The Los Angeles Times, whose circulation is collapsing, has been caught reporting news that is an utter fabrication, intended to slur conservatives. According to Howard Kurtz of the Washington Post, Robert Scheer, a far—left columnist for the LAT, wrote 

that the Bush administration dispatched "self—appointed morals czar" William Bennett in 2003 to tell Vatican officials that the invasion of Iraq would be a just war. This was news to Bennett, who says he never took such a trip and can't understand why Scheer never called him.

Scheer says he was "sloppy" in picking up the tale from the Houston Catholic Worker. "I should have been more careful," he says. Says Times Opinion Editor Michael Kinsley: "I guess I would wonder why a story this juicy would have only been in some Catholic newspaper. That would make me want to check it out."

The LAT will still not admit that the highly biased way in which it presents its editorial product is at the root of its problems holding on to readers. It is time for corporate management to step in and clean house.

Thomas Lifson   4 18 05