Washington Post hired a right-wing plagiarist.

[Eric J in MN]

They are so eager to try to appease right-wingers, that they hired blogger Ben Domenech.

He's a plagiarist.

.Ben's lyrical stylings on a real party are completely lifted from P.J. O'Rourke's "Modern Manners" - a chapter entitled "Real Parties." I should have known as this is one of the gifts my older brother gave me years ago that did not involve punching me in the nads.

O'Rourke, p.176: Office Christmas parties. Wine-tasting parties. Book-publishing parties. Parties with themes, such as "Las Vegas Nite" or "Waikiki Whoopee". Parties at which anyone is wearing a blue velvet tuxedo jacket.

BenDom: Christmas parties. Wine tasting parties. Book publishing parties. Parties with themes, such as "Las Vegas Nite" or "Waikiki Whoopee." Parties at which anyone is wearing a blue velvet tuxedo jacket.

O'Rourke: It's not a real party if it doesn't end in an orgy or a food fight. All your friends should still be there when you come to in the morning.

BenDom: It's not a real party if it doesn't end in an orgy or a food fight. All your friends should still be there when you come to in the morning.

[ChairmanAgnostic]

1. And, so what is the surprise?

Remember who their ombudswoman is. And who is still on their payrolla. Wood something. . . .

[Rose Siding]

3. It was so blatant, that it surprised me. So far today, he's apoplogized

for calling Coretta Scott King a communist before her body was cold, and been outed as a racist and a plagerist.

The WP should be taken to task by everyone who values whatever semblance we have left of a credible, free press.

[Paladin]

5. We Need An Apology From The Washington "Post"

They can fit it in at the bottom of the termination notice for this little douchebag......

[boobooday]

2. Well that's about as blatant as it gets

How pathetic.

[Eric J in MN]

7. Let's see if the Washington Post does anything

about the plagiarism.

[barbaraann]

4. Rightwingers have no creativity or imagination,

so that isn't a surprise.

[Breeze54]

6. He's a fucking KKK, homophobic, mysoginistic bigot!!!

Media Matters to Wash. Post brass: Fire bigoted blogger

http://mediamatters.org/items/200603230012

March 23, 2005

James M. Brady
Executive editor, Washingtonpost.com

Leonard Downie
Executive editor, The Washington Post

Boisfeuillet Jones Jr.
Publisher and chief executive officer, The Washington Post

Donald E. Graham
CEO and Chairman of the Board, The Washington Post Co.
Chairman, The Washington Post

Caroline Little
CEO & Publisher, Washingtonpost.Newsweek Interactive

Dear Messrs. Brady, Downie, Jones, and Graham, and Ms. Little:

I write today to request that you terminate Ben Domenech's employment and affiliation
with the Washington Post.

We appreciate the value in news outlets such as yours offering readers a wide range
of opinion and insight, so we do not take this action lightly.

We did not call for Domenech's firing when the Post revealed that it had hired a
conservative blogger, even though the Post does not employ any liberal counterpart
to Domenech.

We did not call for Domenech's firing when it became clear that he has scant journalism
experience but is, rather, a partisan Republican political operative with no place in a
news organization.

We did not call for Domenech's firing when his first post consisted of little more
than sneering insults of his readers, describing progressives as "shrieking" and
"unhinged" -- exactly the sort of personal insults Brady has previously declared
unfit for use by readers describing Post employees in the comments section of the
Post's blogs. The double standard inherent in the Post publishing Domenech's vitriolic
attacks on readers, while repeatedly denouncing readers' criticism of Post employees,
troubles us but did not cause us to urge Domenech's dismissal.

But, with each hour bringing new evidence of Domenech's racially charged rhetoric
and homophobic bigotry, the time has come for the Post to end its ill-conceived
relationship with Domenech.

Examples of Domenech's views include:

In a February 7 post on RedState, Domenech wrote that he believed people should be "pissed"
that President Bush attended "the funeral of a Communist" -- referring to the funeral for
Coretta Scott King. As you know, labeling the King family "communists" was a favorite tool
of the racists who opposed them.
In another RedState post, Domenech compared "the Judiciary" unfavorably to the Ku Klux Klan.
In still another RedState comment, Domenech posted without comment an article stating
that "it just happens that killing black babies has the happy result of reducing crime"
and that "white racists have reason to be grateful for what is sometimes still called the
civil rights leadership" because black leaders "are overwhelmingly in support" of abortion
rights.
In yet another, Domenech wrote that conservative blogger/journalist Andrew Sullivan,
who is gay, "needs a woman to give him some stability."
Domenech has also been caught at least once apparently fabricating a quote.
A June 20, 2002, Spinsanity.org entry demonstrated that Domenech made up a quote he
attributed to Tim Russert in order to defend President Bush.

In a post on RedState.com, Domenech once agreed with a commenter who called
Washington Post columnist Dan Froomkin "an embarrassment to the saner heads at the paper."

It is time for "saner heads" to prevail. Will The Washington Post honor its history as one
of America's most respected news organizations -- or will it stand with Ben Domenech,
tacitly endorsing his assault on Coretta Scott King, his offensive suggestion that a gay man
"needs a woman," and his fabrication of a quote?

America is watching.

Sincerely,

David Brock
President & CEO
Media Matters for America

Contact:
James Brady E-mail: [e-mail]
Contact:
The Washington Post Washington Post ombudsman: [e-mail]
202-334-7582

Post e-mail directory
The Washington Post
1150 15th St. NW
Washington, DC 20071