ARTICLE: “Democrats Seek Emergency Help For Automakers,” by David M. Herszenhorn and Carl Hulse, New York Times, 12 November 2008. ARTICLE: “Lobbyists Swarm the Treasury For a Helping of the Bailout Pie,” by Mark Landler. ARTICLE: “Buying Binge Slams to Halt: Crisis of Confidence For U.S. Consumers,” by David Leonhardt. ARTICLE: “After U.S. Breakthrough, Europe Looks in Mirror,” by Steven Erlanger. ARTICLE: “Veterans’ Families Seek Aid for Caregiver Role,” by Leslie Kaufman. ARTICLE: “Aches, a Sneeze, A Google Search: Data on Web May Warn of Outbreaks of Flu,” by Miguel Helft.

I dunno. The front page of the NYT on the 12th just struck me as a perfect amalgam of everything going on right now: the huge industrial adjustment in Detroit, the usual feeding frenzy on the bailout; the slowdown in spending as American consumers confront their over-leveraged position; the profound impact of the Obama election globally; the way our military has been taken to the breaking point by Bush-Cheney’s mismanagement; and the never-ending technological byproducts of this amazing age of innovation. One for the time capsule. If you want to think horizontally, this is the kind of front page you can’t put down. Good news on the vets issue: NYT story two days later (“Military Families Get Time Off for Care”) suggests some relief happening.