’s not in Shipnuck’s book. My guess is that he carelessly conflated a couple of paragraphs separated by a few pages to arrive at his dead-wrong assertion.
Jack Shafer
Editor at Large, Slate
Washington, DC
Democrats Unite
HOORAY for David Gelernter! His masterful piece (“It’s America’s War,” May 24) forcefully reminded us of the parallels between President Bush’s current problems with the war in Iraq and the trials and tribulations endured by Winston Churchill during World War II. Those of us who were adults in the 1940s recall vividly Churchill’s dogged determination to fight on and win despite British defeat after defeat, as well as Parliament’s several failed attempts to depose their beleaguered yet steadfast leader. Britons were united behind Churchill, and they eventually prevailed. Such is the lesson for the faint of heart in the United States.
Gelernter wrote, “For the world to know that this nation is united, Democrats have to speak. They haven’t. The message has not been delivered.” Let’s hope Ted Kennedy, Tom Daschle, Nancy Pelosi, and Carl Levin read THE WEEKLY STANDARD. (Then again, maybe that’s asking too much.)
Charlotte Kincaid
Bixby, OK
Reuters-Rooter
IT IS AMUSING TO ME that Dan Dunsky, writing an article about covering multiple points of view, never bothered to contact Reuters for a comment on his distorted view of our reporting (“Journalists and Their Fallacies,”May 24). Worse yet, he selectively quoted from our stories to try to prove a point.
When doing “vox pop” stories we take great pains to try to track down at least one or two people who have a more positive view, to give an alternative view to the great majority of Iraqis we speak to who are very critical of the occupation. It is not easy to find positive voices, as any journalist who has been to Baghdad will know. The last year has seen growing disillusionment with the occupation at all levels of Iraqi society, and this growing disillusionment and anger has been accurately reported by Reuters–and indeed covered by almost all other media here. It is a key part of the Iraq story.
Our commitment to accurate reporting is paramount, and our bureaus around the world–including in Iraq–live up to that pledge. I would be pleased if your readers learned the complete story.
David Schlesinger
Global Managing Editor, Reuters
New York, NY
Wheels of Fortune
BARRY D. HALPERN’S concern in “The Wheels of Military Justice . . .” that the Army’s hurried prosecution of the Abu Ghraib crimes could cast doubt on the verdicts is well founded (May 24). One way to limit this problem in the future would be to take military prosecution out of the hands of the uniformed services and place it with the Justice Department. Although this would run counter to several hundred years of established Anglo-American military tradition, there are sound reasons for doing so.
Jonathan F. Keiler
Bowie, MD
Moore Problems
IN “Michael Moore and Me” (May 31), Fred Barnes states that Al Franken, given his interest in “Lying Liars,” should investigate Michael Moore’s distortions. But let’s not forget the interest Franken has shown in exposing “Big Fat Idiots.” After seeing photos of this year’s Cannes film festival, I would say Moore qualifies in that regard, too.
Bhaskar Sinha
Davis, CA
