"From this, I would take it to understand that the news business is intended to be a mild sedative for the audience that only seems mildly informative. Don't treat the viewers as seeking information or knowledge or understanding, but rather, as needing comfort, relaxation and reassurance that they can still trust their institutions and their celebrities. (Or at least be receptive to the advertisements coming up next)."

You hit the nail right on the head, buddy.

-I resent being called a McCarthyite because my concerns are different from his.-

McCarthyiteMcCarthyiteMcCarthyiteMcCarthyite

McCarthyiteMcCarthyiteMcCarthyiteMcCarthyiteMcCarthyite

.....McCarthyite!

When I read Brian Williams' RAVINGS the other day about the New York Times and (gag) Peggy Noonan, I was incredulous. Surely some hacker had written that drivel and posted it on Williams blog.

Once the authenticity of its authorship became clear, I fired off a comment suggesting that perhaps Williams should join former ABC "reporter" Brit Hume, at Fox News. After all, Fox could use a good-looking Republican hack posing as a journalist to offset Hume's dour, Cro Magnon-man look.

My comment wasn't published.

Same thing happened a couple of weeks ago when I opined on ABC's Jake Tapper's blog that HE should join Hume in the Hack Hall of Fame at Fox. That didn't merit publication either.

My feelings would really be hurt except that I can take comfort in this: Glenn will publish my thoughts, even if I disagree with him. Which I did. Once. Only once.

As usual you speak the truth, and you speak it effectively. Hooray for Glenn Greenwald!

I thought Noonan's column was discursive crap. And it says volumes about Brian Williams that he endorsed said crap.

From what I've read about Noonan, she was a speechwriter for Reagan and Bush The Elder (she supposedly wrote that line "Read my lips: No new taxes" for Bush). She's rather self-important, rather full of herself. (Didn't Bush get rid of her because of that?)

She's a neocon, I believe.

Brian Williams is a typical blow-dried, pretty boy, millionaire talking head. He's rather self-important, rather full of himself.

Criticize him, and he gets madder than a pimp with dogshit on his shoe.

Williams doesn't like people like "Vinny" and Joe Sixpack. He knows that maybe they're on to him.

It's ridiculous for these millionaire media types to piss and moan about who's "elitist."

These denizens of Georgetown cocktail parties, Martha's Vineyard, and Vail and Aspen, Colorado have nothing in common with Joe & Jane Sixpack out in Peoria.

I gave up on national news around the time of the 2004 election. This from a retired social studies teacher and professor who once made it a requirement for his students to watch the evening news. The military story or the lack of it by the news "teams" is reinforcement of why I do not watch.

How about an analyst on the McCain-Clinton gas tax suspension? After the summer wouldn't restoring the tax be a tax increase as defined by McCain in his reasoning for supporting Bush's tax cuts?

"At no time did our analysts, on my watch or to my knowledge, attempt to push a rosy Pentagon agenda before our viewers. I think they are better men than that, and I believe our news division is better than that."

I can see it now: The Greaterest Generation by Brian Williams.

I have noticed the major networks and cable being overwhelmingly critical of the New York Times in general. CNN especially. Most of the sassy comments came following the Times story on John McCain and the lobbyist, but are also coming out now. It's almost like a politician blaming the media for a controversy he/she started. Now we have the media blaming the media! Potential new slogan for the Times - Read the Times-Annoy the Media???

yep, when i think of america and the little people who live here, i get all nostalgic for henry ford and his antisemitic hitler-loving legacy. but most of all, the bloody beatings his goons would give workers who tried to unionize. i know peggy shares this with me.

In an ORGY of SELF-MASTURBATORY GLEE

Brian Williams NOMINATES Noonan, Peggy!!!!!

FOR A PULITZER PRIZE, NO LESS!

WHAT A _UCKING BLOODY MESS

AS THESE SELF-ABSORBED MSM WALKING ABORTIONS GO ON THEIR SPREE!!!!!

Williams, Noonan, Broder, Wolfe, Matthews, Brooks, Gibson, Couric, Russert AND ALL THEIR DISGUSTING MSM ILK

ARE TRYING THE AMERICAN VIEWER TO SNEAKILY AND SUBTLELY BUT UNDENIABLY BILK!

THEY CONVENIENTLY FAIL TO TRACK & PURSUE

MAD CHIMP Bush and THE REST OF HIS Bushland ZOO!

INSTEAD THEY PAT EACH OTHER'S BACKS AND JACK OFF INTO AMERICA'S MILK!!!!!

where'd all the comments go....?

Glenn,

I can think of one good reason why Obama might not cry patriotic tears at the mere mention of Henry Ford's name: Obama probably knows history a bit better then either Noonan or Williams. Ford was a rabid anti-semite and Nazi sympathizer. What a great American he was!

what it's always been. The far left, through Obama (and certainly not Hillary Clinton!), would rather stick it to their far right-wing counterparts with outrageous ideological crap than actually get anything accomplished in this country.

No one, absolutely no one, should think for one minute that Barack Obama is a man of the people anymore than George W. Bush was. He is a man of the neo-liberals just like Bush was a man for the neo-cons.

Those of us in the middle just keep getting screwed by both extreme sides. Barack Obama is in the process of hi-jacking the Democratic Party along with his left-wing financiers. And George W. McCain can't get right quick enough or far enough to be a full fledged neo-con.

Neither deserves to be President of the United States.

Remember Brian Williams announcing the 7-2 Supreme Court Bush v Gore decision on December 12, 2000?

He said, "We are happy to announce what we've been wanting to announce for over a month (since November 7th): George W. Bush is President of the United States."

Didn't he mean to announce a decision in the case rather than that George Bush, in particular, was president? That is, if he'd been going for objectivity?

I see him so clearly, smiling broadly with that voice I'd thought of as reasonable through the period of upheaval after the November 7th election. I was so disappointed to see how pleased Williams seemed to be able to announce George W. Bush was president. How disappointed I was to realize Williams would not be as pleased to announce Gore had won.

Intuition's a bitch!