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Something is happening but you don't know what it is, do you, Mr. Jones?*

Was planning to write a withering post on the Van Jones matter -- since that's what everyone here wants to talk about, anyway -- but have been called on to write a fair and balanced article about Obama and his health care speech tomorrow. So in the meantime, the New York Times has an excellent online roundup of opinion pieces for or against the deposed "czar."

I linked to in part because it introduced me to a great post on Jones from an unlikely place, Gawker -- it says in part:

To understand why and how he's being demonized, we have to look at the way information and misinformation makes it way from crazy blogs to crazy pundits to crazy citizens to, suddenly, the non-crazy regular media.

The "why" is simple: he is a genuine left-wing liberal with a White House job. He is black. He used to be radical, and probably still has radical sympathies (you know, caring about poor black people and all that). He is, in other words, (expletive deleted) terrifying, if you frame his story right.

Could not have said that better myself.

* Semi-obscure Bob Dylan reference in response to NYT Billy Paul reference. On deck: Counting Crows?