'24'

Frank Rich: "By common consent, 2004 was the year that Jon Stewart's fake news became more reliable for many viewers than real news. As 2005 begins, we must confront the prospect that a fictional TV action hero is more engaged with the war on terror than those in Washington who actually have his job." [NYT]

MoDo the Dragon Lady gives us such gems as: "It's comforting to start the new year in the hands of a party that cares so much about morals and values." & "You know how bad the situation is when the president's choice for attorney general has to formally pledge not to support torture anymore." OH MAN. [NYT]

Friedman: "What the Bush team has done in Iraq, by ousting Saddam, was not to "liberate" the country - an image and language imported from the West and inappropriate for Iraq - but rather to unleash the latent civil war in that country. Think of shaking a bottle of Champagne and then uncorking it." [NYT]