Here's the story so far. Arianna takes a few swipes at Tim Russert. NBC attacks Arianna, but instead of going after her on the facts, dregs up a 12 year old false claim by GOP'er Ed Rollins in his memoir, "Bare Knuckles and Back Rooms" that she hired a private investigator to dig up dirt on Russert's wife, Vanity Fair author Maureen Orth.

Richard Bradley, an editor of George Magazine in 1996, writes today about an article in the November, 1996 issue of the magazine written by John B. Roberts II, a former Reagan speech-writing assistant who did research for Rollins' book, in which Roberts said Rollins falsified information in his memoir.

by TChris

Technically speaking, Tim Russert continues to mislead the public by claiming that the Abramoff scandal is bipartisan. Now, technically speaking, Katie Couric and Matt Lauer are pedaling peddling the same false story. (Arianna has more on Russert.)

I didn't see Meet the Press yesterday but it seems everyone else did and Tim Russert's in the dog house.

• Arianna:

RUSSERT: Let's talk a little bit about the language people are using in the politics now of 2006, and I refer you to some comments that Harry Belafonte made yesterday. He said that Homeland Security had become the new Gestapo. What do you think of that?

And if you're a really really tough journalist, you naturally ask Obama... another question about Harry Belafonte:

RUSSERT: Mr. Belafonte went to Venezuela, as you well know, some time ago and met with Hugo Chavez, leader of that country, and said some things that obviously were noted in this country and around the world. Let's listen, and come back and talk about it.

It's unclear why Tim didn't also ask Obama to defend Lil' Kim, Kanye West and Antonio Davis. I mean, they're all black, right? And it's just one big game, right?

• Atrios:

Twice Tim Russert has asked his guests to comment on the remarks of Harry Belafonte. There was Barack Obama today, and previously it was Colin Powell....!'m not sensing any pattern here myself...

(Guest Posted by TalkLeft's Man in Hollywood)

Over a decade ago, Robert Hughes wrote "Culture of Complaint", an expansive diatribe about the "fraying of America" that directed cooly reasoned blasts at both the left and right hemispheres of the cultural landscape. Among them, Ronald Reagan ("Reagan educated the people down to his level. He left the country a little stupider in 1988 than it had been in 1980, and a lot more tolerant of lies") and the art world itself, for its subservience to special interest groups. Hughes argued that the rise of political correctness was flooding the galleries and diluting the art... culture itself was drowning in a sea of overweening "political etiquette".

Highly critical of those who shared his turf yet able to respect the mercurial nature of both flakey artists and humorless social activists, Hughes' 1993 book was a great tightrope act. It was, to use a phrase recently demonized by the right wing, nuanced.

Who would have thought that just three years later Roger Ailes would flip Hughes' polemic on its head and use it as a inspiration for Fox News?

I have yet to write a word about the Washington Post-Deborah Howell controversy. It got so ugly so fast and spread into such a malicious maelstrom and blogswarm, that I really didn't want to take part in it. The issue of whether Howell, the Post's Omsbudman, intentionally mis-stated last week that Jack Abramoff personally had contributed to Democrats as well as Republicans in an effort to make the corruption scandal appear bi-partisan, too quickly (for my taste) got overshadowed by obscenities and ridicule. The same happened with the secondary issue of WAPO shutting down comments on the topic at its blog.

Avedon Carol at Sideshow has now weighed in, and because I agree with her on both points, I'm chiming in to echo her sentiments. The first point : Good for Howell for apologizing, but in doing so, it appears she made another mis-statement. She admits Abramoff did not personally contribute to Democrats, but says he directed others, including his Indian tribe clients to contribute to Democrats.

CNN has hired three new additions this month:

• Bill Bennett
• Former Republican Congressman JC Watts
• Right Wing radio host Glenn Beck

My view: This will hurt CNN in the longrun. First, it will be perceived as a chance to rival Fox News. Second, it will lessen CNN's credibility. CNN, while not the number one cable news network, has until now successfully fostered an image of being neutral, and a network to whom people turn when they want the news, not spin. They risk being perceived as a talk-tv rather than news channel.

by Last Night in Little Rock

With Brokeback Mountain winning the Golden Globe for Best Drama, it is "a solid front-runner for the Academy Awards, whose nominations come out Jan. 31, with the Oscars handed out March 5," according to CNN. The Golden Globes always have been a strong indicator of the Academy Award winners.

The fact that "Brokeback Mountain" has found eager audiences across the country, including the conservative heartland, shows that Americans are willing to embrace stories of love in all forms, [Director Ang] Lee said.

Before that, one can predict that the Right will again attack the movie industry for its values, centering on the fact that it is a "love story" that happens to involves (horrors) men.

Politics will have to wait for a few hours. The Golden Globes begin now. You can live blog in the comments if you wish -- feel free to disagree with my snarky comments.

I like the Globes better than the Oscars because they include both movies and television.

The nominees and winners in real time are here. I haven't seen Brokeback Mountain, but I saw The Constant Gardener on dvd last night and thought it was excellent.

The gowns are a huge part of the event. They are always fabulous or terrible. Tonight: Sarah Jessica Parker looks great in her tight black gown. Ditto Nicolette Sheridan in a simple but beautiful blue-- and she's with Michael Bolton, I thought they broke up years ago.

To be continued below the fold.

NORML (National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws) and the NORML Foundation have released their first major Internet viral animation project. It's called "Sam's Journey" and is a humorous and poignant 90-second animation featuring Samuel Caldwell, America's first prisoner in the war on marijuana users.

NORML asks us not to bogart the video -- it's meant to be passed around.

Wal-Mart says the cross-promotion of the Planet of the Apes movie and black-themed films on it's website was intentional by an employee, but well-meaning. Huh?

A business manager trying to promote "Martin Luther King: I Have a Dream" programmed the site so that shoppers who bought any boxed set also would be offered the movie about the civil rights leader and other black-themed films.

[Background here. Clarification: Crooks and Liars was not saying there was a Wal-Mart conspiracy, just noting the wierdness of the promotion. Hat tip to Patriot Daily.]

First Jane, then John at Crooks and Liars. Crooks and Liars got a Wal-Mart rep on the phone. Wal-Mart responds personally to Jane and issues a public apology. The Washington Post reports how Jane and Crooks and Liars broke the story.

John at AmericaBlog thinks it was a bona fide error. Steve Gilliard does not.

My take: It was not an intentional act by Wal-Mart. I think it was programmed into a black film category by a lone sick employee and Wal-Mart should track the perp down and fire his or her a**.

The New York Times reports that orders to "Stop the Presses!" were barked from coast to coast in the wee hours of Wednesday morning when it was learned the trapped miners were dead, not alive.

How did it happen? Explanations are beginning to emerge.

A choked-up Ben Hatfield, chief executive of International Coal Group, said company officials mistakenly allowed family jubilation over erroneous reports that the miners were alive "to go on longer than it should have." ..."We sincerely regret the manner in which events unfolded this morning," said Hatfield, who blamed "miscommunication" for the stunning and heartbreaking turn of events early Wednesday.