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From the blogs

Thomas Friedman Can't Stop Comparing Afghanistan to a "Special Needs Baby"

by Liliana Segura, AlterNet

From Charlie Rose to Hardball, Friedman has spent months polishing his favorite new metaphor.

Glenn Beck's Holiday Film is a Box Office Flop

by Space Cowboy, Shakesville

It looks like most people have better things to spend their money on:

Ramesh Ponnurru: Defender of Blastocyst-Americans

by Tintin, Sadly, No!

Naturally Ponnuru’s biggest concern is that health care reform might facilitate access to abortions, and he is perfectly willing to see actual human beings die to see it doesn't.

UPDATED: Defense Contractor Makes Up Wild Islamic Terrorism Fantasy; Right-Wingers Act Like it's 9/11 All Over Again

by Joshua Holland, AlterNet

Weird story.

Krauthammer: My Pants Don't Tingle When Obama Gets On His War-Talk!

by Brad Reed, Sadly, No!

War isn't a matter of national security for the neocon.

Unfriendly Fire: Michael Tomasky Attacks Michael Moore on Afghanistan

by Lindsay Beyerstein, Majikthise

I am so sick of hearing this straw man argument from liberals.

December Is National Buy a Book by a Black Author and Give It to Somebody Not Black Month

by Tara Lohan, AlterNet

Time to branch out from Toni Morrison.

'Demonstrable Idiot Conservative Liar' Pushes Climate Science Pseudo-Scandal

by Thers, Whiskey Fire

Affirmative-action poster-boy Jonah Goldberg offers another brilliant argument in the LA Times.

This Week in Right-Wing Media Crazy

by Staff, Media Matters for America

A round-up!

Can You Say Irony? Glenn Beck Offers Insight Into Conspiracy Theories

by Simon Maloy, Media Matters for America

It's amusing that someone so practiced in conspiracy theorism could demonstrate such ignorance of how conspiracy theories work.

10 Biggest Sports Sex Scandals of All Time: How Does Tiger Woods Rate?

David Rosen, CounterPunch. December 7, 2009.
Woods' sex scandal is the latest battleground for a media debate over moral order -- here are 10 others that captivated the press and public.

10 Signs the Failed Drug War Is Finally Ending

Tony Newman, AlterNet. December 4, 2009.
2009 will go down as the beginning of the end of America's longest running war. Here's 10 reasons why.

Teflon Dick: How Cheney Uses Media For Protection

Linda Milazzo, AlterNet. December 2, 2009.
Dick Cheney has used the complicit American media, his most powerful anti-prosecution tool, to near Machiavellian perfection.

The Money Behind Moon's Washington Times

Rory O'Connor, MediaChannel.org. December 2, 2009.
Where did all the money come from to keep the money-losing Moonie paper afloat all these years?

What Do Levi Johnston, Evangelicals and Oprah Have in Common? They All Blind Us to What Really Matters

Chris Hedges, Truthdig. November 30, 2009.
Our obsessions revolve around the trivial and the absurd, while the course of human history is changing. Those who choose reality over fantasy are derided as pessimists.

Why Is the Media So Obsessed With Horrifying Images of African-American Mothers?

Melissa Harris-Lacewell, The Nation. November 30, 2009.
With Michelle Obama in the White House, I expected a resurgence of the Claire Huxtable stereotype. Instead, hideous depictions of abusive, irresponsible black moms are everywhere.

Rabid Right-Wing Media Mogul Building a News Empire

Jamison Foser, Media Matters for America. November 28, 2009.
If you like what Rupert Murdoch has done for the national discourse, you'll love what Philip Anschutz is trying to do in your hometown.

Lou Dobbs, Looking at Public Office, Says He's in Favor of Policy He Used to Spin as "Shamnesty for Illegals"

Joshua Holland, AlterNet. November 26, 2009.
Dobbs said he now favors the very legalization process for unauthorized immigrants that he's long derided as a brain-dead "amnesty".

The Battle of Durban II: New Film Brings Dose of Sanity to Debate Over Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

Brian White, Gotcha Movies. November 26, 2009.
It's a great feat to bring an even view to international politics. The Battle of Durbin II does just that.

The Real Scandal Over Climate Change Isn't About Hacked Emails But the Media's Coverage

Alex Steffen, Worldchanging. November 24, 2009.
There's been a lot of talk recently about the "hacked climate emails." But a much bigger scandal is just waiting to break.

The Memory Scrub About Why Ft. Hood Happened Is Almost Complete ... If It Weren't for Archives

Mark Ames, AlterNet. November 23, 2009.
That Maj. Hasan tried to get a military discharge before the massacre is largely being erased -- we're supposed to keep focusing on the Muslim part.

Dobbs' Resignation Was Long Overdue

Janet Murguía, AlterNet. November 21, 2009.
My problems with Dobbs surfaced more than two years ago, during the debate over the last version of immigration reform.

Is Right-Wing Media Hustler Trying to "Blackmail" Obama's Attorney General over ACORN Videos?

David Edwards, Muriel Kane, Raw Story. November 21, 2009.
Andew Breitbart appears to be threatening to release more ACORN smear videos to avoid a serious DOJ investigation.

