Jayson Blair Kaus

by publius

If Mickey Kaus wants to use Slate -- a professional, well-regarded political "magazine" -- to parrot the National Enquirer's "story" on John Edwards, shouldn't Slate fire him if this story turns out to be wrong? I mean, if a reporter from Kaus's hated NYT ran with something like this, he or she would certainly be risking their career on it. Seems like what's good for the goose is good for the gander. If Kaus wants to be journalistically reckless (like Drudge), he should get his own blog.

Slate should understand that it too is now running this ridiculous story. And there should be consequences for doing so.

Comments

[Incertus (Brian)]

Consequences? If Saletan didn't get taken to the woodshed over his racist drivel, why on earth would anything happen to Kaus for something like this?

Every day, Slate makes itself less and less relevant. About the only person left doing a good job there is Dalia Lithwick, and she deserves a far better gig.

[blatherskite]

I recall that Kaus pushed a Kerry sex story too(totally denied and basically proven false -- proven as well as innunendo-based gossip can be).

I can understand if his lack of sex appeal makes him a panty-sniffer, but can't he at least do some original reporting rather than riding the Enquirer's soiled coattails?

I don't read Kaus at all but I wouldn't be surprised if he did this kind of loathsome crap with Democrats much much more than with Republicans.

Asswipe.

[Rob J]

Apparently Slate has turned into the Washington Post.

Makes sense now, doesn't it?

[Mike Schilling]

When I click over to the National Enquirer page that Kaus points to, I see nothing about Edwards. Is my browser acting up, or have they dropped it?

[Xeynon]

I am shocked... SHOCKED... to find Kaus pushing a ridiculous rumor.

Come on, the phrases "Mickey Kaus" and "irresponsible, yellow pseudojournalism" go together like hand and glove. Anyone who reads his blog for more than three days consecutively will quickly realize this.

[Ted Barlow]

In an obvious response to the hemp jackboots of liberal fascism, they've dropped it. It's not your browser.

But even if they do completely back away from this story, Mickey will always have the satisfaction of knowing that his rumor-mongering had an impeccable basis: the National Enquirer, quoting an unnamed source, who quotes another unnamed source.

Journalism!

[Anarch]

*Journamalism!

[matttbastard]

Anyone who reads his blog for more than three days consecutively will quickly realize this.

Anyone who reads his blog for more than three days consecutively is a masochist.

[Tom Maguire]

If Kaus wants to be journalistically reckless (like Drudge), he should get his own blog.

In ancient days he did have his own blog, and Slate bought it/him.

As to the notion that we need better and more responsible filtering by the mainstream media - please.

[Bloix]

I don't click on links to Mickey Kaus. Why are you driving traffic to him?

[Anderson]

Must disagree with Pub. If the Enquirer runs the story, and Kaus says, "hey, look at this story," then why should Kaus be fired if the story flops?

Not that there aren't many good reasons to fire Kaus, but this ain't one of them.

[KCinDC]

You didn't mention the goats.

[Davebo]

"If the Enquirer runs the story, and Kaus says, "hey, look at this story," then why should Kaus be fired if the story flops?"

Exactly! I mean, it's not like Slate is a more respected publication.

And who knows, perhaps the CIA really does have a three headed alien at Area 51 that impregnated Brittany Spears!

Is it irresponsible to consider the possibility? No, it's irresponsible not to.

[John Thullen]

"If Kaus wants to be journalistically reckless (like Drudge)........"

How did the word "journalism", even in this form, get into the same sentence as "Kaus" and "Drudge"?

What they do, indeed, what most of the internet "News" hounds do, is a new (I would call it "discipline", but there goes the language) art form, or maybe a newly evolved bacteria that leads to fatal infection.

As to drawing attention to the National Enquirer, the only time I want my attention drawn to those funny papers is when the checkout line at the grocery store is backed up and I need a Jennifer Aniston fix.

The Edwards article is clearly heavy-breathing fantasy and the quotes from the unidentified woman read like the desperate set-up dialogue in a porn film starring Ann Coulter, Ayn Rand and Erick Erickson, not that I would know, he pleaded.

If the story is true, not that I care, could someone besides a 12-year-old please do a rewrite.

Does Kaus call attention to every pile of dogsh*t in the park when he walks with his girlfriend or boyfriend or whoever it is who is desperate enough to get some air with that pond-dweller?

Look, all the Internet has done, with increasing efficiency as bandwidth has widened, is enable the previously filtered tsunami of sewage to back up into the face of the body politic.

I recall on the original Tacitus blog many people (usually conservatives) complaining ad nauseum and maybe with a soupcon of good reason about the bias of the mainstream press. Then I would move my eyes half a click to the blogroll and notice Drudge's name at the top of the list.

