A doppelganger is described as a ghostly double, an evil mirror image, something the same, but not really.

An evil twin perhaps.

As I watched the fallout from the Shirley Sherrod debacle this week, I have come to think the media is divided itself in half, each part the doppelganger of the other.

The right wing, conservative half started the whole mess, using spare parts of an old speech to piece together a scaffold on which to hang the USDA Georgia Director for Rural Development. Someone found an old tape of a speech in which Ms. Sherrod admitted to being human, and described her journey toward becoming a better person.

At which point those who had the tape realized it would be much more interesting to just hear the human part, without the feel good part. They capitalized on the American public's bloodlust for all that is controversial, anything that smacks of scandal, and hit paydirt.

They managed to get Sherrod canned, with a reference to Glenn Beck in the administration's request for her resignation. In record time. Score one for the evil twin. They even managed to get the NAACP on board. Bonus points.

But, wait, here comes the beautiful symmetry of it all. The good twin smells a rat, sees a weakness in the battle plan, looks closer, and sure enough, finds the vulnerable spot. They realize the tape of Ms. Sherrod's speech has been doctored, that her words were taken out of context. Oh, its on now, they had the ammunition required, and went after the right wingers like paparazzi at a Lindsey Lohan hearing.

Bang boom pow! Take that, evil twin! Your accusations of reverse racism are racist.

You're the racist, no you are, no you are.

As I listened to MSNBC, that bastion of liberal left wing nuts like myself, I thought about Fox News, the holy grail of conservatism. As Keith Olbermann went on what could only be called a rant, I thought of Rush Limbaugh. I began to realize that, with very few words removed, Rachel Maddow could easily be exchanged for Glenn Beck.

Evil twins, the other side of the coin. The same, but opposite. Both extreme, both completely over the top, polar opposites, but sounding the same: inflammatory.

Remember when Sonny Crockett got amnesia on Miami Vice and went over to the bad side? Its kind of like that. The same ambition and goals, the same drive, just headed in the opposite direction.

Only this is real, this is the information that is shaping opinions, the opinions of people who vote, who choose who will lead our country and make decisions for us.

Because it seems we have ceased to think, a concept my mother used to call “mental laziness.” We don’t try to find unbiased news, pure information. It is difficult sometimes to sift through the noise, to filter out the superfluous opinions of the talking heads. It's much more entertaining to hear someone pitch a fit, the ratings prove it.

If the news, real information, is a healthy meal, the opinions are like the dessert – the fun part at the end without any nutritional value. We have become unhealthy by eating all dessert. We are gluttons for the garbage they give us, because it's more fun. They tell us what they think, and are pretty entertaining with it, so we join in the hallelujah chorus.

Whether the media should have such power is a moot point. They do. News agencies can shape public policy by slanting the news, and it seems it is all slanted. And each side is pushing the agenda that the other is the evil twin.

Can either be truly evil?

We need to know if our government is doing its job. We need to have people that will keep an eye on things, that is the job of the press. It is such an important job, it is in the Bill of Rights, right up there with free speech. So why can't these journalists take their jobs seriously?

Just give us the facts. The truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Don't cut it up, don't shape it into weapons to sling it at your opponent, don't smirk when you point out mistakes.

The country is divided, and the schism seems to be widening. Red or blue, left or right, Republican or Democrat, conservative or liberal. Tastes great or less filling.

And of course, the public loves to be right, to proclaim their righteousness. And they need backup, which is readily available, just turn on the cable news outlet that agrees with you, and they will confirm whatever you want.

You won't have to think, won't have to gather information and form an opinion, it's ready, instantaneous, like a microwave dinner. Not as good as the real thing, but a helluva lot easier.

The press shouldn't be divided in half, surely there is somewhere, maybe in the middle, but hopefully above the fray where we can go to find the truth.

If they are way too sure they are right, they are the evil twin, no matter which side they are on.