WSJ will certainly go free. Newscorp doesn't need to make as much money off the online subscriptions, they just want the name for the coming competitor to CNBC (b/c as we know CNBC is a bastion of dirty liberals... or something like that.) The newspaper is important but they don't need to squeeze every dime out of it like the previous owners.

Heck the NYPost hasn't made a dime in years. I think Rupert just likes having a mouth piece to the largest media market in the country.

Now if only Mr. Skin would follow suit

Also, WSJ editors will start a new blog, called The Ravings of A Lunatic.

I thought it was to be called "The Ravings of a Lunatic Neocon."

Dr. Deflation,

Good point, I was making the assumption the intertubes are free. Not the case obviously.

I like the big picture theories! I was thinking that maybe the reason for the "systematic" dismantling of the middle class is not a conscious conspiracy at all. Instead its just capitalism, meaning the rich elite, behaving according to its own internal rules. Over the last 100 years, capitalists thought that there was an alternative to their system (communism) and so they gave up some wealth to protect the system. Today, no such fears, so no need to think about it. Instead, they can act to maximize profit.

Today that means privatize profits but nationalize risk, reduce wages at the expense of profits and destroy any safety nets in the system by bankrupting them. The "war on terror is a great cloak for all of this because anyone who objects can be labeled a sympathiser. Also, this war keeps military spending up, but nobody is seriously going to become a muslim because of working conditions, whereas they might have become a communist/socialist/trade unionist.

One other rant, why is it that if you say things are not right you are put into the "uber bear" or as on that "wants to see a disaster". I always theought that it was those that point out faults in the system are actually the ones that want to protect it.

Bets on whether the fees are restored or the access limited shortly folowing the election?

I think it's obvious that the PPT is behind this. They're funding companies and bloggers that compete with the NYT in order to force them to make Krugman free. This makes it appear as if the media is trying to manipulate elections by foisting Krugman's Marxist ramblings on the electorate, which will backfire and make them vote Republican. After the elections, the PPT will pull their funding (moving the money back into gold and anti-short seller moves of the major indexes), the blogs will shut down, and Times Select will return.

I'm quite sure it not plagarism either, and the title was quite deliberate--and certainly in Wellstone's spirit.

I just would have recommended something like "Conscience of Another Liberal", or some credit to Him in the subtitle, thats all.

Keep the conspiracy out of what NYT is doing. Go to NYT and read this article:

“But our projections for growth on that paid subscriber base were low, compared to the growth of online advertising,” said Vivian L. Schiller, senior vice president and general manager of the site, NYTimes.com.

What changed, The Times said, was that many more readers started coming to the site from search engines and links on other sites instead of coming directly to NYTimes.com. These indirect readers, unable to get access to articles behind the pay wall and less likely to pay subscription fees than the more loyal direct users, were seen as opportunities for more page views and increased advertising revenue.

- NY Times

"The Conscience of a Liberal." Is it good for sales to make yourself sound like a pompous prick?

Bobby,

If more people were like you, we wouldn't need Krugman. ;^)

Progressives only return to fix things when the greed has once again spun out of control.