Could it be gloomier today?

I don't think so.

It feels like quadruple Monday. I am grateful I work in a lowrise building with windows that don't open--that's the kind of day it feels like.

And can we talk for just a minute about the Ministry of Truth's complaints against Newsweek? For those of you who have been on a news blackout, Newsweek has apologized for errors in a story about Guantanamo Bay, a story which included the now-disputed allegation that Gitmo torture staff flushed a Koran down the toilet. Now the Pentagon and White House are demanding a retraction of the entire story:

In a statement, Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said the original story was "demonstrably false" and "irresponsible," and "had significant consequences that reverberated throughout Muslim communities around the world."

"Newsweek hid behind anonymous sources, which by their own admission do not withstand scrutiny," Whitman said. "Unfortunately, they cannot retract the damage they have done to this nation or those that were viciously attacked by those false allegations."

Um....hello!!!! HELLO OUT THERE?! Information from anonymous sources that doesn't withstand scrutiny? Resulting carnage? Massive disruption of Muslim communities? Is this ringing a bell for anyone?

This is like Gaslight on a national scale. I really sometimes think I'm going insane when I listen to NPR.

Update: See Corrente for the eight zillion other press citings of the unconfirmed facts in the Newsweek story. For fuck's sake, the whole thing is so disgusting words cannot even form an effective commentary. Damaging our reputation abroad and harming our efforts to improve our image indeed. The mind fucking boggles; it really does.