2005: The Year in Errors and Corrections

Oops, they did it again: It’s the time for round-up lists of the year’s whatevers, and Regret the Error is out with its list of 2005’s worst and funniest errors and corrections from the mainstream media. Here’s the Correction of the Year for 2005, as published in the Denver Daily News on July 27:

The Denver Daily News would like to offer a sincere apology for a typo in Wednesday’s Town Talk regarding New Jersey’s proposal to ban smoking in automobiles. It was not the author’s intention to call New Jersey ‘Jew Jersey.’

First Runner-Up
From the Dallas Morning News:

Norma Adams-Wade’s June 15 column incorrectly called Mary Ann Thompson-Frenk a socialist. She is a socialite.

Second Runner-Up
This jolly typo/correction comes from the Liverpool Daily News in England:

Technology has revolutionised most of our lives in recent years and the media has particularly benefited from developments in IT and communications. But all technology should always be treated with a degree of caution. This was a lesson brought into sharp focus last week following a review of the Welsh National Opera’s double bill performance of Cavalleria Rusticana and Pagliacci at the Empire Theatre. The problem arose when the computer spell checker did not recognise the term “WNO” (Welsh National Opera). A slip of the finger caused it to be replaced with the word “winos”. All stories in the Daily Post go through a series of checks for error, but unfortunately this one slipped through the net. It just goes to show that it’s hard to beat the good, old-fashioned dictionary.

For more errors, corrections, typos (“beef panties” from Reuters) and other examples that the MSM has lost it big time, check out the site here.

Poll: Public Not Buying Bush’s Iraq Rhetoric

Battle for hearts and minds at home: While the political debate over the administration’s Iraq policy is heating up, the Busheviks’ insistence on staying the course is not swaying the electorate. Americans remain about evenly split over whether we should be there at all and whether we should pull out. The latest national survey by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press, conducted among 1,502 adults Dec. 7-11 found:

  • Fully 61% of the public believes that progress is being made in training Iraqi forces, while nearly as many (58%) see progress being achieved in establishing a democracy in Iraq. But on balance, more Americans say the U.S. is losing ground in reducing civilian casualties and preventing a civil war.
  • The nearly even division in the public over whether to keep troops in Iraq obscures a more complicated set of opinions about what to do next. Most of those who say they want the troops home “as soon as possible” apparently do not mean “now.” And not everyone who wants the U.S. to stay is opposed to setting a timetable for a troop withdrawal. Americans also are wary about consequences of a quick withdrawal – 58% say terrorist organizations will become stronger if the United States withdraws its forces soon.
  • There is modest optimism that tomorrow’s elections in Iraq will lead to a more stable situation in the country. Roughly four-in-10 (37%) express that opinion; that is significantly greater than the percentages who said that before previous balloting in Iraq, in October and last January (29% each).

The survey also shows that President Bush’s approval ratings have not improved. Just 38% approve of his job performance which is little changed from November (36%). Only about three-in-10 (28%) say he has a clear plan for bringing the situation in Iraq to a successful conclusion.

Jeb Jabs FEMA On Reimbursements

Big talk, no action: Florida Gov. Jeb “Fat Little Bro” Bush came right out and said that the Federal Emergency Management Administration should not reimburse Floridians who bought generators or chain saws due to the hurricanes for more than they paid. But he said he won’t work toward changing the Florida law that allows over-repayment.

The South Florida Sun-Sentinel found a whole slew of overpayments by FEMA, mainly to middle- and upper-class white folks — people who could probably afford to buy their own hurricane equipment without the reimbursement.

“I don’t think they (FEMA) should be reimbursing for more than what people pay for,” Bush said. “We appreciate the individual assistance that a lot of people are taking advantage of. But this shouldn’t be a boondoggle.”

But Jebby would not promise to seek to change or even ask legislators or federal officials to revamp Florida’s policies.

According to the Sun-Sentinel investigation:

FEMA leaves it up to states to choose what will be reimbursed in each disaster. States can elect to exclude certain items or limit eligibility, for instance, reimbursing for generators only for the medically needy, for instance. Other states have imposed limits, but Florida policy remains one of the most generous of the hurricane-vulnerable states.

