Execrable Los Angeles Times blogger Andrew Malcolm makes a bizarre allegation this morning:

You may have thought as a regular American citizen you were capable of marking the upcoming 10th anniversary of the deadly 9/11 attacks in your own quiet, sad way as you and your family choose.

However, in its infinite federal wisdom and one-size-fits-all philosophy, the Obama White House has drafted a set of detailed orders for how he wants the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks observed, both at home and abroad.

We're not kidding.

Nope, he's not kidding. He's lying.

Malcolm is referring to a New York Times report from this morning on the Obama administration's “detailed guidelines to government officials on how to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks, with instructions to honor the memory of those who died on American soil but also to recall that Al Qaeda and other extremist groups have since carried out attacks elsewhere in the world.” [emphasis added]

Government officials. Like diplomatic employees and other representatives of the U.S. government. Not “regular American citizens” marking the occasion with their families, as Malcolm claimed.

Indeed, Malcolm acknowledges as much and even says that the guidelines make sense later in his post:

After weeks of quiet internal planning, two sets of guidelines were dispatched by the Democratic administration, one for American respresentatives [sic] to use abroad and another to all federal agencies at home.

[...]

Some 9/11 guidelines are common sense. U.S. diplomats, for instance, are reminded to acknowledge the ensuing losses and sacrifices of many nations to terrorist attacks during the past decade since 9/11. And there are the usual tribute reminders for military personnel, police and first-responders, among others, for their ongoing community service and sacrifices.

And yet, Malcolm framed the story as a bizarre tale of big government intrusion into the lives of ordinary Americans, callously playing off the emotions stirred by 9-11 to gin up anger at the Obama administration, knowing full well that what we was alleging was completely false.

But telling the truth won't get you that coveted Drudge link, which, in the end, is what really matters.