Bleeding though they may be. Air America Radio files for Chapter 11
This is one of those stories I really don't care about--I never feared Air America would be anything more than what it actually turned out to be (i.e., interminable whining, at least from the stories I've read, since I can't be bothered to actually listen to MORE interminable whining, since I hear enough of it from a certain teenager in my house), but whether it was wildly successful or fantastically destined to fail, I never really cared.
I just like the fact that in America, we're free to flush millions down the crapper on something so unctuous and fatuous and self-serving and full of preening. Capitalism is a pretty neat thing--no one tried to stop anyone from attempting to compete in the marketplace. Well, except, you know, by the evil tactic of deciding to not listen. The capitalism of ideas is a pretty neat thing, too.
So why do I even take the time to mention this? Because of a letter to the editor in the Birmingham News. (Rest assured I didn't buy it--it was just in the office and I decided to see what there was in it.) Anyway, the letter can be found here (fifth letter down), and it says:
Last week, Scott Stantis in "Prickly City" published a series of cartoons based on the premise that Air America had gone bankrupt. Since the right wing has declared Air America defunct about once a week for the past two years, I was dubious, and a few minutes on the Internet showed no such event had occurred. What this reveals is:
The right wing does not care about accuracy. Not really a surprise.
Stantis cannot even take two minutes to check out the accuracy of what he hears in the right-wing fantasy-sphere.
The News doesn't seem to care, either. A bit more surprising.
Old joke: What is the easiest job in the world?
Answer: Rush Limbaugh's fact checker.
New version: The Birmingham News' fact checker. [name and address in the original]
Anyway, bless people who still take the time to write letters to the editor.
Posted by Terry Oglesby at October 13, 2006 11:22 AM