In light of our miserable failure to pass Special Fees for the Stanford News Readership Program this past election, one silver lining is the New York Times' announcement a month or so ago that it is giving away Times Select premium content to University students and faculty for free!

I learned of this fact today, but it's a bit anti-climactic for me. When the newspaper locked away its illustrious columnists under the Select program back in 2005, I couldn't imagine what life would be like without their liberal guidance. But I survived, and well, now I would like to think I'm stronger without having to rely on the crutch of their brilliance to decide where I stand on the issues.

So, Tom Friedman and Paul Krugman, it's nice to have you back. But with the NYTimes re-initiating the relationship, I sort of feel like you're asking to have us back.