As far as it goes, the piece is accurate. However, it seems odd that the only quote the author could provide was one that was extremely negative and highly biased. Olbermann was a straight shooter and he was courageous enough to tell it as he saw it, regardless of consequences. It is a mistake to call him a leftist merely because he was adamant about exposing the hypocrisy and pure demagoguery of those on the right who warped the truth so badly that it was unrecognizable. He is a real journalist and no one can challenge the facts that he presented.

The author sticks to the facts and the quotes without trying to interpret too much or issue judgments. He covers the opposing viewpoints with equal objectivity and as many details as one might expect from such a story. As much as I dislike and disagree with the ever obnoxious egotistical Scalia, I can't say that he shouldn't speak to this particular group, although Bachmann has been so far out on the fringe that any association with her taints one's image.

On his worst day, Krugman is still way out in front of most others. While he is trained as an economist, he has done his homework in many areas and he knows politics better than many journalists. The writing is on the wall in this case, in any event. The Republicans have sold out to the corporatists, wall street, and those with extreme wealth. They have no sense of history nor any decency. They are ready to gamble with our national economy, our nationa's future and the world economy just to defeat Obama and to flex their muscles. Simpson is but one of many fanatics that worship a free market that exists only in the imagination and for whom ego and ideology are more important than doing what is right, the welfare of citizens, or ... More »

This is indeed good journalism. She presents the facts Mam & nothing but the facts. Every subjective issue is attributed to its source. There is no spin or damagoguery & the reader is left to pul it all together with accurate & rational info. It is sad that this is a story. Fanatics who will stoop to using innocent victims & fearmongering for their own advantage have no conscience. Cooler & smarter heads determined that birth is the one most significant determinant for citizenship well over a century ago. They were wise & prescient. If these clowns want to try to get a constitutional amendment passed, they are welcome to spin their wheels & waste their worthless time.

This is good journalism that should get a lot of people thinking. It reveals truth that has been largely overlooked by both the media & the public & it reveals a fault in the legal system that needs to be corrected. What I would have liked to hear more about is the fact that criminal law & immigration law are two separate & unequal entities. It is not a crime in the usual sense to cross a border without the proper authorization & for a very good reason. Crossing a border, legally or illegally is typically about tryng to accomplish the sort of purposes that we all applaud. Economic disparities & exploitation are generally the cause of illegal crossings into the US & that is where we have to start in order to minimize crime, ... More »

This is indeed what I call good reporting. It covers the facts as presented and offers quotes & analysis to aid in comprehending, without spin. While I have strong feelings about the reactionary forces & people in AZ & elsewhere behind the controversy, the actual legal & constitutional issues are thorny & this author does a great job of covering them. This judge is obviously listening to both sides & looking at the law as it applies to the situation, without bias. It will be tragic if she is forced to go along with the racists, bigots, fear-mongers & sadists because the Federal government & the Congress have failed to deal adequately with this problem for many decades.

This is great journalism, however I don't recommend it for any thinking person because it terrifies me & turns my stomach. It is very frightening to see that there are so many people in such positions who refuse to accept reality & who insist, against overwhelming evidence to the contrary, that mythology & cult beliefs should be foisted on young people in public schools.

Ezra Kline never seems to disappoint. I believe he would love to see a public option but he has objectively stated the view from the inside & his insights are provocative. He didn't make a point of how the party of NO has caused this odd state of affairs & refuses to act in good faith & I am a bit less critical of the Democratic cautions but I understand the frustration that is widely felt. I wish he was a bit more optimistic & I am very hopeful myself, despite the obvious uphill battle & spinning clock (& spinning mass media).

Quality journalism? Not quite. Do you smell something? This author can't seem to conceal his bais. He can't resist to call Obama's attempt to compromise & moderate his approach as a flip flop, for instance. He characterizes the statement on the Supreme Court as an exaggeration, which although somewhat rhetorical is essentially true if "unrestricted" means what I think it does. He could have focused on dozens of undeniable facts & claims of great significance, but instead, he chose things of less importance. And, he had to get a few Republican talking points in by rating McDonnell & Boehner, even though this was ostensibly a review of the real State of the Union address, not the fake one. If a majority of Americans oppose "this" ... More »

This is top notch journalism, in my estimation. It reveals significant facts, without shying away from controversy. I would like to see a broader coverage of the privatization issue, which involves the same kind of abuses in foreign countries. This is one of the most egregious and dangerous manifestations of corporate excess and "free market" insanity to date.

