TV

I just got an email from a fellow blogger saying that he saw NBC report that the newscaster died today of a heart attack.

Wow!

CONFIRMED!

Tim Russert, host of NBC's "Meet the Press" and a political analyst for "NBC Nightly News" and the "Today" program, has died.

Tom Brokaw, the former anchor of NBC Nightly News, came on air during a special report Friday afternoon and said Russert collapsed and died while at work in the NBC news bureau in Washington, D.C.

"This news division will not be the same without his strong, clear voice," Brokaw said. "He'll be missed as he was loved greatly."

Russert, 58, joined NBC News in 1984. He took over the helm of "Meet the Press" in December 1991, according to his biography on the show's Web site. Russert has interviewed every major figure on the American political scene, his biography said.

Earlier this year, Time Magazine named him one of the 100 most influential people in the world.

Fox News had Michelle Malkin on yesterday discussing some thing or another having to do with the dark-skinned Filipina's attacks and demonization of presumptive First Lady Michelle Obama. So what does the Fox News editorial team do during the conservative racist baiter's time on TV? They put a banner right under the news bit that read : "Outraged Liberals : Stop Picking on Obama's Baby Mama".

As Oliver Willis says quite correctly, why not call her a N***r and get it over and done with it? Why not just turn Fox News into what it really is, a race-baiter's dream machine?

Kevin Hayden says' the channel should be fined by the FCC a minimum of $325,000 for publishing hate speech. Even though I agree with Stefania this proves the extreme right is scared shitless at the prospect of seeing the Obamas in the White House, it's still utterly wrong and those bastards should pay every time they pull this shit.

Yet what's most important about all this mess is the other Michelle. La Malkin. Why do you think Fox News has on their payroll a dark-skinned Filipina who is not only their quite giddy and willing cover for the racist rants you pass as news, but also something of a news maker herself?

If you thought that Hillary Clinton's increasingly directionless campaign did not have some further reservoirs of self-immolating malice to draw upon, please disabuse yourself of the notion. The more things change, the more they stay the same.

Exhibit A: a new television spot being run in Texas in advance of that state's primary on March 4th. The conventional wisdom is that, simply, Team Hillary needs a clear victory to even stay in the race. So here's the spot, titled "Children":

To place that in context, here's one of the final ads from Team Bush in 2004, "Wolves":

How astonishingly depraved: after eight years of fear-mongering, a leading Democratic candidate embraces the Rovian playbook. They're not even being subtle about it.

Vote for me or your children die.

Wilmer Valderrama, Rosario Dawson, Nick Zano, and Tony Plana (Ugly Betty) star in this dramatic telenovela story about love, betrayal, ...and registering to vote!

This is awesome.

Viggo Mortensen has failed me and the world miserably. It's a Friday morning and the world is still not a better place all because of Viggo. It is Friday morning and I still don't have my legs wrapped around the lefty-commie-pino hunkiness that is Viggo Mortensen.

He is not only one of the first celebrities against the war, but he is the first one to call for the impeachment of George Bush. He has gone so far as to visit Iraq after publishing a book about the occupation. And when he came back, right before going back to filming, the man campaigned for an anti-war Democrat in New York state.

The problem is, he is still not betwixt my legs.

So I've tried to quit him.

Then he goes on the Colbert Report and does this :

I hate you Viggo Mortensen. How dare you make me laugh. I hate Stephen Colbert even more. How dare you enlist Stephen Colbert to turn me on with your sense of humor.

I swear, pull this off one more time and you'll be dead to me.

Especially when it's spinned by The Daily Show. This is worth at least an Emmy nomination. It's beyond brilliant. It's perfect.

Well ... it's not quite that way.

I just got word from Robert Cox of The Media Bloggers Association that I have been credentialed, along with another 21 bloggers, to cover the Democratic Presidential Debate at this Thursday night at Howard University.

It's this Thursday at 9:30pm with Sexy Beast
Tavis Smiley as the moderator. PBS is the sponsor of the event.

I'll have later today the final list of bloggers attending.

I just have to say that my head is going to explode just thinking of Tavis, Obama and me inside that bastion of American negritude.

YEARGGGGH bbs!