According to the incomparable (NH resident) Mark Steyn: “That’s 1.8333333 writers for each error.”
Here’s his post in today’s NRO “The Corner”:
Rogue’s Eleven [Mark Steyn]
If you wonder why American newspapering is dying, consider this sign-off:
AP writers Matt Apuzzo, Sharon Theimer, Tom Raum, Rita Beamish, Beth Fouhy, H. Josef Hebert, Justin D. Pritchard, Garance Burke, Dan Joling and Lewis Shaine contributed to this report.
Wow. That’s ten “AP writers” plus Calvin Woodward, the AP writer whose twinkling pen honed the above contributions into the turgid sludge of the actual report. That’s 11 writers for a 695-word report. What on? Obamacare
? The Iranian nuke program? The upcoming trial of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed?
No, the Associated Press
PALIN: Says she made frugality a point when traveling on state business as Alaska governor, asking “only” for reasonably priced rooms and not “often” going for the “high-end, robe-and-slippers” hotels.
THE FACTS: Although she usually opted for less-pricey hotels while governor, Palin and daughter Bristol stayed five days and four nights at the $707.29-per-night Essex House luxury hotel (robes and slippers come standard)…
That looks like AP paid 1.8333333 fact-checkers to agree with Mrs Palin: She says she didn’t “often” go for “high-end” hotels; they say she “usually opted for less-pricey hotels”. That’s gonna make one must-see edition of “Point/Counterpoint”.
Or is AP arguing “four nights” counts as “often”? Is that the point? AP assigned 11 reporters to demonstrate that four is a large number?
While we’re at it, Steyn’s weekend column is up . It’s a scathing indictment of the Multicultural mindset that allowed Nidal to wreak his havoc. Here’s the first two graphs:
Shortly after 9/11, there was a lot of talk about how no one would ever hijack an American airliner ever again — not because of new security arrangements but because an alert citizenry was on the case: We were hip to their jive. The point appeared to be proved three months later on a U.S.-bound Air France flight. The “Shoebomber” attempted to light his footwear, and the flight attendants and passengers pounced. As the more boorish commentators could not resist pointing out, even the French guys walloped him.
But the years go by, and the mood shifts. You didn’t have to be “alert” to spot Maj. Nidal Hasan. He’d spent most of the last half-decade walking around with a big neon sign on his head saying “JIHADIST. STAND WELL BACK.” But we (that is to say, almost all of us — and certainly almost anyone who matters in national security and the broader political culture) are now reflexively conditioned to ignore the flashing neon sign. Like those apocryphal Victorian ladies discreetly draping the lasciviously curved legs of their pianos, if a glimpse of hard unpleasant reality peeps through we simply veil it in another layer of fluffy illusions.
Steyn is one out-of-state transplant New Hampshire was lucky to get. Too bad he doesn’t fish.
UPDATE 11/15/09: Here’s Newsweek-Of-The-Living-Dead’s Palin cover.
Of course they go with a cheesecake theme, but on the other hand, who cares? it’s not as if the twelve liberals who comprise their readership will change their minds about Palin, and the rest of us (except for Wes’ heroine Andrew Sullivan) get a nice little blood pressure boost.
And surprise! The pundits at this withering dead tree byproduct deduce Sara’s bad for everybody. Nobody could have seen that coming…
Final note: this picture is part of a set taken for Palin’s piece in Runners World Magazine. That issue sold 7 times its normal amount. When TIME ran Palin on their cover a couple of months ago most stores imposed a limit of 2 copies per customer because TIME was running out of copies. So Palin’s good for something, isn’t she?
The Conservative Citizen 
In their defense, the AP’s reporting… isn’t the best. And is typically biased towards conservatives anyway, so it wouldn’t be hard to see how they’d miss a few. Andrew Sullivan and his staff will be taking a read soon, so I’m waiting for that.
He’s already compiled these in things she hasn’t even put in print:
Palin lied when she said the dismissal of her public safety commissioner, Walt Monegan, had nothing to do with his refusal to fire state trooper Mike Wooten; in fact, the Branchflower Report concluded that she repeatedly abused her power when dealing with both men.
Palin lied when she repeatedly claimed to have said, “Thanks, but no thanks” to the Bridge to Nowhere; in fact, she openly campaigned for the federal project when running for governor.
Palin lied when she denied that Wasilla’s police chief and librarian had been fired; in fact, both were given letters of termination the previous day.
