Some Thoughts on The NY Times and...Trains

So. What a weird day/night this has been. I appear to be going into another period of warped circadian rhythms. I decided to hit the hay a bit early last evening, around 2100 or so. Early to bed, early to rise, and all that. It was just after midnite when my eyes popped open—and stayed open, despite my best efforts to get back to sleep. I’ve been up ever since. When 0400 came and went I knew the game was up; I lit off the coffee around 0430. I’ll probably work on this post as I work on the coffee, put it up, and then put me up. I’m thinking I may last until about 0800 or so. We’ll see.

Well, at least they’ve finally owned up to it…The closing graf in an op-ed in yesterday’s NYT:

This election is indeed about George W. Bush — and the Congressional majority’s insistence on protecting him from the consequences of his mistakes and misdeeds. Mr. Bush lost the popular vote in 2000 and proceeded to govern as if he had an enormous mandate. After he actually beat his opponent in 2004, he announced he now had real political capital and intended to spend it. We have seen the results. It is frightening to contemplate the new excesses he could concoct if he woke up next Wednesday and found that his party had maintained its hold on the House and Senate.

Yep, Pinch and Keller are off to the gulag the day after tomorrow, with Dowd and Krugman in tow (hopefully). Will you miss ‘em? I won’t.

And speaking of the NYT, there’s this:

This fall has been a grand diversion for The New York Times’ left-leaning editorial staff, a metaphorical (or not, in some cases) bender, a prolonged sugar rush as reporters, editors and even some administrators are gleeful in anticipation of the Nov. 7 midterm elections. This column is written eight days before the election, and I’m not as sure as Paul Krugman, for example, that the Democrats will ride the “wave” resulting in Speaker Nancy “This gavel is for the children” Pelosi implementing her 100-hour agenda that will raise the minimum wage and roll back President Bush’s tax cuts, but it’s a possibility for which I’m bracing.

[…]

However, once the election is over, regardless of the results, The Times will be forced to consider its own declining fortunes and reputation, which, of course, go hand in hand.

[…]

What The Times ought to consider, but apparently hasn’t, is that its combination of editorial scandals and frantic political swing to the hard left is alienating a considerable portion of its once loyal readership. I’m not talking about the never-say-die loyalists—who won’t live forever— who still believe Sunday’s Times is a major cultural event, or the pundits from extremist publications like The Nation, The American Prospect, Salon and portions of the youngsters at The New Republic and Slate who continue to treat The Times’ editorial shrieking as gospel. Rather, look at the affluent reader in the metropolitan area who almost always votes Democratic (except perhaps for Bloomberg or Rudy Giuliani in his reelection bid), is pro-choice, against the death penalty and doesn’t mind higher taxes if they’re put to supposed good use.

The NYT suffered a 3.5% decline in circulation this past year, according to the latest audit figures published in October. And their stock ain’t looking so hot, either. I wonder why? Adopting a far-left editorial stance is one thing, and it’s not all that unusual. But when you purposefully and disingenuously publish classified information, in war time, on not one but three separate occasions within a period of one year for the sole reason of discrediting an administration you disagree with…well, you deserve what you get. And that’s a shame. The NYT used to be a great paper.

Today’s Pic: A close up of one of the model train layouts at the Clovis Depot, a railroad museum in…wait for it…Clovis, NM. Philip Williams, the proprietor of the Clovis Depot, is a former National Security Agency guy who was stationed in England and Australia, among other places, during his career. He’s been a model railroader all his life and bought the old Clovis depot from the Burlington railroad to establish his museum. A fine man with a great museum. If you ever come to P-Town I’ll take you over there.

I think I’m gonna go to bed now…