Of course, all of us over 25 have had to adjust to the wired world. Some journalists have really worked their way up through the ranks are just devastated because these upstarts don't recognize their accomplishments. Yet you might think Alter would be happy to see see the public rise up and demand serious reporting. According to Wikipedia,

For a decade in the 1980s, Alter ... was among the first in the mainstream media to break tradition and hold other news organizations accountable for their coverage, a precursor to the role later played by blogs.

re: McCain scoop: Sorry, but this looks to me like an example where Drudge was the only one paying attention - it's not as if he made the thing up. For some reason, a bunch of other reporters didn't see any significance in the fact that a major presidential contender jokes about starting a war. Ha! ha!

BTW: That would be "we don't know WHO, exactly" not WHOM...

We will soon know whether the Democratic majorities in both houses are capable of getting to the bottom of this.

Dear Joe Conason,

It is time for the nation to bend over the toilet and vomit up the sickness that is "Bush 43." Sometimes, a nice relaxed holiday just isn't appropriate.

Giuliani (and apparently the entire GOP) is engaging in the same kind of mindless, fact-free jingoism - untethered by the bounds of mere "reality" - brought to us by Bush 43. One would hope that the country has now seen enough of this and is ready to get on with business, even if it means accepting reality over coolness.

It is difficult to imagine where the US might be in 2016 if a new Republican president were to continue along the current path.

On the military front, the combination of mismanagement and bellicosity has already had dangerous results. A president actively continuing this course might well lead the country to its first true defeat - as opposed to a withdrawal from an unsuccessful military operation - with consequences that can only be guessed at.

Yet there are also plenty of pressing domestic issues that have gone unaddressed: health care, taxation, education, infrastructure, jobs, the list is long. Politicians who truly love their country and desire to serve the people should be seething at the unparalleled corruption, cronyism, and cynicism of this administration.

Candidates who make a show of having learned nothing from the mistakes and failures of the current administration should be taken at their word and be allowed to enjoy their retirement in peace. As soon as possible.

If Ms. Clinton and Mr. Obama are not up to getting the job done now, why should we believe they will be any better in January 09?

This report just in:

Archeologists excavating in a broom closet in the DNC headquarters building have discovered a huge pile of human vertebrae from a bizarre secret ritual. Apparently, in a sort of traditional initiation cult, all members of the Democratic leadership (an ancient North American tribe now threatened by extinction) are required to undergo surgery for backbone removal when they first enter the building.

Prof. Mike McWeep said it was still unclear just how long the tribe has been practicing this rite, and that it might take years of DNA testing to match all of the bones to the leading Democrats from whom they were removed.

But according to Dr. Effin Shame, head of the anthropology department at Small-Liberal University, researchers are now confident of solving a puzzle that has baffled them for years: Why Democratic leaders always back down when faced with ridiculous accusations by clueless Republican operatives.

Dr. Shame added that this discovery would probably not be enough to save the Democrats from extinction, but would help to fill in gaps in understanding their culture after they are gone.

Maybe this is what the GOP is really looking for in a candidate:

a fashion model with a down-home twang (they came pretty close with Bush).

http://www.kennychesney.com/

Another six months of this non-stop campaign against al Qaida, then Bush will put on his jumpsuit and declare Iraq to be free of al Qaida. Conveniently ignoring the fact that they never really were there in the first place.

This tactic has a lot of potential - think of Iran, Venezuela, or evil blue states. Just bomb everything to bits to chase out al Qaida fighters. Since there are none there to begin with, victory will come whenever the president's poll numbers call for it. Kind of like a capital reserve.

Every day, I read all this stuff. Again and again, you prove that everything the government does is either corrupt, treasonous, or just plain stupid. What I am still waiting to read about, though, is anyone actually doing anything about it.

Joan, it looks like you missed this Newsweek interview with French foreign minister Bernard Kouchner.

"Many people believe the prime minister [Nuri al-Maliki] ought to be changed. I don’t know if that will go through, though, because it seems President Bush is attached to Mr. Maliki. But the government is not functioning...

...I just had Condoleezza on the phone 10 or 15 minutes ago, and I told her, “Listen, he’s got to be replaced."

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20425468/site/newsweek/page/3/

Maybe this is a French standpoint, or maybe Sarkozy is auditioning to be Bush's new poodle.

FREE DC!

In Austria, land leeches appear to be going extinct due to climate warming, which dries the soil.

http://www.springerlink.com/content/u48v28475m706m80/