Palin lied when she wrote in the NYT that a comprehensive review by Alaska wildlife officials showed that polar bears were not endangered; in fact, email correspondence between those scientists showed the opposite.
Palin lied when she claimed in her convention speech that an oil gas pipeline “began” under her guidance; in fact, the pipeline was years from breaking ground, if at all.
Palin lied when she told Charlie Gibson that she does not pass judgment on gay people; in fact, she opposes all rights between gay spouses and belongs to a church that promotes conversion therapy.
Palin lied when she denied having said that humans do not contribute to climate change; in fact, she had previously proclaimed that human activity was not to blame.
Palin lied when she claimed that Alaska produces 20 percent of the country’s domestic energy supply; in fact, the actual figures, based on any interpretation of her words, are much, much lower.
Palin lied when she told voters she improvised her convention speech when her teleprompter stopped working properly; in fact, all reports showed that the machine had functioned perfectly and that her speech had closely followed the script.
Palin lied when she recalled asking her daughters to vote on whether she should accept the VP offer; in fact, her story contradicts details given by her husband, the McCain campaign, and even Palin herself. (She later added another version.)
Palin lied when she claimed to have taken a voluntary pay cut as mayor; in fact, as councilmember she had voted against a raise for the mayor, but subsequent raises had taken effect by the time she was mayor.
Palin lied when she insisted that Wooten’s divorce proceedings had caused his confidential records to become public; in fact, court officials confirmed they released no such records.
Palin lied when she suggested to Katie Couric that she was involved in trade missions with Russia; in fact, she has never even met with Russian officials.
Palin lied when she told Shimon Peres that the only flag in her office was the Israeli flag; in fact, she has several flags.
Palin lied when she claimed to have tried to divest government funds from Sudan; in fact, her administration openly opposed a bill that would have done just that.
Palin lied when she repeatedly claimed that troop levels in Iraq were back to pre-surge levels; in fact, even she acknowledged her “misstatements,” though she refused to retract or apologize.
Palin lied when she insisted that the Branchflower Report “showed there was no unlawful or unethical activity on my part”; in fact, that report prominently stated, “Palin abused her power by violating Alaska Statute 39.52.110(a) of the Alaska Executive Branch Ethics Act.”
Palin lied when she claimed to have voiced concerns over Wooten fearing he would harm her family; in fact, she actually decreased her security detail during that period.
Palin lied when asked about the $150,000 worth of clothes provided by the RNC; in fact, solid reporting contradicted several parts of her statement.
Palin lied when she suggested that she had offered the media proof of her pregnancy with Trig to “correct the record”; in fact, no reports of her medical records were ever published; and the letter from her doctor testifying to her good health only emerged hours before polling ended on election day, even though there was nothing in it that couldn’t have been released two months earlier.
Palin lied when she said that “reported” allegations of her banning Harry Potter as mayor was easily refutable because it had not even been written yet; in fact, the first book in that series was published in 1998 – two years into her first term – and such rumors were never reported by the media, only circulated as emails.
Palin lied when she denied having participated in a clothes audit with campaign laywers; in fact, the Washington Times later confirmed those details.
Palin lied when asked about Couric’s question regarding her reading habits; in fact, Couric’s words were not, “What do you read up there in Alaska?” or anything close to condescension.
Palin lied when she mischaracterized the “$1200 check” given to Alaskans as the permanent fund dividend check; in fact, that fund had yielded $2,069 per person, and she claimed otherwise to obscure the fact that Alaskans also received a $1200 rebate check from a windfall profits tax on oil companies – a tax widely criticized by Republicans.
Palin lied when she claimed to be unaware of a turkey being slaughtered behind her during a filmed interview; in fact, the cameraman said she had picked the spot herself, while the slaughter was underway.
Palin lied when she denied having rejected federal stimulus money; in fact, she continued to accept and reject the funds several times.
Palin lied when she claimed that legislative leaders had canceled a meeting with her to hold their own press conference; in fact, they only canceled it after being told she would not participate, and the purpose of the press conference was very different from the meeting’s.
Palin lied when she announced on the news that she never holds closed-door meetings; in fact, she had just attended a closed-door meeting with the legislature earlier that day.
Palin lied when she said that former aide John Bitney’s “amicable” departure was for “personal” reasons; in fact, Bitney said he was fired because of his relationship with the wife of Palin’s friend, plus a Palin spokesperson later claimed “poor job performance” for his firing – without elaborating.