If he vomited into his stupid-looking hat, they would lap it up.

I'd rather watch reruns of "Wild Kingdom", in which Marlon Perkins pours himself a fresh martini in the tent and introduces the next scene wherein his assistant is torn to shreds by a pride of lions.

[kth]

If he wanted to do a recurring feature called "Tabloid Corner", and take a bemused look at all the allegations the tabs make about politicians, that would be different (maybe). But of course he isn't going to entertain the tabloid stories that Bush is back on the juice or having an affair with Condoleeza Rice.

He'd say it's because the Edwards story (and the lesbian fantasy about Clinton and one of her advisors) are 'believable' while the Bush stories aren't. But the thing about Kaus is that you just can't trust him to be honest in coming to such a judgment, either with his readers or with himself.

[KCinDC]

his girlfriend or boyfriend or whoever

I believe the word you're looking for is "goatfriend".

[KCinDC]

his girlfriend or boyfriend or whoever

I believe the word you're looking for is "goatfriend".

(Hmm, I'm now having the problem Gary has so often, where Typepad thinks my comment is spam.)

[KCinDC]

Got through when I added the parenthesized sentence.

[Justin]

The conjecture and logic in his updates borders on the psychotic.

[Sebastian Holsclaw]

I've submitted a ticket with typepad about the long comments being automatically rejected. Just so you know.

[rilkefan]

John Thullen: 'How did the word "journalism", even in this form, get into the same sentence as "Kaus" and "Drudge"?'

Much like a flaming piano pushed from an airplane above a puppy farm.

[russell]

When my stepson was about 12, my wife and I used to let him take all the telemarketing calls. He would assume bizarre accents and feign great interest in their offerings, without ever actually buying anything. He was damned good, they'd stay on the phone for 15 or 20 minutes before giving up. Then, we'd all have a laugh.

It was a kind of telemarketing anti-matter. A stream of ridiculous banter, equal in glibness and fraudulence to the marketeer's blather, but opposite in effect.

What's needed in a world of Kaus and Drudge is a steady source of scandalous drivel, sufficiently absurd to metabolize their dreary output into a hearty and melodious fart.

The legend of the goats was a great start.

If we can't make them go away, at least we can make them entertaining.

a porn film starring Ann Coulter, Ayn Rand and Erick Erickson

Ouch. You may have permanently damaged my libido with that one.

I'm off to Dr. Mierzwiak to get my mind wiped.

Thanks -

[KCinDC]

Sebastian, I don't know what the criteria for rejection are (presumably they don't want us to know, since that would help the spammers get around it), but my comment wasn't long. It was just the one-line blockquote and the one-line sentence under it. When I added the additional longer sentence in parentheses the comment suddenly became acceptable.

[Sebastian Holsclaw]

This is a test quote for purposes of the spam filter:

"If Kaus wants to be journalistically reckless (like Drudge)........"

How did the word "journalism", even in this form, get into the same sentence as "Kaus" and "Drudge"?

What they do, indeed, what most of the internet "News" hounds do, is a new (I would call it "discipline", but there goes the language) art form, or maybe a newly evolved bacteria that leads to fatal infection.

As to drawing attention to the National Enquirer, the only time I want my attention drawn to those funny papers is when the checkout line at the grocery store is backed up and I need a Jennifer Aniston fix.

The Edwards article is clearly heavy-breathing fantasy and the quotes from the unidentified woman read like the desperate set-up dialogue in a porn film starring Ann Coulter, Ayn Rand and Erick Erickson, not that I would know, he pleaded.

If the story is true, not that I care, could someone besides a 12-year-old please do a rewrite.

Does Kaus call attention to every pile of dogsh*t in the park when he walks with his girlfriend or boyfriend or whoever it is who is desperate enough to get some air with that pond-dweller?

Look, all the Internet has done, with increasing efficiency as bandwidth has widened, is enable the previously filtered tsunami of sewage to back up into the face of the body politic.

I recall on the original Tacitus blog many people (usually conservatives) complaining ad nauseum and maybe with a soupcon of good reason about the bias of the mainstream press. Then I would move my eyes half a click to the blogroll and notice Drudge's name at the top of the list.

If he vomited into his stupid-looking hat, they would lap it up.

I'd rather watch reruns of "Wild Kingdom", in which Marlon Perkins pours himself a fresh martini in the tent and introduces the next scene wherein his assistant is torn to shreds by a pride of lions.

If you see this, it got through.

[Barry]

I gotta pile on: "Slate -- a professional, well-regarded political "magazine" --"

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!

Kaus is a POS who can't even hold a job at The New Republic, which is pretty bad. He spent a year or two parsing each pixel of each Krugman NYT column for anything which could be construed as an error, while swallowing far, far worse from the GOP and the administration.

