"Infoganda"

That's a new word I learned from tonight's episode of The Daily Show, which reminded me of this article I read a couple of days back:

Federal investigators are scrutinizing television segments in which the Bush administration paid people to pose as journalists praising the benefits of the new Medicare law, which would be offered to help elderly Americans with the costs of their prescription medicines.

The videos are intended for use in local television news programs. Several include pictures of President Bush receiving a standing ovation from a crowd cheering as he signed the Medicare law on Dec. 8.

The materials were produced by the Department of Health and Human Services, which called them video news releases, but the source is not identified. Two videos end with the voice of a woman who says, "In Washington, I'm Karen Ryan reporting."

This, combined with that 9/11 ad featuring fake fire fighters ("There's many reasons not to use real firemen," retorted one Bush media adviser. "Mainly, its cheaper and quicker."), really serves as an ominous omen for the lies and distortions to come in this campaign. It's time to put on our cynicism hats.