“All I’m ready to concede is whoever Perry hired for these stupid crosswords should be fired,”

That is indeed very serious, Lois.
“You know, when I gave that speech last week about budget cuts I was under the impression it’d light a fire under your bums, not try to figure out which one of you is smarter than a third grader.”
Sometimes this kind of speech can have unpredictable consequences!
The man took it from her hands, an eyebrow raised in reluctance as he glanced what had his reporters fighting. The Daily Planet crossword section stared back at him, less than half of the sections complete.
I love this line

“Seven across for ‘Hernando de blank bridge’ is ‘SOTO’. I remember driving across it when Alice and I were over in Memphis a couple years ago.
Ah, the final humiliation!

I really enjoyed it, and I’m curious to find out what Lex is planning!