Infinite MonkeysUp in the cold, desolate north, the gents at Powerline have been involved in a battle of wits with an unarmed opponent: The Minneapolis Star Tribune. Seems the Strib, as it is affectionately known, cannot help but libel Powerline.
A couple of days ago, Monkey David noted an earlier smack-down of the Minneapolis Star Tribune by the guys at Powerline.
It would be pretty bad in itself if the Strib just publishing an article - devoid of any fact whatsoever (again) - accusing Powerline of not fact-checking. But they went beyond that. First, admitting that the Strib editors did no fact checking whatsoever before they ran the article "accusing [Powerline] of failing to check facts. None. Zippo. Zilch. Nada." was bad enough.
Today, Powerline strikes back. The ease with which Ms. Gage's article - or the original reporting by Powerline - could have been fact-checked by the Strib is astonishing. That they did not, but eagerly ran with the column anyways volumes about their intent and mentality.
Did the Strib know that the statement was false and defamatory? Or did the Strib publish the statement in reckless disregard of whether the matter was false and defamed the Powerline guys? I'm just a small-time gummint lawyer, but that's an argument I'd have fun making.
It's getting to be time for Powerline to take the gloves off and put an end to the Strib's libel of them. They are well respected professionals, with well-deserved solid reputations. They do not deserve this, and the Strib knows it.