I hate clowns. They’re so creepy with all that false joviality and prat-falling. Europe invented the modern clown, you know, as an outlet for their constipated, circumscribed rage. So I like this treatment.

Check out the picture El Paso Times editors chose to run with this article on the Iraq troop augmentation. That was January 9th.

Then check out this one, accompanying an article on end-strength increases that ran on the 11th.

The latter was so important to Times editors they also ran it twice on their web site on the same day, the second time at 1429MST. The writer, AP journo Robert Burns, was back again, with modified text.

It seems clear that images of crosses and death are important to Times editor Dionicio “Don” Flores. Because, after all, augmentation and end-strength always lead to memorials. Thanks for the unbiased reporting, “Don” (parentheses not added, they are from the Times own contact page.)