Fact-Checking the "PRT Boondoggle" Blog
A project of the PRT NewsCenter

Wednesday, January 02, 2008

Mock Journalist, Part III

Kenweed the Minnesota anti-PRT propagandist proudly exposed state senate candidate Ray Cox as a PRT supporter:

I emailed Ray Cox recently if he still supports PRT and he replied November 13th:
I have continued to like the concept of PRT for a number of reasons. I think the ability for the car modules to go off line to the stops, keeping the line service flowing, is a great feature. I also like the concept of elevating it so ground space is only taken up by the support standards. Let me know if you have specific questions.

-Ray Cox
Kind of hard to expose someone if they have freely volunteered it for years. But still -- good on ya, Kenmore, for actually accepting email from a "PRT fanatic."

But then Kenthorpe posts a December 20 video of Cox saying there is a quarter-mile PRT system in Duluth:


This is surprising, because most PRT innovators know there were plans for a Duluth system -- which had support of the mayor, council and business community -- but plans never proceeded due to lack of funding.

So why would Cox purposely say this? I mean, it's a political campaign; people (and propagandists) are watching. Turns out the explanation is simple: Cox misspoke. To directly quote Cox,
"I misspoke. It was my understanding that work moved forward on this after I left the legislature, but it appears that is not the case."

How do I know this? Just like the case when Lumpidor alleged problems with the Heathrow PRT project, I bother to ask questions. Unafraid of GOP cooties, I sent Cox a message through his campaign website, and received his response only a few hours later.

Why didn't Labridor seek a comment from Cox? He could fall back on his experience as the Transportation Editor of the Twin Cities Daily Planet, and just ask. He wrote Cox on November 13 and got an answer -- why not get a comment about December 20? But asking would have brought out the full story, turning Avisnore's video scoop into a non-issue.

One supposes he is loathe to employ journalistic standards because, when one makes a mistake it calls for a
retraction or a correction. Retractions and corrections get in the way when producing propaganda.


Update (1/4)-- Dahle defeats Cox, and Floppidor reports it as "PRT Supporters Lose Special Election in Minnesota." That would mean something, if PRT had been an issue to anyone besides Floppy.




gPRT
Ring out the Ken Avidor, ring in 2008

3 comments:

lloydletta said...

I left a phone message with Ray Cox about this. I did not get a return call. That's good you got a return call.

Mr_Grant said...

Well Eva, you're an associate of Ken's, and Ken was quick to put Cox in the Pod Squad.

Surely Cox does not appreciate being defined according to his position on a single issue most people don't care about? Especially in light of his expression of support for conventional commuter rail (Amtrak, which you note in your Cox v. Dahle post.)

A Transportation Enthusiast said...

Eva,

Maybe Cox responded to you, but you censored his response before reading it?

:-)