If you want to see how the systemic liberal bias of The New York Times fails to confine itself to the editorial pages, Saturday's article on the letter Rush Limbaugh sold on Ebay for $2.1 million with the proceeds going to charity is an excellent example.

After Rush Limbaugh referred to Iraq war veterans critical of the war as “phony soldiers,” he received a letter of complaint signed by 41 Democratic senators. He decided to auction the letter, which he described as “this glittering jewel of colossal ignorance,” for charity, and he pledged to match the price, dollar for dollar.

The crux of the dispute that started this whole thing in motion is whether or not Limbaugh referred to all soldiers who oppose the war as phony soldiers or only Jesse MacBeth and those like him. (Macbeth became an anti-war "hero" when he confessed to committing all sorts of atrocities in Iraq as an Army Ranger, except that he had washed out of basic training and had never been to Iraq.) Personally, I think a fair reading of the transcript of Limbaugh's show indicates the truth is on Limbaugh's side. But, if you're a reporter writing about this, you probably don't want to make that call -- instead you would do what the Associated Press did.

A letter from Democratic senators blasting conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh for using the phrase "phony soldiers" on his program was sold Friday on eBay for a record $2.1 million.

A private foundation made the winning bid, which eBay spokeswoman Catherine England said set a record for the most expensive item sold for charity by the online auctioneer.

Limbaugh's comment during his radio show last month drew broad criticism from Democrats, who said he was smearing soldiers opposed to the Iraq war. Limbaugh and other conservatives responded with outrage of their own, saying Democrats were mischaracterizing comments aimed at one particular former soldier who lied about his service.

That's presenting both sides of the story and leaving it up to the reader to decide who's telling the truth. The New York Times simply presents the Democrats' and Media Matters position as the truth, waiting for the penultimate paragraph before presenting Limbaugh's side of the story. This is biased, dishonest, partisan reporting.

The Times buys a jackhammer and continues to dig.

ON A RELATED NOTE: I refer you to Don Surber for the laughable case of ABC News giving credit for this $4.2 million windfall for the Marine Corps-Law Enforcement Foundation.