Would society have reacted differently to the O. J. Simpson trial had he been white? That was the question John Plunkett, Wired's founding creative codirector, wanted to raise with the September 1995 cover — a photo altered to make Simpson appear Caucasian. "At the time," Plunkett recalls, "Photoshopped imagery still had the capacity to surprise in a way that's difficult to imagine today."

The picture was widely mistaken for a critique of the infamous Time cover that darkened Simpson's face, but that wasn't Wireds intent. Rather, we hoped to make readers examine their assumptions about race.

To the staff's chagrin, the manipulated image caused little stir: "It struck us that technology had rendered that debate moot," Plunkett says. "All images are manufactured to one degree or another."

The ad, exclusively obtained by the Huffington Post, targets CNN specifically, inserting the word "partisan" into CNN's "CNN = Politics" logo to read, "CNN = Partisan Politics" and declaring Fox news "The Only Fair & Balanced News Network." This may prove to be a particularly damaging charge, as CNN has sought to define itself as the independent alternative to partisan programming on its competitors (which, in addition to the fact that MSNBC trails both Fox and CNN in the ratings by wide margins, is presumably, why the ad targets CNN with no mention of MSNBC).

The study found that 51% of CNN's regular viewers are Democrats, compared to 18% Republicans. Fox News' audience leans Republican but is more balanced overall, with 39% of regular viewers declaring themselves Republicans compared to 33% declaring themselves Democrats. MSNBC's regular audience is 45% Democrat and 18% Republican.

See the ad below:

Excerpt from Pew study below (download the entire report here):

The general public has become more Democratic since 2006, and this is reflected in the audiences for leading TV news outlets. The audiences for CNN and MSNBC, which were heavily Democratic two years ago, have become even more so: fully 51% of CNN's regular viewers are Democrats while only 18% are Republicans. MSNBC's audience makeup is similar - 45% of regular viewers of MSNBC are Democrats, 18% are Republicans.

The regular audience for nightly network news also is now about two-to-one Democratic (45% vs. 22% Republican). In 2006, 40% of the regular viewers of nightly network news were Democrats compared with 28% who were Republicans.

The regular audience for the Fox News Channel continues to include more Republicans than Democrats. Currently, 39% of regular Fox News viewers are Republicans while 33% are Democrats; in 2006, the margin was 38% to 31%.

At about 3 pm, a staffer at John McCain's Denver campaign office received a "threatening" letter that contained white powder, according to the campaign.

The campaign immediately evacuated the office and contacted the authorities. They are waiting for further information, said a staffer.

In media centers, dormitories and arena bathrooms, pieces of tape cover logos of fire extinguishers, light switches, thermostats, bedroom night tables, soap dispensers and urinals. The Taiden Industrial translation headsets in a large conference room have had their logos covered, as have the American Standard faucets in the bathrooms nearby, and the ThyssenKrupp escalators down the hall. At the Athens games, people wearing logoed t-shirts were asked to remove them or turn them inside-out before entering the stadia. Nothing says "incorruptible international competition" like a bunch of bull**** rules about what your t-shirt is allowed to say and whether an elevator can display its manufacturer's mark. Ignore That Logo Under the Tape! (Thanks, Marilyn!)

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“Once you start treating it as a business, you know once you start turning over government operations to the market you’re not talking about democracy any more. What you’re talking about is plutocracy. Rule by the wealthy. Rule by the market.”

(h/t Heather for vids and transcript)

Rough transcript below the fold:

Colbert: My guest tonight says that conservatives have destroyed the government. Oh yeah? Then why do I still have to vote?

[…]..Now you’re saying that that uh they don’t rule very well. That’s your argument. What do you mean by that? They’ve been ruling for the Congress for most of the nineties and for most of the 1990’s, plus they’ve had control of every other branch of the government. How could they not rule well if they stayed in power? Isn’t that the objective of government?

Frank: Yeah I guess if you figure in one, in one sense it is. They’ve been very good at winning elections. What they’ve actually been doing in Washington DC though is throwing the bureaucracy into reverse. You know, uh, selling off the government to you know to the highest bidder or in some cases the lowest bidder.

