Hey, Maureen Dowd, Read This.

Gah! It drives me crazy that I can't read Maureen Dowd on NYTimes.com anymore! That new Times Select silliness has had virtually no effect on my Times reading habits except that I can no longer read Dowd's column. I've always found Friedman's columns pretty boring (heresy!) and I get enough of Brooks on Meet the Press and The Chris Matthews Show and NPR and The News Hour (I like the guy fine, but seriously, enough already). But I miss my biweekly Dowd injection like a monkey misses bananas. Do you Yale kids get a free subscription? I'll be really jealous if you do. It's bad enough that I have to condescend to Merriam-Webster for my online dictionary needs since I'm no longer deemed worthy enough to access my beloved OED.

Eh, who am I to complain. I read 99% of what I want to read of the Times for free every day. What a spoiled brat I am.

Happy holidays again!