Muckroom Follies 2.20.08 Right Hand v Extreme Right Hand

On occasion, Dear Gentle Reader(s), the Townhall Dot Com muckroom affords a nugget of enlightenment.

For instance, in today's email effort, there is an offering from one Frank J. Gaffney, Jr., with this title and teaser: 'John Doe' Telecoms While the House of Representatives is vacationing this week, terrorists are probably communicating about plots to kill Americans without fear that their plans will be intercepted by U.S. intelligence.

Suspecting this to be spin verging on an untruth, and having heard of a contrarian view in no less a source than The Washington Times, your correspondent, DGR(s), went to the WT website for information.

A quick Google leads one to "Analysts say FISA will suffice," By Sean Lengell. The article begins with "Many intelligence scholars and analysts outside the government say that today's expiration of certain temporary domestic wiretapping laws will have little effect on national security, despite warnings to the contrary by the White House and Capitol Hill Republican leaders," which seems to directly contradict the claim of Townhall's teaser.

The coup de grace, however, comes when Lengell quotes Timothy Lee of the Cato Institute (a conservative think tank). After establishing that President Bush praised the latest overhaul of FISA as a recognition of..."the realities and dangers posed by the modern terrorist", Lee states "Those are the rules we'll be living under after the Protect America Act expires this weekend. There's no reason to think our nation will be in any more danger in 2008 than it was in 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, or 2006."

So there you have it, DGR(s). Townhall on February 20 offers one RWN column; WT offers a RW reporting job on February 16. Bonus: This WT Archive page offers links to both Lengell's and Gaffney's pieces.

Ah, those right wingers. They know not what the other does.

Perhaps Gaffney should do a little research before he swallows the administration line. Remember, Frank, Dana Perino is a mouthpiece, not an objective source.

Trust, but verify.

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