Indeed, there has been a downward trend for all news organizations over the last 20 years and network news is no exception. According to survey research, the percentage of Americans who gave ABC News the highest believability rating fell eight percentage points in just the last six years. At CBS News, it fell seven percentage points and at NBC News, the decline was six percentage points.

http://www.stateofthenewsmedia.com/2007/narrative_networktv_publicattitudes.asp?cat=7&media=5

We all know what Bush's numbers are.

The National Alliance for Model State Drug Laws is the technical assistance provider for states developing Prescription Drug Monitoring programs (http://www.natlalliance.org/prescription_drug.asp). State status reports and program summaries can be found here, including a list of the 33 states that have enacted enabling legislation and the 24 states with operational programs (http://www.natlalliance.org/pdfs/Status%20of%20States%20-%20Web%20Version10.pdf).

It looks like a couple of federal acts are involved:

The [National All Schedules Prescription Electronic Reporting Act of 2005] creates a grant program for states to create prescription drug monitoring databases and enhance existing ones, similar to the Harold Rogers Prescription Drug Monitoring grant program [The Prescription Drug Monitoring Program was created by the FY 2002 U.S. Department of Justice Appropriations Act (Public Law 107-77)]. NASPER authorizes $60 million for the program through fiscal 2010. While the Harold Rogers Grant Program is placed within the Department of Justice, the NASPER program is placed within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS); however, DEA is working closely with HHS to coordinate this new program. http://www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/pubs/program/rx_monitor/faqs.htm

...they're in the wrong line of work, for starters.

If anyone is still having problems with video, the SJC site has a link and an alternate: http://judiciary.senate.gov/hearing.cfm?id=2632

At C-SPAN (the opening statements and morning session are already available): http://www.c-span.org/special/attorneys.asp

We have more important things to worry about.

Our most important concern goes virtually unnoticed by the vast majority of our species.

Whales, seals, endangered species, pets, and various other animals on this planet all have representatives of our species championing causes on their behalf. But the greatest CAUS of them all - exposing the actual presence of an alien life-form and the possible threat and invasion of our species by this unknown intelligence - goes unnoticed by the vast majority of our species. Our attention is being diverted to three-dimensional dramas while, behind the curtain, a secret agenda, possibly affecting the very existence of our species is being implemented by something we have yet to acknowledge, let alone identify....
http://archive.alienzoo.com/politicsandlaw/aliensonearth.html

Apropos promo from tonight's Bill Moyers Journal: Buying the War: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pBQAQ3AWOU4

Oops, the Moyers program airs Wednesday, the 25th

http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/about/index-premiere.html

How did the mainstream press get it so wrong? How did the evidence disputing the existence of weapons of mass destruction and the link between Saddam Hussein to 9-11 continue to go largely unreported? "What the conservative media did was easy to fathom; they had been cheerleaders for the White House from the beginning and were simply continuing to rally the public behind the President — no questions asked. How mainstream journalists suspended skepticism and scrutiny remains an issue of significance that the media has not satisfactorily explored," says Moyers. "How the administration marketed the war to the American people has been well covered, but critical questions remain: How and why did the press buy it, and what does it say about the role of journalists in helping the public sort out fact from propaganda?"

I live in hope. I can't help it.

I didn't get the impression that Russert was willing to account for his behavior. His unwillingness to take responsibility is disgusting and I'm still seeing red:

BILL MOYERS: What do you make of the fact that of the 414 Iraq stories broadcast on NBC, ABC and CBS nightly news, from September 2002 until February 2003, almost all the stories could be traced back to sources from the White House, the Pentagon, and the State Department?

TIM RUSSERT: It's important that you have a-- an oppos-- opposition party. That's our system of government.

BILL MOYERS: So, it's not news unless there's somebody-

TIM RUSSERT: No, no, no. I didn't say that. But it's important to have an opposition party, your opposit-- opposing views.

WALTER PINCUS: More and more, in the media, become, I think, common carriers of administration statements, and critics of the administration. And we've sort of given up being independent on our own.

For those of us who aren't in McClatchy's markets, their coverage is easy to keep up with here: http://www.realcities.com/mld/krwashington/

Lieberman doesn't agree with Harry Reid's characterization of the war and, like Broder, said so in the Washington Post (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/25/AR2007042502410_pf.html).

But, as a member of the Senate Democratic Caucus, Lieberman signed the letter, too. That makes it even more amazing.

http://democrats.senate.gov/journal/entry.cfm?id=273216&

http://democrats.senate.gov/members

http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/lv-other/2007/apr/27/566616174.html