True. Maddow is an equal opportunity critic.

Right wing media is intensely partisan, 24/7. It outnumbers left wing media by a huge ratio and is far more committed to its own ideology.

The status quo, the establishment in America is conservative. This is a center-right nation, as far as its power structure goes. It has been for a long time.

The right has bashed liberals for so long, many public figures in the liberal camp have internalized that bashing. They actually fight against the word when labeled. They'll say that what they do is not liberal at all. I heard that a lot during the Sotomayer hearings.

Conservatives never do that. They don't have to. They're seen by the establishment as the norm, the ruling stick. Deviation from that norm is considered radical. Anything to the left of centrist in America these days is considered radical and "far left", even though it's far, far from actually being radical or "far left.

Progressives/liberals have to stop with the Stockholm syndrome and stop being defensive or ashamed about the word. We have too much to be proud of, when it comes to reform and making life better for Americans. There is no reason for us to run from the liberal label. Conservatives are the folks who should be ashamed of their past, and their present, their obstructionism, their constant support for the power elite, for the rich and powerful. They shouldn't be the norm or the measuring stick. They should be shunned, ridiculed, mocked for their backwardness and lack of effective, efficient, ethical stances on the issues. And they should be condemned for their acceptance of truly repugnant people in their midst, the racists, bigots, homophobes, xenophobes, warmongers and religious fruit cakes that have basically taken over their party.

I hope America wakes up and returns to its liberal and progressive roots. It hasn't been there since the early 70s, and things have gone down hill almost in direct correspondence with the rise of the right in America.

didn't know about that exchange.

Doesn't look good.

I have read some very good articles by Sirota. I think he's contributed a lot on certain issues.

That said . . . .

We should all read critically, skeptically, carefully, and never become "fans" of a writer. It hurts our ability to analyze their work, etc. etc.

Tim Russert was a sycophantic corporate lapdog.

YIP YIP! ARF ARF!

Only David Gregory could be even better at it, especially lacking any bones whatsoever.

@nerdnam, I know very well the letters were fake, we wrote about it at the time, and I have personally criticized Dan Rather for failing to preside over the kind of diligence that might have uncovered the forgery. However: The details of what he reported were true, they were reported by people who knew the truth about AWOL GWB at the time; the memos were an unnecessary flourish. I don't believe Rather deserved to lose his job over it; I think he was a victim of the pro-Bush climate of the times. A year later, post-Katrina, with Bush's reputation in tatters, he'd have apologized and had his knuckles rapped for the same sort of blunder. It was a sad way to go out, because CBS corporate lapdogs wanted him gone.

I met Walter Cronkite the summer of 1962 when I worked at the Steamboat Dock in Essex, CT. I'd just completed my freshman year at Yale. He sailed his little yawl in from the Sound and tied up to go have dinner at the Griswold Inn. He asked me if I would be around to watch it and asked if he could anchor for the night out beyond the mooring field. Just before I was to leave at 9 he came strolling back holding hands with his wife, passed me a dollar bill, a generous tip back then, and motored off. It was my first week on the job and the boss hadn't paid me yet, so that dollar was the first money I had ever earned away from home. I still have it.

Dave Hauk

I'm still seeing this ad: http://d.mediaforceads.com/ck.php?oaparams=2__bannerid=49__zoneid=16__cb=5d10a7e3ba__oadest=http://www.onlinejobsjournal.com/?sub=MFAS-ver15-a1-z16

Please tell me that somehow this ad has escaped your attention, or your editorial judgment. Or that you're not really running these ads, and somehow I have adware or spyware on my computer that is making me see them. Because if you are intentionally running an ad for a known get-rich quick scam, I will officially have lost all faith in Salon.

Proof that this is a scam (as if you really need proof, if it sounds too good to be true, it is)

http://www.reviewopedia.com/google-home-business-kit.htm

http://www.bbb.org/utah/business-reviews/online-shopping-sites/google-treasure-chestcom-in-sandy-ut-22233884

http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2009/07/how-to-steer-clear-of-money-scams.html

http://rressler.blogspot.com/2009/06/consumer-alert-google-bizkit.html

If that's not enough, you can see for yourself that it's a dishonest scam. If you go to their site and fill out the form (I suggest you use fake information as I did), they claim that you'll be charged $1.95 for their BS. But if you read the fine print at the bottom of the page, far away from the form where you enter you CC#, it says this:

By submitting this form, I am activating the MyMoneyPlan three day trial. I also agree to the bonus trial of SearchProfitSystem for fourteen days. After the three day and fourteen day trial periods, I will be billed forty-nine dollars and eighty four cents for MyMoneyPlan and twenty eight dollars and seventy one cents for the SearchProfitSystem monthly thereafter until I choose to cancel either or both programs. I agree to the Privacy Policy / Terms and Conditions of this Web Site. Google does not sponsor or endorse, nor is it affiliated in any way with this site.

Say it ain't so, and I'm infected with a virus, Joan. Please. Or that it's some kind of auto-ad that you have no control over. I'll apologize. Say it escaped your judgment, and you're pulling the ad. I'll praise you. Ignore me and I'll become more powerful than you can possibly imagine. Okay, not really, I just had to quote Obi-Wan, but seriously, this is sick, and even sicker that it's in a blog about the most trusted man in America.