You are correct, HW, and that is why I do not defend journalists of any stripe. Too often, they select words which are technically correct but slanted towards conveying something, which creates headlines or supports a cause to which they adhere. Try reading narratives of the same event in a left-leaning newspaper and a right-leaning newspaper.
We/I better drop a rant on journalists, or Honourable Webmaster will cut the thread.
