Once again, Eric Alterman's thesis that the media really are conservative is demonstrated to be false by...the media. An AP report published on CNN's Web site reveals that lesbian musician Melissa Etheridge is "getting married" in Los Angeles. This will be news to many who thought that the law of the land was that marriage could only be between a man and a woman.

It's a given the announcement is news, but the media needs to be more accurate in its choice of words. It can't be called a marriage because any ceremony involves two women -- just like in an accident brief you can't say that a motorist collided with a parked car (in order for that word to be accurate, both vehicles must be moving...the co part of the word).