Washington Times Fires Editor; ‘National Search for a Permanent Replacement’

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Interesting news about my former employer:

Sam Dealey will be stepping down as editor of the Washington Times, following the sale of the paper to a group led by members of the paper’s old guard who were ousted a year ago, sources close to the paper tell POLITICO.
Dealey was informed this afternoon. The change is scheduled to be announced tonight. Sources say that Managing Editor Chris Dolan will step in as acting editor-in-chief while the paper’s new owners conduct a national search for a permanent replacement. . . .

Probably looking for someone with reporting and editing experience who knows how to boost online traffic, stuff like that.

UPDATE: Fishbowl DC: 

[I]t remains unclear what kind of talent the struggling paper can attract.

You’re freaking kidding me, right? Editor of a daily newspaper in the Capital of the Free World?  Lots of people would crawl through glass for a chance like that.

UPDATE II: Romensko has the press release from the newspaper:

A national search for a new editor will take place in the coming weeks to identify and recruit a newsroom leader to carry out future plans for The Washington Times.
These plans call for The Washington Times news coverage to expand with the return of sports, metro and entertainment sections. These will complement the Times’ respected coverage of government, politics, national security, intelligence, economics, geopolitics, culture/religion and opinion that has been its strength over the past 28 years.
The Times also will increase the availability of its content through multiple media channels, including washingtontimes.com, radio and television.

Permit me to offer six simple suggestions:

  • First things first: Hire an editor-in-chief, with authority over the whole paper, like Wesley Pruden had. When they hired John Solomon (which was when I quit), they split the job, so that Solomon was only in charge of the news side of the operation, while the opinion/commentary sections were under separate editorship. This diminished the stature and authority of the top editor, who no longer spoke for the paper as an institution, as had been the case when Pruden was the boss.
  • Second: Run lean and mean. Rather than hiring a bunch of full-time staffers, hire freelancers under contract — and short-term contacts, at that. Offer a 90-day contract at, say, $2,000 a month plus productivity bonuses based on the number of articles published, the number that make the front page, the number that get Drudge-linked, etc. You can get a heckuva lot of reporting a lot cheaper that way — saving money on health insurance, benefits, etc. — and the reporters who make a good showing under those terms could then be considered for full-time openings if and when those become available.
  • Third: Bring back Andrew Breitbart as a weekly columnist. The stupidest thing that John Solomon ever did was to let Breitbart go.
  • Fourth: Hire Shirley & Banister to do your publicity. They’re the best, and the total cost will be less than whatever you were paying your “marketing” department. Exactly what the heck that department was supposed to be doing all those years, I honestly don’t know, but it wasn’t working.
  • Fifth: Give Victor Morton a raise. God knows he deserves it.
  • Sixth and finally: Stop getting scooped on your own beat. Why is it that the best place to learn about personnel decisions at The Washington Times is always Fishbowl DC? If who gets hired and fired at the Times is so doggone newsworthy, why isn’t the Times reporting this stuff first?

Just some suggestions. Not that I know anything about the newspaper business or anything like that . . .

TSA: Teen Sexual Assault?

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What kind of people get government jobs as Airport Junk-Touchers?

WHDH-TV via Gateway Pundit:

A Transportation Security Administration worker at Logan International Airport is accused of assaulting a 14-year-old girl.
Sean Shanahan, 45, of Winthrop is being held on $50,000 cash bail following his arraignment in East Boston District Court. He is charged with statutory rape, enticement of a child and indecent assault and battery on a person 14 or older.

Your tax dollars at work!

UPDATE: “Ron Paul to TSA: Stop Irradiating Our Bodies and Fondling Our Children!“

Dear Cousin: Thanks, But No Thanks

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The senator from Arizona — a distant cousin, our common ancestor having lived in South Carolina circa 1790 — is not my only famous kin. 

My first cousin Pepper Ellis Hagebak is a columnist for the LaGrange (Ga.) News. But her column isn’t about politics, and that’s probably a good thing. Pepper’s still a Democrat, like everybody in our family used to be. Her column is more humor and human interest. So even though she’s a Democrat and writes for a newspaper, she’s not exactly “the liberal media.”

Anyway, I hadn’t heard from Pepper in a while until I got an e-mail from her this morning with the subject line “a1vca g3a7.” And when I opened the e-mail, there were several CCs on it and the complete text of the message was “uem4 nhs kmhc4 hio7pspz,” with a link to a Web site. When I clicked on the link, it was a site advertising “herbal viagra.”

