Why Does A Legitimate News Organization Book Crazy People?

(Cross-posted on Daily Kos.)

ABC News used to be a legitimate news organization. Now they book right-wing crackpots like Michelle Malkin, who is to thoughtful analysis as a hammer is to a healer's hands.

If ABC News is nothing more than a promotional outlet for authors of hysterical fringe fiction such as Malkin--she has a new book out, which must be why she's emerged from her tea party outhouse recently--they need to drop the "News" from their name. They are now as credible a news source as "Live! With Regis and Kelly."

Malkin's default position seems to be that unemployed Americans are shiftless, lazy slobs whose sole purpose in life is to suck off the government teat of unemployment benefits. With that low opinion of her fellow citizens, it seems fair to conclude that Malkin hates Americans, right?

Malkin: If you put enough government cheese in front of people they are just going to keep eating it and you're just kicking the can down the road and just to hammer this point about the unemployment benefits extension again it was Larry Katz, who's a chief labor economist under the Clinton labor department who came out with a study and there are a lot of these economists who say this that if you keep extending these "temporary" unemployment benefits you're just going to extend joblessness even more...(t)hat was a Clinton economist who said it George...(s)eventy nine weeks already and then they're going to extend it by another thirteen weeks and what happens is according to these economists who have seen it including this Clinton economist is that people will just delay getting a job until the three weeks before the benefits run out.

Of course, as Crooks and Liars points out, Malkin has the Katz theory ass-backwards:

Traditionally, many economists have been leery of prolonged unemployment benefits because they can reduce the incentive to seek work. But that should not be a concern now because jobs remain so scarce. For every job that becomes available, about six people are looking, Dr. Katz said. “Unemployment insurance gives income to families who are really suffering and can’t find work even if they are hustling to look,” he said. With the economy still listing, he added, a temporary extension can provide a quick fiscal stimulus. And, Dr. Katz said, when people exhaust unemployment and health insurance, many end up applying for disability benefits, which become a large, unending drain on the Treasury.

The nation's unemployment rate is 9.7%, yet dumbass conservative gasbags like Malkin seem to be thriving in this cratered economy. Alas, in times like these, any recession shopper will tell you that you might have to sacrifice quality and settle for the cheap shit.

Just like ABC News.