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HILLARY AND RUDY…. (by Kevin Drum)
A guy like Giuliani is polarizing because he actively chooses to be. It’s part of his persona. He wants people to hate him. Hillary, by contrast, is polarizing not because she wants to be, but because the right-wing attack machine made her that way. She’s “polarizing” only because a certain deranged slice of conservative nutjobs detest her. And guess what? By this standard, Jimmy Carter is polarizing. Bill Clinton is polarizing. Al Gore is polarizing. John Kerry is polarizing. Do you see the trend here? There are plenty of good reasons to oppose Hillary Clinton. But anyone who opposes her because she’s polarizing is allowing the bottom feeders of modern movement conservatism to dictate who gets to run for president and who doesn’t.
Thanks, Kevin, it’s what I’ve been saying for years.  Two examples follow of right-wing attempts to shove people into line.

Angry Vet Cuts Down Mexican Flag, Steals American Flag From Business - FoxNews Calls Him A Patriot
This past Monday, veteran Jim Broussard became so enraged when he heard a news report of a business in Reno, Nevada flying a Mexican flag above an American flag, he drove there and cut down the Mexican flag and stole the American flag. When Broussard appeared on FOXNews with Neil Cavuto, who called him an American patriot, claimed it was his patriotism that moved him to break the law and steal an American flag that belonged to the owner who is a U.S. citizen.
Click through to watch the video.

Ay Caramba! Spanish ads on U.S. English TV stations
LAKE PARK, Fla. – A South Florida car dealer says he has no plans to stop airing Spanish commercials on English-language TV stations, despite furious complaints from outraged viewers who believe he’s catering to illegal aliens and destroying American culture.

Matthews says Bush administration has “finally been caught in their criminality”
Chris Matthews … outlined what he said was the fundamental difference between the Bush and Clinton administrations. The Clinton camp, he said, never put pressure on his bosses to silence him. “Not so this crowd,” he added, explaining that Bush White House officials — especially those from Vice President Cheney’s office — called MSNBC brass to complain about the content of his show and attempted to influence its editorial content. “They will not silence me!” Matthews declared.
Sorry, Tweety, you criticized the Clintons unmercifully, and you’ve puffed up that empty balloon named George Bush.  Don’t think we’re going to forget that.

Glenn Beck to Muslim-American guest:
“How do we know the difference between you and those that are trying to kill us?” In Nov. 2006, Beck made a similar comment to Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN). “I have been nervous about this interview with you,” Beck said, “because what I feel like saying is, ‘Sir, prove to me that you are not working with our enemies.’” 

O’Reilly Lets Loose: Says WH Reporters Need To Be ‘Wiped Out,’ Calls CNN ‘The Pagan Throne’
In an interview with Bill O’Reilly last night, [when] former White House press secretary Tony Snow … revealed his plans to write a book on how to deal with cancer, O’Reilly responded: “… You can combine how I deal with cancer with how I deal with the White House press corps. Because they’re both insidious, invasive. They both have to be wiped out.”

Media Matters for America headlines

Limbaugh broadcast “spoof ad” that included allegation of rape against Bill Clinton

Following Drudge, media outlets seize on Obama decision — years ago — to stop wearing flag pin

So where is Sean Hannity’s flag lapel pin?

Bernard Goldberg: “[W]omen and minorities” have “pushed the newsroom further and further to the left”

York falsely claimed that Limbaugh discussed MacBeth “in the same exchange” in which he used “phony soldiers”

Mark Williams says on Fox News: After 9-11, Obama came “out of the closet as the domestic insurgent that he is”

MSNBC’s Witt referred to “pro-abortion” candidate Giuliani

Boing Boing up in the Sky, with Virgin
Virgin Airlines has made a deal with Boing Boing TV to offer inflight daily video reports, which includes a snarky collection of commentary on various pop culture happenings around the world.
Because what the world needs more of is snarky commentary on pop culture happenings.

Ghost Stories Haunt American Culture
The horror film “Poltergeist” is being re-released in theaters today to celebrate its 25th anniversary. The film, which is considered a classic and was nominated for three Oscars, has a lesser-known legacy: it strongly influenced the public’s views about real-life ghosts. About half of Americans believe in ghosts, according to a 2003 Harris poll.
I really wish Hollywood would use its considerable persuasive power to persuade people to do the right thing instead of to believe in ghosts.

Newspapers in the Digital Age (by Mark Thoma, Economist’s View)
TV stations made money by embedding advertising in the signal so that watching TV meant watching the ads too, and the more people that watched a show the more money that could be charged for advertising during the broadcast. I’ve been wondering why newspapers and other print media don’t follow a similar model… Why don’t newspapers and magazines … embed ads in the articles just as ads are embedded in TV programs?

Yahoo’s Parts Worth More than its Whole?
A research report from a Wall Street analyst suggests that Yahoo should break up its company into three separate divisions: display advertising, search, and subscription services. According to Jeffrey Lindsay, who is with Sanford C. Bernstein, the three companies would be worth a combined $54.3 billion, versus the current $37 billion valuation that investors place on the stock.