A disappointing case of déjà vu all over again
May 13, 2008
Good morning.
In order to cromulate and embiggen any festering disgruntification you may or may not be feeling this Monday morning consider comparing the following two position papers pasted below… One appeared in the Carroll County Times on Sunday, May 11, 2008 and the other appeared in The Baltimore Reporter on Saturday, May 10th, 2008.
The points that are made in the piece are not the issue. The issue for me is that if a Democrat or a liberal had the piece published in the local paper, my response would have been: Probably like you, I’d rather read a writer’s original thoughts… So whose original thoughts are in the piece(s?) Fairness requires I ask the same question, even thought the “writer” of the piece in the Carroll County Times is a conservative…
I’ll explain more in a minute. First, I digress…
Whether I agree or disagree with a particular writer on any given matter; I thoroughly enjoy the Carroll County Times “Other Voices” opinion pieces.
Differences of opinion and minor stylistic disagreements over journalistic standards are ultimately essentially inconsequential and not noteworthy if the columnist writes well.
Although I continue to stumble when I am keenly aware of what is factual and what is not and wonder why it is that newspapers allow letters to the editor and opinion pieces to state things of which we know not to be true. And worse yet – then continue to draw “facts from conclusions” instead conclusions from facts. (Credit TBB for teaching me that…)
A silly example can be found here: Dog park isn't worth the cost. Which caused this response: Dog park not in county budget. Or find it here: 20080503 Dog park not in Carroll County budget – but ya don’t mess around with Jim
Of course, as is usually the case with opinion writers in many newspapers and especially blogs; there are a few opinion writers who would rather infer that those that disagree with them are somewhat less intelligent. Ultimately, they must live with the reputation of having written in such a slipshod manner.
Then again, I cannot throw stones about concluding that certain advocates “I have met with to be knowledgeable, committed to their cause, and for the most part, completely, and totally wrong.” (March 3, 2008 General Assembly Journal 2008 – Volume 3 The Mid-way Point by Richard B. Weldon Jr.)
One particular opinion writer in the Carroll County Times has a vested interest in President Bush being president for life as he will never – ever have anything else to write about if he can’t engage in Bush Derangement Syndrome. It gets so tedious and boring after awhile…
As someone smarter than me once wrote: A pet peeve of mine is when a writer takes a stance on an issue that is so far to the left or right that it takes away from the validity of the opinion.
Nevertheless, what I am about to call to your attention offends my delusional but nevertheless functional sense of journalistic standards and I’m betting it will annoy you.
The writer of the second piece is a former schoolteacher and an elected official and I expect better and I’m sure you do too. In my experience, she has an extraordinary grasp on the issues and can discuss public policy capably and competently. So, she could have at least re-written the canned position paper and interjected some of her original thoughts… before she ran it in the paper…
In all candor, I do ghost writing and help develop position papers, but I usually expect my pieces to only be credited to the person for whom I wrote the piece.
And oh… again, the points made in the piece are quite good. I’ve covered several of them in my Tentacle columns in the past.
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A Message from the Republican House Leadership by O’Donnell and Shank
5/10/2008— Robert Farrow @ 3:52 pm Crossposted from Red Maryland
A Message from the Republican House Leadership
http://www.baltimorereporter.com/?p=5359
House Minority Leader Tony O’Donnell and House Minority Whip Chris Shank have a message for the people of Maryland, and they have asked to come here to RedMaryland to present it. And here it is:
Recent coverage of the repeal of the computer services tax in
20080511 Tax decisions will hurt state By Nancy Stocksdale
Tax decisions will hurt state By Nancy Stocksdale Sunday, May 11, 2008
http://www.carrollcountytimes.com/articles/2008/05/11/news/opinion/opinion/opinion642.txt
Recent coverage of the repeal of the computer services tax in
Some of the same legislators who argued strenuously in favor of the tax during the legislative special session are now hailed as heroes of the repeal effort. As a few issues have been confused and distorted, I would like to take this opportunity to clarify some facts from my perspective… […]
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“When I stop working the rest of the day is posthumous. I'm only really alive when I'm writing.”
Accept differences, Be kind, Count your blessings, Dream, Express thanks, Forgive, Give freely, Harm no one, Imagine more, Jettison anger, Keep confidences, Love truly, Master something, Nurture hope, Open your mind, Pack lightly, Quell rumors, Reciprocate, Seek wisdom, Touch hearts, Understand, Value truth, Win graciously, Xeriscape, Yearn for peace, Zealously support a worthy cause. (Author; Renee Stewart)
20080513 A disappointing case of déjà vu all over again
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