"Can you imagine the media uproar ten years ago if the Clinton White House had given a fake journalist operating under a fake name unlimited access to the White House? Does anyone think for a minute that the Washington Times would have ignored stories about paid propaganda coming out of the Clinton Education Department, or if a Democratic Secretary of State had turned tens of thousands of Republicans away at the polls in a critical swing state? Would most of the major papers have buried stories detailing secret agreements to invade Iraq, billions of dollars in missing reconstruction funds, or fantasy war stories spun by the Defense Department if a Democrat were responsible? Consider what Bob Novak or Bill O'Reilly would have said if Mike McCurry had browbeaten them about their use of anonymous sources, or the Secretary of Defense had warned the press to 'be careful what you say' as Donald Rumsfeld had done. You know the answer as well as I do." -Brad Blog (courtesy Howard Kurtz)
Analysis: GOP rule has resulted in a dramatic shift of power to the executive branch.
Bob Herbert takes off the gloves over human rights and the administration's claims.
FBI report repeats evidence of Koran desecration. Christopher Hitchens talks about how it's not an issue of faith, but one of intolerance. (Courtesy Ocho.)
Judge rules parents can't teach their child their religious beliefs. (Courtesy takaal.)
SOME NEWS: * Poll finds Bush out of touch with most voters. * Poll shows support for stem cell research gains ground. * Deep sea bacterium might be able to yield the next generation of antibiotics. * One sports team works to save an endangered critter. * Will the new Nielsen system record things accurately? * Nonfiction movies are the current in-thing.
The TV season is over, and while Fox hit it big, NBC dropped like a rock.
takaal.)