In State of Denial, Bob Woodward claims Marine Gen. James L. Jones, the U.S. commander for Europe, said that the Iraq war is a "debacle" and that "the Joint Chiefs have been systematically emasculated by Rumsfeld."

Two reporters from two publications followed up on the story. They couldn't have reached more diametrically opposed conclusions as to whether Woodward quoted Jones accurately. How's this for dueling headlines?

U.S. European Commander Confirms Quotes in Book

NATO Chief Denies Quotes in Woodward Book

Friday's CBS Evening News led again with the Foley/page scandal, even though the two stories aired offered virtually no fresh information, as anchor Katie Couric justified the news judgment by declaring the issue is “still the talk of the town,” “is not going away” and “is overshadowing every other election issue for the moment” -- all self-fulfilling assessments sustained by the decisions of Couric and her media colleagues. Couric then moved on to Republican Senator John Warner's warning that Iraq is drifting “side-wise,” a comment trumpeted by Brian Williams at the start of the NBC Nightly News, which also led with the page scandal: “When a key Republican Senator comes home from Iraq and says the U.S. has to re-think its strategy, is this a new turning point?”

Buried: The drop in the unemployment rate. ABC's World News, which unlike CBS and NBC, led with something other than the Foley fallout (the fire at a chemical plant in North Carolina), ignored it. CBS Evening News viewers only heard of the positive trend from a clip of President Bush in the middle of Gloria Borger's lead story on how the parties are reacting to the Foley matter: “Today we got more good news: National unemployment rate is down to 4.6 percent." Only NBC offered an actual news report, 20 seconds in length, on the latest numbers.

Wondering who the proprietor of the mysteriously connected "Stop Sex Predators" blog, the originator of the Mark Foley story is?

Head over to Ace of Spades, Hot Air and NBer Dan Riehl's blog where the hunt is on. Apparently, the owner of the blog lives in Royal Oak, Michigan, in the congressional district of prominent House Democrat John Conyers. That may not be significant but it does make you wonder how someone who posted at Daily Kos as WHInternNow would be privy to gossip about a congressman's sex life while living in Michigan.

Update 19:41. Does this shoot down a Dem connection or not?

The source who in July gave news media Rep. Mark Foley’s (R-Fla.) suspect e-mails to a former House page says the documents came to him from a House GOP aide.

That aide has been a registered Republican since becoming eligible to vote, said the source, who showed The Hill public records supporting his claim.

The same source, who acted as an intermediary between the aide-turned-whistleblower and several news outlets, says the person who shared the documents is no longer employed in the House.

But the whistleblower was a paid GOP staffer when the documents were first given to the media. [...]

That Foley’s scandalous communications came to public light during Congress’s final week in Washington was largely determined by the media outlets which obtained the suspicious e-mails in the middle of the summer, said the person who provided them to reporters several months ago. [...]

1.Bash Bush

2.Bash the Military:  John "they are tired" Murtha,  John "terrorize Iraqi women and children"Kerry,  Ted " they are replacement terrorist" Kennedy,  Joseph "gulag" Durbin,  Barbara "anti-depressant" Boxer

3.Raise taxes

4.Become Religious

5.Worthless Polls

6.All Republicans are racist

7.Media friends not reporting good news about economy

8.Fight voter identifacation

9.Voter suppression

In an article posted Friday on Time.com, the magazine’s critic James Poniewozik suggests the Fox News Channel, which he sees as tilted to the right, is also responsible for the multi-minute rants that MSNBC’s Keith Olbermann has lately been emitting. Time also dismisses the idea that the rest of the mainstream media (presumably including itself) is tilted to the left, with Poniewozik parenthetically noting that “the MSM really slant toward the institutional, establishmentarian center, which is a bias as dangerous as any other.”

Poniewozik’s theory on Olbermann is that Fox’s climb to the top of the ratings has led to changes at other TV news outlets, including at MSNBC, although he paints Olbermann as the party most likely to be embarrassed by the link to Fox News: “Keith Olbermann ranting at George W. Bush and O'Reilly on MSNBC's Countdown: that's Fox through and through, whether Olbermann would like to admit it or not.”

This past week, the media hyperventilated over two developing scandals: Congressman Mark Foley, and Bob Woodward's "State of Denial." ABC, CBS and NBC produced 103 stories on the Foley scandal, quite a bit more time then was devoted to Democratic sex scandals. The "Today" show’s Matt Lauer joined with Tim Russert to slam Speaker Hastert and the GOP. Lauer also contributed to the fawning over Bob Woodward and his new book. The MRC’s Brent Baker noted that Woodward has mocked the President’s intellect in the past.

Speaking of journalists with huge egos, Chris Matthews, yet again, displayed his partisan leanings by defending Robert ‘KKK’ Byrd, claiming that Bush "won’t tell the truth" about Iraq, and praising Clinton for his anti-Fox News rant. Perhaps he should rename his show, "Hardball...For Republicans."

And to think, it was just a few days ago that the former president of MSNBC stated, prior to Fox News, "many in the media scoffed at the notion of a liberal bias." Would this not be the best time to mention that leftist MSNBC host Keith Olbermann recently called Roger Ailes a "fat ass?"

