Journal-World reporter throws hissy fit after his liberal bias is exposed

Lawrence Journal-World reporter/liberal activist Peter Hancock didn't care much for Douglas County Conservative's item about his biased reporting two months ago. Here is what Hancock wrote to Douglas County Conservative in an email:

Dear Douglas County Conservative: Yes, I put my name on my stories. And you are free to quote me and attribute information in my stories to me. But if you're so opposed to the use of anonymous sources, why don't you put your name on your stories? Or is that a standard you only apply to other people? 

Your information about Public Citizen's contributors is a matter of public record. And you can thank Public Citizen for that, since they are the ones who, in 1974, lobbied hard for Congress to pass - over President Gerald Ford's veto - a certain "radical liberal" law known as the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), which is basically why you were able to access to that information in the first place. Don't worry. You can thank them later. 

It might be worth noting, though, that you left off a few other major contributors, like the Ford Foundation, the Rockefeller Brothers Fund and the John D. and Catherine T. McArthur Foundation, just to name a few. And that's not counting the 300,000-plus individuals who freely contribute because they support Public Citizen's mission. 

Meanwhile, just out of curiosity, where is your financial disclosure list? Or do you even have one? I only ask because when I click on the link to your Blogspot Profile, I see that you only have one follower, which I assume to be yourself. 

Peter Hancock
Reporter | Lawrence Journal-World
phancock@ljworld.com | (785) 832-7259645 New Hampshire, Lawrence, KS 66044

Hancock seems to believe that those Foundations balance out the liberals and socialists who sit on Public Citizens boards. However, the Capital Research Center reports "Since the 1960s, [the] Ford [Foundation] has funded many radical social experiments and it remains a major donor to liberal causes, especially the defense of racial preference programs." Martin Morse Wooster, senior fellow at Capital Research Center, describes the Rockefeller Brothers Fund as “a second-tier member of the liberal philanthropic establishment.” Regarding the John D. and Catherine T. McArthur Foundation, Wooster characterizes it as a "bastion of liberalism."

Hancock's history is off a bit regarding the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). He claims that President Gerald Ford vetoed the act. President Lyndon B. Johnson signed FOIA into law on July 4, 1966, eight years before Ford became president. Also, Hancock says we should thank Public Citizen for lobbying hard for Congress to pass FOIA. Public Citizen was founded in 1971, five years AFTER Johnson signed FOIA into law.

By the way, before Hancock joined the Journal-World, he wrote an opinion column from the liberal perspective for the Topeka Metro News. In that capacity he lied about Phill Kline running a racist ad in 2006. You can read about that here.