Pushing a Story: Don't ask me why this shows up in the NYT International section, since it's obviously a domestic story; and don't ask me why it's the sub-line on the web to the story of attacks in Shia-dominated Iraq, since the story -- if you read it -- is about a spat in the State Department over Cuba policy. I have no idea why the NYT would place the story the way they did.

Oh, and the headline. Check it out: "Expert Said to Tell Legislators He Was Pressed to Distort Some Evidence." Remember, on the web this shows up directly under a bad-news Iraq story. And remember, the story isn't really about what the headline says. Now, why would the Times do all this? I can see two possibilities:

1) The Times knows less about the media and the effects of story placement and headline content than this dipshit non-professional.

2) The Times knows plenty about content and layout and did this on purpose.

I'll give you two guesses which is more likely.