Liberal vs. Conservative

Now some fresh pickings from the Political Grapevine:

Liberal vs. Conservative

A word search of morning and evening network news shows, by the conservative Media Research Center, found that the words "liberal" and "conservative" have been used a total of 454 times to describe politicians or political groups since last November. The breakdown is as follows: "conservative" was used 395 times; "liberal" was used 59 times.

As for coverage of the President's trip to Eastern Europe, the group noted that after President Bush criticized Soviet occupation of Baltic States after World War II, ABC anchor Charles Gibson called it a "poke ... in the eye" and a "slap in the face" to Russia. ABC reporter Terry Moran said the Latvian President was the "main instigator" of that controversy. And over on NBC, Katie Couric said President Bush was "irritating his [Russian] host" by his planned visit to the former Soviet Republic of Georgia.

Being Rees-pectful of Terrorists?

Veteran BBC correspondent Phil Rees says he's outraged that journalists are using the term "terrorists." In an interview with Australian radio, he says, "one man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter. ... [by] using the word ... ['terrorist'] you are buying into the support for the policies of the United States and George Bush."

One who apparently agrees with that assessment is Molly Bingham — the photojournalist who was Al Gore's official photographer when he was vice president, and who is recently back from Iraq. In the Louisville Courier Journal, a newspaper founded by her family, Bingham over the weekend said, "Some are indeed using terrorist tactics, but calling them 'terrorists' simply shuts down any sense of need or interest to look beyond that word."

She also claimed that New York Times reporter Dexter Filkins told her he was pressured by the military to stay away from covering the insurgents in Iraq. Filkins, however, says he never told her any such thing and that it didn't happen.

Will "Stick Fast to the Path We Have Chosen"?

Amid reports that North Korea may be getting ready to test a nuclear bomb, the communist nation now says it's determined to "stick fast to the path we have chosen," and insists the nuclear issue won't be resolved while President Bush is still in office. After all, the North Korean government says, "Bush is the world's worst fascist dictator, a first-class war maniac and Hitler Junior, who is jerking his hands, stained with blood of innocent people."

Campaign Not Taking Any Chances

Boston Mayor Tom Menino may not be famous for the clarity of his speech, but it's not clear if his political opponents in his re-election campaign will make an issue of that. Menino's campaign is not taking any chances, however, and it's now started to buy up Web addresses that may be used against him, including: MeninoMumbles.com, MumblesMenino.org, and MumblesMeninoForMayor.Net.

— FOX News' Michael Levine contributed to this report