I really had to laugh at this interview between Mark Halperin and Hugh Hewitt the other day. He's the political director at ABC and engaged in a whining email exchange trying to prove that he's not part of the "liberal" media to the likes of Hewitt. Now that's good fun. Usually a person with Halperin's job would know that the Cowardly Lion is one of the most biased and dishonest right wing talkies there is.

It makes no difference what Halperin does or says to Hewitt. NONE. He will ridicule Halperin no matter what. It's part of the conservative shtick, but what's so telling about this exchange is that Halperin actually thinks he'd be allowed into their club. Mark, please wake up. Wolf Blitzer was just treated the same way by Lynne Cheney and yet he expressed similar outage that the Lynnster would question his patriotism. As Greenwald says:

Isn't there something extremely unseemly about the political director of ABC News engaging in such an intense campaign to win the approval of one of the most blindly partisan, extremist Bush followers in the country?

As Ezra notes:

It is now a matter of public record, however, that Mark Halperin is writing with an eye towards Hugh Hewitt's approval. Everything he writes must be judged through that lens. Much of it must be discarded for that reason. He's no longer a journalist, can no longer protect his pretensions of intellectual independence. He's no longer, if he ever was, worth reading.

Is there any clearer indication why our media is so screwed up?

I needed a little bit of a laugh to start off my weekend.

Lewis Black

Happy Rosh Hashanah, y'all.

2006 SENATE RACE RANKINGS: Hotline's editor-in-chief, Chuck Todd's analysis of the races....and vet and senate candidate, James Webb, shows he knows how to respond to vile GOP slurs. In other congressional news, it appears that the Ney operation is crumbling. Pete Seeger on our friend and NY Dem candidate for congress, John Hall.

Sadly, No! In Praise of Robert Somerby

Sooner Thought: We know the proudly ignorant G-Dub doesn't read, but apparently, nobody in that chickensh*t outfit does. BushCo could have saved themselves the trouble of pissing off the entire world by peeking into their bank records and simply read Loretta Napoleoni’s book, which lays out how terror funding really works.

Taylor Marsh: Jack Bauer would laugh at Rush...who may have a new gig.

Martini Republic: Here's a story that slipped under the radar..

The Hill: How some lawmakers are sabotaging the renewal of the Voting Rights Act, and why they are wrong.

My run-in with a Fundy...We need never bow to God's bullies. After reading these two items, I thought it was important to support this soldier in the fight against the AmTaliban .

Online NewsHour: Offered a timid examination of the controversy surrounding the use of electronic voting machines. Serious problems were noted but they didn't mention this or this.

Workbench: Andrew Breitbart is getting huge traffic and raking in lotsa ad $ because former partner Drudge links to his copies of AP and Reuters news stories. Don't generate any click-thru cash for him. Avoid Brietbart.com links.

The Impolitic: White House announces its new al Qaeda chief in Iraq

IT CAN'T HAPPEN HERE: by Sinclair Lewis, published in 1935--"Remember our war hysteria, when we called sauerkraut 'Liberty cabbage' and somebody actually proposed calling German measles 'Liberty measles'? And wartime censorship of honest papers? Bad as Russia! Remember our kissing the--well, the feet of Billy Sunday, the million-dollar evangelist...Remember when the hick legislators in certain states, in obedience to William Jennings Bryan, who learned his biology from his pious old grandma, set up shop as scientific experts and made the whole world laugh itself sick by forbidding the teaching of evolution?" (thnx to reader Cynthia)

Talk Left:

"A few of them weigh in here. Personally, I think it's sleazy for a blog to accept an ad and then mock and trash the advertiser, as Junkyard Dog and Right Wing News have done. I wouldn't mind a reasoned debate on the issues raised in the ad, but to make statements like "So click on the ad. Laugh at the page it links to. Amnesty International is a joke" and "The ad is a lame little connect-the-dots video they really didn't put much effort into...read on"

I'm with Duncan on this one.

Proposed FEC Rules Would Exempt Most Political Activity on Internet

War and Piece: It's hard to know whether to laugh or cry at the administration's efforts to covertly buy good press in Iraq through such an outfit as the Lincoln Group.

Bob's got the best of the week's cartoons

3 Years: Must-see "Peace Takes Courage" animation...and another slide show, American Excess, Don't Leave Home WithoutExcess, Don't Leave Home Without It

This Modern World: Can we talk?

That Colored Fellas Weblog: The Great Rock N' Roll Swindle

It

This Modern World: Can we talk?

That Colored Fellas Weblog: The Great Rock N' Roll Swindle

I laugh in the face of danger... then I hide until it goes away.--Xander

Brit Hume and the Ivy Leaguers

Hume brought in the elitist myth as a way to deflect the criticism at Harriet Miers nomination.

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He's one of those apologists that defends President Bush with every breath. He bangs all of his conservative buddies in the process. I laugh at all the elitists who seem to know so much about poverty when they never missed a meal in their lives.

Atrios writes: Lots of discussion in wingnuttia about whether or not it's "elitist" to oppose Miers. These discussions seem to confuse different kinds of elitism...read his full take." Kos has his own take on elitist schools.

I do know that the real world is a whole lot different to live and work in when you get out of your nice, highly rated college.

Fun With O'Reilly

Falafel Bill usually thinks he knows everything, so I had to laugh when he tried to play Judge Roberts with Chuck Schumer. Mr. Loofah posed as the judge and had Chuck ask him some questions to answer so he could justify Roberts refusal to answer.

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If Roberts didn't know the Commerce Clause Bill, I don't think he'd have a shot in hell to be confirmed. lol

Brit Hume: Second City TV

Digby reminded me of this segment on Brit Hume yesterday. C&L got a little inside information.

Tom: Brit, in a way I'm so happy that I got indicted. This way I can yell at all the democrats at the top of my lungs and nobody will mind.

Brit: Yes Tom, that will work really well. The left is famous for conspiracy theories so have a little fun.

Tom: How many times should I say partisan attack, liberal and fanatic you think?

Brit: The more the merrier.

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Tom: I'll say I was extorted by Earle too and throw in a runaway jury for good measure. Everybody remembers the runaway bride story.

Brit: Yea, she was kinda cute. I'll be the lawyer, judge and jury and you can fill in the blanks since I won't have any of the evidence that Ronnie Earle does.

Delay: What about all the democrats he prosecuted?

Brit: Just say they were democratic enemies, that way it'll cover all the bases.

Tom: That's real good Brit, I'll laugh and joke and make believe I didn't know anything. I have a really nice smile you know.

Brit: I know Tom, you are real photogenic when you want to be. Don't forget to make the uniter-divider reference.

Tom: I'm the hammer-Brit.

Brit: Then we'll shake hands to seal the deal. I'm Brit Hume after all; the most fair and balanced of them all.