The uproar surrounding CNN commentator Erick Erickson‘s comment about pulling a shotgun on an ACS census worker seemed to be dying down, after rippling all the way to the White House. News reports about a March incident (prior to Erickson’s comments) in which a warning shot was fired (with a shotgun) at a census worker may turn the heat back up.

There is a trend emerging that seems to indicate a strategic shift at CNN from self-professed neutral, objective journalism to a desire to actively court conservative viewers. First, there was CNN’s hiring of Redstate chief Erick Erickson , embedded (and wide-eyed) coverage of the Tea Party Express bus tour, email shot at “the left” to Brent Bozell, and now, their attack on liberal radio host Bill Press for his question to Robert Gibbs about their employee’s threat to census workers. CNN is very concerned about fact-checking Press. Fair enough. I will fact-check Press and CNN, and give you the latest reaction from CNN on Erickson’s comments.

After a month-long absence due to his father’s illness and eventual passing, Countdown‘s Keith Olbermann returned to full-time hosting duty tonight. He marked the occasion by retiring the very short-lived “Hall of Shame” segment, and resurrected “Worst Persons.” The first honoree? Senator Scott Brown (R-MA), who earned a Bronze for drawing Keith (via a spokesman) into his feud with Rachel Maddow. Is Mediaite responsible for this? Maybe.

NBC News White House Correspondent Savannah Guthrie is on the way up. She was recently named one of 2010′s Faces to Watch in TV by the LA Times, and has just launched a new show, “The Daily Rundown,” on MSNBC (9am EDT), with fellow White House correspondent Chuck Todd.

Savannah gets real with “The Daily Rundown,” on MSNBC (9am EDT), with fellow White House correspondent Chuck Todd.

Savannah gets real with Inside the White House Press Corps, with some surprising observations about Twitter, media bias, and the role of pudits in shaping the news.

Happy 20th anniversary, The Simpsons! God does that make me feel old. Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa & Maggie may not have aged a bit over the past two decades, but it has nonetheless really been that long — and tonight Fox celebrated by airing a special Simpson’s 20th anniversary documentary special — Simpsons 20th Anniversary [...]

While discussing the healthcare reform bill with The Nation’s Chris Hayes on Countdown last night, Keith Olbermann spied the CNN headline “Dems Dropping Like Flies,” an example, he laughingly said, of “how neutral and completely journalistic they work it over there.” It didn’t stop there, though, as Keith peppered the remainder of the segment with shots at CNN’s overstatement of the rashlet of Democratic retirements.

The right-wing echo chamber is gearing up to take another shot at unseating “Safe Schools Czar” Kevin Jennings. Their last volley, in which a smear involving NAMBLA made it onto Fox News, failed to gain Van Jones-style traction, so they’ve dressed an even weaker smear up as a report by “independent researchers,” and slapped it under and audacious headline.

At yesterday’s book signing in Noblesville, Indiana, Going Rogue author Sarah Palin was faced with an angry mob of her own fans who were turned away without having their copies signed. Many of the fans, who had been given wristbands entitling them to up to 2 signed books, had waited hours in the rain for the chance to meet Palin. Needless to say, they were not pleased.

With the resignation of Van Jones and the sinking of ACORN, the right-wing noise machine sits on a mighty perch. The mainstream media shows every sign of capitulating to their new pimp, at the ready to swarm whatever prey is selected for them. The latest victim-to-be is the Obama administration’s “Safe Schools Czar,” Kevin Jennings. Before I get to deconstructing the mountain of smears against Kevin Jennings, let me tell you what he has done.

Politico is taking heat from all over the blogosphere for a story they posted Wednesday that conflated support for convicted rapist Roman Polanski with political donations to President Obama. The splashy headline read “Roman Polanski Backers Gave $34k to Barack Obama, DNC.”

There has been a battle brewing for years between the “real news” and the fake news, with poll after poll showing that more and more Americans get their news from comedy shows like “The Daily Show.” Who can forget Jon Stewart’s throwdown with the hosts of “Crossfire?” More recently, Stewart got into a fact-fight with Bill O’Reilly (and won), and became a hero-of-the-moment to the right for pointing out the mainstream media’s abdication on the ACORN story.

On national television, before an audience of millions (and no doubt many millions more via YouTube in the days to come), CBS Late Show host David Letterman admitted that he had had affairs with female staffers on his show — and was being blackmailed by someone about it, to the tune of $2 million.

I wrote a piece of commentary about Joe Klein’s flame war with Glenn Greenwald yesterday in which I conceded Klein’s point about Greenwald’s publication of off-the-record emails. I also pointed out that Klein’s understanding of email confidentiality is shakier than a detoxing jackhammer operator. Rather than expressing appreciation for this turn of the tables, Greenwald had some reservations about the piece.

An online feud is heating up between Time’s Joe Klein and Salon’s Glenn Greenwald. Although the bad blood reaches back a stretch, at issue now is Greenwald’s publication of Klein’s off-the-record emails to the “Journolist.” Klein slammed Greenwald on Time’s Swampland blog: (h/t HuffPo)

There was a report in US News, yesterday, that has different corners of the blogosphere going at the White House Press Corps like ‘roid-raged 5th graders at a pinata. The criticism centers, not around the corps’ threat of a “more adversarial tone” with the Obama White House, but around the reasons for it: Print reporters [...]