Thanks; those are excellent points IMHO. One important nit: > poorly thought out, sensationalist, over-emotional reporting that is devoid of facts and plays on

Thanks; those are excellent points IMHO. One important nit: > poorly thought out, sensationalist, over-emotional reporting that is devoid of facts and plays on fears (this type of "reporting" occurs on both sides, unfortunately) I think it's important to point out that this is a false equivalency. The conservative outlets that do reporting like this, such as Fox, Rush Limbaugh, the WSJ (it's editorial page, at least) etc. have far more audience than the liberal equivalents (the Huffington Post might be one, but I think even they are better than the three I mentioned). If we try to be extra fair and say it's equivalent, we hide from what I think is the U.S.'s and world's biggest problem.