Most CNN content is of limited value and Mr. King demonstrates why that will not change soon.

When appointing King to the position of Chief National Correspondent, a network spokesman praised him as a “Brilliant Journalist”.

Inarguably, King is a journalist. After reading his response to Glenn Greenwald’s gotcha, I think the adjective brilliant in also inarguable – but, for a different reason.

Mark Steyn, a capable word manipulator for right wing media, long ago sold his soul to corporate masters. For years, he has been squire to convicted newspaper ex-magnate Baron Black of Crossharbour. During the 2007 trial of Conrad Black, Steyn set an embarrassing standard of partiality in a blog at Toronto’s Macleans Magazine where he provided an impassioned and uncritical defence of his former employer.

This regular cheerleader for the Iraq War is also a belittler of people with environmental concerns. In February 2007, dismissing the concept of Global Warming, Steyn wrote, “the western Arctic’s a little warmer, the eastern Arctic’s colder.” His information no doubt confounds scientists who observed unprecedented polar melting that opened ice-free passages through arctic waters of both Canada and Russia during the summer of 2007.

Steyn and faux-warrior friends are always ready to explain why the defence of freedom requires diminution of freedom.

"Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity and Ann Coulter -- the heart and soul of the right-wing ......."

To be that, they would need hearts and souls.

Senator John seemed enervated recently so we worried, perhaps the years were overtaking him. The possibility of an illicit young paramour suggested there might be life in the old boy after all. Alas, there were denials all around. Now, Newsweek demonstrates that his memory isn’t working either.

Better head that Straight Talk Express toward Sun City Arizona before anything else goes away.

That Tim Russert is a venerated interviewer demonstrates vacuity of political news resources in television broadcasting. He works from scripts designed to construct contradictions, not to elicit information to inform viewers. Russert the interviewer does not much care about discussing fine points of complex issues. He prefers to deal with symbolic contentions, even if abstract.

When he pushes Obama to condemn Louis Farrakhan, Russert sees the Nation of Islam leader as a symbol of uppity blacks and wants the candidate to assure us that he will remain appropriately tractable and deferential.

Farrakhan is an easy target because the media has portrayed him for decades as an audacious hate merchant. Whether he deserves that description or not is of no interest because, well, that’s a complex issue.

Hagee is a different story. Pastor Strangelove may be an audacious hate merchant in fact but mainstream media considers him unassailable. Examine his connections to the powerful evangelical broadcasting fourberie. A person talking every week to tens of millions of American homes is a formidable target.

Glenn’s article demonstrates well the evolution of American political attitudes in the past generation.

One would be hard pressed to find an actual conservative today. Many who label themselves as such are instead Authoritarians, hankering for obedient courts, regulation of personal behaviour, elimination of multiculturalism and imposition of mainstream religious principles.

William Safire was a conservative writer who cared about personal liberties. In his dotage, unfortunately, even he joined the dark side.

Find Mitch Benn on YouTube. Listen to "Stay Afraid", "State of Emergency" or "Happy Birthday War". This English singer/comedian is a regular on BBC Radio4 "Now Show".

Stay Afraid lyrics:

Stay afraid, stay afraid.

Think of all the weapons

The Iranians could have made.

And while you’re frettin’ over that,

You’d better not forget

The nuclear bombs that they might make,

But haven’t yet.

Live in fear, live in fear.

Fixate upon the terrible things

That could yet still appear

And fill your sleep with nightmares

And convince yourself we’re cursed.

And spend all day imagining the worst.

Cuz, if we drop our guard for just one second,

Armageddon will have beckoned

And we’ll all be blown to heck and back.

So watch your neighbours, watch the skies.

They’re terrorists, be terrorized.

And sit and dread the next surprise attack.

Stay afraid, stay afraid.

The news is good, the coast is clear.

But, hey, don’t you be swayed.

Just stress and worry

Over what the future might yet bring.

Cuz if we don’t have fear,

Then we don’t have a thing.

John McCain is 72 years of age, over 92% of an American male's life expectancy at birth. If elected, he will be the oldest person ever to become President.

Researchers link aging with brain impairments that alter cognitive processing, including memory, attention, action, impulse control, problem solving and decision-making abilities. Many elderly develop few symptoms of intellectual disability, other become seriously enfeebled. McCain's health must be examined and considered.

Ruth Marcus, Jonathan Alter and other commentators should not pass off McCain's misunderstandings, fact confusions and rages as necessarily benign. John McCain may be a desirable companion at a stress-free picnic but how will he behave in a time of protracted anxiety?

If observers are blind to the possibilitys of defects, how will infirmity be discovered, if it exists now or during the next 8 years?

Mitch Benn updated his birthday greeting in song. See the video of this English satirist here:

www.mitchbenn.com

What a collection of uninteresting people we saw tonight. Were they all selected by the show or did some wander in from street?

The whole hour was unrelenting nastiness and all I can say is, "Get the +@^&$^#$ off my television and stay the ^%@#*$#$% off.