I Think Eisenhower Warned About This

The "military-industrial complex" that is.

So, I'm following a link from the always funny Public School Intelligentsia over to the Washington Post's political blog, when my visit is interrupted by a GIANT TROOP-CARRIER HELICOPTER FLYING ACROSS THE SCREEN. It eventually lands in the banner ad you see at right in this screenshot, and is then boarded by brave men of our armed forces, carrying a wounded comrade. I'm sure Boeing paid huge money for this ad (as they do for their :60s on most major news networks) and a newspaper can use all the money it can get these days.

Still, it strikes me as oddly pro....something.

Here's Eisenhower's prescient warning, from his farewell address to the nation.



Crossposted to Radio Free Babylon.

Check Your Bounce Rate, Washington Post

It's almost 2008, and we still have major news publications insisting we fill out these forms if we want to read their news. Get over yourselves.

I’ll read the same story at one of 50,000 other news sites that aren’t requiring I agree with your “user agreement” and “privacy policy” (8 pages, 3,327 words long. Really.) Buried in that massive pile of legalese, naturally, is your acquiescence to receive “offers” by email from the Washington Post’s “affiliates.”

I prefer my information without strings attached.

Lower My Blood Pressure

I was all set to congratulate LowerMyBills.com for going with a more tasteful Flash banner, this fairly innocuous sand-raking scene found at msnbc.com, (that sure beats the crap out of dancing gay cowboys) when I discovered in my toolbar a sneaky pop-under ad I got served on an earlier visit to The Washington Post.

You cannot escape these people.










And have you noticed, The Washington Post (dot com) is like that stretch of highway in some desperate part of the country where they said, "The more outdoor advertising, the better!"? (Think Highway 65, between Springfield, Missouri and Branson.)