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Sometimes, we are our own worst enemy.
Today is a good case in point. With Rove's attorney's letter indicating that KKKarl is off of Patrick Fitzgerald's hook, what's the first response here?
For some, it's to demand the hide of Jason Leopold, Will Pitt (of all people!), and Truthout.
For, at worst, making a mistake.
Let's assume the worst case scenario, that Jason Leopold didn't do his job, didn't doublecheck, didn't multiple source.
That puts him in the category of nearly every journalist who ever lived. He ran with a story that didn't pan out.
Remember when the corporate media ran with the "live miner" story, only to find out they were already dead?
Did America shut off their TV's as a result? No. Did the corp media lose any credibility? Maybe a little, but I can't remember any mass hysteria over it. Their ratings didn't plummet.
Remember when Drudge tried to take down John Kerry with the made-up "mistress" story, which was quickly refuted? Does Drudge lack support among his faithful now?
We progressives want truth, more than any other people, perhaps. And when we are let down, we are angry.
But I think a lot of this anger is misplaced in this case. We are angry for untold reasons that I don't need to list. Today we are certainly angry if Rove is off the hook here.
Let us remember that in our search for truth, we have to wade thru a lot of chaff. I for one look at all sorts of sites that aren't sanctioned by DU, in my endless quest for information. I don't believe everything that Alex Jones says, or Rense, or Wayne Madsen. However, I'm glad these sites exist, because amidst the UFO stories and the anti-semitic rhetoric, there are nuggets of great information.
Let us also remember that even the biggest and best liberal/progressive sites have their truth filters set according to management preferences. I believe that 9/11 was an inside job. But DU admin does not, so we 9/11 truthseekers are relegated to a "special" room. Kos doesn't allow "conspiracy" discussion on his site despite massive evidence that the Bush adminstration is nothing but one big conspiracy.
Many of our best sites, including Salon and MyDD, don't support that the 2004 election was heisted, despite all the evidence to the contrary.
If you are really interested in the truth, you must keep an open mind and be willing to go places where the filters are set to "off".
This is not to complain about the above sites. Each of these sites has its place and each performs a valuable service. We wouldn't want them to go away.
My point is that the search for truth is perilous, fraught with frustration, red herrings, misleading information, lies, disinformation, and yes, mistakes.
No one has a monopoly on truth.
That Jason Leopold's story of a Rove indictment didn't prove to be true is a shame.
But let's keep our powder dry. No more circular firing squads.
We need every truthseeker we have, and we need to pursue that truth, relentlessly.
Let's put down our weapons and move forward. There's work to do.
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