Anna Nicole and the astronaut
Iran is threatening to go nuclear, the vice president may have to testify in a Washington criminal trial and Congress is investigating what happened to $12 billion in cash that was sent into Iraq after the fall of Saddam Hussein and might have ended up in the hands of insurgents now shooting at our soldiers.
So what stories have enthralled the public in print, broadcasts, blogs and comment boards for the past three days?
Anna Nicole Smith and the off-course astronaut.
Smith, the starlet who couldn't act, sing or dance but was famous for being a celebrity who posed for Playboy, married an aged billionaire, fought with his children over the fortune, got fat, got thin and then died Thursday in a Florida hotel room, commanded a greater market share of public attention Thursday night than misspent billions or the possibility that Dick Cheney may be cross examined in the Scooter Libby trial.
And it took a story of Anna Nicole's magnitude to bump the tale of Lisa Nowak from the top spot of public interest. Nowak is the NASA astronaut facing assorted charges for allegedly stalking and threatening a woman she thought was competing for the affections of another astronaut. The only real news out of this pathetic episode is a greater public understanding of what the shuttle crews wear under their spacesuits.
How, when and why have stories that used to be fit only for supermarket tabloids been elevated to the mainstream?
posted by David Wells at 6:19 PM
9 Comments:
at 10:53 PM, February 09, 2007 
Anonymous said...
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at 8:31 AM, February 10, 2007 
Brah Coon said...
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at 10:44 AM, February 10, 2007 
Anonymous said...
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at 5:03 PM, February 10, 2007 
JohnDWoodSr said...
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at 5:59 PM, February 10, 2007 
Anonymous said...
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at 7:12 PM, February 10, 2007 
Brah Coon said...
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at 11:59 AM, February 11, 2007 
Anonymous said...
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at 10:28 AM, February 12, 2007 
Brah Coon said...
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at 3:51 AM, February 16, 2007 
Anonymous said...
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Post a Comment*To answer your concern: we are one sad and pathetic society.
David Wells asks us: " How, when and why have stories that used to be fit only for supermarket tabloids been elevated to the mainstream?"
You're asking us? You don't know? I mean, seems you would be in a better position to know the answer to this question then we non-Editorial Page Editors of a major newspaper. I know you only handle the editorial dept. -- but you must hear things! I'd be interested in hearing your best guess as to why.
I would say that Paddy Chayevsky's book, "Network" ( or the movie) may provide some answers.
If only Bronson would go completely, 100% off his rocker and turn into a Howard Beale we'd get some real answers!
i fail to understand the last comment. bronson is 100% off his rocker, just read his column. consider that if he thinks dick cheney is right, he probably believes the earth is flat.
for the record, this wasn't news on progressive talk radio. seems we have more important things to worry about.
Oh woe, how did we come to this sorry pass? Try clicking on my name for one answer.
Let me translate Mr Wells' post for you:
Because I support Republicans like Bush, Boehner and McConnell, I am indirectly responsible for the sorry state of our country. I know that being bogged down in Iraq has allowed the Taliban to reemerge in Afghanistan. I know that our invasion of Iraq was based on purposely manipulated intelligence. I know that they're now making the same sort of questionable claims about Iran. But I can't report on those stories because I am, as I've said, partly responsible. And I can't regurgitate the news from my right-wing media sources because it's been shown time and time again that they just make stuff up.
So instead, here's a thread on Anna Nicole. Let's discuss her instead of all the failed Republican policies. Hey, how about Zsa Zsa's husband? What's the deal with him?
Dear anon@10:44 AM, February 10
I don't mean to split hairs and be difficult or argumentative. But I feel that Bronson, at present, is not 100% off his rocker. Now, I'm no expert mind you, but I figure he is merely marginally deranged or perhaps somewhat neurotic.
I see him as a "Tex Watson" figure to Cheney's "Charlie Manson". That is - he's not yet become clinically psychotic. He appears ( from a distance) to still have a solid grasp on reality. But wants to avoid it as long as he possibly can.
He knows " right from wrong".
Our news, our education, our respect for anyone else, and everything else in our society has become a pit of mud because we as people have degenerated into a pit of filth.
God have mercy on us all. Oh yeah, no one believes in God anymore.
And there's the #1 REASON we're in the mess we're in.
anon@11:59 AM, February 11
Every poll I've ever seen on the question of belief in God indicates that the overwhelming majority of Americans say they do believe in God.
Whether or not we all attend the same church as you is another question though.
How many liberal Democrats would it take to appease Hitler ? How many Democratic presidents missed the chance to bury bin Laden ?
I'm no fan of W or Cheney, but history hangs in the balance if 8th century fascists succeed in imposing their "freedom" on the civilized world.
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