Five finger, six column discount

Bob over at The Madison Freedom Fighter is reporting that the latest edition of The Mendota Beacon was, at least partially, lifted wholesale off of newsstands before readers could find issues.

The Beacon is a relatively young, conservative bi-weekly newspaper at the University of Wisconsin. And while I may have occasional differences of opinion with its operation, the paper does boast of an honest and well-intentioned staff. Bob is the publication’s managing editor and, before he wandered over the start-up, he actually used to work for me on The Badger Herald’s opinion page.

That said, the quality of the Beacon is relatively moot. The stealing of a newspaper can never be justified. In a marketplace of ideas, the wanton robbery of a viable contribution amounts to little more than a feeble admission on the thief’s part that their own ideologies are so meager so not be capable of holding up against competition. This is an act of intellectual cowardice and one that ought to be investigated.

Moreover, it must be understood that stealing a newspaper – even a free one – in bulk is not merely an assault upon the ideologies propagated by the fish wrap, but also upon the financial efforts of the publication’s advertisers. It amounts to a theft of advertising inches; a wanton denial of market exposure. And in a capitalist society, such simply cannot be tolerated.