Retraction? Not Likely

Through my e-mail I receive "cheat sheets" from various news organizations filled with links from around the web. As you might imagine, most of them are from the conservative side of the spectrum. But in order to keep a pulse of the left side of the aisle I also receive these daily updates from a few left-leaning organizations.

One of those is the Daily Beast. Oh, they try to pass themselves off as a balanced purveyor of news tidbits, but all one has to do is read what they send and it doesn't take too long to figure their objectives and agenda.

The other day the Daily Beast provided a link to a news story at USA Today about how a woman, in Louisiana, who happened to be black, was set on fire and her car deface with "KKK" on the hood. This woman receive burns over 60% of her body. A real tragedy. It didn't take long for the race hustlers to let loose with cries of racism, targeted mostly at the Tea Party and those who beleive in limited government and would like Preisdent Obama to be a one-termer.
 
As it turns out, the story was a hoax. Not the woman being burned, but who did this to her. After an investigation, the police were able to determine that the woman actually set herself on fire. The police could find no evidence of other parties and found the woman's finger prints on the lighter and on the fluid that started the fire. So far the police have not provide a reason why this woman decided to set herself on fire. Whatever here reasons, I hope she is able to make a full recovery and get sthe help that she requires, if it is determined necessary.

It was interesting in the original USA Today story that it seemed like folks were hedging their bets just a bit.

Law enforcement seemed to be a little reserved.

Franklin (Parish) Sheriff Kevin Cobb called it "a horrific event" and said authorities would "follow the facts and seek justice."

The president of the local NAACP chapter also seemed a little bit concerned that events weren't lining up according to the narrative.

Otis Chisley, the president of the local branch of the NAACP, said he had been in touch with Moffitt's distraught family. He said he was waiting for more facts to come to light before drawing any conclusions about what happened and that "everyone wants to move with caution."

Regardless of the investigation's outcome, though, Chisley said, racism and KKK activity remain a fact of life in the state.

"It's prevalent throughout Louisiana," he said. "It's hidden but it exists."

But what I really wanted to point out that the Daily Beast has not yet run a correction on this story. And since it was actually the USA Today's story they linked to, it would be easy to run a correction. USA Today has done so.