Not Content With Just California, Schwarzenegger Inspires Hatred Throughout Europe

Old World anger: Calif. Governator Arnold Schwarzenegger’s failure to grant clemency to Stanley “Tookie” Williams has raised the ire of the entire European Union. The Associated Press reports that Arnold’s fellow Austrians want to remove his name from a sports stadium in his hometown and some have called for his Austrian citizenship to be revoked.

Capital punishment is illegal throughout the European Union, and many Europeans consider state-sponsored executions to be barbaric. Those feelings were amplified in the case of Williams, due to the apparent remorse they believe the Crips gang co-founder showed by writing children’s books about the dangers of gangs and violence.

Leaders of Austria’s pacifist Green Party went as far as to call for Schwarzenegger to be stripped of his Austrian citizenship – a demand that was quickly rejected by Chancellor Wolfgang Schuessel despite his government’s opposition to the death penalty.

“Whoever, out of political calculation, allows the death of a person rehabilitated in such an exemplary manner has rejected the basic values of Austrian society,” said Peter Pilz, a Greens leader.

The Greens plan to start up a petition to change the name of the sports stadium in Graz, Schwarzenegger’s hometown. An Austrian Christian Group has suggested changing the name to Stanley Tookie Williams Stadium.

“Mr. Williams had converted, and unlike Mr. Schwarzenegger, opposed every form of violence,” said Richard Schadauer, the chairman of the Association of Christianity and Social Democracy.

Poll: It’s Still the Economy, Stupid

Job insecurity: Mildly encouraging economic news is being touted and flouted by the Bushies like there’s no tomorrow — in spite of the $8 trillion deficit. But the economic “good” news doesn’t seem to be making folks confident enough to tell their boss to take this job and shove it. It’s more like, “Lord. please don’t lay me off.” From the National Journal’s PollTrack:

Half of Gallup poll respondents said the economy’s getting worse, but that’s down from 58% in the mid-November survey; 39% said it’s getting better, up 3 points.

Despite that apparent increase in optimism, however, six in 10 still said it’s a bad time to find a “quality job” — a 4-point increase since the previous poll; 36% said it’s a good time, down from last month’s 42%.

A similar question in this month’s Ipsos Public Affairs survey revealed more personal worries about the job market: 47% of respondents said it was at least somewhat likely that they or someone they know will lose a job in the next six months. That’s a 5-point jump since Ipsos’ last economic survey in early November, when 42% gave the same response.

But another Ipsos number seemed to counter that prediction. Although a 45% plurality said they are less confident about job security now than they were half a year ago, 39% said they are more confident — up 3 points since the previous poll. About the same number of respondents said they were as comfortable making both major and regular household purchases this month as they were last month.

And President Bush’s handling of the economy got a big boost in recent weeks, according to Associated Press/Ipsos Public Affairs pollsters — 42% said they approved of his work on the nation’s finances, compared to 37% in early November, while 55% expressed disapproval, a 6-point decrease from the previous poll.

Conservative Coulter Cut Off In Connecticut

Just shut it: The “forces of political correctness” were astir at the University of Connecticut last night when a bunch of librul liberal education majors shouted down conservative commentator Ann Coulter when she tried to give a speech. The blonde wingnut ended the talk after 15 minutes and instead held a half-hour question-and-answer session.

“I love to engage in repartee with people who are stupider than I am,” Coulter told the 2,600 people at Jorgensen Auditorium.

Coulter’s appearance prompted protests from several groups, including Students Against Hate and the Puerto Rican/Latin American Cultural Center. They criticized her for spreading a message of hate and intolerance.

Nearly 100 students gathered inside the Student Union for a rally against Coulter. About a half-dozen people held protest signs outside the auditorium.

In her speech at UConn, Coulter called Bill Clinton an “executive buffoon” who won the presidency only because Ross Perot took 19 percent of the vote. She called California Sen. Barbara Boxer a good candidate for the Democrats because “she is a woman and she’s learning disabled.”

So what did the kids think about it? Here are two balanced viewpoints, one from a guy who was there and another by a nascent wingnut:

Eric Knudsen, a 19-year-old sophomore journalism and social welfare major at UConn, didn’t attend the speech.

