Thursday, February 07, 2008  Empire on the Verge of a Nervous
Breakdown  Some things are too hot to touch The human mind can
only stand so much - Bob Dylan  Reposting the earlier segments
together with new material. As it should have appeared in the
first place.  People are crazy  I've been thinking a lot this
week about last week's leaked internal memo from Associated
Press. Frank Baker, AP's LA assistant bureau chief, issued the
directive that "Now and for the foreseeable future, virtually
everything involving Britney is a big deal." I've been thinking
how right and how proper this is.  What should US cable news be
doing, other than leading the hour with live updates from
Britney Spears' custody hearing? Put another way, what does US
cable news do better that it should be doing instead? The
answer, my answer, is nothing. It's perfectly tuned by the lords
of the manor to service the land of genetically modified bread
and circuses. What has it ever demonstrated to justify a higher
expectation?  But the failed