I suppose there's just no fighting against the spirit of the time. If Trump can be President then it is only right that McArdle should be writing editorials for the Washington Post.
Is there a newspaper with top-notch reporting that doesn't have any op-ed columnists that I can send my money to instead of the Post? It's just an irredeemable genre that's basically just trolling, and I want to support investigative journalism without also paying for professional trolls. (None of this is really particular to McArdle, there are plenty of worse people.)
2 But how many worse people with op-ed columns in major newspapers. Name five.
3: Charles Krauthammer, Jonah Goldberg, ummm...
The Post op-ed columnists are pretty terrible when you look at them all at once
https://www.washingtonpost.com/syndication/columnists/?utm_term=.727d6f482a6c
I'd say (of the people I'[d heard of) Krauthammer, Gerson, Robert Samuelson, Cohen, Thiessen, and Will are all probably as bad or worse, at least on some axes, than McMegan. But none is more annoying than McMegan or more obviously mendacious.
Still, the Post does REALLY good reporting these days and (with faults) is clearly the best political reporting newspaper in America. So I guess they still get my not-very-much-with-AmazonPrime money.
Jesus Christ, since when does Goldberg write for the LAT? I literally cannot think of a less intelligent writer in any publication.
Related question: What--what on Earth--accords McM the right--any right--to distribute advice? About goddamned anything? To anybody? Does she fancy herself a little honky Oprah?
Qui\nn Nor\ton 's Hale-Bopp approach to and departure from the NYT in the space of 12 hours is fairly entertaining. She is one of the most innocently solipsistic people I have ever known. Had a period of serving people meals made entirely from insects, after 19th century models.
12 is such a wonderfully constructed comment.
12 it was indeed. It was a bit odd seeing this quoted about on Twitter and linked by some of the news reports.
So is she authentically one of those people who likes to talk to and make friends with every available human being out of a boundless curiosity? I had a girlfriend like that.
2 is dead right. Opinion editorial must die. If I want opinions I can read my own goddamn blog. The astonishing thing is that columnists have flourished in number and influence over the last 20 years. Who would have expected that?
What--what on Earth--accords McM the right--any right--to distribute advice? About goddamned anything?
I distinctly remember once incident around early 2010 where she was on NPR saying that Obama was going to have to be held responsible for the upcoming wave of inflation, it made me want to attack the radio with a hammer.
Don't forget her Grenfell Tower commentary.
Opinion columnists are all bad, even the good ones, because they are all predictable.
Columnists should go back to being people like Mike Royko who just write a 95% fictional story every week consisting entirely of local color, occasionally start sustained crusades about some specific thing, and then maybe twice a year they feel strongly enough to write an opinion column.
19 - agree. Steve Lopez in the LA Times is still like this, and while not perfect at all, is way better than any op-ed page person.
Regular op-ed columnists are the most ridiculous concept. The editorial page policies and practices are a problem whoever they commission, but that they also somehow think they can find people who can say something worthwhile every week for decades, using 750 words each time?
TNC recoiled against the idea of doing it himself when he was getting well-known, and rightly so.
Even Alexandra Petri's stuff is getting stale through overcommissioning, sadly.
In fairness, if Clinton had won, the opinion pages would be full of underqualified liberal bloggers.
If I want opinions I can read my own goddamn blog. The astonishing thing is that columnists have flourished in number and influence over the last 20 years. Who would have expected that?
But newspapers aren't in the business of delivering content to readers. They're in the business of delivering readers to advertisers. I would hypothesise that moronic opinion content gets forwarded and reblogged (approvingly or not) more often and so draws more eyeballs to the site than news coverage. Basically they're trolling their own readers.
19 roughly describes several (most?) of the local paper's columnists. The flaw is that, at that point, you're hiring/retaining mostly on the basis of prose and wit, which is no guarantee of solid politics*. Which means that, when they do a political column, it can be weird, off-putting, and sometimes dead wrong.
*I mean, Lord knows op-ed pages don't hire for solid politics. I'm just saying that it's a flaw if we think this is a better model
Opinion columnists are all bad, even the good ones, because they are all predictable.
I have strong fond memories of Ellen Goodman*. It's entirely possible that's just nostalgia but looking up her final column she writes in a very different tone than most Op-Eds.
23: this is part of a piece coming soon to a blog near you!
What I find most irritating about these sorts of people is that they're so stupid and mediocre yet somehow believe that the world is a meritocracy, and then write things that imply that if only poor people or POCs were as smart and hard working as them, they could be equally successful. There's zero recognition that their mediocrity has been rewarded through a combination of nepotism, luck, and willingness to be say whatever the powers-that-be want to hear. (Or maybe there is, but they can't say it out loud because it's not what the powers-that-be want to hear).
Basically they're trolling their own readers.