Palin lied when she said she kept her running injury a secret on the campaign trail; in fact, her bandaged hand was clearly visible in photographs and the story was widely talked about.
Palin lied when she claimed that Alaska has spent “millions of dollars” on litigation related to her ethics complaints; in fact, that figure is much, much lower, and she had initiated the most expensive inquiry.
Palin lied when she denied that the Alaska Independence Party supports secession and denied that her husband had been a member; in fact, even the McCain campaign noted that the party’s very existence is based on secession and that Todd was a member for seven years.
In fact, were I a more paranoid person, I might say that the AP specifically wrote a cursory, light “fact check” so that when the real ones come out in a week or two, perpetual believers can say, “But the AP is an actual news organization, and they only found 6 errors in the whole book!” It certainly would be clever, and would explain why an organization like the Associated Press decided to take a position.
You actually quoted Andrew Sullivan? You left out his conspiracy theory that her Downs Syndrome son actually was birthed by her teenage daughter. Wonder what else he’s dreamed up lately in his steroid haze – after that pot bust on Cap Cod.
Nice list, though, if you like blinkered definitions of lying, as in “Palin lied when she said the cookies were chocolate chip – they were peanut butter and chocolate.”
“Palin lied when she said the bed sheets were clean – they had been slept on twice already.”
By the way, how many bestselling books written by Libs have the AP Fact checked?
Hold on, the Beast has to rephrase the question…
If there were any bestselling books written by Liberals, would the AP assign any fact checkers to them? or would this be like CNN, who “fact checked” a Saturday Night Live skit. The AP’s as hostile to conservatism as the rest of the biased MSM, so I think I already know the answer.
Beast, a cursory glance revealed that the AP fact-checked Michael Moore’s latest movie just this year.
Beyond that, Andrew Sullivan has FREQUENTLY admitted that he has no basis to question it. He has simply questioned the insanity of the story she tells about how he was born.
Twelve hours in labor on a plane, going through both takeoff and arrival. And neither the flight attendants or the passengers knew anything was going on. If that were in a movie, people would be laughing at it.
Beast, she ain’t smart enough to be this mastermind of the media. She couldn’t even hack it as a journalist on her own, she was a talking head on a news show.
A better title for her book would be Sarah Palin: Diva & Dumbass.
My mom went into labor with me, and then went grocery shopping. My parents ran into some people that they knew. She would hold onto some shelving when having a contraction, and then continue on. She knew it would take some time for me to “show up” (I was her first) so she took her time to get to the hospital. She figured if she could hold out until midnight and then head to the hospital it would save a whole day of hospital charges. Go figure. And by the way, like Andrew Sullivan knows anything about women, or how they think.
It was her fifth pregnancy, Dave. And Sullivan says repeatedly that ALL this could be erased permanently in a heartbeat.
Personally, I’m like you were with the birth certificate thing. There probably IS an embarrassing reason the story is so weird, but it is not that Trig wasn’t her child.
From Wes’ list: Palin lied when asked about Couric’s question regarding her reading habits; in fact, Couric’s words were not, “What do you read up there in Alaska?” or anything close to condescension. or how about this one:
Palin lied when she announced on the news that she never holds closed-door meetings; in fact, she had just attended a closed-door meeting with the legislature earlier that day.
Profound stuff there. Only a hardened political hack would even care about 90% of that list.
But the better question, Wes, is: say’s who? So Andrew Sullivan can just throw anything out there and now Palin lied? Hell, let me join in!
Palin lied when she denied consuming lunch earlier that day when in fact she chewed on a stick of gum at 3:30. Wait, I have a better one:
Wes lied when he said he had something substantial to say when in fact he just had a meaningless list of bilge that he copied off the internet
I have very little to add to that list, which is a fairly well-researched document by a guy that makes a point of putting dissenting points of view on his site. Even his own assistants posted entries that called him nuts for the whole Trig thing.
Yes, some of the lies are frivolous, but that’s kind of the point. She doesn’t try to tell the truth about much of anything and just says whatever she thinks will help her at the time. She benefits from the fact that people already expect her to not be that bright because she is attractive.
The list of Obama’s lies so far would be much longer than that.
Obama lied when he said without the stimulus the Unemployment rate would go above 8%.
Hey, this is easy, anybody can play!
Dave: like Andrew Sullivan knows anything about women, or how they think.
LOL!
