What distinguishes the responsible media, like Media Matters, from irresponsible pundits, like those on FoxNews, seems to be a concern with communicating clearly to a public audience as opposed to using words in ambiguous ways that paint a veneer of legitimacy over unsound, illogical arguments. For an excellent example of Media Matters unmasking of right-wing talking heads’ bullshit, see their article, “like rain on your wedding day”:

“Cavuto suggests it’s hypocritical for Edwards, a wealthy man, to want to eradicate poverty. And it’s what the Washington Post’s Bill Hamilton suggested when he justified front-page placement of the article about Edwards’ house sale by pointing out that it involved a “presidential candidate [who] just happens to be a millionaire who is basing his campaign on a populist appeal to the common man.” But it is no more an example of “hypocrisy” for a rich man to want to help the less fortunate than it is “ironic” to have a black fly in your Chardonnay or rain on your wedding day. That just isn’t what the word means.”… read more…

(yet, we shouldn’t be so harsh on Alanis’s use of language, since she has redeemed herself with this parody of the even worse linguistic transgression of ‘my humps’.)