Original caption: Director Robert Altman, left, and [NPR] radio personality Garrison Keillor pose Tuesday, Oct. 3, 2006, in Beverly Hills, Calif. Altman and Keillor sat down to discuss their oddball movie, "A Prairie Home Companion."

Give the New York Times half a point for fronting Edward Wyatt's Friday story, "Now on YouTube: Iraq Videos Of U.S. Troops Under Attack," about controversial clips posted on the popular video-sharing site YouTube.

But evasive wording like this rankles:

"Many of the videos, showing sniper attacks against Americans and roadside bombs exploding under American military vehicles, have been posted not by insurgents or their official supporters but apparently by Internet users in the United States and other countries, who have passed along videos found elsewhere."

MRC's Rich Noyes has calculated the number of Mark Foley/Will Hastert Quit? stories for Week One of the scandal on ABC, CBS, and NBC morning and evening news programs, from last Friday night, September 29, through Friday morning, October 6. So for evening shows, it's Friday to Thursday. For morning shows, it's Saturday through Friday. (One or two evening stories and a smattering of morning stories are brief anchor updates.)The number's a little shocking: 103 stories. It breaks down like this:

-- ABC: Good Morning America, 23 stories; World News, 15 stories

-- CBS: The Early Show, 17 stories; Evening News, 11 stories

-- NBC: Today, 24 stories; Nightly News, 13 stories

Mike Luckovich, the liberal cartoonist for "The Atlanta Journal-Constitution," earned a chuckle from CNN anchor Miles O’Brien by claiming that "80 percent of the priesthood" is gay. Luckovich, who appeared on the October 6 edition of "American Morning," was promoting his new collection of comic strips, "Four More Wars." O’Brien began by asking the cartoonist about the Foley scandal and then attempted to link it with a plan by the pope to ban homosexuals from serving as priests:

O’Brien: "And why don't you explain this one?"

[Cartoon appears onscreen. One priest is looking at the other and says, "Does this make me look gay?"]

Luckovich: "Well, OK. The new pope wanted to -- wants to ban homosexual priests, so you are going to have to lose 80 percent of the priesthood if that happens. But -- so I've got a bishop here saying -- he's looking down at his vestments, and he's saying, ‘Does this make me look gay?"

O’Brien: [Laughs]: "It's -- well, you know, it is a fashion statement, isn't it? All right. And, of course-"

Luckovich: "Yes. You know, I was thinking -- Miles, I was thinking about maybe making Denny Hastert maybe like an archbishop and somehow, you know, making the comparison that way. I'll let you know if that -- if that works out."

O’Brien: "Oh, okay. That sounds like dangerous turf, but I would like to see that one for sure."

The New York Times has finally taken note of the activities of those who support Islamist Jihad (including many right here in the US) and upload Islamist propaganda to the popular YouTube video hosting site:

LOS ANGELES, Oct. 5 — Videos showing insurgent attacks against American troops in Iraq, long available in Baghdad shops and on Jihadist Web sites, have steadily migrated in recent months to popular Internet video-sharing sites, including YouTube and Google Video.

Many of the videos, showing sniper attacks against Americans and roadside bombs exploding under American military vehicles, have been posted not by insurgents or their official supporters but apparently by Internet users in the United States and other countries, who have passed along videos found elsewhere.

File this story under media hero worship. The liberal media establishment just cannot get enough of the Kennedy clan and the whole Camelot myth that surrounds them, viewing them as America's unofficial royal family. It seems every time a member of that family so much as has a closet cleaning the media makes a huge deal of the ensuing exhibits or auctions. Such was the case on last night's NBC Nightly News report on the Kennedy Presidential Library unveiling Rose Kennedy's old personal items. Okay, sure, JFK's golf clubs were the inspiration for a classic Seinfeld episode but does it really need a story on a major network's nightly newscast? NBC's Brian Williams described Rose Kennedy in positively regal terms opening his October 5th story:

On last night's O'Reilly Factor, Bernard Goldberg, former CBS reporter and author of "Bias: A CBS Insider Exposes How the Media Distort the News," says the Foley scandal is nothing but an "October surprise." He also says the media ignored a similar story in 1994 about Democratic congressman Mel Reynolds, who "didn't just talk about sex with an underage person, he had sex with a 16-year-old girl."

Giving the opposing viewpoint was Jane Hall, professor of journalism at American University and a dedicated defender of the mainstream media on various Fox News programs.

The Congressional Budget Office just announced extraordinary news about the budget deficit. As reported by Market Watch moments ago:

The federal government probably ran a deficit of about $250 billion in fiscal year 2006, which ended Sept. 30, the Congressional Budget Office estimated Friday. That's about $10 billion less than the CBO forecast earlier this summer and about $68 billion less than the $318 billion deficit recorded in fiscal 2005. Corporate tax receipts have continued to come in ahead of expectations, CBO said. The Treasury Department will release the official budget figures next week.

