In his latest offering, Globe metro columnist Kevin Cullen uses the death of Dom DiMaggio and the probable steroid use of Manny Ramirez to argue, basically, that America is on the skids, dammit!

Baseball is more than our national pastime. It is a reflection of what we are as a people. And right now the reflection isn't very pretty.

The gist of today's Kevin Cullen column is that British critics of Ted Kennedy's recent knighthood are distorting Kennedy's relationship with the Irish Republican Army. Cullen makes this argument pretty effectively. But in the process, he also gripes that some Brits just don't like the Kennedys, period:

Kennedy-haters in England, like those on these shores, love to bring up Chappaquiddick.

As I've previously noted, Globe metro columnist Kevin Cullen is a pleasure to read when he's doing his job well. But Cullen is the journalistic equivalent of the girl with the little curl: excellent at his best, and at his worst...not so excellent.

By way of example, consider today's Cullen offering, which deals with an alleged miscarriage of justice involving the late Vinnie Tamburello.

If you're marvelling at the measured tone of Muammar Qaddafi's op-ed in today's Times, make sure you read Kevin Cullen's column in today's Globe as well.

Citing Chelmsford resident Mohammed Eljahmi, whose brother Fathi was imprisoned by Qaddafi's regime, Cullen argues that Qaddafi's current media offensive--which also featured an op-ed on Russia that ran in the Globe and the Washington Times--amounts to a transparent push for undeserved image rehabilitation.

In his column in today's Globe, Kevin Cullen makes the very reasonable point that not all Boston firefighters are bad eggs. But he also says this: "Blaming most firefighters for the state of the department is like blaming American soldiers for the mess in Iraq."

Really? Because from what I've been reading in the Globe, it seems like the BFD brass are trying to whip the "bad systems" Cullen mentions into shape, while the firefighters' union--led by Ed Kelly--is fighting to preserve the status quo. Which doesn't seem to parallel Iraq at all.

Yo, Kevin--As a Globe metro columnist, you've got one of the best jobs in Boston journalism. But you're supposed to write about Boston, not yourself. The next time someone points out that you made a factual error, just acknowledge it in a straightforward way. Don't waste 670 words explaining why it wasn't a big deal. (And yes, I'm lumping your proletarian UMass riff in with your screw-my-critics riff.)

Thanks,

Adam