Let's Talk About Sex (Responsibly

Sometimes the most radical ideas are the most sensible For instance, take the recent decision by John Garvey, president of the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., to phase out co-ed dorms, returning to single-sex residence halls. Garvey presented a fairly practical case for the move: Not unlike many colleges, there is a drinking problem on campus. And as Christopher Kaczor,…
Kathryn Jean Lopez
July 17th, 2011 11:03 PM

Bob Schieffer Asks Senators: Why Are You Wasting Time Debating Balance

With trillion dollar budget deficits as far as the eye can see, a balanced budget amendment is sounding pretty good to an overwhelming majority of Americans. Apparently CBS's Bob Schieffer isn't amongst them, as he actually asked Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) on Sunday's "Face the Nation," "Why are you wasting time debating that?" (video follows with transcript and commentary):
Noel Sheppard
July 17th, 2011 10:58 PM

Daily Kos Week in Review: Pursuing the Murdoch Monster

While Kossack bloggers certainly didn't neglect the debt-limit talks, they also pounced on the week's other developing mega-story, the News Corp. phone-hacking scandal, no doubt with visions of a Rupert Murdoch perp walk dancing in their heads. As usual, each headline is preceded by the blogger's name or pseudonym.
Tom Johnson
July 17th, 2011 9:16 PM

Greta Van Susteren Scolds Howard Kurtz for Bad Report on Fox's Coverag

Greta Van Susteren on Sunday took issue with CNN's Howard Kurtz for a report he did on "Reliable Sources." In it, Kurtz falsely accused Fox News of going "out of its way to avoid a lot of reporting on its parent company's troubles" involving the British tabloid "News of the World" (video follows with transcript and commentary):
Noel Sheppard
July 17th, 2011 8:13 PM

No 'Chris Matthews Show' Panelist Can Name Republican Candidate That C

Chris Matthews as usual had four guests on the weekly syndicated program bearing his name. When he asked them which of the current Republican candidates could end up being a great president, nobody chose to identify a single one (video follows with transcript and commentary):
Noel Sheppard
July 17th, 2011 6:39 PM

CNN's Gloria Borger: Tea Party 'Hijacked' GOP, Preventing Obama From B

Gloria Borger said this weekend the Tea Party has "hijacked" the GOP and in so doing prevented Barack Obama from becoming a "transformational president." In her view espoused on the syndicated "Chris Matthews Show," without the Tea Party, "The John Boehners of the world [would have] cut a deal with the President of the United States" (video follows with transcript and commentary):
Noel Sheppard
July 17th, 2011 5:51 PM

Amanpour Focuses on One Poll Showing Support for Tax Hikes, Schieffer

A couple of Sunday interview show hosts again forwarded White House talking points about the necessity to include taxes, I mean “revenues,” in any debt ceiling increase deal with ABC’s Christiane Amanpour focusing on a single poll she highlighted for ammunition the public is on her side while ignoring how, by two-to-one, the public opposes raising the debt ceiling at all. CBS’s Bob Schieffer…
Brent Baker
July 17th, 2011 5:35 PM

Time's Joe Klein: Obama's 'Winning' Debt Ceiling Debate - Americans Un

Time magazine's Joe Klein said this weekend that President Obama "is winning" the debt ceiling debate. Klein told his fellow panelists on the syndicated "Chris Matthews Show," "He is coming across as the most reasonable guy in a crazy city...When he says things like 'Eat your peas,' that's language Americans can understand" (video follows with transcript and commentary):
Noel Sheppard
July 17th, 2011 3:54 PM

AP Claims Bush Tax Cuts Caused National Debt to Grow by $1.6 Trillion

In an unbylined update of the latest developments in the budget-tax-spending-debt ceiling discussions in Washington this morning, the Associated Press committed several blunders in attempting to explain what's going on and how we got to where we are. First and foremost was its list identifying "contributors" to the $8.5 trillion growth in the national debt since 2001. Here's the AP's you-can'…
Tom Blumer
July 17th, 2011 3:43 PM

Tea Party Congressman Asks Cokie Roberts: Why Does Compromise Always M

Cokie Roberts got quite a lesson Sunday on why compromise can be a dirty word in politics. When she asked Congressman Raul Labrador (R-Idaho) why compromise isn't a "message that you hear," the Tea Partier responded, "Why is it that compromise always means increasing taxes today and doing cuts in ten years from now?" (video follows with transcript and commentary):
Noel Sheppard
July 17th, 2011 1:43 PM

NPR, Enjoying Murdoch 'Crumbling,' Finds British Pundit Blaming...Camp

NPR is clearly relishing the Murdoch newspapers scandal in Britain. Its Weekend Edition headline on Saturday was "News Corp. Dynasty Crumbles From the Top Down." Anchor Scott Simon interviewed Financial Times columnist Clive Crook and asked if the scandal will cause sell-offs: "How big a dent that they represent in his holdings and his influence?...Can you foresee them having to make incisions…
Tim Graham
July 17th, 2011 11:31 AM

Media Sites Crow Over Don Rickles 'Insulting' Bristol Palin

(Check the update at the bottom of this story. Bristol may have accidentally tipped us off as to the intentions of her mother.) You know what a true insult from comedian Don Rickles would be? It would be if you appeared on a stage with Rickles and did NOT receive an "insult" from the "Merchant of Venom." However, many media websites seem to be unaware of Rickles' stock in trade. They are…
P.J. Gladnick
July 17th, 2011 10:39 AM

Catholic Charities USA Employs Gay Lobbyist

Lou Chibbaro Jr., a reporter for the gay newspaper The Washington Blade, offered a front-page story this week on just how liberal the top leadership of Catholic Charities USA is: Catholic Charities USA, the nation’s largest network of faith-based agencies providing services to the poor, has hired a Washington lobbying firm owned by a gay man to promote a recently launched anti-poverty…
Tim Graham
July 17th, 2011 8:12 AM

WaPo Seeks Out Hustler Porn Emperor Larry Flynt to Lecture Murdoch on

The Washington Post can really pick them when selecting a guest lecturer to Rupert Murdoch on media ethics: pornographer Larry Flynt. In a Sunday Outlook section article is the headline “The people vs. Rupert Murdoch: Hustler magazine founder Larry Flynt says his fellow media mogul has gone too far.” Yes, somehow, Larry Flynt gets to pose as The People. Flynt lectured at Murdoch: “One cannot…
Tim Graham
July 17th, 2011 7:45 AM