Colbert: Isn’t that the quickest way to reduce the size of government? Is that redefine what the role of government is.

Frank: You know that’s uh…

Colbert: Government doesn’t do this. Government doesn’t do that. You know government is just welfare for people who can’t put out their own fires.

Frank: That’s an excellent suggestion. Just redefine the whole thing. Government isn’t about you know looking after the general welfare. Government is about looking after you know our campaign contributors or something like that. The problem is that’s not what we have the elections about. That’s not what they were elected to do.

Colbert: What were they elected to do? I’ll bite.

Franks: I’d start with endorsing the laws.

Colbert: Okay, sure, but laws..

Franks: Labor laws Stephen?

Colbert: Labor laws?

Franks: Yeah.

Colbert: Labor laws are very mutable. Who’s to say, who’s to say what a hazardous work environment is? I mean maybe OSHA, but if you sell OSHA off to a private enterprise to enforce the labor laws..

Franks: Ah, very good idea. See and this is what’s been going on in Washington for the last well, at least the last eight years but if you go back further as I do in the book for the last 28 years it is basically turning over these operations to the private sector where we really have no idea what they’re doing.

Colbert: But government’s like a business. Why shouldn’t a business run the government?

Franks: Well that’s the funny thing it ain’t a business.

Colbert: It ain’t a business? What do you mean it ain’t a business? You mean isn’t a business? I just wanted to point out that that was grammatically incorrect.

Franks: I believe, I believe you nailed me.

Colbert: I did nail you. How’s that feel by the way? How’s that feel? Good? Stings a little but it’s a good feeling.

Franks:But it’s not a business.

Colbert: Okay what is it then?

Franks: Government is the uh, the expression of the uh, you know, public will.

Colbert: But it takes money, it takes money…

Franks: It does take money..

Colbert: It makes it a business.

Franks: Oh very good.

Colbert: It does it takes money…

crosstalk

Franks: Is the Treasury Department a business?

Colbert: There’s the deficit, debt…

Franks: Here’s the interesting thing. Once you start treating it as a business, you know once you start turning over government operations to the market you’re not talking about democracy any more. What you’re talking about is plutocracy. Rule by the wealthy. Rule by the market.

Colbert: And people who know what they’re doing and that’s why they got rich.

crosstalk

Colbert: Who do we give the government to? The losers of the world? You know there’s no silver or bronze in life. There’s only people who rule and people who follow.

Franks: There was a time, there was a time in this country when a lot of people shared your views on this…

Colbert: A lot of people share my views now sir.

Franks: Maybe so but hopefully it’s not the people who vote.

Colbert: Uh huh. We shall see.

crosstalk

Colbert: Tell me, tell me something the conservatives have done to the government that have made our life worse.

Frank: Well if you, let’s say you live in New Orleans.

Colbert: No one lives there any more.

Frank: Alright…

crosstalk

Frank: Let’s say you are a meat packer in the state of Iowa..

Colbert: Aha yep.

Frank: And you’re thirteen years old..

Colbert: Yep.

Frank: You probably shouldn’t be, you know, working on the killing floor when you’re thirteen.

Colbert: Uh why because I don’t want to build character?…Here’s the point is. I know that conservatives say like Grover Norquist wills say he wants to make the government so small that he can drown it in a tub. But my question for you is that even if they do that, who’s paying for that water? I hope it’s not the taxpayer.

Frank: You know exactly. You know the really interesting thing is they haven’t shrunk government. I mean it’s grown. I mean you vote for these guys…crosstalk..

Colbert: They’ve made the government weaker.

Frank: They’ve turned it over to your buddies in the private sector. They’ve turned it over to the big contractors, the big campaign donors.

Colbert: And what’s so wrong with that?

Frank: Well those people don’t answer to you and me. They don’t answer to “We the People” Stephen. They answer to…

Colbert: Stockholders!

Frank: Yeah, they answer to the stockholders. They answer to “He the Boss”.

Colbert: Meet the new boss. It’s the same as the old boss.

Frank: You know it is! It is!