Just the facts, ma'am

At first I thought this job posting was quite the oxymoron...fact checkers at Fox News, teehee. Then I reread (checked my facts) and realized the job is billed as Fact Writer. Which, really, is even better.

For anyone without a MediaBistro account, here's an excerpt from the listing:

Responsibilities include writing on-air facts and press conference quotes for daytime programming. Individuals must have strong writing skills, be able to handle multiple assignments and deadlines, and work well in a team atmosphere.

(Three posts and it's not even noon. The coffee is working.)

Cover Models

My housemate Katie's copy of New York magazine just arrived. I don't really like to blog about politics, because, well, there is a ton of that already and I'm in Washington, but the magazine's cover this issue is pretty riiidicuyoolus. Holy spider vein-free old Republican manlegs. McCain and Obama -- just some bros at the beach, bra. Why, they look like they're gonna get up and throw a Frisbee around and toss back some Miller Lites!

Nice disclaimer: "Not really Obama's abs. Not really Obama either. And not McCain for that matter. But you knew that."

At least they put McCain in a tacky shirt. And he totally would be that guy who wears sneaker at the beach.

Have mercy? Class?

So some big news in France right now is about the death of Chantal Sébire, who had esthesioneuroblastoma. These facial tumors seriously disfigured her face, which, in addition to the general awfulness that I imagine any terminal illness causes, would make anyone miserable. On Monday, she was refused medications to end her life, and she basically just said she'd find another way. Now she's dead.

There's an interesting difference in the French (e.g. Le Monde) v. American obits: the former show a photo of her before she became ill, and the latter, CNN, shows her near the end of her days. Let's just say there's a major shock factor. I guess the difference is that the French press has been following her story for a bit, so people have already seen pictures of her with crazy bulging eyes, etc.... but CNN's choices is pretty classless. Of course you're curious what the woman looks like, because, wow, I have never seen anything like it...but don't put it in the obituary! Or at least put both photos, because, you know, she was still human.

(An Australian news site ran a big, recent photo of her, but that was back in February, when she was still fighting the gouvernement and her tumors.)