Something amazing happened on ABC’s “This Week” Sunday: Cokie Roberts practically floored host George Stephanopoulos with the political truth that most impartial individuals already know (video to follow). The discussion centered on what it would mean for the Democratic Party if Ned Lamont beat Joe Lieberman in Connecticut next week. Stephanopoulos asked Roberts, “How did this happen?” After a somewhat lengthy explanation, Roberts said, “But it's, I think, a disaster for the Democratic Party, and it's going to be very interesting to see what happens as a result of it.”

Stephanopoulos looked stunned, and asked: “Disaster for the Democratic Party? Why?” Roberts elaborated:

UPDATE: Go to Matt Sheffield's open thread for current developments.

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Last night's report by Charles Johnson of Little Green Footballs that a "Beirut burning" photo that was clearly and clumsily doctored with Photoshop editing tools had made it way onto the wires from Reuters has morphed into what must be considered a full-blown scandal that should, by rights, shake the news service and other "Mainstream" Media outlets to their very foundations, and force them to reexamine how they conduct and control their photojournalistic efforts around the world.

Consider just some of what has happened in the 24 hours or so since my NewsBusters post very early Sunday morning:

• Reuters has "dropped" the freelance Lebanese journalist after the image in question was shown to be doctored:

• The wire service offered perhaps the lamest excuse ever offered in the history of photojournalism for Adnan Hajj, the photographer involved --
  
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Subbing for reporter/columnist Dana Milbank on the Washington Post's snarky "Zeitgeist Checklist" feature in the Sunday opinion section, Post reporter Michael Grunwald goes on a tear, with every time on the ten-item list having a lame connection to Mel Gibson's anti-Semitic drunk-driving rant. Here's how it starts with the number one issue of the week, the Middle East conflict:

Fighting intensifies in Lebanon, as dozens of innocents die, but President Bush senses a "moment of opportunity." Linguists note that in Chinese, the character for "opportunity" also means "quagmire." And "Hezbollah" means "Party of Mel Gibson."

Four states, four regions, four local authors giving folksy, personalized takes on the candidates and the issues. You can't knock the Times' choice of format for giving readers a sense of Senate races across the country. But when it came to substance, it soon became clear that just beneath the authors' fly-over state surface lay Upper West Side attitude.

Setting the tone, author Deirdre McNamer might have found the only farm equipment store manager in Montana who makes "taking care of the homeless" his first priority. The Dem candidate's barber was also brought in to accuse the Republican in the race of "lies [and] cheap shots," complaining for good measure about money spent on the Iraq war.

Something doesn't quite seem right with this glowing interview the Washington Post conducted with environmental activist Dr. Lara Hansen of the World Wildlife Fund.

Dr. Hansen is quoted saying, "When I was 5 or 6, my father read me an article in Science magazine about ozone depletion, which is what causes increased ultraviolet radiation..."

Here's a link to Science. Look at it and tell me a 5-or 6-year-old could understand it.

I'm the mom of three six-year-olds, and not a one of them reads articles in Science about ultraviolet radiation. Lest it be said that my kids are simply below-average, allow me to note that I frequently am with other six-year-olds, and none of them have ever once mentioned Science magazine, radiation, ozone depletion or even Al Gore's movie.

I venture to say I'm not alone in thinking that the new "Bold moves" series of car ads by Ford Motor Company quickly replaced the Dodge ones with the HEMI-obsessed schlub as the dumbest auto ads on the tube lately.

But that's not deep enough for The Washington Post's David Montgomery. He sees one particular ad as a window to America's psyche on immigration of all things. Here's how he opened his story.

So this hunky, swarthy, full-lipped guy in a white cowboy hat is tooling down a country road in a red pickup truck. He comes upon a big tree fallen across both lanes. No problem. He off-roads around the obstacle and cruises on.

It's time for today's game of see how long it takes The Washington Post to acknowledge the wild-eyed liberals (filled with "Nedrenaline") behind Ned Lamont's crusade to turn out Sen. Joe Lieberman. Instead, the MoveOn crowd are merely "grassroots Internet activists" who are "anti-war." The headline of Dan Balz's front-pager is: "Conn. Race Could Be Democratic Watershed: Loss by Lieberman May Embolden Critics of War." The story dumps off the front-page before the first L-word is deployed, 371 words in:

The passion and energy fueling the antiwar challenge to Sen. Joseph Lieberman in Connecticut's Senate primary signal a power shift inside the Democratic Party that could reshape the politics of national security and dramatically alter the battle for the party's 2008 presidential nomination, according to strategists in both political parties.

Fox News’s Neal Gabler was on quite a roll on Saturday's "Fox News Watch." Apart from taking on Mel Gibson as reported by NewsBuster Mark Finkelstein, he also went after conservative columnist Michelle Malkin referring to her as an "opinion monger" (video to follow).

The discussion centered on how the media have been reporting on the Hezbollah-Israeli conflict, and, in particular, the event in Qana. Gabler, almost foaming at the mouth, went on quite a rant which included going after a Fox News contributor. Pay particular attention to Gabler's intentionally exaggerated display of disgust as he said Malkin's name:

