Orchestrating the most elaborate parody I can recall, pranksters are unleashing 1.2 million copies of a knock-off New York Times today under the motto, "All the News We Hope to Print." Here are the headlines for the issue dated July 4, 2009:

In an elaborate operation six months in the planning, 1.2 million papers were printed at six different presses and driven to prearranged pickup locations, where thousands of volunteers stood ready to pass them out on the street.

Articles in the paper announce dozens of new initiatives including the establishment of national health care, the abolition of corporate lobbying, a maximum wage for C.E.O.s, and, of course, the end of the
war.

The paper, an exact replica of The New York Times, includes International, National, New York, and Business sections, as well as editorials, corrections, and a number of advertisements, including a
recall notice for all cars that run on gasoline.

There's a replica NYT web site over here. And Gothamist has video.

It took them six months to produce one issue of the paper. It makes you appreciate the choreography it takes to publish a national daily newspaper every damn day. Has anybody actually seen one of these gems? Any word on the article announcing that a judge strikes down Prop 8?