James Taranto
@jamestaranto
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Editorial Features Editor, in charge of @WSJ op-ed pages. Best of the Web columnist 2000-17. 'Aged to perfection with just the right amount of bite.'--ChatGPT
Joined July 2009
#BestoftheWeb Finale: Parting thoughts on journalism, authority and the Trump era, by @jamestaranto via @WSJ.
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That was one of his competitors, but your mixing them up proves my closing point.
@jamestaranto The ultimate for Kessler was when he named disbelief in 0bama's 'If you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor' as Lie of the Year - then a few years later made 0bama's statement itself the new Lie of the Year.
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He told the publisher that the Post needs “exclusive, compelling articles.” If he was right—and I think he was—then superiors were right to herd him out the door.
wsj.com
The ‘Pinocchios’ of Glenn Kessler have become an emblem of the long decline of journalistic integrity.
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In emphasizing this uniformity, he also acknowledges the product he was selling under that “marquee brand” was indistinguishable from that of his competitors.
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Caught in the middle of a political battle, @BlackRock reaffirmed its focus is helping millions of Americans save for retirement. They warned that injecting politics from either side risks undermining financial performance.
prosperityretirementalliance.com
Millions of Ameircans depend on the security of their retirement savings to live with dignity after a lifetime of hard work. That’s why the Alliance for Prosperity and a Secure Retirement (APSR)...
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Kessler manages to invent a new logical fallacy—the appeal to groupthink, or argumentum ad consensum pecoris. One might also describe it as an appeal to empty authority.
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His defense against accusations of subjectivity and bias: "Research found that the three main American fact-checkers—The Fact Checker, PolitiFact and reached the same conclusion on similar statements at least 95 percent of the time.".
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He fails to see what is in front of his nose—that his assignment of “Pinocchios” isn’t a fact but a pure opinion, crudely and childishly expressed.
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It is opinion journalism deceptively packaged as a higher-proof, more authoritative formulation of straight news. Kessler literally didn't know what he was doing. "Facts aren't opinions," he writes.
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The Post's problem isn't only commercial. It has allowed its journalistic integrity to erode, abandoning its ethos of impartiality and objectivity and becoming more partisan and ideological. "Fact Check" journalism is part of the problem.
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"Fact Checker" @GlennKesslerWP has left the Washington Post for Substack. He's sore about being pushed out the door and proud of the work he did at the paper: "I built and maintained one of the marquee brands of The Post.".
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So how did Fetterman win?.
@jamestaranto The PA will never hold elections because Hamas would win by a landslide and then proceed to throw current PA official from the top of buildings. Since they know this, they avoid elections no matter how much they are threatened or promised.
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Canada doesn't even have states.
Breaking News: Canada said it would recognize Palestine as a state if the Palestinian Authority makes certain changes, including holding elections next year.
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RT @naomieppsbest: Just got an update from Santa Clara University: they waived some requirements and conferred my Master’s in Applied Psych….
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The left reviles corporations, but its favorite one is fighting to expand corporate rights.
wsj.com
The left’s favorite group champions corporate rights.
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I had so much fun recording this Disney classic—can you name the song? Follow for more fun covers and timeless favorites brought to life in a fresh way.
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They also assert the law is an unconstitutional bill of attainder. But the Supreme Court has never determined that the Bill of Attainder Clauses protect corporations at all.
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