Get It Right The First Time

Blogging being mainly a "young person's sport" [with many notable exceptions], many of you probably aren't in the habit of reading newspapers [Given the state of newspapers lately, I see why...]. This is, as you'd expect, a matter of some concern to newspaper owners and publishers [by no means usually the same person. Check a masthead sometime and you'll see what I mean. If you don't know what a "masthead" is, do a little research.], especially since the average newspaper reader is old enough to "haze" incoming members of the AARP [see entry "(I'm An) Old Man, Take A Look At My Life". It's in the archives somewhere...].

Anyway, one typical feature of a newspaper [along with the masthead] is a section usually headed "Corrections", or something similar. Most days, if the paper is paying attention, the space is filled with a statement along the lines of, "This paper will correct substantive errors when made aware of them.", along with some means of contacting it.Such a phrase, or at least an effort to be as accurate as possible, should be a major part of any non-fiction blog. I mean, rumors are the BIG FUN on the blogosphere. But they should at least be identified as such. People have a nasty tendency to trip and stumble over such thickets on the Information Superhighway.

Case in point: your humble author. Yesterday, I wrote a wide-ranging [all right: rambling] entry. In it, based on an item I spotted but didn't read in another blog, I mentioned that the new US $1 coins were NOT stamped with the long-time slogan "In God We Trust" [Bonus Question: Why is the phrase on US money, and when did it begin to appear? A good Google search should answer that one...]. I have since seen a photo of a stack of the new coins. Stamped on the edge is "In God We Trust", along with the national motto, "E Pluribus Unum", a phrase which appears on the $1 bill.My apologies to, first, my blogophiles, then to the US Mint [I said in the entry that I was "Bothered" by the phrase's exclusion], and then, I guess, to anyone else who feels they need an apology [Wouldn't you really rather have a hug? Almost everybody likes hugs...].

That's it for now. Have a nice reading opportunity...