Hump Day Quick Hits

As we wander through that twilight zone that is the space between Tax Day and Earth Day, I offer you the following Wednesdaylicious rapid strikes.

I am shocked! Shocked, I tell you!
Proof that outrage over the words "bitter" and "cling" is mostly media-manufactured: Obama's poll numbers in Pennsylvania are basically the same as they were last week, down to Hillary by high single digits.

The Boss endorses Obama!
I have no idea how much this helps, but it is really cool nonetheless.

Yes we do, Mr. President.
President Bush, who started a war of choice with a nation that was not a threat and has therefore caused the deaths of thousands, welcomed the Pope to the United States with the following statement: "In a world where some treat life as something to be debased and discarded, we need your message that all human life is sacred.”

I'm an old man and old men read their news from dead trees, dammit!
Someone else feels my pain about the lousiness that The Dallas Morning News has become. So I found it a bit late. Tim Rogers over at D Magazine says it very well:

...here’s my two cents: I don’t want my newspaper easier to read. I want it smarter to read, more engaging to read. I actually want it more challenging to read.

And the idea of making it “easier to use” is patently silly. It’s not a universal remote. It’s a newspaper. If the DMN is trying to reach people who are having trouble using a newspaper, they are in worse trouble than I imagined.

I have made the decision to cut the cord and let loose my hometown newspaper for now. I'll cancel as soon as my Wall Street Journal subscription starts. Luckily there are some decent hometown blogs that should keep me well apprised of the goings on in our fair burg. (Yes, the Journal is a Murdoch-owned property and their editorial page is a far right mouthpiece which shall line our cat box, but it still has excellent original reporting.) Here is the letter I am sending to the DMN, if there is still anyone there to read it:

As The Morning News has slimmed down every couple of years I knew that eventually the time would come that I would have to cancel my subscription because spending my morning with the paper was no longer a valuable use of my time. I’m sad to report that time has come.

The latest incarnation of The News is only slightly less useful than the previous, but over the years as the paper has cut costs, reduced staff, reduced content, and reduced quality, it has become but a shell of the newspaper I subscribed to when I first moved to the area in 1997.

Best of luck to you, and if you ever decide to invest in The News rather than relentlessly cut costs I’ll be willing to give you another shot.

Cold wet quick hits/misses

Hits

Whole Foods does away with the plastic bag. We've been using the reusable bags for a few months now and they're great (when you can remember to bring them in the store). We've really cut down on the number of 1-use bags we throw in the recycling bin.

Businesses are moving from the 'burbs back into downtown. The thing about North Texas suburbs: there's no there there. Downtown is still gaining momentum. Hope it can continue through an economic downturn.

Barack Obama's MLK speech in Atlanta. Just wow.

Baylor 116, Texas A&M 110 5OT. Could the Bears be for real this year? It's looking good so far.


Misses

The Great Ice Storm of 2008. Looks a lot like rain to me.

Jeb Hensarling, my fearless congressman, was quoted in the New York Times (very end of the article). Apparently poor Jeb is too ideologically pure to get on board with the bipartisan stimulus package. He wants tax cuts for businesses rather than money in the hands of people who will spend it. I'd like to let Jeb in on a little secret, if there's no demand for your goods and services you will lay people off whether you get a tax cut or not. If there is demand for your goods and services you will invest capital whether you get a tax cut or not. End of lesson.

Kucinich exits Democratic primary. Dennis, we never really knew you. Keep up the good fight!

Evil developers knocked down the 100 year old McKinney Ave Baptist Church, also known affectionately as the Hard Rock Cafe Dallas, demonstrating once again the value Dallas places on its past. Can't wait for the WaMu to open on the site. Or if we're really lucky maybe it will be a CVS. Dare to dream.

Ticketmaster doesn't want me to have good seats for Springsteen (and I logged on the minute those suckers went on sale) so I ain't goin'.