The New York Times or Mad?

Ever since I heard about the TimesSelect program, I’ve been trying to figure out what was going on at the NYT to make them think people would pay fifty bucks a year to read their particular stuffed shirts (sorry, columnists) on line. Then I read the lede for Monday’s Paul Krugman column presented as a teaser on the paper’s website and I figured it out:

The Bush administration is trying to treat Hurricane Katrina’s victims as harshly as the political realities allow, so as not to create a precedent for other aid efforts.

It’s a parody. They’re going into competition with Mad Magazine!