He's a former liberal who turned right-winger. His pretense of still being a liberal is no more true or believable than that of a radio DJ using six different voices, and pretending to be a whole crew. Actually, far less - many of them are believable.

The way I think of Slate is that a writer/reporter need not be ashamed of having been from there. However, if somebody *ended up* there, it is something to be ashamed of.

[Barry]

Sebastian, there are a number of Typepad blogs whose spam filters are eating comments today.

[John Thullen]

You know, when Typepad acts up like this, being a guilty liberal, I always think it's me.

So, I go back and edit anything capitalized and I check whether or not I've somehow slipped Chinese ideograms regarding the healthful properties of rhinocerous horn into the post.

Then I think maybe someone has mistaken me for Gary Farber. Then I feel sorry for Gary Farber for the mistake. Then I think maybe Hilzoy is lurking with some kind of Typepad mobile joke device communicating with a satellite ... just for fun.

Or is it Sebastian?

Come to think of it, Slart is the only person here with the technical savvy to jury rig the electronics in a nail gun to count words in Typepad posts and atomize them.

Maybe we'll get something out of missile defense boondoggles after all. ;)

Russell: You string the words together in a pleasing way.

Rilkefan: You're missed.

[Bill]

Two things worth repeating, regardless of the validity of Kaus’ story:

1. You never, ever, under any circumstances, get two things that start with the letter ‘P’ at the same place. One of these two things is ‘Paycheck’.
2. And for those of you who really, really believe that the Democratic Party is looking out for the little guy, and like to lecture us working stiffs about the difference between the parties; How did the "hedge-fund manager income-tax exemption-removal plan" pan out? The Senate, um, ran out of time? Because, you know, it’s really tough to write down a few lines and take a vote. Right?

“And with little hope for Senate concurrence, a House-passed measure on the subject would have only symbolic value.”

Yep. Shadows on the wall.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/08/AR2007100801704.html

[russell]

Yep. Shadows on the wall.

Dude: cheer up. Seriously.

Thanks -

[Bill]

Russell;

Thanks for your concern, but it is misplaced. There is lots of joy in life and I’ve been lucky. My favorites through the years have been first the conquest of women, then military service where you get to compare wits with people you get to call bad guys. Then you go into business. Being a businessman is both scary and rewarding because if you win you win, and if you lose you lose. Today we won.

But the biggest joy is children. One of mine is learning to walk and another is due shortly. We hope to have more. I guess that makes me a grown-up. And at that, I’ll quote some Rickover and head to bed:

Our conscience should never release us from concern for the problems of the day. Our minds must be forever skeptical, yet questioning. We must strive to be singularly free from that failing so common to man, deplored by Pascal in the "Pensees," of filling our leisure with meaningless distractions so as to preclude the necessity of thought. To be an intellectual in the fullest sense, one's mind must be in constant movement.

www.limes68.blogspot.com

To which, I’d only add, we are living in interesting times. Here's to that.

[russell]

Thanks for your concern, but it is misplaced.

Glad to hear it.

Power corrupts those who are prone to corruption. Folks with money and power tend to get their way more than they deserve to. Opportunity attracts opportunists.

This never changes. None of us should let it ruin our day.

My only comment on your list of agreeable things is that, as far as I can make it out, women are seldom if ever conquered. But, you know, YMMV.

To which, I’d only add, we are living in interesting times. Here's to that.

Can't think of any time in history that wasn't at least as interesting as these.

I suppose that's worth a toast.

Thanks -

[russell]

p.s.

But the biggest joy is children.

Impossible to argue with that. Congratulations on the impending arrival.

Best -

[Gary Farber]

By the time I'd noticed Mickey Kaus, sometime after starting reading blogs in 2001, but considerably before Slate picked him up, I didn't find him worth reading, and he's only, my random samples suggest but do not prove, gotten worse since then.

I've never cared enough to read more of him to try to decide if he's simply at a longterm plateau of useless stupidity, or is getting worse, or has cycles, or whatever.

On the other hand, I've almost never seen a magazine or publication that publishes several dozen, let alone hundreds, of pieces per month, not run a bunch of dogs, including some regulars, as part of the mix.

In any case, having been pointed at his slot, I read this:

Likewise, TNR's Noam Scheiber suggests that the egghead sector ( "urban, college-educated liberals") of the Democratic party--which used to be less partisan and combative than the blue-collar/labor sector--is now more partisan and combative, because its eggy heads are wrapped up in Kos and other anti-Bush sites, where they absorb the latest undernews about the machinations of Karl Rove and Tom DeLay.

And my observation is that for a professional journalist, Kaus isn't doing well at this whole "noticing that time passes" thing. Rove? DeLay?

I am also deeply concerned about Sherman Adams, as well.