Dear Jon Stewart,

You once said that you have standards, that there are certain individuals you would not have on your show as guests (in reference to Novak for revealing the identity of a CIA agent), but I think over the years your standards have been diminishing.

February 23, 2011, the day you had Donald Rumsfeld on your show (see video), a man much worse than Novak, was perhaps your lowest point

Addendum: Politics dressed like entertainment

After seeing my essay on the Stewart-Colbert rally posted up on Al-Jazeera’s website, I realized I should have done more to specify what I think should be done about the problem I identify.

In a sense, I was guilty of what Jon Stewart is when he launches his criticisms of uncivil punditry and the scream culture of cable news — the lack of a clear remedy.

What public discourse? On corporate political speech

Following the Supreme Court’s ruling overturning political speech restrictions on corporations and unions, a chorus of voices from the Democratic Party has attacked the decision. Notably, President Obama claimed in his State of the Union address that the ruling “will open the floodgates for special interests… to spend without limit in our elections.”