How badly can the "Globe and Mail" fuck up a story?

Let me count the ways.

This morning, we have Paul Koring's piece on the whole John Murtha dust-up, in which Koring proves he desperately needs a good copy editor. Toward the end of the article, Koring writes (all emphasis added from here on):

Salvos of nasty accusations -- cowardice, lying, hypocrisy -- have been flying in Washington for nearly a week after an opening shot from the widely respected, decorated former marine and combat veteran Democratic Representative John Murtha, who called for a pullout of all 160,000 U.S. troops from Iraq within six months.

Wrong. As far as I can tell, Murtha proposed no six month limit. As the functionally literate can read here, Murtha's proposal was to get the troops out "at the earliest practicable date;" there was no time limit suggested anywhere in that resolution. Bad journalist. No biscuit. But (and I'm sure you saw this coming) it gets worse:

Mr. Cheney, who sought and won a remarkable five deferments that excused him from being drafted during the Vietnam War, was careful to pull his punches at Mr. Murtha, a combat hero with medals for bravery and 37 years of uniformed service with the Marines and the reserves. "He's a good man, a marine, a patriot and he's taking a clear stand on an entirely legitimate discussion," Mr. Cheney said of the 73-year-old Mr. Murtha.

Why, yes, Cheney was careful to pull his punches, only after the neck-snapping backlash from earlier offensive comments from White House Press Fuckwad Scott McClellan, who accused Murtha of supporting "the policy positions of Michael Moore and the extreme liberal wing of the Democratic party." It would have been nice if Koring had mentioned that little flip-flop.

Koring continues to screw the pooch:

Support for the war and the President has sagged to record lows in recent weeks. Saying that U.S. troops have become the prime targets and a catalyst for the insurgency, Mr. Murtha said last week, "It's time to bring them home."

But he has so far won few supporters, even among Democrats.

And that would explain why a Google search on the phrases "John Murtha," "support" and "resolution" produces only 148,000 hits (some of which, naturally, are not relevant, but the sheer number should give you an idea that Murtha isn't exactly standing on his own here, particularly with support for the Iraqi invasion going down faster than a cheap hooker at a Republican convention).

And, just for effect, Koring closes with this gem:

"The hard truth is that our large military presence in Iraq is both necessary and increasingly counterproductive," said Senator Joseph Biden, a leading Democrat who has become increasingly critical of the war. "A premature pullout would doom any chance" of achieving basic U.S. goals in Iraq, he said yesterday.

And, as we all know, if you need a well-known Democrat to speak badly of other Democrats, you need look no further than that annoying quisling Joe Biden, who can always be counted on to say whatever comforts the Republicans the most. Well, with Zell Miller gone, I guess somebody had to step up and take over.

Yes, there's a reason I rarely read newspapers anymore. At least the Globe still has a decent sports section.