Culture/Society

I've noted previously that Old Media has developed a squeamishness towards describing this time of year in business stories as the "Christmas shopping season." In the midst of media criticism of Mike Huckabee's Christmas ad, including the Whoopi Goldberg-Joy Behar exchange on "The View" noted earlier today by NewsBusters' Justin McCarthy, how interesting it is that one of Hillary Clinton's latest…

Katie Couric, the "CBS Evening News" anchor who is paid $15 million a year for sinking ratings, can't seem to grasp the concept of free markets in sports.In an interview with New York Yankees star Alex Rodriguez, Couric questioned his new record-setting contract. The deal includes $275 million over 10 years and another $30 million in incentives, according to ESPN."Your new contract is worth $…

How odd are the social liberals at The Huffington Post? They want you to know polyamorous relationships, they're just like monogamy. Sort of. Nice try, Rachel Kramer Bussel. You can also read about a book called "The Ethical Slut."

Gail Collins might not be as crude as Billy Shaheen. But in her own Grey Lady way, the NY Times columnist has recycled the insinuation that transformed Shaheen into an ex-Hillary co-chair. Let's first have a look at Shaheen's statement, as reported by the Washington Post:"The Republicans are not going to give up without a fight ... and one of the things they're certainly going to jump on is his…

It's official: Time magazine hates Dick Cheney.Last week, I noted here that two of Time's Top 10 Editorial Cartoons of 2007, including it's # 1 pick, took shots at the Vice-President. This morning, two Time editors turned up on the Today show to discuss more picks from Time's collection of 50 Top 10 lists. And speaking of taking shots . . . .View video here.Today weekend anchor Amy Robach's…

CNN’s Carol Costello, in a segment on Thursday’s "The Situation Room," highlighted the reaction of some fans of Oprah Winfrey who expressed anger at the TV host’s endorsement of Democrat Barak Obama. At the beginning of the segment, Costello voiced her surprise to this development, and all but deified the daytime TV star. "Who knew that Oprah Winfrey, super celeb, might suffer the same fate as…

Is the MSM deciding that Hillary is irreparably-damaged goods and that it's time to move on to a Dem with a better shot at winning the White House? You might think so after the Today show's dismemberment of the Clinton campaign this morning.Andrea Mitchell kicked things off with sharp stiletto heel.View video here.

This is getting wild . ..The Iowa caucuses might be a few weeks off, but MSNBC pundits have already cast a resounding "no" vote in a referendum on Hillary's credibility. A bi-partisan consensus of blatherers today rejected the Clinton campaign's denial of involvement in NH co-chair Bill Shaheen's raising of Barack Obama's past involvement with drugs.Meanwhile, things are getting downright nasty…

Will political reporters notice the sharp elbow in Bill Sammon's book excerpt on Mitt Romney in Thursday's Washington Examiner?In a not-so-veiled swipe at Giuliani and McCain, both of whom fell for younger women while still married, Romney told The Examiner that “people who commit adultery or other practices of that nature are carrying out absolutely heinous acts.”

Hollywood doesn't learn. Even though the latest round of America-hating movies flopped, Project Greenlight producer Chris Moore will turn "A People's History of the United States" by pop historian and Karl Marx fanboy Howard Zinn into a TV miniseries and a feature-length documentary. Zinn's 1980 book influenced a generation of students with its negatively-framed distortions of American history…

Don't confuse Mika Brzezinski with the facts. She's anti-gun and is not about to let some stunning counter-evidence change her mind.If ever there was an illustration of how an armed citizen can make a difference, it is the case of Jeanne Assam, the brave woman who took out the killer at the New Life Church in Colorado Springs. And yet . . . On today's Morning Joe, Mika -- in newsreader mode --…

In 2005, I sensed that journalists in general prefer to call this time of the year in commerce that of "holiday shopping" instead of "Christmas shopping," but that when it came to people losing their jobs, they preferred to describe layoffs as relating to "Christmas." My instincts have been proven correct for two years running, as you can see below from the results of three different sets of…

Lawrence O'Donnell, already infamous for his in-your-face rant at John O'Neill of the Swiftboat Veterans, is at it again. This time, the object of O'Donnell's obloquy is Mitt Romney, and in particular his Mormon religion. Appearing on last night's McLaughlin group, O'Donnell indulged in an angry, protracted condemnation of Mormonism. Excerpts:This was the worst political speech of my lifetime.…