I'm a Journalist, God Damn It!

2006-07-19T17:24:00.000-04:00

Keith Richards Is a Free Man

Ok, we all know Arkansas Gov. Huckabee has a ridiculous name. Now he's making ridiculous news. CNN has this hard news opposite all that fighting in Lebanon/Israel/OverThere.

"Richards was arrested July 5, 1975, as he, bandmate Ron Wood,
a security guard and a fan traveled from Memphis, Tennessee, to Dallas, Texas.
The group had stopped in Fordyce, Arkansas, for lunch, then got back on the road
with Richards driving.

A Fordyce officer saw the car swerve -- Richards said later he bent to
adjust the radio -- and stopped the vehicle. Police said they smelled marijuana
and took the four to City Hall.

Richards was charged with reckless driving and possession of a
concealed knife, and the fan was charged with possession of a controlled
substance. The knife charge was dropped, and Richards pleaded guilty to reckless
driving and paid a $162.50 fine."

So Gov. Huckabee got the idea when he figured out that Richards' view of Arkansas had been "marred." I guess getting busted in a state will do that. Then again, if you're Arkansas, just being a state will do that.

The question that immediately emerges in this investigative reporter's mind is "So, did the fan get pardoned, too?" Or is he/she (oh, who are we kidding? What rock-respective male rock band takes its guy fans on the road with it?) still doing time out in Pine Bluff?

What's more entertaining is that the Guv got a shout-out for his band, Capitol Offense, which we hear is tantamount to capital punishment.

2006-07-18T19:41:00.000-04:00

Respecting Our Leaders in Congress

The life of a journalist was rosy. Sunny, even. Of course, just like the rest of this part of America, it's getting a whole lot more humid, too.

This morning, I was about to pop in the third season, disc 2 of "Mad About You" on my work laptop, with my Hill coverage all wrapped up for the day. Then a colleague, a fellow journalist, pointed me to this Wonkette exposé on the House Judiciary Committee's subliminal, read-between-the-lines messaging:

The answer, after hours of hearing dialogue, was: "No." Thanks, guys.

Back to that DVD,
-T
an Investigative Reporter

2006-07-14T18:06:00.000-04:00

Get Ready. One Spacers, Unite!

The end of the bloodless reign of Two-Spaces-After-a-Period is nearing...as those who were taught the "correct" way die out.

It is time.

In the old days of typewriters using only monospaced fonts in which a period occupied as much horizontal space as any other letter, it was standard to double-space after each one to clearly separate out each sentence from the following one. However, when justified variable-width type is set for printing It has always been standard to use only one space between sentences. Modern computers produce type that is more like print, and most modern styles call for only one space after a period. This is especially
important if you are preparing a text for publication which will be laid out from your electronic copy.

The big boys are on our side: Chicago Manual of Style FAQ. And, of course, the heroic AP Stylebook Ask the Editor (Norm Goldstein, who signed my copy of the AP Stylebook because I'm a journalist).

As it should be,
T.
an Investigative Reporter