Just a little update. As I explained in my earlier
, sometime early Sunday morning, WaPo very quietly restored 948 posts, which were attached to an article called "New Blog: Maryland Moment." They left the thread open to new posts. 4 new posts arrived, between 11:56 am and 2:10 pm, on Monday 1/23. At some time after that, the thread was locked.
But here's the interesting part. Even though WaPo reposted 948 messages, they now seem to be in the process of gradually deleting large numbers of those messages.
Since life is short, I will dispense with my ordinary excruciating thoroughness, and be content to just provide a sampling. The following messages were present at washingtonpost.com on Monday (an image of the blog as of Monday can be found here). Now they're gone (as you can see if you check here).
Your call is very important to us , please hold while I attempt to connect you ---Bob Woodward, John Harris' unprofessional attack on Froomkin, Howell's unprofessional piling on in the attack on Froomkin, Schmidt's bad journalism, Howell's lies defending bad journalism, Kurtz defending the lying liars, Derek Willis' truthiness-- Your call is very important to us , please hold while I attempt to connect you ---Bob Woodward, John Harris' unprofessional attack on Froomkin, Howell's unprofessional piling on in the attack on Froomkin, Schmidt's bad journalism, Howell's lies defending bad journalism, Kurtz defending the lying liars, Derek Willis' truthiness---Your call is very important to us , please hold while I attempt to connect you ---Bob Woodward, John Harris' unprofessional attack on Froomkin, Howell's unprofessional piling on in the attack on Froomkin, Schmidt's bad journalism, Howell's lies defending bad journalism, Kurtz defending the lying liars, Derek Willis' truthiness-- Your call is very important to us , please hold while I attempt to connect you ---Bob Woodward, John Harris' unprofessional attack on Froomkin, Howell's unprofessional piling on in the attack on Froomkin, Schmidt's bad journalism, Howell's lies defending bad journalism, Kurtz defending the lying liars, Derek Willis' truthiness---Your call is very important to us , please hold while I attempt to connect you
Posted by: The Humbugsman | Jan 18, 2006 10:31:23 PM | Permalink
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Dear Wapo & Ms. Howell,
You seem to be ineffectual, unfactual, spineless cowards. "Accidentally" deleting posts critical of the lies spewed forth by Ms. Howell is just another example of your lean to the right. Drink the koolaid, chant the party mantra and in time enough people will be fooled by your sly wordplay and outright lies. Your integrity as ombudsman completely negated you'll probably get a promotion.
Posted by: Patrick in Chicago | Jan 17, 2006 10:45:56 AM | Permalink
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Hmmmmm. I will also give you the benefit of doubt regarding the deleted comments. However, I also hope that they reappear soon (minus of course, those that were offensive). I like the idea that someone else commented on, of sending copies of this to other media outlets. But perhaps I wait to see what happens here.
Regards, Paul.
My previous comment:
OK WaPo,
Bob Woodward
Sue Schmidt
Deborah Howell
GOP Hacks. Three strikes, youuuuuu'rrrrrrrre OUT!
It looks to me (judging from the comments here and in other blogs and forums) that your readers are very unhappy with the partisan journalism (sic) obviously endorsed by the WaPo editors and management.
Seems to me that unless you change your obvious partisan Republican reporting, you won't be around very long. Which is a shame.
Three strikes... You don't have any credibility left to loose.
I think it's safe to assume that you are on notice.
Posted by: Paul Franks | Jan 17, 2006 7:55:10 AM | Permalink
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I cannot imagine why WaPo doesn't try to stand back up to the credibility it once retained. An excellent start would be the delivery of a pink-slip to Ms. Howell. There are two possibilities:
- She is a republican shill who is content with bending over to the whim of the party and parroting moronic half-truth talking points (truthinesses?).
- She is one of the people too dumb to be able to put the whole picture together.
...Do WaPo, Willis, Howell all a favor and send them packing. Maybe the Times needs boot licking dim-wits like them to park cars or something.
Can we see some sourced proof of Jack's donations to Dems?
Posted by: Kclark | Jan 17, 2006 2:42:28 AM | Permalink
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Compounding your disgrace, "Steno Sue" on CSPAN:
SCHMIDT: Well, that`s - you know, I think that some of the elected officials don`t know how far this thing goes in their own party, both Republican and Democrat. They - the Democrats have not been - a few have been sort of out there strident about it but there`s a deafening silence on the part of a lot of people. And that`s because actually Abramoff had - was giving a lot of money to Democrats, too.
Washington Post, you will not get away with this.
Posted by: Cancelling My Subscription | Jan 16, 2006 11:32:22 AM | Permalink
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You, know, its bad enough that Deborah Howell repeatedly lied about Abramoff's contributions.....
But what really kills me is that she did so in an effort to recast one of the biggest press whores at the Post, Steno Sue Schmidt, into some kind of intrepid investigative reporter.
No wonder Howell is so completely delusional -- she apparently believes that Steno Sue is a reporter --- and does just take dictation from Ken Melhman and his ilk for publication in the next day's paper.