The editorialists at the Chicago Tribune aren't ready yet to declare that Speaker Dennis Hastert has to be tossed aside, but before they get too high and mighty about the safety of teenagers from lecherous Members of Congress, we should recall that the Trib editorialized in favor of what would become Bill Clinton's last-minute pardon of Mel Reynolds, the convicted teen-sex/child-porn/obstruction of justice Democratic congressman. Headlined "Reynolds, Not Rosty, Needs Mercy," the Trib complained that disgraced Dan Rostenkowski didn't need the Clinton pardon, unlike Reynolds:

Mel Reynolds, elected in 1992 after knocking off 2nd District incumbent Gus Savage, was convicted on state charges related to his sexual relationship with a teenage girl, and then on federal charges of bank and campaign fraud. He's been locked up since October, 1995, first doing his state time and then going to federal prison to serve an unusually harsh 61/2-year sentence that, if nothing is done, will keep him behind bars until March, 2003 -- leaving his wife and three young children to fend for themselves.

The Washington Post has gotten around to noticing the popularity of baseless conspiracy theories about gas prices.

After all, a recent USA Today poll found 42 percent of respondents believe gas prices are being deliberately rigged for the GOP's political advantage.

But even as he sought to dismiss the theories' plausibility, reporter Steven Mufson relied on liberal activist Tyson Slocum of Public Citizen to argue a kernel of truth to the notion that politics plays a role in oil and gas prices.

"I don't think the influence is as explicit as some people out there are alleging. But all markets are susceptible to politics, and oil is no exception," Slocum told the Post.

Funerals are no longer sacred. The real crime is that legislators in kentucky felt that they needed a law to protect the sanctity of funerals.

Personally, I find it despicable that people would choose to protest someone's funeral in effort to express their political views. Of course, the ACLU is involved in order to ensure the Freedom of Speech is preserved. You can always count on the ACLU to be on the wrong-side of decency. (They also oppose parental notification of minors seeking abortions; they approve of the desecration of the flag; etc.)

People have become so self-serving, that common decency no longer prevails. People used to respect funerals and show empathy to the families and friends dealing with the loss of a human life. Considering how liberals have devalued life through abortions and Hollywood violence, it should be no surprise that the funeral ceremony is also devalued.

Today's starter: Some lefty bloggers are apparently offended that the identity of Mark Foley's main accuser was revealed.

Classical Values has the details and a response: "I think the identity of the accuser is highly relevant, especially because whether or not a crime was committed depends upon his age and his credibility. How on earth could anyone determine the age or evaluate the credibility of an anonymous accuser?"

Do you favor tax cuts? If so, you're no better than a congressman wanting to slip the pants off a page. Worse, for that matter. That's the reasoning of Rosa Brooks, L.A. Times columnist. In Grand Old Party of Child Endangerment, Brooks argues that:

"Foley's acts may have damaged the handful of boys unfortunate enough to have attracted his attention, but the damage to children caused by his abuse of power is still far, far less than the damage to American children caused by this Congress' disastrous mismanagement of the American economy."

By "mismanagement," Brooks makes clear she largely means tax cuts:

"Though only the Foley scandal has generated substantial media coverage, the Republican-led Congress has a long record of child endangerment. Recall that from 2000 to 2005, Congress handed out tax breaks for the rich like hors d'oeuvres at a Republican fundraiser. They slashed the estate tax and the capital gains tax, selling these cuts with an advertising campaign that misled ordinary people into thinking the cuts were going to help working Americans, instead of just the rich."

Harry Smith continued to pounce on the Foley scandal on this morning’s "Early Show." Smith talked with former Secretary of State James Baker in the 7:00 half hour, and immediately focused on the Foley e-mail scandal and whether Speaker Hastert ought to resign his position over it. Unlike Bay Buchanan on Thursday’s "Early Show," Baker disputed that Hastert should be turned into a sacrificial lamb by Republicans, and refuted Smith's assertions that if Hastert would just resign, that the story would go away.

Smith began by asking Baker what he would do if he were in charge to help Republicans get passed the Foley scandal:

"First off, you know, you were known, one of your nicknames along the line was 'The Velvet Hammer.' You had a lot of responsibility for cleaning up messes from time to time. If you were in charge right now, what would you do?"

Yesterday the Dow Jones average hit its third straight record high while a retail report for September showed strong sales at most retailers, including apparel and department stores.

Yet ABC, CBS, and NBC all ignored both developments in their newscasts.

For more, see my story at the MRC's BusinessandMedia.org Web site.

The Democrats think they have found their smoking gun. A little-known Republican congressman has resigned in a cloud of immorality, and the left and their media minions are sounding the midterm election victory bell.

Hurray for them.

Of course, they can only succeed with this strategy – one that conveniently doesn’t require them to offer an alternate platform or one single idea to the electorate – if enough conservatives buy into the clarion call, and stay home on November 7.

Cynically, this is what the Democrats are counting on, and intelligent voters across the country must not fall prey to this charade. Instead, people must recognize that Nancy Pelosi as Speaker of the House certainly doesn’t represent an improvement in morality on Capitol Hill and across the fruited plain.