I’m pretty sure that my cousin hasn’t begun writing gibberish e-mails and promoting stuff like that. No, what undoubtedly  happened is that her computer got infected with a stupid virus that hijacked her e-mail program on behalf of the Nigerian herbal viagra cartel. And since the spammers have now got my e-mail address, I have no doubt that other people are probably getting such solicitations in my name.

To my friends and family: No, I haven’t gone into the herbal viagra racket, and I didn’t send you that e-mail. Times are hard all over, but it hasn’t gotten that bad. Not yet, anyway. Continue reading Dear Cousin: Thanks, But No Thanks →

Please Permit Me to Remind You . . .

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. . . that this is Stephen Kruiser’s new sidekick, Kinsey Schofield:

When Miss Schofield made her PJTV debut, I took the occasion to suggest that her function was as “eye candy” — NTTAWWT — and was roundly excoriated for so doing. Oh, I was some horrible sexist, I was accused of being jealous, I was even called a “stalker.”

So today, while I was busy updating the news about Renee Ellmers’ victory in North Carolina, I went over to Hot Air to see if they were blogging about the big win. No, but Continue reading Please Permit Me to Remind You . . . →

Ann Marie Buerkle Win in NY-25 Would Give GOP Biggest Majority Since 1949

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As noted in my last update about Renee Ellmers’ victory in NC-2, Republicans are now at 240 House seats and they haven’t had 241 seats since 1949. And Sam Foster at Left Coast Rebel reports that Ann Marie Buerkle is 411 votes ahead of Dan Maffei in NY-25 after the count of absentee ballots from Onondaga County.

The Buerkle campaign says victory is a “mathematical certainty,” and the Lonely Conservative headlines it: “Buerkle Lead Can’t Be Beat.”

C’mon, Ann Marie. This one’s for the history books, sweetheart.

Did I hear somebody say “mandate”?

UPDATE: Now a Memeorandum thread, more reporting from the Auburn Citizen and blogged by Lucianne.com, This Ain’t Hell, South Capitol Street and Dan Riehl.

BREAKING: Renee Ellmers Wins Recount; Bob Etheridge to Concede; UPDATE: In Concession Speech, Dem Says He Was Victim of ‘Dirty Politics’

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UPDATE 3:50 p.m. ET: Yeah, he’s a victim:

“The combination of the national tide that swept the country, massive amounts of secret corporate cash funding a campaign of distortions, and dirty politics by Washington D.C. partisan operatives was just too much to overcome.”

Full text of Etheridge’s statement here. (A) Etheridge outspent Ellmers about 3-to-1; and (B) since when is it “dirty politics” to ask a Democrat congressman if he supports the Democrat president?

UPDATE 4:05 p.m. ET: Statement from Rep.-elect Renee Ellmers:

“The first words for me to say are ‘thank you.’ It took sacrifices by many fine people working together to make this victory possible. I thank each of them – the people of the 2nd District, the people who volunteered and gave of their time and money and worked selflessly.
“This is the way American Democracy works: Through elections. That, inevitably, leads to debate and conflict which can be bruising. It is, I can now say from experience, at times a harsh endeavor. But it has served our democracy well for over 200 years.
“After receiving a gracious call from Congressman Etheridge, the election is over and rather than debating our problems we begin work on how to solve them and as I begin my part in that work I want to wish Congressman Etheridge and his family the best.
“This election Americans voted to change Washington. And I have been elected to play a role in bringing that change to Congress. I will do all that I can to meet that challenge. I ask for your prayers and I ask you to join me in praying for Congressman Etheridge and his family during this transition. Thank you.”

UPDATE 4:40 p.m. ET: Michael Memoli of the L.A. Times:

Etheridge had been reelected with more than 60% of the vote in each of his last four campaigns, but Ellmers, a nurse, made opposition to healthcare reform a top cudgel against the incumbent. . . .
If all current leads win in [the five remaining undecided House] races, Republicans’ final tally in the 112th Congress would be 243 seats to the Democrats’ 192, a final pickup of 64 seats.
Republicans have not held more than 240 seats in the House since 1949.

Yeah. The biggest GOP majority in 60 years. Not like there’s any kind of “mandate” there, eh?

UPDATE 3:30 p.m. ET: Rep. Bob Etheridge (D-N.C.) concedes in Raleigh:

“[T]he election recount has concluded, and the numbers confirm that despite the incredible support we had — and neither candidate getting to 50 percent — in the end we came up just a little too short,” Etheridge said. “I congratulate Mrs. Ellmers and wish her well as she prepares to serve the people of North Carolina’s Second District.”
“Every single day since we opened our doors in 1997, my staff and I have worked hard to provide outstanding constituent services to anyone and everyone who needed our help,” Etheridge said. “I’m so proud of my staff for their constituent service to this district. I’m biased, but I think it has been second to none.”