The really depressing thing is that the "troll your readers" business model more or less inevitably takes over a site that depends on advertising.
So where does the 'tariat go for news about the United States if the Post, NYT and LAT are ruled out because of their OpEd hacks?
That's the thing, the OpEd section is totally unrelated to the news. It just serves as a way for the newspaper to employ non-journalists to troll people. We don't have the editorial content taking over the entire paper, like you do with the Daily Mail or whatever. Our TV news is like that but not the paper.
We have to have op-ed writers! Otherwise how could Carrie Bradshaw afford that gorgeous apartment?
Right. I gave up the NYT, but because of its reporting, not its op-ed page. The Post still has good reporting (as, honestly, does the NYT, but their specific US political reporting was driving me insane). The LA Times -- once was a great paper, still has occasional great articles, and I enjoy reading in paper form every morning, but doesn't seem essential these days unless you're in the TMZ.
This was all laid out almost exactly ten years ago by a webcartoonist (and, I suspect, lurker).
12: I only know her longer form journalism but going to the NYT seemed like an odd choice in both directions. Longer pieces with reporting and commentary seem like her strength but not at all what the NYT does on the op-ed page.
Wait, six figures in debt and this means she knows about economics? Christ, I'm doing it wrong.
The WSJ's Robert Bartley -- who was Roger Ailes before Ailes was Ailes -- famously said the Journal's nutty right-wing editorial page was "the only editorial page that sells newspapers."
15: That is a part of her. She was also raised by wolves, more or less -- imagine someone smart but completely without any emotional connection to or, really, intellectual knowledge about, anything that happened before about 1995. In ?2002, when I first met her (I had known her first/then husband in England) and she drove us at terrifying speeds down a rain-drenched freeway in San Jose talking about how no one in California was safe on the roads, she was completely convinced of the absolute evils of copyright. When I said that I wanted to remain the monopsonic supplier of Nworb Thought to the world she thought about this for a while and then conceded that it seemed a reasonable demand. But it really did strike her as a novel one. I was impressed by that; also, more favourably, by the fact that she changed her mind.
In that sense, she's a barbarian. She also has a profound conviction of her own righteousness. But she's not a Nazi.
So, how is it that ogged doesn't have an op-ed sinecure?
Because the readership he so exquisitely trolls is too refined and indeed too small to interest advertisers. Also, the pieces are too short and the trollery too well pointed. Trust me, editors don't want anything that might provoke real thought, just pleasurable surges in the hindbrain.
I haven't let Trump kill my dictatorship fantasies, because feminism. I'm going to keep men in cages in full body spandex suits (speedos in the summer), and women can let them out for specific purposes (reaching things on high shelves, pleasure, breeding). The cages will be guarded by cheetahs, and the men and cheetahs will wear matching collars. I'll have a crack squadron of ninja Slavic supermodels as my body guards. Eurovision and the Winter Olympics will be mandated viewing, and men will have special rhinestone-studded outfits they wear during those events.
40 sounded like an okay gig until the Olympics part.
To keep in shape while living in cages, men will be trained in mass N Korean style gymnastics choreography that they perform in their sparkly uniforms holidays.
41 Wait, you're OK with Eurovision but not the Winter Olympics? I can throw in the summer Olympics as well.
37.last I agree she is not a Nazi but she unapologetically keeps the company of Nazis. She has terrible judgement.
40 Cheetahs are capable of being domesticated and are not sufficiently terrifying to keep me in a cage. You'll have to up your big cat game and make it leopards or jaguars to keep me in spandex-suited bondage.
44.last is the new "how many kindergartners?" I think.
As long as I don't run I think I'll be fine.
44.2
Hmmm. Maybe I'll have a variety of big cats and the spandex uniforms will match. Male agency will extend to picking which big cat they want guarding them and which patterned uniform they'll wear. I'm thinking right now Siberian Tigers, Bengal Tigers, Leopards, and Jaguars. Maybe cougars for older men? Cheetahs need to be in the mix, because dictators always need cheetahs. Maybe they can guard the boys.
Not sure anyone wants me to be in spandex anyway but you do you. How well-fed will these cats be?
I'm honestly fine with this set up as long as we're fed decently and have comfy beds.
Holy cow Bari Weiss is from here and her family is trash.
Also, I bike past their fancy house all the time. And our dining room table plus a lamp are from their store.
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You guys, you guys. Sean H/annity wants wanted* you know that there's secret sperm hidden in Obama's official portrait. It's coming out of his head (Obama's head). Mm-hmm, yup, that's right, right there, coming out of the painting.
I laughed until I cried - I mean I had such a laughing fit, uncontrolled, that my eyes began to water, I had to wipe my face, then with the laughing again and so on.
* I see that the piece has now been removed, because, y'know.
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What you should get is one of those gorillas with the head of a shark. Those are fucking terrifying.
