Barnicle story on Grantland

Here's the thing, why doesn't plagiarism and fabrication bother you more? Why wouldn't you, as a journalist, demand the highest standards from those in your industry -- and the harshest of penalties for those who violate them?

I know that when I was a commodities trader/broker, I was disgusted with unethical brokers/traders. They gave the entire industry a bad reputation, and made it harder to attract new customers.

I wanted them all run out of the business. They made things worse for all of us. Even an ethical broker/trader had to deal with the perception of impropriety.

It's the same thing in your business. The actions of Barnicle, and others, lessens the work all of you do. Doesn't that bother you?

Why would you ever forgive it?

 

It might interest you to know a lot of Obama supporters think the Biden VP selection was dopey in the first place. Personally I would never have anybody over 65 on a national ticket. Ever. Period. (And yes Hillary, that means you too.) I want my national ticket candidates to be people with a personal stake in what the country is going to look like in 25 years. Old codgers who are going to be dead shortly after they leave office don't really give a shit how they leave the country.

Biden is obviously not a catastrophic liability (most of the people who revile him undoubtedly hate Obama anyway), but he doesn't attract anybody to the ticket who wouldn't be inclined to support Obama in the first place.

I consider Biden's plagiarism/fabrication to be on the level of campaign whoppers, the kind Willard-Mitt has been pumping out by the dozens every week for years now.

If Biden worked in professional journalism, I'd fire his ass on the spot.

 

Watch where you jump with those conclusions.

 

The standards for political speeches and newspaper articles are not the same. Biden lost a real good chance to be President for swiping a speech. That seems like a sufficient punishment. Romney is a serial liar about his own damn record. If he loses, that will be sufficient punishment, too. They're pols. They're not in a business that puts truth as its primary and essential virtue. Journalism is different. Why buy it if you don't believe it?

 

Totally agree.

 

You're the guy who wrote: "Done. Career should be over."

Now you don't seem so sure: "Whether or not he works thereafter..."

What happened? Did your knee jerk so hard it knocked some compassion into you?

 

I never wrote "Done. Career should be over."

That was someone else.

If you want to argue with me, argue with me.

If you want to argue with someone else, argue with someone else.

 

you wish you were clever enough to write "Done. Career should be over."

 

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