If the media were a politician who had to answer the question every incumbent party dreads “are you better off now than you were eight years ago?” it would be in for a sweeping defeat. And in fact, the media, or the media as we knew it at the beginning of this decade has suffered a sweeping defeat — will we even have newspapers in ten years? Doubtful.

Now that Jon & Kate Plus 8 has come to an end, TLC has an opening in its prime time schedule.

And in a brutal parody of the strange path TLC has taken since it abandoned the “The Learning Channel” moniker, The Soup offered up a new series idea: Fertile Little Tattooed Pageant Parents Who Enjoy Baking.

Who: Jon Gosselin interviewed by Rabbi Shmuley Boteach What: This World: The Values Network and BeliefNet present “Fame: Blessing or Curse” Where: West Side Jewish Center When: November 1, 2009 Thumbs: Downer than Down

Maybe it’s the suspenders.

Or maybe it’s the fact that this snazzy 75-year old shops at Juicy Couture, but for whatever the reason, “celebrity” douchebags alike think that Larry King can save them from their swift decline into official American public scum.

TLC announced Tuesday that their gold mine reality show “Jon & Kate Plus 8″ is dropping douche-bag dad Jon to become a terser “Kate Plus Eight.” No confirmation of whether Jon voluntarily made his exit, though it seems highly likely by the looks of his TLC announced yesterday that their gold mine reality show "Jon & Kate Plus 8" is dropping its douche-bag dad Jon to become a terser "Kate Plus Eight." No confirmation of whether Jon voluntarily made his exit, though it seems highly likely by the looks of his frequent Vegas romps frequent Las Vegas romps.