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A Blogger Got It Wrong, Big Surprise

Liberal magazine The New Republic was so anxious for a scoop that it let a U.S. soldier write anonymously about abuses in Iraq and never bothered to check his facts. Turns out Pvt. Scott Beauchamp was spinning more yarn than a Liz Claiborne sweater factory. The lies were uncovered by The New Republic's right-wing rival, The Weekly Standard.

Now, the military has clamped down on the soldier, taking away his access to computers, the 'Net and telephones (not sure if he still gets to use his iPod).

There are two wrongs here: trusting bloggers on something so serious (um, like career- and national security-threatening serious) and clamping down too hard on someone who is decidedly a moron (too bad we can't bump down this clown, but he's already a private).

Posted by Doug Barney on August 13, 2007


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