The pending demise of WorldNetDaily? Tom Ambrose deflates De Coster's duplicitous diatribe, more

As commentary editor for WorldNetDaily, I am seldom surprised any more by the criticisms that daily make their way into my e-mail. Radical Islamists threaten us, white supremacists accuse us of kissing up to the "Jewish Lobby," Christians beat us up for either not running their favorite Christian writer – or for running their least favorite. We are regularly criticized by those on the left for running Jerry Falwell and by those on the right for running Ellen Ratner.

We never please everyone – we really don't want to. WorldNetDaily is the Internet's leading independent newssite. In terms of commentary, we present well-articulated viewpoints from all over the political spectrum. And we regularly publish letters from readers who disagree with commentaries we've run. Editor and CEO Joseph Farah is almost daily taken to task for his opinions. Though I often disagree with many of those who write to or for us, we run their letters or commentaries anyway.

Because a free press truly is a key foundation of a free people. Because people of a particular viewpoint should have the opportunity to hear other viewpoints. Because WorldNetDaily is not a conservative newssite. Our job is to inform the public of issues and events that may impact their lives. That's what we do, and we do it better than any other publication going – and we do it for FREE.

So, knowing that, you may then understand that what has led me to address Karen De Coster's irresponsible blog – and her other rambling narratives – must be rather brazen or I wouldn't have bothered. Frankly, I was surprised De Coster had the courage to write what she did as she has been privately badmouthing WND to unimpressed readers at least since the middle of last year. (Incidentally, this is the same Karen De Coster who hypocritically sought out WND to publish her last year.) But the problem with lies is that if they are repeated often enough, they begin to sound like truth. De Coster has worked diligently in this regard.

In her creatively titled blog entry, "Joe Farah's Impending Insanity and the Demise of WorldNetDaily," and in other things she has written, De Coster fabricates her facts with practiced skill. Scattered amongst a lot of venomous drivel, she implies WND has been bought off by Jewish interests and is now rapidly sliding into oblivion. Additionally, she whines about us dropping Lew Rockwell and Harry Browne from our lineup.

The main thrust of this accusation seems to be that WND writers strongly support Israel. She's correct that some do. But she apparently doesn't read WND very much or she would also note that some WND writers have taken stands that many would consider anti-Israel: Pat Buchanan and Doug Casey come quickly to mind.

What De Coster fails to realize while engaging in her malicious fit of terminal self-righteousness is that WND doesn't tell our writers what their viewpoint should be. This must be very difficult for one such as De Coster in that the only "sane" columnists in her view apparently are those who adhere rigidly to the paleo-libertarian line of thinking. WND runs writers who are of interest to our readers, not according to some party philosophy. Perhaps she is just upset we didn't ask her to write more for us.

This laughably obvious slur by De Coster is truly pathetic. WND has skyrocketed into the top 1,000 websites in the entire world and currently attracts nearly 5 million unique visitors and more than 40 million pageviews each month. And we are growing rapidly. What else needs to be said other than jealousy apparently has raised its ugly head in De Coster's deluded paradigm.

I like Lew and Harry. They are both good people and excellent writers. I was genuinely sorry to lose them. But the truth is we stopped running their columns because very few people were reading them. In the case of Lew Rockwell, he had developed his own popular website – and his followers were more likely to read him there. De Coster obviously doesn't understand free-market economics and that WND is a business.

To produce this labor-intensive and costly news service – which we deliver to readers seven days a week for FREE – we are forced to pay for it somehow. And most of the income that pays my salary and all of our other salaries and expenses comes largely from the sales from our store, ShopNetDaily. People won't bother coming to WND or our store if we stop being the best commentary and news site so that we can please De Coster and her ilk.

So, just what can you expect from WorldNetDaily in the future? News few publications are willing to cover. A first-rate, in-depth investigative news magazine. Insightful, compelling, concise commentary. And many new opportunities for our readers in the days ahead. The truth is, dear reader, that contrary to rumors from uninformed, jealous, petty assailants, predictions of our demise are grossly exaggerated.

Commercial success does not equate to journalistic or intellectual quality. Or integrity.

DeCoster also points out, apart from the undeniable bias at "WND" toward the Israeli State, that Farah wrote a column the other day praising the psychopathic woman in Texas who ran over her cheating husband with an SUV. And said that more such murderers like her were needed.

I think that praising such "heroines" -- going far beyond his biblical rationalizing for war, and his mewling about not getting journalistic favors from the Senate -- says all that really needs to be said about Joseph Farah and his character.

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