CNN25, and other news stuff

First off, CNN. Last week, in case you missed it, was CNN's week-long celebration of itself. They were commemorating CNN's 25th anniversary of broadcasting. The News Channel debuted on June 1, 1980. I've been something of a CNN junkie ever since The Boys from Baghdad (and I'm not the only one). Ted Turner invented the 24-hour news network, and for that he deserves (and gets) high praise. I was thrilled when, in 1996, two new cable newsers came onto the scene. CNN's had its problems over the years, and is has been in a prolonged state of flux since 2001 (should the CNN bug move to the other side of the screen like Fox News, or should there be more flashy graphics like Fox News, or should they pander to the lowest common denominator like Fox News), but I still go there whenever there's Breaking News. So does most of America. So, congrats CNN.

Last week also saw the end of the greatest political mystery of our time, if not of all American history. It came in the unlikely, grinning, walker-toting visage of Mark Felt. What was most shocking about that story (aside from Woodstein getting scooped) was that the far-right reacted to the story as they react to just about any other story - namely, with unabashed hatred for anything they perceive as "disloyalty." The debate last week, in more places than one, was framed around the question, "Is Mark Felt a hero or a villain?" Why? WHY? Why do we need to frame the debate around this guy around such a stupid, asinine premise? But that's beside the point. The Right Wing Hate Machine (RWHM, henceforth) came out with all guns blazing (including Colson, Liddy and other actual villains) saying that not only is Mark Felt a villain, he's a villain of the highest order. Mark Felt is a traitor, they said, and committed treason against the United States.

The words "histrionics" and "implacable grudge-holders" come to mind.