Fox: "little short of toxic"

* the Independent has a good article about Fox's 10th birthday:

" In no time, it had leapfrogged past MSNBC and CNN and became essential viewing for anyone seeking to understand the true nature of America under the Bush administration. The political doublespeak characteristic of Karl Rove, the president's key political advisor, also became the salient feature of Fox News. "Fair and balanced," the station called itself. "We report, you decide," the anchors like to say.
[]
The Fox News formula may be good for ratings, but its effect on the public has been little short of toxic. A University of Maryland poll taken six months after the Iraq invasion demonstrated that Fox News viewers were more ignorant about world affairs than any other category of news consumers, but also had a stronger belief than anyone else in how well informed they were. "

* there's a DU post that has 160 recommends - a screen grab from DU in 2016. cute.

* juancole:

"Colin Powell's wife says that Bush used her husband to sell the Iraq War. Too right. And it is impossible to watch a virtually all-white Republican Party install a couple of high-profile African Americans and use them as fall guys without thinking that there is something unsavory and racist about it."

* lawrence o'donnell:

"For now, Hastert is holding on to the Speaker's office because the Republicans don't have anyone in the leadership who is squeaky clean enough to take the job. Every one of them is tainted by the Foley scandal or the Abramoff scandal or the DeLay scandal or, like Henry Hyde, has some ancient sexual indiscretion in his background. But if the press cracks Scott Palmer's denial of Kirk Fordham's bombshell, then Denny Hastert is going to have to pass the gavel to some freshman we've never heard of."

* meanwhile, Madsen and apparently others are saying that Hastert is gay.