Dishonesty or carelessness? Either way, it’s yet another smear

Cao’s at it again. She’s either lying, or damned careless when it comes to checking the facts. Not that the facts matter to her, of course.

In a recent post entitled Rosenberg’s granddaughter sues NSA over "spying", Cao quotes a January 17th AP article (mirrored here) about a lawsuit being brought against President Bush, the head of NSA, and other, in response to the Bush administration’s illegal wiretaps.

I’ve mirrored Cao's post here, as well, since she may decide to change the article after reading this and claim that she never published the falsified version of the AP story.

Leave aside for the moment the fact that Cao is taking part in yet another vicious character assassination of someone who’s committed the heinous crime of disagreeing with Our Sainted President. Leave aside for the moment that she as much as accuses Rachel Meeropol of conspiring with Al Qaeda without a shred of evidence.

Have a look at the last three paragraphs of the article, as Cao “quotes” it:

Plaintiff Rachel Meeropol, an attorney at the center, said she believes she has been targeted. “I’m personally outraged that my confidential communication with my clients may have been listened to by the U.S. government,” she said.If what Ms Meeropol says is true, one suspects she has been having speaks with Al Qaeda members.

Of course Rachel’s father, Robert Meeropol, didn’t fall far from the Rosenbergs’ tree either. Among his many accomplishments, Mr Meeropol is an avowed Communist supporter. Fidel Castro was his boyhood idol. He supports convicted cop killer Mumia Abu Jamal. He is the founder and Executive Director of the ultra radical Rosenberg Fund for Children.

Mr Meeropol is also adamantly opposed to the War On Terror.

Now look at the following three paragraphs of the original story, as published by the AP, starting with the first mention of Rachel Meeropol:

“I’m personally outraged that my confidential communication with my clients may have been listened to by the U.S. government,” said Rachel Meeropol, an attorney at the Center for Constitutional Rights.

Attorneys have long relied on privacy to gather facts to ensure fair trials, lawyer Josh Dratel said in a statement supporting the ACLU case. He has represented people accused of terrorism-related crimes.

“That comfort level no longer exists, and it has sent a chill through the legal community,” he said.

The story, as quoted by Cao, has been altered to smear Ms. Meeropol. Cao will tell us that she simply copied the story verbatim as it appeared on the Free Republic site. That’s no excuse, of course. If that is the case, then it merely confirms how quickly Cao will embrace a lie told by others, as long as it can be used to smear someone with whom she disagrees.

It seems that radical rightwing hatemongers like Cao know no shame. No smear is too despicable, no tactic too low for her and her ilk. She claims she is “only writing the truth as I see it”. The reality is somewhat different. Cao “sees” what she wants to see, and the truth be damned.