I will go on record that I haven’t been a fan of Palin for some time, will not support her in the primaries for president, and hope that is not what she is aiming at. That said, I think the attacks on her from the Left are mostly unfair and are all about the fact she is a conservative and nothing else.
Steve Schmidt called her account of the campaign “complete fiction”. While he is most certainly not currently a friend to conservatives, he also doesn’t strike me as a man who would have a need to lie.
I don’t like ANYONE remotely like Sarah Palin. What message does she send to kids? Be pretty and bitchy and you’ll go far? If she wasn’t conservative, she wouldn’t get so much crap from liberals, that is true. But if she started looking old or got bad plastic surgery, she’d lose half her support from conservatives.
The moment I knew what I was looking at was when I heard the story about how she stood in line for hours to see Ivana Trump because Alaska needed some “class”. A question to everyone here: If you heard someone you knew call Ivana Trump classy, what would you think about that statement? What would you think about the person who made it?
“It was her fifth pregnancy, Dave. And Sullivan says repeatedly that ALL this could be erased permanently in a heartbeat.”
Bad choice of words to use in a debate with a conservative, unless it was intentional – in which case, poor taste, but a really nice left hook.
(Pregnancy, erased, heartbeat…)
Palin has always struck me as someone who believes in something and sticks to her beliefs even when unpopular.
It’s not that she is the sharpest tool in the shed – it’s that she has more in common with the average conservative American than most politicians.
Does that make her the ideal candidate for the next election? Ah, no. But it does make her a contender – and given the current situations of the day where each decision the current administration makes seems to invite harm to our troops, more challenges to our economy, and shrinkage to our wallets, it certainly makes her a person of interest.
Palin is someone who believes in something and sticks to it even when proven wrong. And yes, she DOES have a lot in common with the average conservative.
I don’t mean to be insulting, but it’s a phenomenon I don’t understand. Studies prove consistently that abstinence-only education fails, but it’s the only acceptable answer for some. We have gigantic piles of indisputable evidence for evolution, much of which is accepted as fact by pretty much everyone (viruses constantly evolve, insects grow resistant to pesticide), but there are many who refuse to acknowledge the reality around them. The people who claim now to care about debt did the most to ensure the election of the President who raised it to current levels and did everything to demonize the President who oversaw its decline. And now many want to pretend that fact isn’t true or try to find some way to explain how black is red and vice-versa, which is part of the same psychosis.
The mere fact that you are clearly in favor of accelerating defense spending (including, I presume, support for a war in Iran that would send oil prices into catastrophic territory) while claiming to be worried about deficits and everyday expenses actually suggests you are not truly serious about it.
Palin is absolutely one of those people, and the only thing that makes her worse is that she has all the narcissism and charisma of Bill Clinton with none of the experience, intelligence or actual accomplishment.
“Studies prove consistently that abstinence-only education fails, but it’s the only acceptable answer for some. ”
I don’t disagree with you that abstinence-only education ‘fails’ on the whole. Look at your target audience. I am not for it as the “only acceptable answer”; however there is one overlooked fact that is indisputable (at least as far as I can tell) with regards to this particular issue that gets ‘muddied’ with the focus put on the ‘failure’ of the education. (Incidentally the purpose of the education in my mind should be to EDUCATE – not DICTATE the actions of the student.) Abstinence – if practiced – works. IF you abstain, your risk of STD’s is oh – say – Zero percent. IF you abstain – your risk of pregnancy is oh – say – Zero percent. Now – before you make the assumption that I am a Abstinence Education Only Evangelist – let me clarify that I am not. I am FOR the education of our kids. I am FOR reproductive education in the classroom. But I believe that a balanced approach should be taken – if you are old enough in life to start making those decisions for yourself you should at least be aware of the roads to be taken, the consequences of each road – and the different approaches that can be taken to each.
“We have gigantic piles of indisputable evidence for evolution, much of which is accepted as fact by pretty much everyone (viruses constantly evolve, insects grow resistant to pesticide), but there are many who refuse to acknowledge the reality around them.”
Broad, generic (piles, everyone). I believe evolution occurs in nature. I believe in the existence of God. I don’t believe that the two are mutually exclusive of one another. There is, as you say, gigantic piles of evidence for evolution – but I disagree with the indisputable part (only because everything is disputable and our understanding of life as we know it will change dramatically in the next 1000 years). I don’t believe either evolution or creation will ever be ‘proved’ in our lifetime. They are both a matter of faith based on our perception of the universe (or as you put it – the reality) around us.
