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Can someone loan me a handbasket?

Joe Gandelman, normally The Moderate Voice but today writing at Dean's World, hits the nail on the head when he writes, "The days of Open Mind are gone; the days of Open Mouth are here." In a post on the appearance by John Stewart on the CNN program "Crossfire" Gandelman extensively quotes from the transcript, and one of the things Stewart says is a good, short description of my concern over how little real work reporters now do. From the transcript:

BEGALA: What are you talking about? You mean at these debates?

STEWART: Yes. You go to spin alley, the place called spin alley. Now, don't you think that, for people watching at home, that's kind of a drag, that you're literally walking to a place called deception lane? Like, it's spin alley. It's — don't you see, that's the issue I'm trying to talk to you guys...

Reporters (they are no longer journalists, they merely report what the spinmeisters say with no thought, no analysis, no real work involved, just mindlessly quoting...) go to the "spin room" or "spin alley" after the debates. In other words, they go to Deception Lane, where the spinmeisters put the infamous spin on events in an effort to win at any cost, including sacrificing truth, thought, and anything that makes their candidate look less than optimum. Why is anything said by these people taken seriously, much less actually reported?

Even if you dislike John Stewart for his political leanings or don't appreciate his brand of humor, it is worth reading how he condemns the show "Crossfire" and by extension the news media as a whole for hurting America.

The "spin room"...

Spin Alley...

Deception Lane...

Mindless quoting of partisan hacks are reported over facts...

Knees are jerked instead of making the effort of taking off the partisan lenses and looking at all sides of the issues...

Anyone who doesn't agree is a traitor...

Accusation in of itself is proof, no evidence needed...

Voter registration cards being destroyed because registrant checked the box for the "wrong" party...

Shots being fired into political campaign offices...

Voters feeling disenfranchised, ill served, and forced to choose between two undesirable alternatives...

Orwell was right, both Big Brother and NewSpeak are here; he just missed the timing by two decades.

The days of Open Mind are gone; the days of Open Mouth are here.

Like I asked, can someone please loan me a handbasket, because my country is going to Hell...