MSM: Get A Clue. Or Two.

Michelle Malkin points to an Emily Messner column from Tuesday, in which Messner originally made a comment that it would be amusing to imagine Charles Krauthammer doing a touchdown dance over the nomination of Judge Sam Alito to the Supreme Court.

While the remark was unintentional, it was nevertheless distasteful because Mr. Krauthammer has been confined to a wheelchair for over 30 years. Messner apologized for the comment, but Michelle makes an even larger point when she links to another blogger who points out that it's amazing that Messner covers Washington politics, yet has no idea that Krauthammer is a paraplegic.

This episode of media ineptitude reminds me of a NYTimes piece Michelle discussed last Friday that grossly and intentionally misrepresented a dead Marine's sentiments on the war in a letter home to his girlfriend. (Malkin also has pertinent updates here.)

While intentionally misreporting the beliefs and passions of a dead soldier, sailor, airman, or Marine is about as base an act that I can imagine, note in the Times piece that the word "marine" is not capitalized. Here's the relevant excerpt:

Sifting through Corporal Starr's laptop computer after his death, his father found a letter to be delivered to the marine's girlfriend. "I kind of predicted this," Corporal Starr wrote of his own death. "A third time just seemed like I'm pushing my chances."

You shouldn't have to be a mainstream media reporter - one who's tasked with war coverage, of all things - to realize that since time immemorial the word "Marine" - unlike its counterparts in other military branches - has always been considered a proper noun and therefore capitalized when referring to a particular Marine.

But you'd kind of think those specifically charged with covering such topics would at least know this. Wouldn't you?