"The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done; and there is no new thing under the sun."

--Ecclesiastes

Distaste for the "mainstream media" is as old as the Republic itself. The old saying in this business is that everybody disagrees with their local newspaper--no matter where you live. In America, slamming the media is almost tradition!

Down Louisiana way, Huey P. Long even started his own newspaper--and state employees were "encouraged" to subscribe--because of what "them lyin' newspapers" in Baton Rouge and New Orleans said of him. ("One day you pick up the papers and see where I killed four priests . . . Another day I murdered twelve nuns, and the next day I poisoned four hundred babies.") The Kingfish's "Louisiana Progress" was more Long-friendly, and how, than the State-Times or Times-Picayune. But friendly news is to be expected when government controls the media.

Fast forward to today: What may prove Ecclesiastes wrong--that there is something new under the sun--is that Pentagon Pete, your secretary of Defense, told the American media to sign a new........

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