Report sharply criticizes sex education in Texas schools [Fort Worth Star-Telegram]

Well, that was interesting. We have no idea how yesterday’s dirge reached Ana Marie Cox, but once she posted it in her Twitter feed, the phone started ringing off the hook.

Granted, that was Wells Fargo trying to pitch us insurance, but still.

We first noticed something odd was happening when Twitter sent us a handful of subscription notices in the morning, immediately surpassing our monthly average. And then RomeGirl told us folks were subscribing to her Twitter feed as well.

We’ll call that the Twitter Trickle. And flagellate ourself for doing so.

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Back in the day, what drew us to Gawker websites was the voice of their writers. Ana Marie. Mark (and later, Seth). Jessica (and later, Jesse). Even Ken at Sploid, before he turned into an asshat.

It wasn’t about the “news” — you can get news anywhere — and it really wasn’t about the attitude. It was about their humanity, expressed in the joy and pain of cranking out a dozen posts a day. The sites were blogs, and their hosts were personable, like friends at a party.

All of which peaked long ago. With each staff and design change, Gawker Media has been peeling off the very things that made it work.

And now, there’s nothing left.

The last thread that tied us to Gawker Media’s Golden Age was cut Sunday, when Defamer was folded into the Mothership and Seth Abramovitch relieved of his duties. Their Oscar liveblog — the highlight of the Defamer year — was his last post.

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Five beers into the Oscars — the opening dance number had that effect on us — we realized we hadn’t thought about the Monday morning post, and we couldn’t concentrate enough to study RML’s tip about the Canadian terrorist threat.

Not when we were additionally addled to see George Bush still in the news. No, not the George Bush who’s applying as a greeter at Elliott’s Hardware in Houston. And not Poppy, either, who tried retail work but was thwarted by the scanners.

Please, sit down. Clear your desk of sharp objects. Because there’s a third George Bush. And he’s gonna be around a long time.

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We enjoy WorldNetDaily because they provide a concise digest of Wingnut talking points — one-stop shopping for the idiocy du jour. Led by Joseph Farah, whose rug runner doesn’t match his drapes, WND saves us the trouble of paying attention to Rush, Malkin, Fox, NRO, and the guy on the corner who shouts at us as we’re driving to the coffeehouse.

Typical example: “gay” is always rendered in scarequotes. Gotta love ’em.

WND is still running polls and updates on Barry’s birth certificate. And, flogging an issue that dumbfounded us a couple weeks back, they’re still on the warpath against a federal policy that was dropped a generation ago: the Fairness Doctrine.

As you’ll recall, that was the broadcast equal-time rule: If you give an hour to Michael Savage, you’re obligated to resurrect Vladimir Lenin for an opposing viewpoint.

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World hero Muntathar al Zaidi faces trial in Baghdad this morning on charges of throwing truth to power, or as Iraqi prosecutors call it, “assaulting a foreign head of state”.

Zaidi has been kept in custody since December 14, when he greeted George W. Bush as a liberator. His lawyer reports that Zaidi has been beaten, presumably by American journalists enraged that he went off script. Conviction could bring a fifteen-year sentence.

Whatever Zaidi’s fate, all that remains of his world-historical shoes is videotape. Police destroyed the Freedom Footwear after testing for chemicals and explosives.

After praise, poetry, Iraqi shoe thrower faces trial [McClatchy]

Lawmakers across the country are tyring to ban a drug we’ve never heard of because of dangers we can’t document.

It’s an herb called Salvia, it’s readily available online, and apparently it makes you freakishly happy. For five minutes. And then it’s over.

If anything, it should be banned for the letdown.

Of course, anything that makes you feel good without the imprimatur of the pharmaceutical, alcohol or nicotine industries is manifestly a threat to society, which is why politicians, with the support of your local Eyewitless News, are falling over themselves to outlaw it.

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