Newspaper readers and subscribers have become rare old birds. North Texas has some 8.3 million residents, and every contact possible pushes for people to sign up, go digital, yada yada, because it’s more economical for every communications source.
There’s nothing to print and distribute, so cost of goods drops. Reporters get the facts, write them up and hit send, offering subscribers a taste of the news. The downside for OG readers like me is that there’s nothing to clip, reminding others about the article.
Case in point was a Dallas News column on May 11 that cited their circulation as 65,000 digital readers and 61,000 print subscribers.
Public Editor Stephen Buckley noted that The News now has the largest audience in its long history, at about 5 million people who “engage in their content.”
That means what people read on their iPhones or news clips.
So, I’m the rare bird. I’m a longtime Dallas News subscriber and one of 61,000 people who grab the daily paper and starts reading with a cup of coffee nearby.
That makes me a smarty-pants about politics.
All I’ve read casts great doubt on MAGA’s claim, like a tornado black-out. A “YouGov” survey sampling in early April asked 1,139 respondents “exactly when was America great”? Our history was broken down into 16 time periods dating from 1700 to 2024.
DJT#47’s claim that he would make this happen on Day One is off the charts wrong. He is dismantling the entire Federal government brick by brick.
The top choice, 57% of respondents, listed the Reagan Era (1980-91) as excellent in terms of quality of life. That was 40 years ago.
The Clinton Era (1996-2001) came in a close second, with 55% rating it excellent.
The remaining 13 other eras got favorable ratings of less than 50%.
The YouGov Survey proved one thing: America has been pretty darned great for 15 of the last 40 years, and Donald Trump had nothing to do with it. Peace. Balanced budget. No wars. Better vibes.
This leads me to ask people who actually voted for this man, what were they comparing him to? He hasn’t done anything positive these first four months in office.
Actually, his tariff revenge has made America poorer again, ranking it with the Great Depression era of 1929-1939.
The obvious comparison is with his predecessor, Joe Biden, recently diagnosed with Stage 4 prostate cancer. Now age 82, this diagnosis realistically progressed throughout his four-year presidency. (No wonder he appeared frail at the political debates.)
DJT#47 is now the same age, 78, and deemed in excellent health by his GOP doctor, though his diagnosis in an earlier physical was judged as obese at over 250 pounds.
It’s obvious that high Federal officials silence staff members’ voices. Neither party reveals the truth to the public, which would have affected voters’ opinions about both candidates in previous years. But don’t we wish they had leveled with us?
The truth might have encouraged new candidates who were more physically and intellectually fit to run for office! Imagine that!
Where am I going with this?
Let’s consider ending this painful path America has been forced down.
It’s time for Congress (and every state legislature if necessary) to pass a mandatory retirement age for all State government and Federal employees (assuming there are any left after DJT#47 gets through with his purge) effective immediately.
Everyone --including Supreme Court Justices! Period.
Younger people are more attuned with just about everything, particularly technology, than those over 65. Pilots lose their licenses at 65 and others even younger than that.
Political candidates who buy their way into office, whether gerrymandering or dangling sparkly shiny objects at voters, should go first. Fastest. Send them home at 75. No exceptions.
Shelly has worn more hats in the communications field than Carter has pills but forgot to retire when she closed her promotions business. She earned a BA in Journalism at NTSU (before it became UNT) and has never lost her love of words.