The price we pay for a free press....

It's apparently $250,000.00 according to this wondrously loopy Politico/Yahoo! News piece that greeted early risers on the morning of July 3rd.

Historically speaking, the press has always been about maintaining their Independence and about being the watchdogs against big government. Their role in world events in fact has been crucial over the past century in keeping the order and in protecting life and liberty.

Of course, that was back in the days when they cared about those things. In World War II, for instance, many times the media would cooperate with requests from the government to plant inaccurate information in the newspapers and yet nobody decries those actions because the goal was not to do social-reconstructive surgery and change the nature of this country, it was to use the fact that foreign agents were paying close attention to the domestic media and to mis-inform the bad guys.

Under president hussein it can reasonably argued that any misinformation he would ask the media to run with against foreign powers would come with warning labels an apology for just about everything America has done to date, a for-ward looking apology to those crimes we have not yet committed, and offers of financial restitution to all enemy combatants who we have physically disabled, in the form of 10% vouchers toward hybrid vehicles that will be designed to explode in a far more effective blast pattern than the current gas-guzzling and inefficient models Detroit now makes.

But back to the media....

The Washington Post graphics department printed up fliers and started circulating them to lobbyists and "association executives" offering unfettered access to not only their journalists and editors but to mover-and-shaker members of the hussein White House staff. The price? A paltry $250,000.00.

And even better? Where would these little tet-e-tets take place? At the home of the Washington Post publisher, Kathy Weymouth.

But that's not the really unbelievable part, because it could be reasoned that this was a desperate grab for quick cash from a major media outlet nearly $20 million in the hole (you would think hussein would only ask for a few sexual favors for a loan of that size....). No, the really unbelievable part is the counter-story that Ms. Weymouth is asking the American Public to buy.

The flyers were being distributed to targeted individuals without ANY APPROVAL WHATSOEVER and without having been vetted by the senior staff or Ms. Weymouth. In fact.... and here's the really great part.... the flyers apparently mis-represent the whole thing, and it only makes it LOOK bad because that's not really what the $250,000.00 is for.

So if Kathy Bigmouth is to be believed, some poor schlub in the graphics department heard the boss was throwing a party and decided that this event should be publicized. So that poor schlub generates a detailed graphic with information that was wholly made up, about how for $250,000.00 you, the intended target audience, can socialize not only with that poor schlub's co-workers (whom, it can reasonably be assumed, the poor schlub is enamored of and thanks his/her lucky stars they get to work with every day of his/her life...) but also with the ruling elite of DC who, without any reason to believe it will happen, Poor Schlub is promising will alight form their castle in the sky and come down to join in on.

You buying this?

Poor Schlub is a pretty resourceful person, because not only did he/she generate the graphic, but then he/she managed to use company equipment without authorization, print up the flier on company gloss paper (you don't waste these things on newsprint, that would be gauche....) and then also without any approval whatsoever used the power and authority of the graphics department to ensure that all of these fliers started circulating to lobbyists and others who might benefit.

Poor Schlub is an extremely loyal employee, don't you think?

Imagine that meeting... PS walks into the secretary's office for Ms. Bigmouth and asks if Ms. Bigmouth can see her.

"Why would I waste my time on the graphics department staff? That's what I hire janitors for? Ms. Bigmouth replies over the intercom.

"But Ms. Bigmouth (the name is changed to protect the stupid...) Mr. or Mrs. Schlub is standing right in front of me. What do I tell him or her?" the secretary opines.

Exasperated, Ms. Bigmouth replies "Tell Graphics to send a cart up here and retrieve their wayward puppy. I already told you I'm not to be disturbed while Obama music videos are playing in my office.!"

And so Poor Schlub is sent, somewhat tearfully, back to the basement office he/she works in.

Seriously, graphics people are NOT high on the decision-making scale, and for a flier of this sort to be generated and distributed to targeted individuals without any one's permission, and totally misrepresenting the truth (which, by the way, it can reasonably argued is the job of the editorial staff...) is pretty much incomprehensible.

Had the mistake been a comma, or maybe the time being half an hour off for the event, maybe I could buy that. But wholesale inaccurate information and targeted distribution?

Someday we'll look back on this and laugh...

I'm Dr. Calamity and I approve this message.