52
How would those things stay alive? If they're underwater, wouldn't the gorilla part get really waterlogged?
Anyways, they can guard the escapees. If someone like Barry manages to make it past the big cats, he'll be hunted down and recaptured by the supermodels. Then he'll be held in an underwater cage guarded by shark-gorillas. Children in state-run daycare will be taken to visit as a cautionary tale.
53
Good choice! For that sort of cooperative attitude you'll be promoted to unit 1 dance section captain in no time.
49
Men can be kept on paleo diets and have access to exercise equipment in addition to dance squad practice. It's in everyone's best interest to keep them in shape if they're going to be in spandex all the time.
I mean for real this sounds relaxing and kind of fun.
Apparently the WaPo Health Affairs reporter (Paige W. Cunningham, not someone on my radar previously) wants McM to feel welcome and to know what a safe, privileged place she is coming to.
I actually think it's super weird how people are blaming their diminished sense of well-being on the Trump administration. Personal events determine my quality of life; not who's in the WH.
49 Um, I'm a vegetarian so would an all root vegetable diet be acceptable.
53, 54.2 Hell, I'd wear Speedos year round for snow leopards).
55 She hooked you with the paleo diet. You shall henceforth address Buttercup as "Mistress."
How would those things stay alive? If they're underwater, wouldn't the gorilla part get really waterlogged?
A sharkrillia has both gills and lungs, so it can terrorize on land as well as under the sea.
Waterlogged fur isn't any more of a problem than it is for a polar bear or a seal, or for any of the more exotic mammal-fish hybrids, such as the hamster-guppy or weasel-trout.
A veritable smorgasbord of upper-class twit (tm Monty Python) journos today, eh? What's to say? McArgleBargle's continued health demonstrates the non-existence of a benevolent Creator. Quinn Norton is a Nazi sympathizer. She should be drummed out of polite society.
And that WaPo journo? I pay David Farenthold (and others) with my subscriptions, not Fred Hiatt and his shitbird brood. Nor that manifestly incompetent "health policy" reporter. I'm OK with that for now, b/c my recent subscription pays for the last year of WaPo work. If this year declines, I'll stop subscribing at the end, and not feel cheated.
It's going to be 1984 meets Planet of the Apes meets Mamma Mia, but with way more rhinestones.
Root vegetables will be allowed. I'm trying to figure out the cage logistics. Individual cages guarded by individual animals is going to get expensive, but I'm worried if I keep men in groups they might form a resistance. Large group cages surrounded by a moat filled with large cats sounds like it could work.
I'm also going to need one man to be my stud to breed an army of horseback warriors. On their 18th birthday, women will compete for the honor of being inseminated by this man, and then giving birth to the imperial army. I'm trying to calculate the maximum number of children one man can sire, given that he's hooked up to a sperm-milking machine and then his sperm is used to artificially inseminate thousands(?) hundreds of thousands(?) of women. A woman whose birthed an imperial warrior will get to wear a special badge of honor for the rest of her life.
Do you think one man could sire a million children? Or is that too ambitious? I'm picturing an army of a million fighters in white robes on horseback, sweeping across the Eurasian steppes.
So, like, are you taking volunteers for this stud gig? Asking for a friend.
62
I've ran it by my husband but he seemed pretty turned off by it. I'm like, "what man doesn't want to see a million clones of himself sweeping through the Eurasian steppes on horseback??"
Maybe I'll hold a biathlon competition, and the winner gets to be the stud. He'll be held in a special golden cage, next to the imperial baths, and he'll be the special plaything of my supermodel squadron.
A sperm-milking machine though? Suddenly this is a lot less appealing.
You know, it really depends on the sperm-milking machine is designed. And on who is operating it.
You lost me with the notion that fucking biathalon atheletes could spawn a proper mongol horde. "Hi I'm Bjorn! I'm an ultraskinny earnest 23 year old getting a masters in electrical engineering in a cold climate and in my free time I cross country ski and precision shoot a light rifle in a pseudosport! Oh what's that Richard Sherman and Earl Thomas sired a competing horseback army and they're attacking us with blades drawn?"
66
What would you use?? Log tossing???
I'm going to harness my immense powers to create the Euroweeniest society beyond all imagination. There will only be mini fridges, and beverages won't have ice in them. Everyone will have a masters in industrial design and enjoy soccer penalty shootouts. It will be covered in spandex and rhinestones and Venga Boys music.
Though, I want my Imperial Army to have long hair, so I'm gonna need a man with thick hair that grows quickly and that rules out Scandinavians.
You are probably going to need someone to test out the machine before you use it on the biathalete, eh?
Log tossing???
Isn't that what the machine is for?
Look. Since this man needs to be attractive to my squadron of supermodels, I'll have them decide the criteria to choose him. Mine is for a man with thick hair that grows quickly, preferably dark.
