"...while technically free of government influence, US media is nevertheless profoundly influenced by political and governmental factors."

"The outpouring of official compassion and aid for the victims of [the Darfur massacre and the tsunami] is gratifying but also shameful, given the virtual lack of official compassion and aid afforded the victims of Israeli and U.S. atrocities."

"If left up to newsroom editors and mainstream pundits, the Woolsey resolution will scarcely cause a ripple in the national media pond. But the resolution could do much more than sink like a stone. It has the potential to serve as a catalyst for nationwide debate."

"Most US-based news organizations like to claim objectivity as their trademark, from Fox News' claims to be "fair and balanced" to the New York Times boasting that it covers "All the news that's fit to print." While critics from both the right and the left argue that these networks and newspapers report the news with either a liberal or conservative slant, in fact, the forces that shape bias in media coverage run deeper and are more complex. Cultural, commercial and political influences have a profound impact on editorial decisions made by media outlets, as well as on the content of the information they dispense."

"When personal dreams of success or even equilibrium sink below horizons, the same media outlets that laud the successful have little use for those defined by the system as abject failures. For mainstream media, the plentiful underachievers are customarily the rough equivalent of flotsam and jetsam."

"Abbas has a tough challenge ahead. He must organize his government and clearly define his post-election goals in a clear manner not only to Palestinians but to the Americans who more than any other people, have the power to push Israel to make the hard concessions that will result in a viable Palestinian state that includes the Gaza Strip, the West Bank and Arab East Jerusalem."

"From the beginning, our great and inspiring democracy was born in sin with slavery and the ethnic cleansing of indigenous persons. We have as one of our national symbols the welcoming Statue of Liberty, and we also have, as part of our history, the "Palmer raids" and the Japanese internment during World War II. And we are the nation that gave birth to both "Bull" Conner and the Ku Klux Klan, to Martin Luther King, Jr., and the Fellowship of Reconciliation."

"Regardless of who wins or the margin of victory, Palestinians should do their best to escape the plague of cynicism and embrace democracy for what it offers."