I would have to call this high quality journalism. Noah knows his stuff & provides an accurate analysis minus a lot of hyperbole. He uncovers the transparency of the self-serving motives of the health insurers in commissioning a study that is not a study at all but an attempt tp fabricate a basis for keeping their stranglehold on the health field.

Krugman equals quality because he has done his homework & doesn't write anything without having a sound basis for what he offers. Of course, this is all too obvious & correct. Education isn't a priority for people who are obsessed with ideology, religion, personal wealth, or a political career, regardless of who suffers or damage to the common good. I see a whole raft of issues relative to education that go far beyond the notion of priorities & funding. We aren't even close to changing how we treat children & learning & teachers. But it would be nice to stop regressing, as Krugman suggests here, so that people could begin to examine how to actually make progress.

This is pure nonsense worthy of the name of the author, Mr. Poor. His false equivalence is terribly revealing of his extreme bias. Olbermann & Maddow are not lying to citizens & trying to exploit their anger & suffering in order to profit personally or to steer profits to corporations & away from those same citizens. They are not trying to influence voters with false info & slanted rhetoric that ignores facts & statistics; their goal is to influence legislators by making it less easy to pretend that the current state of affairs is just hunky dory. Poor shows gross ignorance or willful stupidity by using the 80% statistic regarding staisfaction, which reflects the good fortune of the privileged who have health care & those who ... More »

Okay, I confess. My sound isn't working & all I have to go on are the pics & the comments of the other raters. Look, FOX is not a news station. They don't employ journalists because journalism isn't why they exist. They do entertainment, propaganda, mis-information & anything that will rile up or frighten the people who are foolish enough to take them seriously. If you want knowledge, accurate information, rational discussion, or anything resembling truth, you don't go near Fox. You all know that, if you have a brain.

I'd say that it's high quality journalism. There is a bias, judging from the clever commentary & words such as "Dobbering" that imply that Dobbs is a blubbering fool but it is a bias that I can find no fault with since truth leans in this direction and away from the silliness of right wing flim-flammery. It's a simple story. Not all of Fox's employees have their heads so far up their posteriors that they are totally immune from learning from a good teacher/expert.

It seemed a little bit half-baked. Where's the rest of the story? I get the message that holding a town hall has become downright scary but it would be nice to find out where the protesters on either side are getting their information - or misinformation. Of course, I already know. The people that are screaming about getting their health care out of the hands of government and "death panels" are listening to the Fox Nuisance Channel & wacky right wing talk show hosts & getting no real facts or honest debate. That's the real story. This has become a war because the corporations that want to keep the gravy train coming their way are spending over a million a day to pump up the lies & the fear to stop single payer or any meaningful ... More »

This author has done a better job than many of presenting the politics and the public statements made by politicians. It lacks much in the way of analysis with respect to the actual issues and facts about the proposed legislation - which is not a criticism, I hasten to add, since that was not stated as a purpose. I am unrelated to this Mr. Elliott, by the way.

This author is taking comments out of context and making things up without a clear understanding of the facts or details. It's easy to extrapolate from one theoretical argument to another but when one speaks about saving money and best practices, for example, that doesn't mean that decisions will be made that are any different with respect to treatment. The decisions that the insurance execs make daily, on the other hand, are made on the basis of keeping the money coming their way and frequently cost people of all ages their lives.

This is very definitely quality journalism because the author goes right to a primary source and addresses questions directly. There is no obfuscation or real opportunity to cloud issues and twist facts here. The fact that he interviews a Republican at the center of the debate (where real debate is allowed) makes the article that much more credible.