Maddow: Anti-Muslim 'McCarthyism' Making Us Less Safe

David Edwards, Raw Story. November 20, 2009.
Wave of prejudice among Republican politicians may actually be frustrating anti-terrorism efforts Maddow says.

Forty Years After Its First Episode, Sesame Street Is Still Saving the World

Tom Jacobs, Miller-McCune.com. November 19, 2009.
Thanks to lots of research (and, of course, to Jim Henson's genius), Sesame Street continues to aid in early childhood development.

Why I'll Never Buy a Kindle

Benjamin Dangl, AlterNet. November 17, 2009.
Fancy new book readers save lots of trees, yes, but I'll pass.

Lou Dobbs Is History at CNN ... Now What?

Angelo Falcón, New America Media. November 14, 2009.
Will we be seeing more Latino executives, anchors, commentators, contributors, and producers at CNN?

How Right-Wing Cult Leader Sun Myung Moon Bought Washington

Rory O'Connor, RoryOConnor.org. November 13, 2009.
With money, media and promotion of a conservative political agenda, a self-styled Messiah and convicted felon became a frequent guest at the White House.

Introducing ChristianChirp, the Evangelical Right's Alternative to Twitter

Allison Kilkenny, AlterNet. November 12, 2009.
ChristianChirp.com, which promises to be a "family friendly" site, was founded by a man who claims to have been banned from Twitter for defending Rush Limbaugh.

Relentless Pressure from Progressive Groups Pushes Hatemonger Lou Dobbs Out of CNN

Tana Ganeva, AlterNet. November 12, 2009.
Groups like BastaDobbs have done in Dobbs, who used his media platform to stir up racist, anti-immigrant hysteria for years.

Feds Wanted Private Data on All Visitors to Liberal News Site

Daniel Tencer, Raw Story. November 11, 2009.
A Justice Department subpoena requesting information on visitors to an independent news site is raising serious privacy concerns.

Glenn Beck, Sean Hannity, Rush Limbaugh Stoking GOP Civil War

Eric Boehlert, Media Matters for America. November 11, 2009.
The right-wing media are trying to play "king-maker." But they are incapable of picking winners and stand poised to rip the Republican Party apart.

Study Claims Even the Most Sophisticated News Readers Can Be Manipulated

Melinda Burns, Miller-McCune.com. November 9, 2009.
Revelations from a european study effort reveal that biased news can have a "time bomb" effect.

Focusing on Fort Hood Killer's Beliefs Is an Easy Out to Avoid the Deeper Reasons for the Massacre

Mark Ames, AlterNet. November 6, 2009.
That alleged killer Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan is a Muslim is not enough to explain the attacks.

For Glenn Beck, SEIU Is 'Radical, Marxist,' Except When Its Nurses Treat Him for Emergency Abdominal Pains

Alexander Zaitchik, AlterNet. November 5, 2009.
Beck described SEIU nurse care as "amazing" after his inflamed appendix was removed.

Fort Hood Shootings: 12 Dead, 31 Injured On Texas Military Base (VIDEO)

AlterNet. November 5, 2009.
Army psychiatrist suspected of massacre survived return fire from authorities and is in custody and hospitalized in stable condition.

NYC Marathon Raises Question of Who Is American Enough?

James E. Johnson, Jr., Imagine 2050. November 4, 2009.
Who gets to choose who is American or American enough? And how will they choose?

Many Still Believe That Saddam Hussein Was Behind 9/11, and Now We Have Some Idea Why

Emily Badger, Miller-McCune.com. November 4, 2009.
Researchers looking at beliefs about al-Qaeda and Saddam Hussein have made some surprising discoveries about why peopl

Why Can't the Corporate Media Just Tell the Truth About Iraq & Afghanistan?

Rory O'Connor, MediaChannel.org. November 4, 2009.
One NY Times reporter finally 'fesses up that the invasion of Iraq wasn't presented truthfully by the big media outlets. It's still not too late to tell the truth.

A Heartbeat and a Guitar: Johnny Cash's Political Roots

Sarah Jaffe, Global Comment. November 3, 2009.
Antonino D'Ambrosio, the author of "A Heartbeat and a Guitar: Johnny Cash and the Making of "Bitter Tears," " talks about the intersections of politics and pop.

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EFF

Electronic Frontier Foundation is a nonprofit activism and information hub for Internet privacy, accessibility and development issues. Leading the fight on Net Neutrality issues.

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Center for Digital Democracy is a nonprofit committed to the preservation and support of an open, diverse and democratic Internet.

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A progressive research and information center dedicated to comprehensively monitoring, analyzing, and correcting conservative misinformation in the U.S. media.

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The Center for Media and Democracy aims to strengthen participatory democracy by investigating and exposing public relations spin and propaganda, and by promoting media literacy and citizen journalism.

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Columbia Journalism Review encourages and stimulates excellence in journalism in the service of a free society. It is both a watchdog and a friend of the press in all its forms.

Media Channel

News, commentary and innovative responses on the political, cultural and social impacts of media -- from a nonprofit global network of over 700 affiliates.