Eight Feet Deep

For some reason the text moved around on my post about the First Dogs. Originally, the notations were correct. But now … The water dog is still the top photo and the Labradoodle is at the bottom, although it is pictured right so that is technically correct. I would say “my bad” but it isn’t it is Blogger’s. Oh well, I guess I should have noticed it earlier, you know, the buck stops here and all that. But does it really matter? Can’t we all just get along?

The Republican Party seems these days like a rudderless ship drifting out in the sea.

Democrats, fresh from their hat trick retaking the presidency, House and Senate, are making the best of their opponent party in its current leader-free state. The latest pick at the GOP is a new television ad which characterizes Rush Limbaugh as leader of the Republican party. Such a development is seen by some as the coming of a “permanent campaign.” It is a dreadful thought to be sure although both congressional and presidential campaigns do seem now to be in perpetual motion.

There is a struggle by Republicans vying to take charge of the party but all the momentum appears to be in favor of the GOP’s extreme right wing. It also seems like the right wing is all that is left in Congress, at least when it comes to the House and the minority leadership in both houses.

Of course, I would not shed a lot of tears to see the GOP come apart at the seams. I am in favor of a two-party system though and to think that some of the more thoughtful Republican members of Congress such as Sen. Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania having no seat at the table is actually disquieting.

Although I have no idea as to the likelihood, it wouldn’t surprise me to see the Republican party split into new parties. That certainly wouldn’t be good for the GOP — I guess depending on how one looks at it — but it seems a better possibility now than ever given the party’s state of affairs. Will it happen? Hey, don’t ask me. I am just speculating. Can it happen? To paraphrase a wanna-be GOP leader, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin: “You betcha.” Dominant parties have broken apart and evolved into different entities. You’ve seen it in politics before and you see it happen all the time with churches. As to drawing some type of conclusion with regard to that last thought. I reckon I should just quit while I am ahead.

San Francisco Chronicle columnist Debra J. Saunders offered thoughts in somewhat of a similar vein to what I wrote a couple of posts ago about writing newspapers’ obituary too early.

The Chronicle like other papers has been hit by the economic crisis and its owner the Hearst Corporation is faced with a choice of selling or shuttering San Francisco’s main newspaper.

Saunders noted that trashing the local newspaper has long been a favorite national pastime. She has done it. I have done it. It could be ranting over a story or simply making fun of the paper’s name such as calling a publication named the “Sentinel” the “Senile.” A man once said of a paper I later worked for that he liked to read that newspaper before going to bed so that he wouldn’t go to bed with anything on his mind, a comment that I feel was pretty humorous. But once again the point she brought up was leaving the news to amateurs who would like to see the MSM disappear and who really do not report the news so much as opine about it would not be a healthy happening.

Here is something else. I read today where a judge in Fort Worth is ordering the news aggregator Topix.net to turn over the names of some 178 anonymous individuals who flamed, or made derisive comments, about a couple who were charged with but later acquitted on sexual assault charges. The couple filed a defamation suit against the unnamed commentators but for whatever reason didn’t sue the online news site.

Whether such an order can be upheld remains to be seen in light of other court rulings on anonymous comments. But those who see themselves as ‘net crusaders and the righteous alternative to the MSM should have at least the basic understanding of libel laws or have an attorney knowledgeable in the subject because, believe me, many more lawsuits will come.

That is the First Dog of the United States (FDOTUS, pronounced “Fa-Dough-tus.”)

Michelle Obama said in an interview with People magazine that the highly anticipated canine member of the first family will arrive after their spring break. Mrs. Obama said they were leaning toward a:

Portuguese water hound (left).

However, Michelle Obama said a Labradoodle (pictured right) still remains a possibility.

Geez, the folks who vacuum the White House are certainly in store for a workout. Look at all that hair.

Perhaps we should vote on it. I vote for the Labradoodle. I have nothing against Portuguese water dogs. I don’t recall hearing of such a breed until now. Wikipedia says they, obviously, are poodle-like and were bred for herding fish into nets or retrieving lost tackle or broken nets. Sounds like a fish story to me. I suppose they are good swimmers if that is true. I wonder if they take bong hits like Michael Phelps?

Labradoodles, I would think, should also be good in the water since the Labra- part is for Labrador Retrievers and of course -oodles for poodles. That sounds like some kind of charity benefit, oodles for poodles. Wikipedia says they were actually bred to be low-shedding so as to be suitable for people with allergies. Prez O and Mrs. O had previously mentioned that they would be considering a dog with such qualities.

I think Labs are great dogs. My first dog as an adult, Pedro, was a black Lab-Irish setter mix. I lived in this farmhouse out in the country and would laugh watching Pedro chase rabbits though the lovegrass. Pedro never grew very big so you could see him popping out of the grass in the pasture almost like he was a kangaroo. I guess you had to be there. I like poodles too. Most I have seen were generally well-behaved although one I see behind a fence when I go walking seems a bit snarky. I have to say I don’t like what a lot of people do to poodles, namely trimming them to where they look freakish.

I imagine the O Kids, who wanted a dog in the first place, and the first couple will be pleased with either dog although the Obama girls would probably be happy with any puppy.

It seems as if death knells are being sounded everywhere one turns these days for newspapers. Some of the less thoughtful who see the “MSM” as the enemy clap their hands with glee. Oh well. Those in the newspaper industry are rightfully worried and are doing even more hand-wringing than usual.

The current economic funk is, of course, the major impetus for the discussion of whether newspapers will survive. Papers like other industries have fallen on hard times and some have either folded or have been forced to file for bankruptcy. Some newspaper chains have announced involuntary furloughs for employees while other feel layoffs are the only choice. I know people who are in this very situation.

I feel fortunate to have left newspapers as a full-time occupation as I did three years ago. However, I don’t have a real feel for how the economic upset will affect my freelance career because there really hasn’t been a situation such as we are in to give an accurate comparison. I say that because, even though the print industry has weathered recessions and even depressions before, they did not have to contend with such a diverse media which includes 24-hour cable and the Internet.

Although newspapers are in a very precarious state at the moment I still believe it is too early to write its obituary. Here is why.

The majority of news gathering in the U.S. today comes from newspapers. You can talk all you want to about how outmoded is the MSM. But the fact remains that TV, radio and Internet still mostly depend on newspapers for original reporting. Something that really used to tick me off when I worked for newspapers was hearing a TV station claiming credit for a story that I had broken. Imagine that you wrote a beautiful song or painted a wonderful painting and all of a sudden the performance or picture shows up under someone else’s name. Wouldn’t it hack you off just a bit for another person to take credit for something that you spent time on as well as expending intellectual labor? I also don’t remember how many times I listened to a local radio station basically read what I had written verbatim without even acknowledging where the story originated. But isn’t that plagiarism one might ask? Why yes, and your point is? They didn’t care.

I suppose those who see the newspaper as a relic of the past assume that even if papers in some locales go away for awhile that they will not return. I predict that will happen for some papers that disappear but not all. Further, I feel the newspaper will not completely vanish even though the business models are going to require change.

If a person has a job or other means to fall back on and has an interest in journalism such as myself, it could be an interesting time ahead. For others, it is going to be hell and may result in people who loved their jobs having to give them up in order to survive. That’s a tough road to sled, for sure. I have been without jobs before and have been very impoverished. But it isn’t the end of the world. And I feel that a year or two years from now, how ever long this funk lasts, people will still be looking in a newspaper to get their news and to find jobs in the classifieds.