A Death and an Outrage
Have you stumbled across the "obituary" by Patricia Sullivan at the Washington Post? There goes five minutes of my life I won't get back.
Even in death, her opponents cannot bypass an opportunity to mock and malign her. Now one reporter has does so under the guise of penning an obituary.
Helen would have anticipated this, I suppose.
Did you read it? Aren't you offended by this nonsense? I urge you to write Ms. Sullivan (click here). Death is not the time to sling mud.
Even in death, her opponents cannot bypass an opportunity to mock and malign her. Now one reporter has does so under the guise of penning an obituary.
Helen would have anticipated this, I suppose.
Did you read it? Aren't you offended by this nonsense? I urge you to write Ms. Sullivan (click here). Death is not the time to sling mud.
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4 Comments:
oops! That was me, ^ I was signed in on the other blog, and forgot to sign out.
:)
Saturday, October 07, 2006
Un-frickin-believable.
Saturday, October 07, 2006
Here's what my e-mail said:
Dear Ms. Sullivan,
After reading your recent piece on the death of Helen Chenoweth-Hage, I was befuddled -- obituary or editorial? Certainly you want people to believe it's an obituary, but clearly you've used the space to communicate YOUR ideas of who this woman was. I'm a journalist and an editor; so while you may be able to fool a few of the unsuspecting readers, you can't pull the wool over my eyes or those of most intelligent Americans.
Aside from the bias that is about as cleverly hidden as a zebra in a horse corral, you managed to remove any doubt that you've ever been to Idaho or understand Idaho politics on even an infantile level. Even hard-core "lefties" statewide will tell you it was not Chenoweth's "government suspicion" that carried her to Washington -- people liked her, plain and simple. In case you haven't read the papers lately, Idaho is somewhat Conservative, and there's much more to Conservatism than suspicion and militia (shocking, I know).
The fact that the word "militia" is bandied about so carelessly in your piece reveals a troublesome level of ignorance about this great state -- is it the droves of militia compounds hidden throughout Idaho that gave it away? No? Huh. Another interesting tidbit about Idaho: We don't all farm potatoes. You learn something new every day, don't you.
And how very thorough of you to include the details of her affair 30 years ago. Then there's the salmon (yawn) and the climate (zzzz). Originality and enlightenment for your readers aren't your strong suits, are they? What sort of amazes me in all of this is that while you were "digging" (or most likely skimming off the first articles that popped up on Google) for all of these "facts," the details of what made Chenoweth a beloved public figure never emerged. Yes, non-militia families liked her too. Why? I'll have to read someone else's "obituary" to figure that out.
Finally, Ms. Sullivan, I must commend you on your ability to pander to a certain audience -- an audience who likes sexy words such as "extreme"; it makes them feel good to know you've painted this woman so one-dimensionally that she fits perfectly into their mold of right-wing Idaho Conservative. I don't know if obituary writing is in the cards for you long-term, but may I say that with your selective fact sharing and propensity for the sensational, you'd make an excellent tabloid reporter.
Saturday, October 07, 2006
Joy,
I forget how forceful you can be. Most of the time you're so nice and cheery, focusing on the little... shall we say... joys of life.
Nice smackdown.
Tuesday, October 10, 2006
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