Can the world handle another "Drudge Report?"

When I was writing that last post, I was pretty excited to see that the "Drudge Report" was being published by Voice of America. I thought, "How far the 6th Estate -- internet news gathering and reporting -- has come in the last few years if the notorious Mr. Drudge has found mainstream acceptability enough to grace the pages and airwaves of the quasi-official voice of the U.S. State Department!" It was more evidence of the fulfillment of my prognostications for the new medium and I was on a momentary endorphin high.

Then I did a quick double take. It wasn't Matt Drudge but Michael Drudge.

I guess "Drudge Report" has been repeated often enough with fear and trepidation in the halls of the state department that it's now become as generic a name as aspirin. Talk about being taken for granted! Hope nothing like that ever happens to The 6th Estate.

Well, maybe it's a good thing that Matt isn't a VOA columnist. President Bush is having enough trouble trying to smooth wrinkled NATO feathers. We wouldn't want Matt adding tar to those wrinkled feathers and covering Jacques Chirac, would we?

Colonial instructions on how to tar and feather a Tory, as quoted by Violet Mary-Ann Showers:

"The following is the Receipe for an effectual operation. First strip a Person naked, then heat the Tar until it is thin, and pour it upon the naked Flesh, or rub it over with a Tar Brush, quantum sufficit. After which, sprinkle decently upon the Tar, whilst it is yet warm, as many Feathers as will stick to it. Then hold a lighted Candle to the Feathers, and try to set it all on Fire; if it will burn, so much the better. But as the Experiment is often made in cold weather; it will not then succeed -- take also an Halter and put it round the Person's Neck, and then cart him the Rounds.^"5

-30-

2/25/2005 UPDATE -- Thanks! And a tip of the old press pass festooned-fedora once again to James Taranto and Carol Muller of The Wall Street Journal's OpinionJournal "Best of the Web Today" for selecting contributions from yours truly. Today's issue included the substance of this post for inclusion in their daily report to subscribers. "Best of the Web Today" is a witty, well-researched and well-written net-newsletter and the subscription is free. It's one of the best newsletters out there IMNSHO and I'm truly honored to have had one of my news tips selected again.