“We encourage diverse opinion at UConn, but this is blatant hate speech,” said Knudsen, head of Students Against Hate.

Kareem Mohni, a 20-year-old junior and a member of a campus Republicans group, said he was disgusted with the Jorgensen crowd.

“It really appalled me that we’re not able to come together as a group and listen to a different view in a respectful environment,” he said.

Must Be the Christmas (or Holiday) Spirit — Bush’s Approval Rating On the Rise

Early Xmas present: Today’s PollTrack from National Journal detects a sharp rise in the Worst President Ever’s approval rating. Note: nobody asked us.

After months of headlines about sinking numbers, President Bush might have something to smile about. A new CBS News/New York Times poll reports a 5-point jump in his approval rating — and it’s not the only one.

Bush’s number climbed from 35% in a CBS News poll from about a month ago to 40% in the current survey; his disapproval fell from 57% to 53%.

A few other surveys in recent weeks have recorded similar changes. A Fox News/Opinion Dynamics survey from late November put the rating at 42/48, compared to 36/53 earlier in the month. Polls released within the last week from Quinnipiac University and Time/SRBI don’t have comparison numbers from November, but both show his approval at or above the 40% mark.

CBS/Times pollsters also recorded gains in approval of the president’s handling of Iraq and the economy; numbers were statistically even on his handling of the war on terrorism and foreign policy. The poll’s right-direction indicator rose as well, gaining 4 points to hit 31%. Six in 10 still said the country is on the wrong track, down from 68% in the previous survey.
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Time Will Tell If Data Mining Could Have Prevented 9/11

Government spookiness: Somewhere in the 2.5 terabytes (equal to about 12 percent of all printed pages held by the Library of Congress) of data Erik Kleinsmith destroyed in the spring of 2000 might have been the key to cracking al Qaeda and perhaps preventing the World Trade Center and Pentagon terrorist attacks. In a fascinating and chilling article that explores topics like the Information Dominance Center and project “Able Danger,” National Journal’s Shane Harris investigates how the military, government and intelligence services routinely tread the line between mining essental data and harvesting personal information on thousands of U.S. civilians.

‘Memo’ Purloins Bush Admin Enviro Policies

Wicked parody: Based on actual memoranda and policy advice from such wingnut luminaries as Karl Rove and Grover Lundquist, E — The Environmental Magazine offers up “Memo from the President’s Environmental Task Force.” If you don’t mind laughing through your tears or crying through your chuckles, it’s an intelligent, ironic and searingly sarcastic piece of work. In 12 evil recommendations, the “Memo” captures the spirit of the Bush administration’s approach to the environment (i.e., Kyoto, Energy Bill, drilling in the ANWAR — you know the rest).

Dems Talking Tough, But Not On Billboards

Billbored: The Democratic Party is still up in arms over GOP Rep. “Mean” Jean Schmidt’s speech on the House floor wherein she called Purple Heart recipient and 37-year Marine veteran John Murtha a coward for speaking out about the failed Republican policy in Iraq. Tom McMahon, executive director of the Democratic National Committee has been sending me e-mails regularly to keep me apprised of the DNC’s response to Schmidt and to hopefully prise some money out of me to support it.

The DNC response? Put up two “Shame On You” billboards near Schmidt’s Ohio district office. Now that’s talkin’ tough, man. First, Tom asked me for money to buy the signs. He then wanted me to get excited because 7,000 Dumbocrats had “stepped forward to fund a campaign designed to show Republican leaders that there will be consequences for continuing their pattern [of] shamelessly attacking the service of veterans who don’t share their warped view of reality.”

Then he wanted me to get indignant whent the sign company, Lamar Advertising, refused to erect the boards. Well, I didn’t, but 100,000 others with less self-control did, and signed a protest letter to Lamar demanding, as Tom put it, their “right to be heard.”

Tom wrote me today to let me know that Lamar had caved — kind of — and was saying they would put up the boards if the words “shame on you” were removed or a prominent “paid for by” message was included. Tom characterized these demands as “shocking developments,” and noted indignantly that “the DNC will never allow a corporation to determine the content of our ads.”
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