AFTER MANY YEARS of reading the editorials of the New York Times with interest and attention, both my interest and attention began to drop below absolute zero after several months of sour grapes following the 2000 elections. Soon after that my interest and attention in the paper itself went even lower until, after nearly three decades as a daily reader of the Times, I decided that the money spent on the paper could be put to better use buying lap dances for indigent friends. At least they’d get a little pleasure from the money.
Since early in 2002 I’ve not spent a penny on the paper, but I do read it online from time to time just to assure myself that its death spiral continues unabated. Lately, since Publisher Pinch (Super-Genius!) has decided to let the once marginally successful online Times joint the death march of the print edition by walling up the columnists behind a “pay” wall, I’ve taken to imbibing the Times in the least lethal dosage available; RSS Feeds.