Mistah Kurtz, He Dead

I realize I'm supposed to do some victory dance or pen some biting entry about Travis Armstrong finally biting the dust at the News-Press, but I just don't have it in me. The biggest part of that is that the N-P sort of seems like--and pardon me for going all 1970s Jersey on you--Karen Ann Quinlan to me. You mean that rag is still around?

And while one more vile suck-up minion shuffles off into the sunset (aka Palm Springs), the real problem doesn't go away, does it. We're still stuck with Wendy McCaw, and surely some new vile suck-up minion will show up for she's certainly still got the bucks. As long as there's a corporate model, there will be toadies. Some will even convince themselves they are a force for good, either by actually buying into the corporate-think (and McCaw is one freaky corp of one) as Armstrong did or by assuming they can mitigate things a bit. Perhaps those people are the worst, for they then can be pointed to by the corp as evidence it's not all bad. Remember the cover you provide, folks. Just saying.

I'd also like to assume that Armstrong is now a journalist no one would hire, but I know better. I know FOX is out there, say, and if even "real" tv networks can trot out the like of Bill O'Reilly and Michelle Malkin as if they know anything about something beyond their own cretinous hearts, there will be a place for lesser evils and dimmer fools.

I would like to assume this would make Santa Barbara a better place, but it's sort of like removing cancer cells from a corpse. Time we all move on, as so many of us have, and find our news elsewhere. It isn't going to be coming from the south end of DLG Plaza.

While I'm at it, as it's election day without the chance to vote (does anyone else feel cheated by vote by mail, like civic duty just got too friendly?), here's hoping that the east side of DLG Plaza isn't soon over-run by those backed by a billionaire no one knows anything about. Things like that tend not to turn out so well around these parts.