This has to be what can only be deemed as rounds #2, 3, 4 & 5 of the WWF of the political world. Cynthia is trying so hard to keep her belt, but it's getting harder and harder. However, I wasn't sure Hank was going to make it. Was he coughing to disrupt the cutest little jihadist in Congress as she spewed her blather from the inside of the skull-tightening braids on her head? Or did her hot air scorch the air around them both so bad that he couldn't breathe? Don't know. Neither one impressed me very much, but even as his incompetence is so profoundly displayed, the "lesser of two evils" argument needs to be thrown out of the window this time. I don't live in that district, but what I wouldn't give to live there for just one day next Tuesday to vote for the Republican - whomever he/she may be - to keep either of these less-than-brainiacs out of the Georgia Congress. That being said, Georgia's 4th District is and always has been Democratically-controlled. Given that, I hope that the voters of that district "get out the vote" next Tuesday for Hank Johnson. Hank doesn't look like someone who would smack a police officer who was just doing his job on Capitol Hill. For round #1, see my previous post here. These new rounds, however, are TKOs by the moderators of the debate. I'm not sure either opponent won this one. "The fact of the matter is...." (watch the videos to understand that oft-used opening to McKinney's statements - it was akin to "well, you know.. like, it was so, I mean, so, like, you know, we were the evil, like country, like you know?) Can I have a dollar for every time she said that? Aw, shucks... okay. Okay, so this was VERY painful to watch. However, it was not only painful, but it was also - again- entertaining on cell-slapper Cynthia's part. She is the queen of the "non-answer" coalition, and her biggest claim to fame in this debate and others, and by her own admission, is that she is the "#1 biggest critic of the Bush Administration." Okay, so that puts you where in your political standing? It makes you no greater or higher in prestige than Pelosi, Dean, Boxer, Reid, Kerry, Kennedy, Murtha, and on and on and on. What? Are you guys all going to get into a fight to determine the WWF champion of who is THE biggest Bush critic? I think that can be won by the lunatic left collectively; so, no, Cynthia, you do not deserve a special place at the table of the Democratic party. The Georgia Columbus Ledger had an AP piece on today's debate:

Johnson says he is not a Republican pawn and he started running his race before the "ABC" - "Anybody but Cynthia" - campaign began. He said that of the more than 1,400 individual contributions his campaign has received, most were donations of $100 or less. Johnson said his campaign has identified only three contributions from known Republicans. "I can guarantee the public my allegiance is to the voters," Johnson said. The candidates for the 4th Congressional District squared off in a live hour-long debate aired on WSB-TV. It was the last televised debate before Tuesday's runoff election. In the July 18th primary, Johnson, an attorney and former DeKalb County Commissioner, came within 1,700 votes of McKinney to force a runoff. During the debate, Johnson twice questioned McKinney about the March scuffle between the congresswoman and a Capitol Hill police officer, asking her to tell voters what really happened that day. McKinney said the grand jury had spoken on the issue and vindicated her. "What is a woman to do when she is grabbed from behind?" McKinney asked. "The grand jury knows everything about that incident. Mr. Johnson wasn't there and he doesn't know anything." Johnson seized upon the Capitol Hill incident as an example of what he has called McKinney's embarrassing leadership in office. While he has spent much of his campaign contrasting himself to McKinney's outspoken, confrontational style, Johnson says he thinks voters believe he is the best candidate for the job and not just an alternative to the controversial Congresswoman. "I think the 'Anybody But Cynthia' campaign has turned into the 'We Love Hank' campaign," he quipped. McKinney called herself the "Number One critic of the Bush administration" and urged voters to send her back to Washington. "I stand in stark contrast to the Republican majority, and I'm proud of that," McKinney said. "I promise to go to Washington and never be quiet." When questioned about the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah and the need for an immediate cease-fire, McKinney said that every country has a right to self-defense, but that the U.S. should be doing more to encourage peace in the region and take more of a stand for human rights for Israeli and Lebanese civilians. Johnson said the U.S. should stand by Israel as its ally. "It's very difficult to call a cease-fire with a terrorist organization," Johnson said.

Some of the highlights and lowlights of the debate today include, but are not limited to:

- Cynthia makes claims about putting 500 participants into the National Youth Apprenticeship Collaboration Program, but the panel even calls her on the carpet, reminding her that there are only 20 known participants of the program. - The only two supporters who McKinney claims have supported legislation she's proposed were John Kerry and John Murtha. 'Nuff said.

Madonna's recent glittery cross and crown of thorns during her concert tour is designed to stir outrage, but at this point in her career, it screams Desperate Housewife. But then there are always the young singers who are corrupted into imitating the routine. Probably the last one you'd expect to try Sacrilege 101 would be the girl named Charlotte Church, but obviously she's trying to live her (stage) name down. Catholic News Service reports:

The U.S. publishing company Ignatius Press has refused to sell any works by Welsh singer Charlotte Church after she called German-born Pope Benedict XVI a Nazi and mocked the Catholic Church...Church, dubbed the "Voice of an Angel" before she turned her talents to popular music, also dressed up as a nun and pretended to hallucinate while eating "communion" wafers imprinted with smiling faces signifying the drug Ecstasy. She smashed open a statue of the Virgin Mary to reveal a can of hard cider inside, said she worshipped "St. Fortified Wine," and stuck chewing gum on a statue of the child Jesus.

UPDATE: As commenter "Sua Sponte 75" noted, Reuters has issued a "Picture Kill Advisory" (link is to Michelle Malkin, as original PKA appears to have been moved) and has admitted altering the photo. Drudge is currently linking to the story at the very top of his page. To the extent that an organization like Reuters cares about such things, it appears that it has been humiliated.

Commenter "Ten7s" asks a reasonable question -- "Makes me wonder how much deft photo manipulation gets printed in the media." Indeed.
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Every once in a while you want to tell yourself that media bias is accidental and not deliberate, a sort of "they can't help themselves" phenomenon.

This is NOT one of those times.

Here is a photo published by Reuters that is captioned, "Smoke billows from burning buildings destroyed during an overnight Israeli air raid on Beirut's suburbs August 5, 2006. Many buildings were flattened during the attack. (Adnan Hajj/Reuters)":

Numerous bloggers and others have pointed out that the image has been heavily photoshopped. Some of them include: