"It's all political," says squatter? non-rent-paying tenant? finally evicted after months of dispute.

" This post sets out the evidence suggesting that Glenn Greenwald has engaged in sock-puppetry. "

" "There's been a lot of discussion about the Democrats and the issue of faith and values. I want to ask you a simple question. Senator Obama, what is your favorite Bible verse?"

" When Obama finished his answer, Russert said to the other candidates, "I want to give everyone a chance in this. You just take 10 seconds." Predictable banality ensued. A foreign visitor unfamiliar with our presidential campaigns might have scratched her head and said, "This is how you decide who will lead your country?" "

" I have a fantasy that at one of these moments, a candidate will say, "You know what, Tim, I'm not going to answer that question. This is serious business. And you, sir, are a disgrace. You have in front of you a group of accomplished, talented leaders, one of whom will in all likelihood be the next president of the United States. You can ask them whatever you want. And you choose to engage in this ridiculous gotcha game, thinking up inane questions you hope will trick us into saying something controversial or stupid. Your fondest hope is that the answer to your question will destroy someone's campaign. You're not a journalist, you're the worst kind of hack, someone whose efforts not only don't contribute to a better informed electorate, they make everyone dumber. So no, I'm not going to stand here and try to come up with the most politically safe Bible verse to cite. Is that the best you can do?" "

" Libby testified before the grand jury investigating the leak of CIA agent Valerie Plame's identity that he first learned she worked for the intelligence agency from Russert during a phone call on another matter. Russert took the stand to contradict Libby only because he'd been subpoenaed -- a summons he and NBC had strenuously resisted on grounds of journalistic privilege.

" As it emerged under examination, however, Russert already had sung like a choirboy to the FBI concerning his conversation with Libby -- and had so voluntarily from the first moment the Feds contacted him. All the litigation was for the sake of image and because the journalistic conventions required it.

" If Russert's legacy stands for anything, it's that journalists have an obligation to preserve as complete a record as possible -- and to hold those responsible for that record accountable. In the outpouring of grief, affection and fellow-feeling that followed his sudden death, that didn't happen. Perhaps that's understandable under the circumstances, or perhaps it's another insight into the limitations of the sort of "insider" journalism of which Russert was an exemplar. "

Anarcho-primitivists and supporters of mass human die-offs are indeed crazy, but one could drive a truck through the flaws in logic and evidence in this op-ed.

O'Reilly: "I supported the action against Saddam because [various government officials] all told me Saddam was making dangerous weapons..." FAIR: "The Fox star conflates "they told me what to think" with "original reporting"..."

Refreshingly, asks several hard and necessary questions about societal priorities, what would happen to people who invest poorly, how much brokering fees would cost, where the money would come from, etc.

"...was in fact a well-planned out marketing campaign by the company. It reminds me how ExxonMobil and its public relations firm DCI Group tried to behave like teenagers making fun of global warming - it backfired."

Generational crisis framing: "Personal accounts are by far the most powerful way to equalize the decline in the number of workers with the increase in retirees." A Scripps newspaper.

”Social Security can pay all scheduled benefits for the next 40 years... What makes Social Security a major issue, except the fact that some people (perhaps including our NYT commentator) want to privatize and/or cut it?"

Mussenden's career at Media General mid-2005 to present, with the blurb "He concentrates on issues that affect the elderly and the young." There aren't many issues about which anyone claims that, are there? Links to various op-ed pieces for Media General.

"there simply isn't enough truth to go around. So, we get bullshit instead. ... In choosing guests to appear on cable news, bookers will almost always choose a glib ignoramus over an expert who can't talk in clipped sentences."

Homeland Security decides to spend $2.4 million to fund the development of... a clipping service. The same kind of clipping service to which many companies and interest groups already subscribe, to track threats to brand, message, and reputation.

See also, especially, H. G. Frankfurt's _On Bullshit_. "The new world needs meta-experts to sort out what it all means. “The social value of the synthesizer has grown,” Mr. Gladwell said. “ … So it’s made my life better.” "

"Whether as mere conversation starter, discussion referee or assessor of others positions and policies, the editorialist fulfills a function that is even more important as the parties to the public policy discussions expand in number and volume."

" I had previously taken Mr. Sloan to task for advocating default on the government bonds held by the Social Security trust fund. This morning on MarketPlace, he unambiguously stated that he expects that these bonds will be paid off, "

See also much of political blogging, much of political blog comments, and many published pundits. For added fun, see also the pseudonymity-related exchange several months back in my Bark archives.

"I learned this at the eighth annual conference of the Retirement Research Consortium, a group of three academic research organizations funded by the Social Security Administration to research important issues in retirement income."

" "...Firefighters who want to live in high-priced cities can work two jobs, said W. Michael Cox, chief economist for the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas. “I think it’s great,” he said. “It gives you portfolio diversification in your income.” "

for no other reason than an example of blog/pundit demagoguery

a right proper dismissal of the Edge's silly, trite, mediocrity-elevating, horrifically overhyped poll

"You do not wish to know anything. You wish only to speak. ..."