Then again, I read the hometown paper’s entire piece on efforts to whack the salt and fat in cheese and could only wonder: WTF? Why does a relatively ancient food/concept need to be manipulated to fit into an already over-manipulated food chain? Of all the things posing a risk on either front, Cheddar ranks pretty low. Plus, not once did a presumably vetted story offer the most logical advice: Rather than messing with such a great thing, why not just tell people to take smaller bites?

Also, too, having spent a total of 70 months of my life subjected to the anal-retentive insularity of copy desk rules/regulations/speculation at that paper, I am constantly (and sadly) astonished by what makes it into print in the 24/7 news cycle. Take the report on Amtrak’s food costs, which actually cited Republican lying-figures to show it’s employee wages/benefits that are to blame for losses. “A $9.50 hamburger on the train costs taxpayers $16, the charts showed.” Not even an “allegedly” for that rolling merde?