Not known for excellence, recent examples of incompetence are an embarrassment even by the media’s low standards.
In a recent X post, someone stated his bona fides to comment on a matter was he is a Pulitzers prize winner. I retorted, “Who cares?” I’ve not had much respect for the Pulitzers since Joe Kennedy acquired one for his son’s ghostwritten book. And it still won’t apologize for awarding Walter Duranty a prize for covering up the 32/33 famine in the Soviet Union. The incompetence and bias of mainstream media organizations, especially today, proceeds themselves. But recent events show how badly the 4th Estate has fallen.
Last week there was a screed about the Trump administration proposing to allow people to ship firearms though the US Mail, something that was banned in 1927. CBS news has a typical report:
USPS proposal would allow handguns to be sent through the mail for the first time since 1927
Handguns could be mailed through the U.S. Postal Service for the first time in nearly 100 years if a proposed rule under the Trump administration takes effect…
Last month, USPS proposed a new rule that would allow anyone to mail concealable firearms like pistols and revolvers. USPS currently allows some firearms like long-barreled rifles and shotguns to be mailed, however they must be unloaded and securely packaged. Similar protections would be in place for handguns, which have evolved since 1927…
Simple facts are alien to people like this. A pistol can be a revolver or a semiautomatic. But we are supposed to believe these people when they don’t know basic facts? Now they never say the words, but CBS is implying I could package a pistol, address it and drop it off at my mailbox. The great phase from Absence of Malice says it well, “And everything was accurate, but none of it was true.”
A simple review of the proposal would destroy the narrative CBS et all is putting forward. The draft is at the US Federal Register (emphasis mine):
Revised Mailing Standards for Firearms
432 Mailability
432.1 General
Mailers must comply with the Gun Control Act of 1968, all provisions of postal law, and all other federal and state regulations and local ordinances affecting the movement of firearms. For Mailable Firearms, the following also applies:
a. The Postal Service may require the mailer to open packages containing Mailable Firearms or give written certification that the weapon is unloaded.
b. No markings of any kind that indicate the nature of the contents may be placed on the outside wrapper or container of any mailpiece containing Mailable Firearms.
c. Mailable matter must be properly and securely packaged within the general packaging requirements in DMM 601.1-6.
d. All Mailable Firearms must be mailed using a USPS product or Extra Service that provides tracking and signature capture at delivery, unless shipped between licensed dealers, manufacturers, or importers
In English, it means Registered or Certified mail. Both will provide tracking and receipt service, while Registered mail is secured during shipment. It is used for high value items, currency, and US government classified material.
Today if I want to ship a pistol, I need to use a UPS Next Day service. This proposal gives Americans another secure option. A simple look into the facts of the proposal would show they are not reporting accurately. Then again, since when has that bothered CBS?
I also recently saw an embarrassment to a reporter’s education. Actually many people working at Pravda on the Hudson, aka The Old Gray Hag.
On April 3, 2026, the “Paper of Record” published an article on the future of the “North American Treat Organization.” The North Atlantic Treaty Organization was founded in 1949 in the aftermath of World War II. While the formal purpose can be looked up, it was colloquially put to me in a history class ages ago. “NATO was established for three reasons. Keep American in, Russia out, and Germany down.” Seeing it was composed of the United States and eleven European nations, safe to say it was not named after America.
Both of these incidents bring into question not just journalistic integrity, but basic competence. I wrote for a high school monthly paper and if I had put the NATO mistake on an article, my editor (another high school student) would ask me, “Thiac, is this a bad joke?” Actually it is.
The author of the article is the “Times chief diplomatic correspondent, based in Berlin, covering Europe.” Assume for the moment this was an honest mistake, where was his editor and other staff in the paper? I would think multiple people review these articles prior to publication and should point out such a glaring mistake? Simple competence is too much to ask for?
Years ago a former mayor of Houston counseled a new city council member on how to succeed in politics. His advice is not only for politicians. “Do the basics but do them well. No one will remember out of 1, 000 times, 999 days garbage was picked up on time. But they will always remember the one day it wasn’t.” Sound like wise guidance.
The 4th Estate should remember that. Credibility is a fleeting quality. After years trying to destroy this president at the behest of the Democratic party, they should understand people assume they are lying. And that is a wise notion.
Michael A. Thiac is a retired Army intelligence officer, with over 23 years experience, including serving in the Republic of Korea, Japan, and the Middle East. He is also a retired police patrol sergeant, with over 22 years’ service, and over ten year’s experience in field training of newly assigned officers. He has been published at The American Thinker, PoliceOne.com, and on his personal blog, A Cop’s Watch.
Opinions expressed are his alone and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of current or former employers.
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