George Will-ful Blushes George Will-ful Blushes
Ever since Barack Obama's inauguration, progressives have been able to point to one segment of the traditional media that consistently bears witness to the depth of change implied ...
Dec 2, 2009 / The Notion / Leslie Savan
Palin as the Church Lady Palin as the Church Lady
You gotta give Sarah Palin's book tour credit for one thing: It's really putting the passive-aggressive instincts of the religious right on public display. And not just because sh...
Nov 20, 2009 / The Notion / Leslie Savan
Hannity and Bachmann Almost Apologize Hannity and Bachmann Almost Apologize
A fundamental tenet for both rightwing politicians and their media pilot fish is: Never, ever, apologize for the crazy. If you get caught exaggerating or even lying outright, simpl...
Nov 13, 2009 / The Notion / Leslie Savan
Ft. Hood Drowns Out the Tea Party Ft. Hood Drowns Out the Tea Party
Don't bring your pitchforks. This is to be our "last stand" to stop health care reform, it's Alamo time. Don't let your congressmen call it a "rally" or "p...
Nov 6, 2009 / The Notion / Leslie Savan
Reparations? Reparations?
Even without George W. Bush's debut in Fort Worth as a motivational speaker (see Stephen Colbert swoon over the speech here), this past week has been full of reminders of 43. On We...
Oct 30, 2009 / The Notion / Leslie Savan
Hoaxville USA Hoaxville USA
Ah, the dog days of autumn, when the media are full of hoaxes because nothing much else is going on. Last Thursday, the Heene family of Colorado gave us a homemade version of the ...
Oct 21, 2009 / The Notion / Leslie Savan
Limbaugh’s Many Hats and Excuses Limbaugh’s Many Hats and Excuses
If there's one thing the last two weeks have proved it's that it doesn't matter whether you're a politician, journalist, or a media pundit, when it comes to personal indiscretions ...
Oct 14, 2009 / The Notion / Leslie Savan
Joe Tells Rush Who Wears the Rants in This Party Joe Tells Rush Who Wears the Rants in This Party
The good folks on the set of Morning Joe spent Friday morning dodging prairie oysters flung by the host at rival Rush Limbaugh, who had called Joe Scarborough a "neutered, chi...
Oct 9, 2009 / The Notion / Leslie Savan
Media Push False Equivalency Between Left and Right Rage Media Push False Equivalency Between Left and Right Rage
Nearly every morning for eight years, my husband would go into the shower with the news blaring on the radio, and I could hear him over the rush of water grumbling, "I hate Ge...
Oct 2, 2009 / The Notion / Leslie Savan
Chris Wallace Goes Beck to the Future Chris Wallace Goes Beck to the Future
The headline out of Chris Wallace's tirade at President Obama for appearing on every Sunday talk show except his Fox News Sunday was that he called Obama's staff "the biggest ...
Sep 25, 2009 / The Notion / Leslie Savan