Something mildly encouraging on ATC

[Orrex]

Listening to All Things Considered on the home last night, I heard a piece comparing the Fitzgerald investigation with the Starr investigation. Specifically, the story focused on the airtight anti-leak nature of Fitzgerald's methods as opposed to the "come in and bring your cameras" vibe of Starr's.

The piece described the annoyance of Democrats who wonder why there's no public visibility in the investigation of treason, whereas everyone in the world knew all about Monica and where she kept Bill's cigars.

In the middle of all of this was a brief, matter-of-fact mention of a button reading "When Bush lied, People Died." We've all seen the slogan, and it was worn by some anonymous protestor who wasn't interviewed for the story.

But the cool part is that ATC did not attach a disclaimer like "the button alleges" or "unconfirmed accusation." Instead, they let the slogan air without refutation.

In my recent, unhappy experience, any media source that would have mentioned the button at all would immediately have dismissed it as a paranoid rant.

Not everyone is thrilled with All Things Considered, but this was a nice moment of realism in my afternoon.

[Xipe Totec]

1. Heard it last night

The funny thing is, I didn't give it a second thought when they quoted the slogan. It's as if they were stating that the sky is blue, or that the sun rises in the morning, or some other tautology.