Two items today that reveal just how poorly the American public has been – and continues to be – served by the dinosaurs in the mainstream media. Without further adieu, off to the woodshed we go…

Item #1: Heave you heard the story of that amazingly-successful post-Hurricane Katrina rescue effort? Me neither. Fortunately, Lou Dolinar hadn’t as well, so (courtesy of Real Clear Politics), he enlightens us with an in-depth look at those eventful days following the New Orleans levee breaches and the story the mainstream media missed. Dolinar’s article is an absolute must-read, for it echoes what I’ve been saying all along: that the MSM’s performance during those awful days was careless and pathetic to the point of criminal, for its reporting may have actually cost lives with its reckless, hysterical and inaccurate reporting.

UPDATE 5/24/06: NRO’s Jonah Golberg piles on. Slowly but surely, the truth is starting to spread…

Item #2: Speaking of Real Clear Politics, here’s another example of the mainstream media’s inability (or blatant unwillingness) to accurately portray political and world events that might – heaven forbid! – color the Bush Administration in a more positive light. In this case, Opinion Journal‘s Peter Wehner debunks the pre-invasion Iraq myths still being propogated by Cindy Sheehan, the Democratic Party, and their cohorts in the mainstream media, even while mounting evidence to the contrary continues to be produced. Now, if a blog like Powerline (operated by three non-media professionals) can do the valuable legwork in a complex, evolving story such as this, why can’t the so-called “professional journalists” at the Washington Post, New York Times, or the major TV networks do likewise? I think we all know the answer.

If the above-mentioned media outlets truly care to know why their circulation numbers, ratings and influence are waning in the face of alternative media like the major cable networks and the blogsphere, all they have to do is look at themselves in the mirror, for they have no one but themselves to blame. They have let down the American people, and frankly, the American people deserve better.