Know the adage that when the media start reporting on themselves, the story is over? How quickly, then, did this story of McCain’s alleged improprieties with a lobbyist evaporate:

HuffPo takes on the New York Times (kinda), questioning (but never answering) why the paper dragged its feet.

U.S. News reminds us all that Drudge had the story first.

Jon Stewart reminds Larry King that dirty politics is icky.

HuffPo is upgrading its technology. The new technology will refresh the site automatically, give a more accurate ad-impressions count and make it easier for people to post comments (that last feature is only arguably an improvement).

Press release follows:

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Kerry Madden, Los Angeles author, tells us about writing fiction for young adults.

Every doggie should have his day, thanks to Daniel Guss.

Ben Mankiewicz, Teresa Strasser and Katie Daryl are joining TMZ. Who knows why?

The HuffPo thinks Merv Griffin Is Gay is breaking news.

Reuters doesn’t think it’s news at all. (Reuters has “standards for news”? Since when?)

(photo from Thairin Smothers at WoW.)

CNN didn’t select Michael Moore’s YouTube’d question in Monday night’s presidential debate. Lucky for him, HuffPo let him post it on the site, along with a big, sparkly plug for Sicko.

We’re awaiting the candidate’s YouTube responses. Or at least a “What up?” from the snowman.

It’s a rare thing for the HuffPo to pimp one of their columns to us. Rarer, still, for it to be one of Arianna’s own. But this one takes the media to task. And what better place to do that than on mediabistro.com?

Her column, with its post-modern headline, The Mainstream Media’s Take on Iraq: Right, Left… And Dead Wrong, suggests that the media are too busy trying to frame the Iraq war in terms of partisan politics. Her premise is that journalists believe anti-war sentiment is just the stuff of Prius-driving, sea-turtle lovers, while everyone who spent the morning in church yesterday wants to kill A-rabs with their teeth.

“Divorced from the reality of what’s going on in Iraq. Wedded to a deluded perception of the war. Unwilling to acknowledge widespread and irrefutable evidence to the contrary. Sound like anyone you know? No, I’m not talking about President Bush — though it’s certainly true of him as well. I’m talking about the mainstream media, and their relentless depiction of the Iraq war as a left/right issue, even as the facts give lie to this hoary framing.”

Huffington goes after big game: Howard Fineman, Candy Crowley and Judy Woodruff.

Seriously? You’re surprised that the media are unraveling the very fabric of democracy out of sheer laziness and an unyielding adherence to manufactured story lines? Isn’t that why you started a blog?

Either you’re playing coy or you’re the one divorced from reality.