Posted by: paul lukasiak | Jan 16, 2006 11:30:50 AM | Permalink
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> Wow.... thats a lot of reponses above isn't
> it? Have you EVER gotten a similiar
> response before?
Yes, they have. As I suspect most traditional media outlets have since these Internets really got rolling. They will print out all the messages, hand them over to the US Archives, and they will be stored in the warehouse right next to the Ark of the Covenant.
> Guess what, you are not going to get away
> with your blatant partisan lies.
And this I have to say is one of the reasons why postings such as ours on this topic will be ignored. NOBODY likes to be called a "partisan liar". Even partisan liars such as Scott McClellen get angry when they are called partisan liars. Traditional journalists think are doing what they perceive as a difficult job using standards and under constraints that the public doesn't understand; they don't perceive themselves as being "liars". So calling them that does nothing but get their backs up and cause them to reject the criticism.
So, when writing/posting deserved criticism, consider using the time-honored honey-buttkick-honey method, and toning down phrases such as "liar".
Cranky
Posted by: Cranky Observer | Jan 16, 2006 10:39:31 AM | Permalink
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Fire the idiot Howell!!! We are all so very disgusted with Republican talking heads! Grt a clue, you guys. Only 40% of idiots Americans are for the Bushies. We will NOT BE SILENCED! IMPEACH bush, Cheney, and Rumsfeld immediately.
Posted by: hstevesn | Jan 16, 2006 10:21:10 AM | Permalink
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What a despicable hack. Fire her now, WaPo, unless you're comfortable with the complete abandonment of your journalistic responsibilities. I mean, a lot of people have found the transition fairly easy.
Barring dismissal, could you at least unplug Ms. Howell's fax machine and revoke her cocktail party privileges? You know, till the whole thing blows over.
Posted by: Tommy Yum | Jan 16, 2006 7:14:22 AM | Permalink
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Hey, this is Bink from the Republican National Committee. Just wanted to make sure that all of my faxes came in from last night. Be sure to lead with a story called, "Democrats did it too," followed by another story called, "Pathetic Democrats" like you did all last week. This has been a very effective strategy for us. Rewards will be yours. See you at Donald Rumsfeld's MLK day party.
Posted by: Bink | Jan 16, 2006 5:22:17 AM | Permalink
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Okay let's use some Faux News terms here since you've adopted their level of truthfulness. First Debby Howell is being "Intellectually dishonest", second "Some would say" she's a lying witch. Okay the some in that one is me but "Some would say" she is unpatriotic for attacking Americans (liberals) instead of attacking the flow of money that is as shameful as the Saudi flow of money to terrorists. And finally in OReilly speak let's talk boycott! I'm boycotting every damn advertiser that touches your stinking pages and I urge all true Americans to do the same! Pat Robertson found religion when threatened with loss of money from Isreal, I say we do the same to your stinking pile of crap propaganda! I ask everyone to join in and seriously hunger strike yourself from any add that touches this dishonest paper!
Posted by: Paul Carro | Jan 16, 2006 4:04:04 AM | Permalink
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Howell is a bigoted right-wing fascist - her extraordinarily biased views have no place in a great paper like the WaPo. Please get rid of her.
Posted by: Tim Raines | Jan 16, 2006 1:56:54 AM | Permalink
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Fire Howell. Full retraction, correction and apology.
Nothing less will suffice. Howell has shamed her profession. And the Post, by keeping her in their employ, is shaming its industry.
Save yourselves. Dismiss the shill, with prejudice.
Posted by: Blah3.com | Jan 16, 2006 1:13:18 AM | Permalink
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Poopheads
Posted by: MaryMac | Jan 16, 2006 12:16:22 AM | Permalink
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I must quibble with the posters who have compared Ms. Howell with Daniel Okrent. Not even an imcompetent boob like Ms. Howell deserves that kind of insult.
Posted by: Joseph A. Caucci | Jan 16, 2006 12:03:33 AM | Permalink
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Ms. Deborah Howell is a pathetic excuse for Public Editor, who deserves to be dismissed immediately. Shilling for BushCo on a matter so easily proven false demonstrates her incompetence. The WaPo has lost all credibility over this. You need to do an in-depth investigation on how this cretin ever landed such an important job.
Posted by: KarenA | Jan 16, 2006 12:03:14 AM | Permalink
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There is no polite way to state this. Deborah Howell has demonstrated, through her outrageous reckless disregard for the truth with respect to Abramoff and the Democrats, that she is nothing but a whore.
Posted by: Hologlyph | Jan 15, 2006 11:58:16 PM | Permalink
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Look, sorry about the whore comment. It was an insult to hard working whores everywhere.
Also, as so aptly said above, why should we trust anything the WaPo prints anymore? We shouldn't. Thank god for the internet.
Posted by: debit | Jan 15, 2006 11:19:05 PM | Permalink
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Debbie Downer.
