Weekly World News, R.I.P.

Only today did I catch the announcement made last week that the Weekly World News, the wonderfully wacky supermarket tabloid, is shutting down its print edition.

This is terrible. We could all do just fine if, say, the Wall Street Journal went away (which actually would be preferable to its impending purchase by Rupert Murdoch), but the loss of the Weekly World News is a tragedy from which society may never recover.

By the way, The New York Times has a nice piece today on WWN columnist Ed Anger, whose right-wing nuttiness pre-dates (but accurately evokes) the rantings of Rush Limbaugh, among others.

The Rascal's not in it for fame or money

Not all bloggers are political, and some are not even seeking big audiences or noticeable influence. Some folks do this just for the hell of it -- creating diaries that perhaps nobody else will ever read or newsletters to small circles of friends and relatives.

Some blogs are devoted to relatively narrow interests, maybe migratory birds or Catholicism or the Penn State football team.

Countless other bloggers, however, have what they consider important things to say to the world. They want to comment on the passing parade of events, and they figure you'll enjoy or somehow benefit from their thoughts and observations. Maybe they just want to piss you off.

A large segment of this latter category consists of bloggers just dying to become prominent members of society's Chattering Class. This piece from the Wall Street Journal's Web site tells of the efforts and frustrations of these so-called pundits in their bids for fame and fortune.

Is The Rascal one of these wannabes? Nah! For me, this is just a way to vent. However, if you know of a TV or radio producer who's looking for brilliant analysis of current events, I'm your guy.