As someone who has been reading and using this site for about 4 years, I've seen plenty of controversial front page posts. I've admired Kos and some of the other front pagers for their willingness to take on the conventional wisdom of the users of this site and to not be afraid to even offend a large number of us.
I've seen Kos write pretty scathing stuff on many of our candidates - Kerry, Edwards, Clinton, Obama, our congressional leadership - they've all been called out by Kos. And rightly, or wrongly, the criticism they received sparked needed discussion and was delivered in an intelligent manner.
Tonight, however, Dkos is displaying the worst front page post ever, and it is written by the man himself.
The post I am referring to is called Clinton campaign lied about tip. There is more than one reason why this is the worst front page post ever. For starters, the title is a tragic irony, since there is no evidence Clinton lied about the tip. In fact there are quotes from the management of the diner, as well as from reporters who were present that a tip was in fact left, and just not properly disbursed. So even if Kos wants to say that the matter is still muddy, to declare the Clinton lied is in fact a lie itself.
But the reasons why this is the worst front page post ever goes beyond that. This site has become popular and thrives in part because it is a reaction to the horrible trivial way in which the MSM treats the serious problems facing this nation and our world. At a time when our nation is flirting with an abandonment of the Constitution, at a time when our military is trying to execute the an incalculably expensive and criminal war, at a time when the entire planet is facing an unprecedented environmental emergency, our media is being derelict in its duty to inform the public and raise the proper issues.
Many people have walked away from the nightly newscasts and the cable news networks and turned to this site and others like it in a desperate attempt to get informed and to engage with other people who recognize and care deeply about these issues.
And what we have on the front page today is not just a story that is misleading but is also the epitome of the kind of trumped up bullshit that has driven so many of us away from the MSM and towards this site.
I can't say that it always makes sense for us to ignore these stories. Sometimes we have to gage how our candidates are handling them and sometimes we have to debunk them. But we should never feed these stories, we shouldn't be regurgitating them and most importantly, if we are going to report them we should never ever engage in the selective quoting and copying of those parts of the story in an attempt to build a narrative that we are fond of.
Frankly, I am really feeling let down by the front paging of this story,not once, but twice in two days. In both instances the writing by the front pagers was sloppy and dishonest. It will be very hard for these front pagers to write any critiques of the MSM from now on, as they have both engaged in very poor reporting and have brought this site down a notch or two.
I honesty wonder what is going to happen to this site when Clinton wins the White House. If the attitude and behavior of the front page over the at two days is any indication, I am not optimistic. But I'll say this: unless there is a retraction or apology posted, its going to be hard for me to take the writings on the front page as seriously as I have in the past. The writings on the front page are, I am sorry to say,are all suspect now.