New York Times: a Dreadful Parody of a Real Newspaper

Why do I feel so happy? The New York Times is writing off $814.4 million of the value of its New England newspapers. This catastrophic meltdown was presaged by a disastrous drop in quality. Need evidence? Try a search over at the Times site for the phrase "disastrous war." That's one of the Times' pathetic and oft-used catch-phrases that demonstrates a distinct lack of quality and creativity.


The Times' mission of derailing the war effort relies upon a monotonic drumbeat of defeat. Reusing the same anti-American phrases for months and years on end has turned out to be a wonderful predictor of the paper's business results. In a word: awful. Here's a breakdown of the recent use of the phrase "disastrous war." Today's editorial -- suitably eviscerated by Jules Crittenden -- even uses the phrase twice. Dammit, that's quality!

Bullying Iran ... himself into another disastrous war, and if Congress is ... ... But his disastrous war in Iraq has done so ... February 1, 2007 - (NYT) - Opinion - Editorial Democrats And The Deficit ... country into a disastrous war. And you can even ... December 22, 2006 - By PAUL KRUGMAN (NYT) - Opinion - Op-Ed Deeper Into the Maelstrom of Iraq ... euphemisms of this disastrous war can no longer be ignored ... November 25, 2006 - (NYT) - Opinion - Letter Where Plan A Left Ahmad Chalabi ... States into this disastrous war... November 19, 2006 - (NYT) - Opinion - Letter Dissecting the General's Take on Iraq ... miserably in this disastrous war. It's time to ... November 17, 2006 - (NYT) - Opinion - Letter The Perils of Inaction ... last summer's disastrous war in Lebanon. Perhaps this ... November 10, 2006 - (NYT) - Opinion - Editorial - 396 words THEATER REVIEW; Despair Echoes From the Arms of Defeat ... countrymen into a disastrous war on foreign soil in ' ... September 18, 2006 - By CHARLES ISHERWOOD (NYT) Aiding Our Enemies ... Bush administration's disastrous war in Iraq, and that ...View free preview August 14, 2006 - By BOB HERBERT (NYT) - Opinion - Op-Ed Lieberman vs. Lamont: The Fallout ... end to the disastrous war in Iraq. Of course ...View free preview August 10, 2006 - (NYT) - Opinion - Letter Liberals, Lieberman and the War ... proponent of this disastrous war, which he advocated from ...View free preview July 11, 2006 - (NYT) - Opinion - Letter The President's Day in Baghdad ... administration about this disastrous war. It's like this ... June 15, 2006 - (NYT) - Opinion - Letter Faculty's Chilly Welcome For Ex-Pentagon Official ... fury at a disastrous war, an illustration of the ... May 25, 2006 - By JASON DePARLE (NYT) - U.S. - News The Memo About the Road to War ... us into this disastrous war? Some questions remain: ... March 29, 2006 - (NYT) - Opinion - Letter Nuclear Madness ... to launch his disastrous war in Iraq, agreed to ... March 6, 2006 - By BOB HERBERT (NYT) - Opinion - Op-Ed A Mother and a Nation Seek Answers ... president for this disastrous war. Perhaps the only thing ... August 10, 2005 - (NYT) - Opinion - Letter Supporters of the War ... critique of the disastrous war in Iraq. He observes ... May 16, 2005 - (NYT) - Opinion - Letter Stranger Than Fiction ... this clownish, disastrous war, he might have gotten ...View free preview May 9, 2005 - By Bob Herbert (NYT) - Opinion - Op-Ed Energy Alternatives ... debt and a disastrous war in a quest to commandeer ... March 27, 2005 - (NYT) - Opinion - Letter Blair Confronts Political Burdens of Iraq ... Sir Winston's disastrous war policies as blindly as the ... June 20, 2004 - By PATRICK E. TYLER (NYT) - World - News Bishops and Politicians ... voted for this disastrous war in Iraq. MARY LOUISE ... April 28, 2004 - (NYT) - Opinion - Letter

The Times has also referred to the "Mission Accomplished" banner -- which was unfurled by sailors to mark the completion of their tour of duty in theater -- a mere 153 times.

Dowd, Rich, Herbert, Krugman... all reuse the same phrases and memes in a circular, incestuous, and inherently uninteresting quilt. It's little wonder the Times' stock price is sinking faster than Michael Moore in a kayak. You'll get more variety reading Hydraulic Fluids Weekly.


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