Will newspapers ever learn?

I don't understand what's wrong with today's bottom-line-driven editors. I know it's a tough time for advertisers, and people are reading more news online than they ever have before, but why do they continue to gut the most popular items from their paper?

Philadelphia, one of only a handful of cities in the country that continues to have two fantastic daily papers, is also unique because both newspapers are owned by the same guy.

And according to a memo from Managing Editor Sandra D. Long, they're going to consolidate some services between both newspapers like photographers and copy editors.

But wait, there's more!

In addition, we are looking at ways to reduce the number of pages in the Comics section.

I don't understand why newspapers want to cut their comics sections. They're usually a top the list of why people read the newspaper, and they're one of the only features that prove an entry point for younger readers! Why don't editors make a decision to sell advertisements on the pages and expand them rather then cutting them down or running the features increasingly smaller?

They're full-color on Sunday, and plenty of businesses would love to capitalize on the space, since it's one of the more popular sections on Sunday.

Helms versus old cartoonist foe

I just finished a post for Politicker.com about the death of Jesse Helms and his old foe, cartoonist Doug Marlette.

Read it here.

Christmas with Sheila and Ronald

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In Baltimore, Mayor Shelia Dixon has had her home raided and is accused of receiving gifts from developer Ronald Lipscomb in exchange tax breaks and rezoning clauses.

Oh, and she also had a "personal relationship" with him.

Here's a video from the Baltimore Sun where she expresses frustration with the prosecutor's office for the damaging information appearing in the press and her inability to get the media focused elsewhere.

Silencing Herb Hoffman

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In the Maine Senate race, Democratic candidate Tom Allen and his party are attempting to remove independent candidate Herb Hoffman from the ballot by taking him to court.

So much for letting the people decide.

Sununu: Cubans are drilling for oil off the coast of Florida

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Senator John Sununu (R-NH) appeared Tuesday on the Mark and Danielle show, a local conservative talk show out ofDover, New Hampsire, and said that Cuba was drilling for oil off the coast of Florida.

At least this time he dropped China from his claim.

What does Manion stand for?

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Is a personal family tragedy relevant to a run for political office? View the first part of Pennsylvania Congressional candidate Tom Manion's "Letters from Travis" below and judge for yourself:

Mission Accomplished

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The New York Times reports a group of American advisers led by a small State Department team played an integral part in drawing up contracts between the Iraqi government and five major Western oil companies to develop some of the largest oil fields in Iraq. The disclosure marks the first confirmation of direct involvement by the Bush administration in deals to open Iraq’s oil to commercial development.

The Times also reports the original partners in the Iraq Petroleum Company—Exxon Mobil, Shell, Total and BP— as well as Chevron, are on the verge of getting no-bid contracts to service Iraq’s largest oil fields.

In their role as advisers to the Iraqi Oil Ministry, American government lawyers and private-sector consultants provided template contracts and detailed suggestions on drafting the contracts.

No one has done more harm to the form than Ross

Frank Santoro on one of the comic industry's current heavyweights:

"No one has done more harm to the form than Ross."

He goes on:

"He'll literally dress models up in a costume and take pictures of them dressed as Galactus or Batman. But that's not Galactus, that's some guy standing on a washer and dryer in a basement. How do I know? Cuz Ross and guys like P. Craig Russell love to publish those photos for some reason. There was a Conan book recently that I was flipped through and I could immediately see that it was referenced, because the referencing takes over."

Addington feigns outrage over Delahunt’s comment

At a hearing at the House Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Civil Liberties that intended to discuss any White House discussions of the use of illegal torture techniques in the war on terror, Cheney Chief of Staff David Addington replied to U.S. Rep. Bill Delahunt's (D-MA) question regarding whether or not waterboarding was discussed by saying: "I can't talk to you because al Qaeda may watch C-SPAN."

"I'm sure they are watching," Delahunt responded. "I'm glad they finally have a chance to see you, Mr. Addington."

The comments sparked criticism on conservative websites and talk shows who labeled Delahunt as out-of-touch and even calling on al Qaeda to attack Addington. "Delahunt is both a fool and a reprobate," Scott Johnson, a fellow at the conservative Claremont Institute, wrote on Powerline.com. "He does not understand that his good will toward al Qaeda means nothing to them, and his encouragement of their mission is simply vile."

Of course, not much was made of the face that Addington dodged the question, and once again the administration continues to be able to keep the public in the dark about how and when the decisions were made to advocate the use of torture in our interrogation of those we suspect to be enemy combatants.

And for those of you that are interested, here's video of the exchange:



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Quack, quack: Nia cashes in

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