A review of Frank Rich's The Greatest Story Ever Sold and two books on I.F. Stone show how media politics have become about repeating the same few things until they seem inevitable, especially if they aren't true.
The new 'Manchurian Candidate' takes place in an exaggerated version of today's security-mad America, with suicide bombs blasting Denver and corporations pulling the puppet strings of political life.
"Today's Winners don't simply win, they win badly: bragging, sneering, lording it over the Losers, and promoting themselves with a crassness that would leave Duddy Kravitz blushing."
Even before opening day, Mel Gibson's 'Passion' was pumped up by a media out of touch with America's religious majority and a savvy PR team eager to help.
The recent "Is Mike Piazza Gay?" debacle threatened fans and sportswriters' attitudes toward masculinity and their sense of sports as a refuge from the messy emotional stuff of real life.
If there's anything more depressing than Bush calling Fidel Castro a "tyrant," it's lefties who cling to the Cuban leader as the last flickering flame of some enduring torch of freedom.
