Don’t work as a journalist if you feel the need to always be cute

Whoever at CNN wrote this headline “ Attention Wal-Mart shoppers: Arson on Aisle 3″ is a twat.

Anna Nicole and the media

Story moved this week about how much time and energy the national news media spent covering the Anna Nicole Smith death. It seemed to blame outlets like CNN for stirring up the frenzy. Some of that may be true — proud to say our paper here never ran it on the front and only a couple of stories on the inside — still if the world were not crawling with so many dipshits (those of you who can’t manage the whole talk-on-the-phone-while-driving thing), the broadcast newspimps would not have been able to sell it so well. Sooooo, for anyone out there who feels a compelling need to delve into every little facet of Anna Nicole’s life, who live for the next potential father to come forward, who think the paternity test actually matters to the world, please feel free to do THIS. (DISCLAIMER: Being somewhat facetious here, just in case anyone really thought about eating a bullet after reading this. Still, point made.)

It’s good to see other people understand stupidity …

… It’s sad to see them pay for it so dearly. Damn.

“This happened about the same time the press learned that detainees were being abused in the prison east of Fallujah. Goody. What did Hajji learn that week? First, the U.S. can be defeated. Second, if he surrenders, he will be stripped naked, have electrodes attached to his testicles and (be) made to stand in a tub of water. Fucking brilliant. Where is my goddamned propeller hat? I need to get into the spirit of things.”

–Letter home from Army 2^nd Lt. Brian Smith dated May 11, 2004, as quoted in last week’s edition of Newsweek. Smith was killed in action in Al Habbaniyah less than two months later. He was 30 years old.

I recommend everyone get this issue of Newsweek. Absolutely worth the read.