Utterly Discredited, Media Circus Edition

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I can’t think of any topic I’d rather talk about less than Terry Schiavo. The whole ordeal was sick beyond belief and deeply offensive. But now that they’ve released the results of her autopsy, it’s important to go back and emphasize that the Republicans who engineered the whole fiasco—Bill Frist, Tom DeLay, Jeb Bush, others—were wholly, utterly wrong about everything. They were liars. Frauds. Slanderers. Here’s Andrew Sullivan:

In her final days, Terri Schiavo was blind and her brain was about half its expected size. She wasn’t in a PVS? Please. Bill Frist needs to acknowledge his reckless political opportunism at the time. The attempts of the fringe, theocon right to allege that her husband abused her have also been exposed as malicious falsehoods. Remember the lies that were told, the junk science that the theocons came up with, the endless slanders and misrepresentations? It’s rare that we get an objective resolution of a fiercely disputed matter. We have now. And it ain’t pretty.

Well, it’s a bit quaint for Sullivan to think that Frist is going to “acknowledge his reckless political opportunism,” but the rest is absolutely right. The party of junk science does not deserve to have its claims taken seriously by the media, not now, not ever.

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ONLY HOURS LEFT—AND EVERYTHING RIDING ON IT

A full one-third of our annual fundraising comes in this month alone. That’s risky, because a strong December means our newsroom is on the beat and reporting at full strength—but a weak one means budget cuts and hard choices ahead.

With just hours left, we need a huge surge in reader support to get to our $400,000 year-end goal. Whether you've given before or this is your first time, your contribution right now matters. All gifts are 3X matched and tax-deductible.

Managing an independent, nonprofit newsroom is staggeringly hard. There’s no cushion in our budget—no backup revenue, no corporate safety net. We can’t afford to fall short, and we can’t rely on corporations or deep-pocketed interests to fund the fierce, investigative journalism Mother Jones exists to do. That’s why we need you right now. Please chip in to help close the gap.

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