[Congressman Billybob]

Enjoy. Let me know what you think.

[JehngisKahn]

"Like Confederate General Jubal T. Early, I make occasional raids into Washington, D.C."

And while I'm on the subject, Early never made it once into Washington--at least at the head of any soldiers of the CSA.

Wallace (who later wrote Ben Hur) made Early late at Monocacy.

[sauropod]

Some of the MSM is not "mechanical." It is malevolent. Katie Couric is a prime example. So is Dan Ra^ther.

[Elkiejg]

Brilliant!!! Thanks...........let's see, will the NYTimes run this article????

[spodefly]

BTTT

[dancusa]

pay attention to the adjectives

"Root" causes is my favorite adjective from the left. Every time I see or hear that word I want to barf.

[meema]

Kewl! I enjoyed it very much, Billy.

[Petronski]

Very good. Very very good.

[The Real Eddie01]

Congressman,

What You've described is a Montra Output New Society Transfering Educational Repeater, or MONSTER.

Great stuff.

[TChris]

Good piece, and you're right on the money. "Dave... Dave... What are you doing, Dave?"

[Lee'sGhost]

I sincerely believe that were it not for the old media Bill Clinton probably would not have been elected the first time and certainly would not have been reelected. I clearly remember the story about Paula Jones's news conference announcing her law suit. The lamestream reporters looked at each other and then looked at CNN to see if they were going to cover it. CNN deemed it un-newsworthy so they all walked away.

A lot has changed since then. Thanks to cable news and talk radio in general, and FOX News and Rush Limbaugh specifically, we now live in a new era. Throw in the growth of the Internet and the pajamahadeen and you can rest assured that things will never return to the way they were. Legions of conservatives now eagerly await the next Dan Ratheresque smear report in hopes of being the one who exposes the lie.

As a former journalist I predict that the old media will change. It will have to in order to survive. The way I see it the transformation will take on one of two guises. They will either have to become more FOX like, as in fair and balanced -- or they will have to become transparently partisan. I think if they were really smart they would do both. The should get rid of so-called heavyweights to anchor their news programs and make presentation of the stories by reporters who honestly strive to be balanced the central part of their broadcast. Then they can present biased perspectives on shows like 60 Minutes -- the difference being that they admit such shows are biased. And if they are REALLY smart they will have shows that truly present both sides -- either at the same time or perhaps back to back. But the bottom line is, they will have to change. Ratings will determine how soon.

[Lee'sGhost]

Just out of curiosity I googled "General Jubal T. Early" and found numerous references. While I believe that JehngisKahn is correct, I neither see what is so funny nor why the mistake deserves such vitriol. I'm not sure what league you are out of but I think it may be just as well.

[sinclair]

Lord, please don't change the Main Stream Media. They are screwing it up just fine thank you.

[EdReform]

Excellent commentary, sir!

See also: Why We Post...

[EdReform]

Ping

[Grampa Dave]

"Requiescat in fracta!"

[MeekOneGOP]

Thanks, CB !!

..... After the election, when the Republicans had won, the underlying message did not change. In thousands of words the talking heads of the MSM are repeating, ad nauseam, the same seven word message. It is:

“Caution! Republicans are bad! Democrats are good!”

[don-o]

John,

I bless my Daddy, Memory Eternal, who early in my life installed a BS detector in me, regarding what we now call the MSM. More elegantly expressed, he taught me to "think critically and to examine the presuppositions of everything I heard or read.

For all his foibles, I think this is the most valuable service that Rush Limbaugh provides to his audience.

And, I do believe that the toothpaste is out of the tube for the Democrat Party. From Kerry the Flipper to Rathergate to the storied new voters; nothing worked as they thought it would, and they got a good ol' fashioned trip to the woodshed; and it's going to sting for a long time.

Great post as always.

[xp38]

Just what do you think you're doing, Congressman?

[MeekOneGOP]

Good job. I like it!

[The Drowning Witch]

OUT-EFFING-standing metaphor, John.

That part of 2001 where Dave slips into the mainframe in a spacesuit in total vacuum and slowly shuts down HAL's brain, and his voice slows to an indistinguishable drone is a perfectmetaphor for what the New Media is doing in the Instant Information Age.

Here's a Bucket Full of Pride...cheers.

Witch