PREVIOUSLY (1:40 p.m. ET): WXII-TV in Raleigh, N.C., reports:

 A recount in North Carolina’s closest congressional race has confirmed a victory for Republican candidate Renee Ellmers.
 State Board of Elections director Gary Bartlett said Friday that a recount in the 2nd Congressional District has found that Ellmers defeated Democratic Rep. Bob Etheridge by about 1,500 votes.  A recount in North Carolina’s closest congressional race has confirmed a victory for Republican candidate Renee Ellmers.
State Board of Elections director Gary Bartlett said Friday that a recount in the 2nd Congressional District has found that Ellmers defeated Democratic Rep. Bob Etheridge by about 1,500 votes.

UPDATE: Tim Sahd of National Journal was the first to report that Etheridge is expected to concede at a 3 p.m. ET press conference.

UPDATE II: Etheridge, of course, became notorious for grabbing a student videographer and demanding to know, “Who are you?” And thanks to my friend Joe Marier for making this important point:

Indeed, and let me remind you of Ellmers’ Ground Zero Mosque ad:

UPDATE III: Remember that Ellmers accused the NRCC of being MIA in NC-2. As I noted at The American Spectator, “The victory by Ellmers means that the GOP has scored a net gain of 61 seats in the mid-term election, and Republicans lead in three of the five seats where a winner has not yet been decided.”

Jim Hoft at Gateway Pundit points out that Ellmers is one of eight Republican women elected to the House this year, a number that we hope will include Ann Marie Buerkle in NY-25. (Via Memeorandum.)

UPDATE IV: Just checked in on the NY-25 ballot-counting where Buerkle is “approaching mathematical certainty” — like Ellmers, Buerkle is a nurse and a pro-lifer, so they’ll be a natural tandem in the 112th Congress.

Meanwhile, back in North Carolina, my source close to the Ellmers campaign was enjoying a delicious homestyle lunch when I called. Ellmers will not release an official statement until after Etheridge’s 3 p.m. press conference.

UPDATE V: Ellmers didn’t get much help from the NRCC. She did, however, get a lot of help from a Mama Grizzly.

UPDATE VI: My Spectator colleague John Tabin pointed out on Twitter that New York gubernatorial candidate Carl Paladino ran a GZM ad. I replied via Twitter that (a) Paladino wasn’t running for Congress, and (b) well . . . go read the rest for yourself.

UPDATE VII: SusanAnne Hiller takes a victory lap at BigGovernment.com and Ellmers gets congratulations from Sister Toldjah.

More Lame-Duck Madness

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You know how all those pollsters and pundits were so eager to tell us that the mid-term election — in which Republicans gained more House seats than in any election since 1938 — were not a “mandate” for the GOP agenda?

Yeah, well, how the hell was this election a mandate for repealing “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell,” pushing through the DREAM Act amnesty, imposing Internet censorship or approving Democrat campaign donors as federal judges? And exactly where is the mandate for the executive imposition of “net neutrality”?

What’s going on here, of course, is the same kind of dark-of-night trick beloved by Nancy Pelosi, as when she scheduled a major health-care debate for the Saturday after the 2009 off-year election, a day when normal red-blooded Americans were watching LSU-Alabama or Penn State-Ohio State.

They know damned well that the liberal agenda can’t withstand public scrutiny — does anyone remember any Democrat in a contested election running TV ads declaring his support for granting citizenship to illegal aliens? — and so they try to sneak these things through when they think nobody’s paying attention.

Most people are now looking forward to Thanksgiving and Christmas. The election is over, the Democrats lost, and voters therefore cannot be blamed for thinking they had fixed that “wrong track” problem that had been apparent in polls for months.

Do me a favor: If your congressman or senator is a Republican, call their office and ask them to take the floor to give a speech reminding their Democratic colleagues that they just got a “shellacking” from the voters.

Elections have consequences, and this business of Democrats trying to ram through their unpopular agenda during a lame-duck session should not be tolerated.

What Did Alaskans Vote For?

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Apparently, Lisa Murkowski considers her write-in re-election a mandate for the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”

Really?

Maybe I missed something. Was that even an issue during the campaign? And what other mandates will Murkowski now claim from the Alaska electorate?

The fact that Joe Lieberman says he’s now got 60 votes for repealing DADT suggests this may be the first of the many surprises we can espect from Senator Murkowski over the next six years.