To the colorblind, the rainbow isn’t there.
Besides all that – I find it more than egotistical to think that in the universe that we see and know as ‘reality’, to say that we – in our what 5000 years or so of recorded history – are the only ones out there that have the handle on any type of certainty for what IS. We in our wisdom have narrowed it down to two possibilities – evolution or creation. What if there is a third – or fourth?
As to what I am in favor of – a few assumptions made that I suppose I should address.
At the risk of alienating, I will say that I am more in favor of defense spending than I am overhauling the health care system. I think we get more bang for the buck and better results for the investment.
I am NOT for a war in Iran without provocation, without cause. If Iran invades or attacks an ally, we move. If Iran makes preparations for war, we prepare for war. I believe the war in Iraq was a decision made on intelligence that was later found to be hyped; however it’s not like there wasn’t recent case precedent for Iraq’s predisposition to invade and attack other countries. I believe there were proponents (just as there always are) in the administration who used their position and their influence to turn a decision in their favor; however I supported our president in his decision – I support our troops in their efforts – and I believe that the decision was the right decision based on the information they had in hand at the time. And in terms of harm to our troops I was speaking of critical decision making abilities in my original post.
I do not believe that a war with Iran would send oil prices into catastrophic territories. I believe that speculation about oil prices built around the estimated impact of such a war would cause oil prices to go up – just as it did last year; however I am a bigger believer in the principle of supply and demand. Call me old fashioned, but if demand for oil falls because the prices are too high, and the oil keeps filling the warehouses, eventually the prices will fall. At this point what’s more likely to affect us with oil prices is not a war, not even supply and demand – but a weak dollar.
Ok I need more coffee now.
Sting, we agree on most of those. Maybe you should speak louder at these tea party things.
Conservatives are still waiting for the AP dream team to fact check Obama’s, Clinton’s and Gore’s books.
Reply to Sting:
Two thoughts
1. After a comment surpasses 100 words it should be a post.
2. There are lots of brands on the market that taste just as good as fresh-brewed regular, but without the caffeine.
Reply to THB:
1. Your statement begs the question and is flawed for the following 28 reasons:
{content removed due to it’s size, think War and Peace, part II}
2. I’ve secretly replaced Mr. Scott’s dilithium crystals with Folger’s crystals. Let’s see if he notices the difference.
😉
LOL – the Beast considers himself “Stung”! Touche!
The Beast should also point out that he meant his comment to sting as a compliment, not a criticism. Sting’s comment was worthy of a post all of its own.
Wait…. why would you drink coffee without caffeine? Why would you drink ANYTHING without caffeine?
I am now a fan of Sting as well as of THB. Well said.
I must add that I personally have never yet seen a shred of evidence that a bit of slime can someday become an elephant. No matter how much time you give it. But that’s just me.
Wes said “The people who claim now to care about debt did the most to ensure the election of the President who raised it to current levels and did everything to demonize the President who oversaw its decline. And now many want to pretend that fact isn’t true or try to find some way to explain how black is red and vice-versa, which is part of the same psychosis.”
You guys are slipping. I can’t believe you let him get away with that one. By a President who raised it to current levels I assume you mean Bush? And Clinton the one who oversaw its decline? In our system of governments the “purse strings” are controlled by the legislature which was Republicans during the decline of the debt during the Clinton years.
As for Bush technically Obama oversaw the debt growing to its current levels since he is the current president. But I was never a big fan of the man so I won’t start defending him now.
Done in 99 words but since I have one left. . . . platypus
Awesome.
The vast majority of Bush’s term was also filled with Republican rule in the legislature. And that’s what I meant when I said trying to find some way to explain it away. The things that did the most work to drive up deficits was a gigantic tax cut and two long and expensive military occupations, both of which were fought for in very hard battles by the Republican party.
The party with Congressmen who disgust you that you defend every chance you get.
Latest update on this – AP assigns 11 fact checkers to Palins’ 400+ page book… then assigns 2 fact checkers to the 2000+ page senate health care bill.
That is indeed … interesting.
This may be the best comments section that we have ever produced – everybody, including Wes, is in top form. The comments are better than the Beast’s post.
certainly like your website however you have to check the spelling on several of your posts. Several of them are rife with spelling issues and I to find it very bothersome to inform the truth nevertheless I will surely come again again.