More Than Complicit Media

Associated Press reports that 10-12 papers rejected the July 26, 2005 Doonesbury cartoon because of its "toilet humor." Some just obliterated the word, "turd," arguing that the strip was fine without it. Wrong.

Censorship of that sort to protect the image of any public figure, especially the president is dangerous--leaning toward what the Soviets called a "cult of personality." The irony of the decision is that "turd" is Bush's word in his nickname for Karl Rove aka Turd Blossom. The media has failed to push probes of the Downing Street Memo and the outing of Valerie Plame to name the two most current and dangerous issues. Now, jokes about Bush, using his own words, seem to be off limits.

Many progressives have complained that the media have been too complicit with the administration's spin on issues. This goes beyond compliance to iniative--a scary development even if the issue seems trivial.