Last year, I sensed that journalists in general prefer to call this time of the year in commerce that of "holiday shopping" instead of "Christmas shopping," but that when it came to people losing their jobs, they preferred to describe layoffs as relating to "Christmas."

My instincts were proven correct, as you can see below from the results of three different sets of Google News searches in November and December (links to last year's related posts are here, here, and here):

I've decided to track the same items this year to see if there is any noticeable change or trend.

Here are all three sets of Google News searches during this Christmas season, compared to last year (the Dec. 22, 2006 searches were done at about noon; the posts on the previous two searches are here and here):

I was driving to the gym with my thirteen-year-old daughter on Friday, and as I searched for some conservative news talk on the radio, I came across the press conference concerning the Duke lacrosse rape case. Out of curiosity, I left it on, and heard one of the attorneys graphically describe sexual acts that would have made Linda Lovelace blush. Realizing my daughter was in the car, I quickly turned the radio off.

According to a number of sources on the Internet, as well as transcripts now available, several cable news networks broadcast this press conference live for all of America to hear the pornography. According to NBC’s Brian Williams: “Three cable news networks took the defense attorney's news conference live, and the language, dealing with sex acts and body parts, was unbelievable. I couldn't help but think of the daytime TV audience during what one of the attorneys almost comically went on to describe as ‘this wonderful season of the year.’"

Brian Stelter at TVNewser took the transcript from CNN and counted the various explicit sexual references (intentionally placed in the “Read More” section for those who would prefer not to see it; consider yourself warned):

Last week it was George Clooney, with some timely cheerleading from ABC's Kate Snow, making the case for intervention in Darfur. Today, those bellicose boys of the Boston Globe jump on the Great Liberal War-in-Darfur bandwagon.

In its editorial of this morning, the Globe lambastes "the great powers" for failing to take "effective action" to stop the killing and for "refusing to rescue the men, women, and children who are marked for death in the coming year."

Granted, the coverage of the Duke rape matter on this morning's "Today" was heavily skeptical of the prosecutor's case. And yes, host Alison Stewart did preface her remark by suggesting that she "play devil's advocate here." Even so, it's hard to see any journalistic justification for a scurrilous suggestion Stewart made. Speaking with NBC legal analyst Susan Filan, Stewart said:

"Why would she change her story at this point? She told doctors, nurses and police that she had been raped. Yet now she says she doesn't remember. Could someone have gotten to this woman?"

View video of Stewart's suggestion here.

Time magazine's website had an online poll recently to help (supposedly) determine who should take home its 'Person of the Year' designation. Radical-lefty Hugo Chavez fans are upset that they loaded up on the online poll for a victory, but the poll was not definitive. The folks at the Hands Off Venezuela blog do have this amusing take:

Interestingly, the present issue of Time carries another article called "Power to the People" (read it here), which starts by saying:

"Meet 15 citizens-including a French rapper, a relentless reviewer and a real life lonely girl-of the new digital democracy"

Chicago Tribune columnist John Kass comes at Barack Obama's media hype machine from a local perspective, wondering how a President Obama might be useful to corrupt Illinois politicians in both parties. But he says he like the man, if not his starry-eyed media hype:

He's a decent fellow and I like him. He might make a fine liberal president someday. And though I disagree with him on policy, I'd bet my White Sox tickets that his wife, Michelle, won't keep 800 secret FBI files of their political enemies hidden in some White House bedroom.

Obama isn't irritating. What's irritating is the relentless media fawning and hype. Tom Bevan of the Real Clear Politics Web site recently predicted the slobbering will "drive John Kass nuts."

It's true. I have been driven nuts.