U.S. Media Favoring Scary Side of Guantanamo Detainees Instead of American Screw-Ups

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​Front and center in today's edition of the New York Times is an article entitled "In Dossier, Portrait of Push for Post-9/11 Attacks," a piece that uses this week's WikiLeaks document dump about detainees held by the United States at Guantanamo Bay to tell of terrorist plans never carried out. The article is one of many Guantanamo angles so far this week, not only from the Times, but other domestic news organizations like the Washington Post and NPR, along with international outlets like Britain's Telegraph and Guardian, which are culling the raw classified documents and repackaging them as news stories. But are American outlets being more deferential to the U.S. government than their international counterparts by highlighting the danger of the detainees instead of the well-documented innocents held uncharged, the abuses they suffered and the flawed system of interrogation? Let's explore in Press Clips, our daily media column. Plus: the Village Voice has a new Metro columnist!

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Trig Palin Is Sarah Palin's Son: Birther Conspiracy Is Bullshit

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​We'd rather just not write about Sarah Palin. Occasionally, though, the media angle on the frustratingly evil ex-politician is too good to ignore, like yesterday when her rabid supporters joined forces with reasonable people to condemn and ultimately cream the political blog Wonkette for their post cruelly mocking Palin's song Trig, who was born with Down Syndrome. As of today, the outrage, led by conservative bloggers under the Twitter hashtag #TrigsCrew, led to at least nine advertisers pulling their brand from the website, which will doubtlessly bruise their bottom line. (Whether their tactics are honest or not is another question.) But today, Salon tackles another media issue surrounding Trig and his mother, namely the liberal version of the birther conspiracy. It's a gross story, but Salon handled it masterfully. Observe in Press Clips, our daily media column.

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Dan Sinker, Founder of Punk Planet, Was @MayorEmanuel Twitter; Andrew Sullivan Leaving The Atlantic For Tina Brown

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via Daniel O'Neal
​Just about everyone on the internet (including us) has already praised the Twitter account @MayorEmanuel, which ended its journey when the real Emanuel won last week's election for Chicago mayor. That fanfare makes today's victory lap and collective celebration entertaining on a number of levels, not the least of which is the revealing of the account's creator as Dan Sinker, something of a media hero already in some circles for his creation of Punk Planet. Also on this busy media Monday, all-star blogger Andrew Sullivan is taking his ball and going to play with Tina Brown, Salon can't sell itself and Keith Olbermann moves to the internet. Details on all of it inside Press Clips, our daily media round-up.

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Patriot Act Fail Is A Civil Liberties Win, For Now

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​The House of Representatives failed on Tuesday night to extend three security measures in the post-9/11 Patriot Act, voting 277-148 to push the provisions through 2011, but failing to reach the required two-thirds majority, the Washington Post reports. For those doing math at home, that's seven votes short, meaning the Republicans, who recently took over the House, underestimated their opposition, losing 26 of their own to the 122 Democrats opposing the bill. The provisions, like "roving" FBI wiretaps and the ability to seize library records, are set to expire on February 28. But the defense of such civil liberties is only possible through bipartisanship.

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Has Salon's Cary Tennis Really Lost It?

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​Salon's Cary Tennis is the craziest advice columnist in the world. Not an easy feat, to be sure, but we're not the first ones to notice. (In fact, it's well documented.) He has extensively chronicled his own issues, including his history of alcoholism and ongoing fight with cancer, but tends to choose almost psychopathic questions, which allow him to expound for hundreds and hundreds of words in amazing nutso-babble, like that time he told a lost twenty-something, "Your soul cries out for the unknown...What dread beast is this?" (Meaning: "Take acid.") But little compares to Tennis' latest, "I'm from India, crazy in love." It's got it all: broken English, chat rooms, phone sex, vague racism, HBO, hipster hunting. OMG.

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Open Mic Catches Journalists Surprisingly Slamming Sarah Palin After Speech

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​It's that time again for a surprising Sarah Palin revelation: journalists aren't that into her. The former governor and vice presidential candidate gave a speech Friday night in Turlock, California, and upon its conclusion, a bunch of journalists sounded off predictably with lackluster reviews. Except! There was a hot microphone picking up their every word. Dave Weigel, what say you? Jesse Jackson, holler back. Peggy Noon, what up? Point is, these things happen. And they're funny every time.

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