Posted by: Destardi | Jan 15, 2006 10:57:43 PM | Permalink
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Will Ralph Reed finally come out of the closet after he loses his campaign in Georgia? Praise jayzuz!
Posted by: Jeff Gannon | Jan 15, 2006 10:40:54 PM | Permalink
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It is quite obvious that Ms. Howell is either just marginally lucid or is a declared Republican stooge. Just how much longer can the editor and publisher of The Washington Post continue to hold on to this immense liability?
Posted by: Patric Mahoney | Jan 15, 2006 9:40:53 PM | Permalink
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Howell joins that long line of novelists who substitute partisan lies for easily verifiable data. Unfortunately for your readers, this isn't the first time she stovepiped crap.
How can I apply for her job? Do I need an ethical lobotomy first? Or is she key to your merger w/ the Moonies?
Posted by: tomdurk@hotmail.com | Jan 15, 2006 9:33:41 PM | Permalink
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Maybe when Howell says that Abramoff made contributions to Democrats, she actually means the opposite.
After all, when Steno Sue says that Abramoff and DeLay are close friends, we now know that she meant to write the exact opposite.
I must admit, however, that it makes it difficult to read the paper, trying to guess when the Post's writers mean the opposite of what they write.
Posted by: Nordy | Jan 15, 2006 8:44:23 PM | Permalink
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Please email us to report offensive comments.
blogs@washingtonpost.com
OK;-)
Hi,
This Deborah Howell lady is the most offensive thing I have ever read in the WaPo... and that's saying a lot considering your stirling line up of Goebbles Clones. Please ban her from all activities. She does not represent this reader and in herself surely provokes a lot of offensive remarks.
Thank you,
Mike Adams
Posted by: Michael D. Adams | Jan 15, 2006 8:39:50 PM | Permalink
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Mrs Howell is, possibly, the wife of Thurston Howell III who had ties with every non-
NAZI
corporation in the world. She is also, maybe, related to the people in the Bell and Howell company whose home projectors have been used for decades to show
PORNOGRAPHY!.
Sometimes even
CHILDREN
used the projectors to watch cartoons.
She also may have something to do with the manufacture of
RAPE
seed oil. And possibly owns a
MURDER
of crows as pets.
Posted by: Hearsay | Jan 15, 2006 8:35:21 PM | Permalink
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If anyone is looking for Deb's job, now would be a good time to apply.
And Deb, be a good time for you to leave America. You are a turncoat and you are helping to destroy our country. If you want to make up your own rules as you go along, it's a big world out there....
The next time you are out dining, and if I'm your waitress, I'll be sure to point you out to the rest of the crew to show them who is destroying our country.
Posted by: cc | Jan 15, 2006 7:43:43 PM | Permalink
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Here's what you do:
Fire Howell.
Issue a retraction.
Issue a correction.
Issue an apology to your readers.
There are plenty of jobs for Debbie Does DC on K Street, where she can fellate the GOP to her heart's content.
That's what lobbyists do, not ombudsmen.
Posted by: Three Dog | Jan 15, 2006 7:07:20 PM | Permalink
How in the world do you allow this person called Deborah Howell to post such lies? I mean, it's not even close. Look, this is not even slimy journalism. Who's paying her?
Posted by: california_reality_check | Jan 15, 2006 6:53:05 PM | Permalink
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I would like to commend the Knight-Ridder editorial
http://www.mercurynews.com/...
which describes what happens when
a paper decides to spend its resources (one months time of two reporters) coming up with a factual account of Alito's judicial history.
One sees the direct pressure exerted on the editors as well as the instant, unresearched tripe that the GOP fobs off as a response, followed by an army of GOP shills declaring the Knight-Ridder story "bogus" on the airwaves.
According to the words of the founding fathers, the free press was conceived of as playing an adversarial role to the government. The natural function of the press is to question what the government says, and make sure that the facts get out---whatever they are.
I think it is a disgrace that a so-called "respectable" newspaper such as the Washington Post is filled with cowards and knaves who buckled under to the demands of the White House to print outright lies---for what other interpretation of events is there when the ombudsman prints the GOP/Heritage lie about Abramoff money when the contrary fact was at hand?
I don't know if Ms. Howell is a coward or a craven hack, but she needs to be replaced, immediately---along with an explanation by the NEW ombudsman of exactly how Ms. Howell perpetrated her hackitude, including email trail and phone log. I envision something on the nature of the Knight-Ridder editorial. Please, don't just correct---you should inform your readers exactly how a once fine newspaper devolved into such servile Pravda-hood.
Posted by: Marky | Jan 15, 2006 6:46:31 PM | Permalink
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I've never seen a real picture of this Howell woman. I suspect it's just another pen name for man-whore Jimmy Jeff Guckert Gannon.
Posted by: Barbara May | Jan 15, 2006 6:32:52 PM | Permalink
Deborah Howell is a GOP hack. I cannot countenance the Washington Post getting any support from me while she continues to be employed.
Posted by: elliottg | Jan 15, 2006 5:32:56 PM | Permalink
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