Biathlons will be conducted year round for viewing pleasure, and shown automatically in giant wall TVs that all houses and cages will have.
66 is shockingly wrong. Norwegians are basically still Vikings. There is literally nothing to do in Norway other than strenuous exercise. A common type of date in Norway is to go for a strenuous all-day hike over rugged terrain, at the end of which both parties are so tired they immediately fall asleep. (This may be the explanation for why birth rates in Norway are below replacement.)
If the Vikings were around today they would own ATVs and do lots of extreme sports. That may describe some Norwegians, but my impression is it is much closer to the median Icelander (#6 in motor vehicles per capita after three tiny city-states, the US, and New Zealand).
To Unfoggedtarian, I'll second David Weman: I donated two years running to Propublica, and feel really good about it. Both for their performance before I donated, and their performance since I started. I also donate to Mother Jones -- same reason. I keep on meaning to donate to The Guardian, and really should get around to it.
But also, WaPo sucks in many ways. But they still do good investigative reporting, and better work than FTFNYT. So I subscribe to 'em. Yeah, McArgleBargle sucks. Fred Hiatt sucks. Cohen, Broder, Sally Quinn, (not-an-Economist) Samuelson, they all suck. But the WaPo's reporters do excellent work, and as far as I can tell, none of them are at the level of Thrush, Haberman, or some of the other execrable stenographers of FTFNYT.
71
It's because outsiders don't understand the vast difference between Norwegians and Swedes. Norwegians are hearty, outdoorsy oil-rich farmers and Swedes are effete design-loving nerds. This also explains why the Swedes only compete in slalom and not downhill.
A friend of a friend on Facebook just said he was probably going to subscribe to the NYT because it's important to support journalism and they are a really valuable resource these days, what with all the partisan propaganda flying around.
I was briefly stunned. Wait, otherwise rational liberal people think the NYT is doing a good job? But how and why?
I hate it when something intrudes into my bubble. I like it in here, where we hate everyone and realize how terrible everything is.
75. According to SATW, knife-wielding depressives.
That's the kind penetrating insight the blog has been missing. Sifu! How's the kid doing?
75: Well, debatably they are *not* White.
http://www.lawyersgunsmoneyblog.com/2011/09/are-finns-white
HA!
77: no, no, you should totally go up to her and explain in person that she's wrong! Trust me.
What I will remember from all the things I learned today: Paul Revere Dick.
Also, argle-bangle is maybe my all-time favorite word, so I get really excited when I see it in the wild, per 73.
Very few people have a name that is a complete sentence.
70.1 Looks like I'm in the running again because I have that kind of hair.
they're so stupid and mediocre yet somehow believe that the world is a meritocracy, and then write things that imply that if only poor people or POCs were as smart and hard working as them, they could be equally successful
Oh God, this. I feel like I should be over it by now, but when I heard about this new Post position, I felt a surge of anger in the blood.
I don't not like Olympic sports, but I'm finding the coverage of this Olympics incredibly dull. All these years I've wanted to see live coverage but so much of the stuff on when I'm awake I just don't care about. Like, I don't even dislike figure skating, but saturating prime time with the pairs/dance stuff that I don't like as much doesn't help at all, plus there's already the barrier of no longer having any fucking idea how things are scored.
And if it's not a sport NBC has bet on so heavily they're forcing everyone to run their finals in the mid-morning local time, the time difference means that much of the live coverage in the US evening hours is curling preliminaries or whatever. I could catch up by going online and looking for the day's finals, but I just want to turn on the tv to Olympic coverage when I get home and not wonder why I'm even bothering.
Also, opinion columnists suck, etc. etc. One of the local papers still publishes V/ic/to/r D/a/v/is /Ha/n/son, who has apparently still not traveled back in time to authoritarian Rome, though I wish him well on the journey should he ever take it.
McMegan is probably allotted column inches measuring 2X4 in the print edition.
Today's tv coverage has been more interesting, I'll admit, here, in the void of a sleeping comments section.
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Happy Year of the Dog, reprobates.
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Halford, we had biathlon vs. horde - it was the Winter War - and the biathletes at least held the horde to a score draw. If you consider the Continuation War as an away fixture, they won on the away-goals rule.
88.last: One of the local papers still publishes V/ic/to/r D/a/v/is /Ha/n/son
Fox News totes loves him lately. Is why.
I don't not like Olympic sports, but I'm finding the coverage of this Olympics incredibly dull. All these years I've wanted to see live coverage but so much of the stuff on when I'm awake I just don't care about. Like, I don't even dislike figure skating, but saturating prime time with the pairs/dance stuff that I don't like as much doesn't help at all, plus there's already the barrier of no longer having any fucking idea how things are scored.
The "must broadcast events Americans might win" algorithm is producing an Olympics where all non-figure-skating time seems to be devoted to snowboarding.