I'm glad Ms. Paglia called some bullshit on the mawkish media maelstrom that arose in the wake of Russert's untimely demise. Not since Reagan's passing had the American media outdone itself more. I found it ironic that as American journalism's standards have continued to slide, as they have forsaken their role as watchdogs on authority in favor of becoming affluent lapdogs to power -- that the self-congratulatory tone of the media has shot skyward, and opportunities like the death of Russert enabled them to go on a parade of their perfumed and powdered, corrupted notions of journalistic virtue, even as the stink of their professional lapses and abdication of duty (particularly in the last 8 years) finds its way to the nose of the attentive viewer, no matter how many hours they devoted to the late Saint Timothy.

Kudos to Paglia for contrasting American journalist standards with British standards -- watch the BBC a bit and savor the bite of actual journalists plying their thankless but necessary trade, compared with the sycophantic celebrities of American broadcast journalism, cozying up to power with pinwheel eyes.

Before beatifying Russert, American journalism (particularly broadcast journalism), should start doing its job properly. I'm reminded of how Sam Donaldson was thought to be a good journalist in the Reagan years simply because he could shout out questions over the hum of helicopter rotor blades -- it didn't matter what questions he asked, only that the questions were loud enough to be heard.

In many ways, I see the otherwise affable Russert painted as a paragon of journalistic virtue in a profession whose standards have all but caved in on themselves.

Wow, I can almost see the new book titles from the Christianists on this topic: "Christ is Coming, and So Can You!"

He did yeoman's service to the cause of villainy; no doubt he got his just reward in Hell, perhaps as a pitchfork carrier for Strom, as they get things ready down there for a whole host of their fellow GOP Christianists. He leaves this world no poorer for his departing from it, which is so often the legacy of his kind of politician.

Only Democrats flip-flop. I've written about that before. Even when a Republican flip-flops, the Gliberal Media doesn't call it that. It's just one of those useful mental placeholders that are easy to throw out by way of actual debate, which is why the Right uses it so regularly. Why the Gliberal Media enables it, however, is anybody's guess.

I guess (?) it's a good thing that the trolls are coming out from under the bridges to grumble anew about Obama. I mean, if the GOPeons didn't see him as a threat, they'd still be hanging by riverbeds, gnawing on old bones. It is funny how the concern for fascism is raised by the prospect of a large public rally, when the meat-and-potatoes of fascistic governance under the Bush regime hasn't bestirred or bothered the trolls so much.

Being popular or a good speaker doesn't make one a fascist; but sabotaging popular elections, use of secret prisons, torture, suppression of civil liberties, extraordinary rendition, wars of opportunity, cronyism, etc. -- these are all part of the fascist toolkit, and have been used very well by the current regime. It's just funny what bothers some people, and what doesn't bother them, as well. J'accuse, my dears.

They've got no place to go but the GOP now, and Hell afterward. What Would Jesus Do? He wouldn't be a Republican, for sure, wouldn't embrace war and coddling the rich and trampling the poor.

They're downright pharisaical, these religious reactionaries, so why would anybody be surprised at their political whoredom at this late stage of the game? They've cast their lot with Caesar and Mammon both, so of course they'll cleave to McCain as their standard bearer. Time to turn the page on the Christianist theocrats.

"A tax cut is really one of the anecdotes to coming out of an economic illness." -- George W. Bush

McCain't doesn't get it. There's not enough cue cards or teleprompters in the world to help him, either.

If McCainiac/Rovian tactics get too fierce, Obama's people should run their campaign around "Had Enough?" as a slogan, just to pin the Bush administration to McCain's lapel. With all the "negative prosperity" the GOP's tax and economic policies have inflicted on the nation, anything that cements the association between McCain and Bush will sink the man in November.

The double standard regarding McCain is amazing, given the treatment of John Kerry, Max Cleland, and Wesley Clark by the Republican chickenhawks and their media lapdogs. If only the mainstream media or the GOP had any shame, but then, they don't, which is why it's verboten to question anything about McCain's service (or GW Bush's evasion of service for that matter).

The moral of the story: no Democrat can hope to play the military service card without being shot down, just as any Republican can serve (or not serve or evade service) without fear of inquiry or any kind of repercussions. The Gliberal Media will forever play this game.