Deborah Howell: "Abramoff scandal is a Republican scandal." Good. We're making progress. It's about time. So I dropped Little Debbie a note:

How do you get a mule's attention?

Smack the mule upside the head with a 2x4. Apparently, that worked. Good. Atrios speaks for me:

All we, on the left, wanted was a straightforward correction and admission of error and a genuine attempt to correct the record.

If you had written the truth you wrote today:

It's not a bipartisan scandal; it's a Republican scandal, and that's why the Republicans are scurrying around trying to enact lobbying reforms.

a week ago, then this entire tempest in a teapot wouldn't have happened, and poor Jim "***" Brady wouldn't have had to degrade himself by going on the air with Hugh Hewitt. (It would be nice if Brady also went on Air America, but I'll refer that one to the Department of Fat Chance.)

Note also that in your column, you state that Abramoff "directed" contributions to Democrats; but so far WaPo hasn't published a story to that effect. At least I haven't read one, and it would have been very easy to link to such a story in your article, but you don't. So, break the story, or don't, but don't make the assertion in your column without something to back it up. You're a reader's advocate, not a reporter.

Lastly, a word on "whore"; apparently, you object to being called "a right wing whore." I think you should consider regarding the word "whore" as factual and descriptive, rather than polemic or emotive. For one thing, we--and surely you--are very well aware that Republicans (and now Richard Scrushy) pay journalists for planted stories, and OpEd writers for planted opinions. That's next door being a whore, in my book (given that neither the "journalists" or the OpEd writers disclose their financial interests to readers). For another, we have the curious story of an actual whore, Jeff "Eight Inch, Cut" Gannon, getting daily passes to the White House press room and throwing softball questions to Bush and McClellan. And, curiously, we still don't know who got Gannon the daily passes. Now, of course you know you're not a whore. But given the above, how do WE, your readers, know? Given the givens, the only answer is that we don't, and that's why you have to prove your trustworthiness to us by getting the facts straight.

Anyhow, good luck. Michael Okrent was very good. He was a true reader's advocate. So far, you're not in his class. I hope you can do better.

Not that I expect a response. But it was fun to write, and who am I to deny myself these small pleasures?

NOTE The nutty bars are for Jane's fellow panelists, if she goes to DC to straighten out Jim Brady, as I think she should.