I’m not surprised by the story, but the bouncy, almost cheerful, tone of exchanges between the propagandists and their puppets was sickening: for instance, a senior Pentagon official saying “We’re hitting a home run on this trip.” Why does everything have to be said in sports metaphors?

The whole article was disturbing, but the account of Paul Vallely (Fox News analyst from 2001-2007) suggested that this effort wasn’t merely “message control” or “spin,” but they viewed this in terms of a big Pscyh-Op project. Vallely calls this “MindWar” and explained that we lost Vietnam because we failed to use network TV and radio to “strengthen our national will to victory.” Needless to say, this isn’t the model of rational political decision-making our Founders envisioned. The idea that we need to conduct a Mind War or Psychological Operation on our own citizens is un-American to the core. I’m simply disgusted.

I'm vacationing in California and I thought I'd let you know that the LA Times reports in 4 short paragraphs "House Passes Compromise Bill" on page A11. Obviously that story is much less important than the front page stories, which include:

"Hard-earned Million: Lil Wayne is a Tough Act to Follow"

and

"Multiple Choice for SAT takers"

It's jarring.

I have information from scanning the front page of salon that I *didn't* have after seeing all of the episodes so far. You did this last year. Stop it.

Why can't you simply report on Fashion Week? That's better than ruining everyone's favorite TV show. Thanks.

"I know this is vitally important to Salon. But does the real world really watch this crap? I've never met anyone who admits to ever watching it."

CatvRoomba, you letter was boring and uninspired. We think that your invocation of "the real world" was derivative and stale, and the description of your friends left us cold. I'm sorry CatvRoomba. You're out.

Granted, she’s not a chorus girl trying to snare a rich husband, but she engages in a more pernicious form of gold digging. She thinks she’s entitled to a lifestyle far above her pay grade, yet has no consciousness or self-awareness about her crass materialism. She rages against the rich out of one side of her mouth, and then makes all sorts of tone-deaf classist comments out of the other.

To her defenders, read her account of why she dumped her husband when his earning potential took a hit. Then, go over to her blog and read all of her New Jersey jokes, her high-brow/low-brow distinctions, and her inflated sense of cultural capital. Thadeus Crumb is right. Some might read her piece and sympathize with her obnoxiousness, but “The rest of us read the thing and saw a whole lot of class envy and money consciousness, and precious little else.”

"you ARE rich by the standards of most people." ~xxxxxxxxxx

This underscores a big part of my frustration with the author, the article, and the attitude. There's nothing more boring or ridiculous than a bourgeois pity party -- especially in this day and age. The rich/poor gap has widened, 46 million Americans don't have health insurance, and the ranks of the working poor have enormously swelled. So, forgive me if have no sympathy -- or patience -- for someone who can't afford their dream home in their dream neighborhood. Boo frickin' hoo.

"Worrying about the Fed’s independence by telling Jones that someone there is a “K Street whore” is like telling a Klansman that the Iraq War was waged at the behest of Jewish neoconservatives looking out for Israel."

What on Earth motivates this analogy? It's gibberish. At the very least, the comparison you're trying to draw involves serious mental gymnastics to make any sense.

It's worth repeating: "This is WAR Room, not Miss Polly Prissypant's Tea Cotillion."