So, the good folks over at FP Passport are unhappy with my recent post on the gullibility of the IAEA and its defenders. I should preface this by saying that I’m a huge fan of the FP Passport, it’s a must-read every day, but I’m compelled to defend myself here. It seems that Blake Hounsnell is upset with me for a couple of reasons. First, I attributed the views of his author, Eric Hundman, to the blog as a whole. Hounshell writes, “‘Passport’ is an inanimate object that doesn’t have views. Individual contributors to the blog have views, and they often differ.” This strikes me as a ludicrous point to make–if somebody writes something on the WWS, critics can fairly respond that ‘the WWS says.’ And people invariably attribute the views of WEEKLY STANDARD authors to the magazine itself–this is the nature of our business. Second, Hounshell says that I’m guilty of “selective quotation.” Yes, I am. As is anyone who uses quotations rather than publishing another person’s writing or remarks in full. Quotation, by its very nature, is selective. And that is why our ancestors invented ellipses, and why Al Gore invented the internet–both of which I put to good use by showing that there was text that had been left out, and by linking to the original post so folks could read it for themselves. And finally, Hounshell’s only reasonable point of contention to my mind: that I was wrong to say that the IAEA is “all trust, and no verify.” If
FP Passport
