Just The Facts Today

A couple of pieces worth reading.

Patterico discusses what's got liberals' undies in a bunch over Appeals Court nominee Priscilla Owen.  It does not appear from this detailed history that the critics have been fair with her position.  It does appear that the critics believe that any minor should be able to have an abortion at any time without any involvement by parents/guardians etc.  That is in reality the radical position, and Justice Owen's opinion in the case in question broke no new ground, but upheld the Texas statute on parental notification.  The problem for liberals, then, is that she was not a judicial activist.

CBS may have jumped into that briar patch again, by golly.  Wizbang has the links, Patterico has the transcript of the piece as presented.  I note that the offending quote is completely detached from context early in the piece, not preceeded by a question, and taken by itself has no antecedent to which it refers.  CBS' Borger put in her own antecedent prior to the quote from Starr.  There is only one way out for CBS if they wish to have a single shred of credibility left.  Release the unedited tape, and if it shows what they claim it shows they will be vindicated.  If it does not, they are at least admitting their deception, something they still haven't done in the Texas ANG documents story.

UPDATE: At Just One Minute and Kausfiles (two links) there's some debate on whether the CBS report actually constitutes misrepresentation.  Some obviously got the message that CBS intended, though CBS was not explicitly duplicitous.  Whether the misrepresentation is deliberate or careless is irrelevant; it is misrepresentation nonetheless.  The quote that opens everyone's eyes is the "radical, radical departure" line, and that one, according to Starr, does not refer to the 'nuclear' option on filibusters.  It is misrepresented in that way by CBS, however.

Starr, on the other hand, could be a little clearer in delineating his thoughts on the various issues involved.