Jensen's Jail Time and the Spice Boys

The Amtal Rule points out how Spivak and Bice failed in their attempt at "balance" today. You know the kind of "balance" I'm talking about--one from one side, one from the other, and it's even! They write,

What does it take to make a bunch of bloggers from the right sound like a group of liberal defense lawyers from the left, praising a defendant and whining about a judge's unfair rulings?

That's easy, simply convict one of their own [. . .]. Then watch the the lefty bloggers do their own about-face, calling for a tough jail sentence and praising the prosecution, which was led by Brian Blanchard, who just so happens to be a politically ambitious Democrat.

Then the Spice Boys go on to cite some in the right half of the Cheddarsphere who did, indeed, bemoan Scott Jensen's conviction. (They did this, I would guess, without checking what those same conservatives said about, say, Chvala's or Burke's convictions.) Hypocrisy proved! they gloat.

And, to provide "balance," they almost echo Jensen himslef in trying to prove that "everyone did it." They pull out a few liberals who were harsh on Jensen (and his Republican supporters) without bothering to check if they were simlarly harsh to the convicted Democrats. The Amtal Rule finds this disheartening:

They don't mention that we've had the same standard for Democrats found guilty in the caucus scandal. The Amtal Rule chimed in here and here.

Spivak and Bice don't see a reason to do their jobs and back up what they write. Instead they trot out hackneyed stereotypes (conservatives are for "law and order" and liberals are for "defending criminals") and masquerade it insightful journalism.

It's a good thing the Spice Boys didn't try to use me as an example, either, since there's no hypocrisy here.

Remember, these are the big-shot political investigative reporters down to the daily paper . . .