The fact that I didn't find any good guys or bad guys to identify with seems to indicate that the story was well written & objective. It fits with other things I've read about Stern & the influence of unions with the Obama administration.

I can find little fault with this reporting, although I'm unsure whether the use of the term "liberals" is appropriate or accurate. It's basically all about the politics. One doesn't learn anything about the actual issues from the article, which is unfortunate.

This is quality journalism but leaves one with many questions, although it would be silly to expect this author to have answers. It seems like old news now but again, one is heartened by any news and such an upbeat tone.

I say, amen. The comparison is valid & crucial. FDR's status & popularity were more solid & durable. Mr. Nocera has understood that there is a profound flaw in the theory & philosophy behind finance & capitalism that will literally destroy us if not significantly revised on a national level. Uber-Grand Larceny has become not only acceptable but revered. Crooks are elevated to guru status. He gets it. Will anyone else?

Yes. No conclusions are reached & the reader is left to decide on the evidence that is presented. While there is a question mark following the title, & the tone is not one of emergency, the message is aptly conveyed that this is one more in a long series of effects that needs to be taken seriously & watched very, very closely, with authentic scientific evaluation.

While I believe Cole does an excellent job and I agree with everything he says & rate this a top level journalism, it is disturbing that so much doubt remains & that it is so easy to believe that the election was indeed stolen. Cole's observation that the tide is turning in Iran & that the old guard will not be able to hang on much longer is insightful and encouraging. That is the most relevant point, regardless of whether or not they get away with the ruse.

Absolutely, yes. This is a monumental issue, regardless of which side you come down on. Pay attention. This guy did his homework and then some & his ability to interject humor into a serious topic is extraordinary. Pay attention. The ability to think & think straight, with or without distractions is crucial to a satisfying life & any relationship. The knife cuts both ways, as I believe was a main conclusion. Pay attention. Being able to focus & concentrate requires skill but sometimes, you need peace, quiet, and NO distractions.

Chomsky is brutally honest. He knows history & he isn't prone to obsfucation. It is frightening to think that there has really been no significant break in the brutality that we (Americans) have visited on those we imagine that we are saving. Some combination of insensitive greed & blind religious fervor, along with rigid obedience to authority have resulted in unforgivable infliction of grief & torture.

Yes. The author takes a look at the big picture & states his case without showing any bias. He has a bit too little faith in the American people in my estimation, since I feel that even in another attack, it is now common knowledge that our national security is weakened by paranoia and using the medieval tactics of fanatics. Also, I don't believe that we would lose any useful info by not resorting to harsh interrogation (it IS torture) tactics & his one example is a poor of proof that we might.

It is high quality journalism, however there is much more to this story, not that the Nation hasn't been vigilant about all of the events and controversies that have led to this sad state of affairs. I place more blame on the Senate & House for rushing headlong into this fiasco and on people such as Limbaugh & all the media that could have seen that moving into Iraq, lock, stock and barrel would create a free-for-all.

Absolutely, yes. Professional journalists have studied all aspects of the issue & done the necessary homework to provide an accurate & timely report on what is actually taking place & why. Unlike the mainstream infotainment skewered news, difficult questions are addressed and relevant history is not merely ignored for the sake of sensationalism & catering to mass sentiments.

Here is a commentator that has done his homework. He has covered the bases very well & uncovered two fundamental problems; the bias on the high court & the slip back into segregation (we never got out). However, the thing that no one gets is that parents also have a constitutional right to decide whether their kids will attend school or not, as long as there is no credible claim of educational or other neglect. Furthermore, compulsory schooling guarantees that there will be major disparities & discrimination due to any number of problems inherent in legally mandating attendance & the bureaucracy that automatically goes with it.

This is as good as we ordinarily see in newspaper coverage. The article is honest in its portrayal of the state of schooling and the ideas are a bit more imaginative than the standard treatment provides. BUT, no one is actually talking about the fundamental cause of our grand malaise. We made a massive wrong turn with compulsory schooling and there is simply no fix for an inherently flawed approach that is misanthropic in so many ways that I wouldn't even begin to try to delineate the ways here.