This is starting to get ridiculous.

At the risk of sounding like I'm whining about what is otherwise a pretty great gig, I can't help but think our society is becoming a bit intellectually lazy these days. Then again, you do always have to consider the source -- something we are increasingly loathe to do in this country.

It reached a head on Friday when Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley -- who admittedly no one will accuse of being an intellectual heavyweight -- declared that Oprah Winfrey's decision to cancel her popular television in 2011 was ... wait for it ... the media's fault. Daley said citizen griping via the media about the city shutting down North Michigan Avenue in downtown Chicago for her season kickoff may have been too much for her to handle.

Somehow, I doubt Oprah of all people loses much sleep over what is printed on dead trees. But Daley's assertion is part of a larger problem that is old as the so-called oldest profession -- don't like the message, rip the messenger.

Lest you think this is a big-city problem, let me tell you about the last few weeks here at the Sioux City Journal, where we are either solidly in the tank for the Grand Ole Party or are left-wing socialist hacks, depending on the day.

On Thursday, Nov. 5, we ran Tim Gallagher's Our People column on the front page as part of our post-election coverage. Tim worked Election Day 2008 and thought it would be interesting to catch up -- one year later -- with a Sioux City woman who shed tears the night Barack Obama was elected. He wanted to know how she felt about the president now.

Callers and e-mailers who are inclined to disagree with President Obama's policies and politics protested. How dare we put this story on our front page? Why did we blatantly ignore the election results in Maine, New Jersey or Virginia? Clearly, we're a bunch of pinko liberals with an agenda.

So, when this ragged band of treehuggers and radical socialists began to hear a few days later that 5th District Congressman Steve King might have missed his own son's wedding to vote against the health care reform bill we thought that sounded like a pretty good story. Bret Hayworth's Nov. 10 A1 piece on King's missed nuptials certainly struck a chord.

Combined with a story about former Alaska Gov. and GOP vice presidential hopeful Sarah Palin's book signing in Sioux City on Dec. 6, that edition of the Journal was proof that we were -- once again -- right-wing shills. How about covering the need for health-care reform instead of glorifying Steve King? (They must have missed the dozens of straightforward news stories we've published, not to mention a series of guest columns on the topic from all walks of life.)

Barack Obama. Sarah Palin. Steve King.

The mere mention of any of these names is bound to get an extreme response in way too many circles. But as much as these folks on the right or left might loathe the Obamas, Palins and Kings of the world, they have a special contempt for true journalism.

It's gotten to the point that any news about any one of these three people is proof of some sort of bias or agenda. We are becoming a nation that only wants to consume news that perpetuates or supports or own tightly held beliefs. I'm not sure I quite understand how that line of thinking contributes anything to a society that used to value open and fair-minded debate and learned from absorbing diverse viewpoints. (It also certainly doesn't help these wolf criers when they uncover the real examples of bias that do exist in today's media.)

Then again, I guess it is much easier to simply call names and hurl platitudes. But after what we experienced here at the Journal recently, I've finally learned not to take it personally. In fact, to be accused of alternately being a lefty and righty hack in a matter of days has become something of a point of pride. So go ahead. Blame us for Oprah. We'll get over it.