Mary Henkel Judson is editor and co-publisher of the South Jetty. Contact her at (361) 749-5131 or southjetty@centurytel.net. Monday, Monday.

They say you can't trust that day.

It started with a news release from the Reelect (Candidate to Remain Anonymous Because He's Not the Only One Who Does This) Campaign announcing a television advertising campaign being launched.

Hello?

The candidate had his minions send a news release to a newspaper that he expects to be published for free about a paid television advertising campaign.

Someone fell off a turnip truck sometime Monday morning. I e-mailed a reply to that effect.

Before the e-mail was received I got a phone call from the campaign to confirm receipt of the news release.

I clarified my understanding that, in fact, the candidate's campaign headquarters was sending the South Jetty newspaper a news release that they expected to be published for free about a paid television advertising campaign.

Affirmative.

I asked that the campaign send a news release to the television stations when it got ready to launch a paid newspaper advertising campaign.

What? Do they think I'm stupid?

As it is, TV gets most of the political advertising dollars, banking on voters making decisions based on sound bytes (surely South Jetty readers are smarter than that!).

Newspapers - dailies, that is - cover the issues and the candidates, but get little advertising revenue for the coverage that does a far better job of informing voters than fleeting images and one-liners that flash across a television screen (while the volume is likely muted).

Weekly newspapers don't have staff to cover state and national issues. We focus on local government, and our coverage of the issues and the candidates is done week in and week out as we cover what is happening in our communities, at city halls and in the school districts.

In the case of the South Jetty, we offer local candidates space to make a free statement to present their qualifications and positions leading up to the deadline to file for office.

In addition, the South Jetty sponsors a voter education forum, Candidates' Night, for candidates in contested races. The forum is broadcast on the local cable channel and reported almost verbatim in the next edition of the South Jetty.

Beyond that, we don't have the resources to cover campaigns or candidates.

Print media does a far better job of informing voters about the candidates and the issues, so it is nothing short of insulting, offensive and rude that a candidate sends a press release to the print media announcing that it plans to spend its advertising dollars with the media that does the worst job of informing the public about their political platform.

Monday, Monday. Can't trust that day.

There's more.

I called our cellular provider to make a change in our service. The number I called for the store in Corpus Christi where I have gotten the best service did not answer. No answering machine. No recorded message that the number was no longer in service. I re-confirmed the number and dialed it three different times of the day. Tried another store's number. Same result.

Called another number and, having gotten nowhere with the other numbers, waited out the recorded instructions, punching 1 or 2 or whatever number seemed to be appropriate.

Finally, I get a human being in Missouri who said the bad weather was to blame for the Corpus Christi stores not answering their phones (the hurricane was in Cuba - starts with C, but that's where the similarity ends).

Long story short, I ended up talking to a supervisor to whom I expressed my displeasure at the inefficiency of the operation.

Her answer: I was lucky. Everyone else spent longer than I did suffering through the process.

I felt so much better! It was Monday. What can I say? Can't trust that day.