Last week, using the comical James O'Keefe arrest and the childish conservative name-calling that followed Obama's SOTU, I detailed the sad state of “conservative journalism.” And I wondered out loud what Bill Buckley would think of things. He, of course, was the father of modern day conservative journalism and was known for running the serious National Review, a magazine that today often seems purposefully un-serious.

Naturally, thin-skinned NR editor Jonah Goldberg threw a hissy fit, insisting I had no idea what I was talking about.

Apparently, “conservative journalism” is a paragon of accountability and responsibility. Except, of course, when it's not. And except, of course, when National Review for days refuses to correct blatantly false and defamatory allegations, even after the glaring falsehoods have been spotlighted for everyone to see.

In other words, late last week the folks at National Review neatly confirmed my point about the sad state of today's “conservative journalism.” (Thanks Jonah!)

To recap: Last week, after a conservative blogger known as Jim Treacher was hit by an SUV while crossing the street in Washington, D.C., he claimed he'd been run over by a Secret Service vehicle. National Review's Greg Pollowitz then broadcast that claim, stating it as fact [emphasis added]:

Jim Treacher, a very funny blogger for Tucker Carlson's new Daily Caller website, was involved in a hit-and-run car accident yesterday — involving the Secret Service.

But it turns out the Secret Service had nothing to do with accident, and there's no evidence it was a “hit-and-run.” Those facts have been known, and have been acknowledged, since last Thursday.

Yet to date, no correction has been attached to the original National Review item, which made incendiary, and false, claims against the Secret Service.

Behold, “conservative journalism.”

UPDATED: Turns out that Pollowitz on Feb. 5 posted an “update” (not a correction) on the supposed “hit-and-run.” The “update” though, was not attached to the original NR item.

Here's the “update” in full:

The latest is that it was not the Secret Service that ran over conservative blogger Jim Treacher, but possibly a security employee of the State Department.

UPDATE:This is looking more and more like a scandal and cover-uip with every report.

Note that Pollowitz never acknowledges that he made two sizable errors in his original post. In other words, National Review never takes responsibility for falsely accusing the Secret Service of hitting Treacher as part of a “hit-and-run”; allegations that were supported by zero facts at the time.

In fact, in the “update,” there's suddenly no mention of National Review's dubious “hit-and-run” allegation. Instead, it was conveniently flushed down the memory hole. (There was no “hit-and-run.” The SUV that hit Treacher stopped at the scene.)

So we'll start the clock running again: When is National Review finally going to post a correction for falsely claiming the Secret Service was invovled in a “hit-and-run” accident last week?