Maura Judkis

WashPost Prints Lie of 'Never Been Political' Organizer of an Anti-Romney, Pro-PBS Subsidy March
By Tim Graham | November 5, 2012 | 7:55 AM EST

The Washington Post story offered the liberal organizers of an anti-Romney, pro-PBS-subsidy "Million Puppet March" their biggest dose of publicity on Monday on the front page of the Style section -- despite the tiny 600-person Capitol Hill protest on Saturday. Post reporter Maura Judkis wrongly presented the march co-founder Chris Mecham as a nonpartisan puppet lover.

"I've never been political. I didn't intend for this," Mecham said in the Post story. "I just feel passionately about this one thing." Wrong. Sixty seconds on Mecham's Twitter page would have easily kept this lie out of the paper, like this Thursday tweet begging for Democrat donations:

Lame: 'Million Puppet March' Draws 'Hundreds'
By Tom Blumer | November 4, 2012 | 10:57 AM EST

How lame was Washington's "Million Puppet March" yesterday? So lame that I couldn't even find a story about the event at the Associated Press's national web site.

Planning for the event began several weeks ago after GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney said in the first presidential debate that despite his love for Sesame Street's Big Bird he would not advocate further public funding of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Oddly, an unbylined AP story at the Washington Post written sometime earlier this week which was apparently not treated as a national story gave readers the impression that the idea for the march had only come up a few days earlier (posted in full because of its brevity and for fair use and discussion purposes):

Nicki Minaj Sacrilegiously Mocks Catholicism at Grammys
By Paul Wilson | February 13, 2012 | 1:30 PM EST

In an attempt to be “edgy,” singer Nicki Minaj did the most banal thing possible at the Grammys on Feb. 12. She mocked the Roman Catholic Church in a live performance of her new song “Roman Holiday.” Her anti-Catholic mishmash of a performance came with the support of the group that produced the Grammys, The Recording Academy.

Rapper Nicki Minaj gave a sacrilegious performance mocking a host of Catholic rituals and practices, including the sacrament of confession and the rite of exorcism. Her performance began in a confessional, snarling at a “priest” as if she were possessed. (Video available here)