This is screaming around the web today, but here it is again, just in case this page is the only reason you hit the web:

NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Sinclair Broadcast Group, owner of the largest chain of television stations in the nation, plans to air a documentary that accuses Sen. John Kerry of betraying American prisoners during the Vietnam War, a newspaper reported Monday.
The reported plan prompted the Democratic National Committee to file a complaint against Sinclair with the Federal Election Commission.
Sinclair has ordered all 62 of its stations to air "Stolen Honor: Wounds That Never Heal" without commercials in prime-time next week, the Washington Post reported, just two weeks before the Nov. 2 election.

Sinclair's television group, which includes affiliates of all the major networks, reaches nearly a quarter of all U.S. television households, according to the company's Web site. A dozen of Sinclair's stations are in the critical swing states of Ohio, Florida, Iowa and Wisconsin.

Ah, fuck me. It's just getting tedious, isn't it? It's weird. This may be the first election I can think of that I felt as though issues involved actually involved me and mine and theirs, and the least sincere election I can recall. Really and truly, this whole fucking thing about nothing but spin, appearance & a rapid and succesful refutation of the myriad weirdass accusations that've been made.

So, yeah, the Reps are gonna show a nasty movie in primetime and have been getting Ralph Nader on the ballot all over the place, and the Dems have Fahrenheit 9/11 hitting Blockbuster, and this weird little nugget floating around the web:

CHANHASSEN, Minnesota (AP) -- Campaign aides to President Bush on Saturday laughed off rampant Internet speculation about whether the president was wired to get help from advisers during his first debate with Sen. John Kerry.

"It's not true. It's ridiculous," Bush campaign spokesman Scott Stanzel said.

A still photo from television footage of Bush as he debated Kerry on September 30 in Coral Gables, Florida, appears to show a small, boxy shape between the president's shoulder blades.

Both stories, if you'll notice, are from CNN, the latter from the 'Inside Politics' section and the former from CNNMoney. I guess the question, to me anyway, is what side is CNN on? Both of these stories tend to sympathize with the Dems view, the first by being alarmist about a media mogul using a national network to campaign for the Republicans; the second by giving real media attention to what is, really, an internet rumor (for the record, Salon.com, The Washington Post, MSNBC, The New York Times, The LA Times and Yahoo News all have stories or references to the the flap, although most of those stories refer back to the initial Salon.com article).

Y'know, I don't actually care anymore. I've spent an hour hunting down links and stories, trying to figure out how to build a case about whether or not CNN slants to the liberal, and I'm sick of giving a shit. Really, what does it matter? CNN wants you to think the Dems are strong, FOXNews wants you to think the Reps are unstoppable, the NY Times wants you to think that they're both wrong but that Jr. is more wrong than anybody else, they all want you to read them or watch them or click on them so that they can throw commercials in your face and charge their advertisers more.

Aren't you tired of being nothing more than a walletful of potential dollars for the media and corporations? Here's a fun trick; spend a week, just one week, not buying anything from a national chain. Your groceries, gas, clothes, haircuts, cd's, books, comics, bike, whatever. Skip McDonald's and go to the joint on the corner where the owner works in the kitchen and they'll charge you $6.50 for a burger that's worth it. Throw a brick through the front window of your local Barnes & Noble and head to that tiny store downtown where there's hand-written notes all over telling you what's great about a particular book. Seriously, just give it a try. Bet you won't be able to. At some point you'll walk into a CVS or a Best Buy or Target or, God help you, a Wal-Mart, and pass your dollars across the big rubber belt and, if you're a good and faithful visitor, you'll suddenly remember this rant and have a little 'Ah, Fuck' moment and a small piece of your soul, which was on the edge of shriveling up and dying, will spring back bouyant and joyful and all sorts of other kinda Kenny G adjectives and, hey, you'll save a little piece of yourself from eternal damnation.

And that would be all well and good if I didn't just this second realize that I've got an order from Old Navy coming in via Fedex tomorrow.

Ah, Fuck.