"Picking apart Nelson's column like this lays bare its fringe reasoning and moral triviality, but don't forget that this woman is not on the payroll of some indy socialist rag with a readership of 12, but rather one of the country's major news organizations. "

...the same major news organization that employes Pat Buchanan, Chris Matthews, even Oliver North and Allen Keyes at one point.  To claim that their leftist staff members are the only wingnuts on this particular network is silly. 

Another fine rant over on Guanubian, but I have to take issue with the continuing claims of a left-wing media bias.  While this was certainly true a year or two, or even 6 months ago, anyone who still thinks mainstream media ala MSNBC or CNN is left-wing these days is watching too much Fox News and too little of anything else.  EVERY network is chasing Fox to the right as fast as they can.  So, while yes, there are still leftover left wing loonies ensconsed in many of these media institutions, they're being more and more marginalized as the networks move to the right. 

In any case, trying to paint CNN, MSNBC, or Fox News as "News" - left or right-wing - is a pointless endeavor.  Most of them seem to fill most of their days with radio talk-show hosts arguing with each other.  Hardly a recipe for enlightenment.

SPOILER ALERT!

I know some of you may not have seen the season finale yet, so if not, stop reading now.

"In the finale, co-written by series creator David Chase, the clash between Tony and Carmela is as powerful as anything ever seen on “The Sopranos,” which is saying a lot. So is this: In her portrayal of a wife betrayed, enraged and despairing, Falco outdid herself. It was an electrifying performance."

I absolutely agree.  While some folks I talked to today seemed to feel let down by the lack of a violent ending for someone (besides the two would-be-assassins), as someone who's watched the show fairly religiously since its inception, I don't think I've been as frightened by any performance as by Carmela freaking out on Tony.  Thats been building up for 4 years, and it was a truly terrifying thing to behold.   I was a little worried at the beginning of this season - I think they got way off track at times, dropping story lines like they drop f-bombs - but Edie Falco's performance made up for a lot.  Entertainment Weekly agrees:

"''Whitecaps,'' the 75-minute fourth-season finale, was a lot of things, but at least it wasn't completely boring. In fact, it served as a microcosm for the entire season: occasionally brilliant, frequently tangential, and frustratingly anticlimactic.

But let's start with what was good -- no, make that great -- about the episode. I can sum it up in two words: Edie Falco. I thought she couldn't top last week's performance, but she reached a new summit as Carmela finally called Tony on all of his crap and kicked him out of the house. The breakup point came after a call from Tony's ex-mistress, Irina, informing Carmela that her husband had slept with Irina's one-legged cousin, Svetlana.

Falco summoned profound rage and sorrow, but most miraculously, when Carmela told Tony she'd been fantasizing about Furio, it came out not as a vindictive attempt to arouse jealousy, but as a final, futile plea for communication. "

All-in-all, I'd have to say this is their weakest season so far, but even the weakest Soprano's season is 150% better than most of what's on TV these days.  Perhaps purposefully, the many story lines dropped along the way this season, could make for some interesting resolutions next season.  Here's hoping.

Now what am I gonna do on Sundays with season 3 of Six Feet Under apparently still several months away (whats with that "SOON" ad?  4 months isn't "SOON")

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