In case you haven’t been paying attention, the press has been attempting for over a week now to find something—anything—that mentions the pope in the context of the bishops’ deplorable and disgusting failure to act, for decades, on sexual-abuse charges.
The attempt to draw the pope into the scandal has now—officially, I believe–reached absurdity. The AP news service has just reported the views of Mehmet Ali Agca, under the headline “In Turkey, Pope Gunman Says Benedict Should Resign.”
Connoisseurs of headlineze will appreciate that “Pope Gunman” phrase, and, as it turns out, “The Turkish man who shot Pope John Paul II says Pope Benedict XVI should resign over the Catholic Church’s handling of clerical sex abuse cases.”
March 30th, 2010 | 11:10 pm
Mr. Sirhan Sirhan
Pleasant Valley State Prison
P.O. Box 8500
Fresno, California 93210
Dear Mr. Sirhan:
I am a young, underpaid wire service reporter for the Associated Press or Reuters. My job is to create content that is eventually published in newspapers around the world and many media outlets on the Internet. (If you don’t know what this “Internet” is, please consult appropriate reference material that is available to you in your prison’s library.) I am interested in knowing your opinion of former Maryland Lt. Governor Kathleen Kennedy Townsend’s view, expressed in Newsweek magazine (July 9, 2009), that President Barack Obama reflects the interests of American Catholics better than Pope Benedict XVI, who is technically their spiritual leader.
Since you put three .22 caliber bullets in Ms. Townsend’s father on June 5, 1968 and were subsequently convicted of murder (but graciously escaped the gas chamber), I believe that this may give you unique insight and special expertise to comment on her views that President Obama is more Catholic than the pope.
We regret that unlike ABC News, we cannot provide financial compensation in exchange for your assistance.
We wish you well in your future attempts to win parole from the state of California, and we look forward to hearing from you.
Sincerely,
Generic Wire-Services Reporter
March 30th, 2010 | 11:34 pm
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by DNC DUDES. DNC DUDES said: Resign or Be Killed, I Guess: In case you haven’t been paying attention, the press has been attempting for ov… http://bit.ly/982ZzD #tcot [...]
March 31st, 2010 | 9:16 am
The Western world’s obsession with celebrity, as opposed to fame, continues to claim long standing news media. Is there yet a broadly accepted name for this with the appropriate negative connotation?
“Yellow Journalism” is what we wound up calling the news excesses of the late 19th century. “Infotainment” has a neutral connotation at best. Even “The Economist”, which held the line for so long, is slowly yielding.
March 31st, 2010 | 1:00 pm
The article mentions “There are questions about Agca’s mental health.”
No, really?
March 31st, 2010 | 7:25 pm
Can’t wait to see Agca on the Bill Maher show, or maybe on “Dancing with the Stars”.
April 1st, 2010 | 12:47 am
Here’s a perceptive analysis of the media coverage from a self-described radical humanist, pointing out the agenda behind the Catholic-bashing.
A real breath of fresh air.
http://www.spiked-online.com/index.php/site/article/8360/
April 1st, 2010 | 2:40 am
Has this one ‘reached absurdity’?:
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5h9O9pDzoOP4MhFpu2FhO326s_y8wD9EQ1E600
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