Mention any combination of Janet, Jackson, Boob, Superbowl or Halftime and your traffic spikes up.

Update: Oh my! Mine is not as bad as the one Les had. Janetlanche.

Wireless monitor. It’d have to be cheaper than a laptop and wifi setup. Of course, I am too late.

Via one of the Volokh’s (they all look the same, you know) comes the headline that: TiVo watchers uneasy after post-Super Bowl reports

AlphaPatriot provided a link to TiVo’s privacy policy that states:

TiVo has no way to access any of your Personally Identifiable Viewing
Information (as defined below) from your TiVo DVR without your prior
consent. Absent your consent, TiVo has no way of knowing what shows you-as
an individual or household- have watched, recorded, or rated with “Thumbs Up”
or “Thumbs Down.”

I’m not scared.

For Manish, who has a habit of informing me that Canadians have free speech too, comes this:

A high school teacher in British Columbia, punished for writing publicly against homosexuality, is not protected by the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the province’s Supreme Court has ruled.

Chris Kempling, a teacher and guidance counsellor in a Quesnel high school said the ruling by the B.C. Supreme Court is “a significant blow to freedom of speech and freedom of religion,” denying Christian teachers the right to speak out on controversial issues. Kempling says he intends to appeal the ruling.

In 2002, the British Columbia College of Teachers suspended Kempling for one month for “professional misconduct or conduct unbecoming a BCCT member.”

It had been investigating a complaint received after Kempling wrote a series of letters to his local newspaper between 1997 and 2000 saying homosexuality was wrong.

Kerry continues to prove that he’s for sale:

At least three times in his Senate career, Democratic presidential hopeful John Kerry has recommended individuals for positions at federal home loan banks just before or after receiving political contributions from the nominees, records show.

Why does this shock people so much? Every politician at every level who is somewhat successful is bought and paid for by someone.

Some folks think that this ruling means the press can’t cover the war:

A federal appeals court ruled Tuesday that the Pentagon has no constitutional obligation to provide the media access to U.S. troops during combat.

The press can cover the war but there is no obligation on the part of our military to embed troops.

The south’s non tyrannical err lenient gun laws allow a pipeline of guns to flood Chicago. Chicago has a gun problem and it is that the right people (the ones that obey the law) don’t have any.

Thanks to whoever voted for me in this contest. As always, I appreciate any blogging support.

My entry regarding Salon’s bashing of anonymous bloggers stated that it was lame that the Salon article wasn’t signed. It was hypocritical.

Two readers have confirmed that they don’t see a name either (see here and here). I guess my original contention stands: lame.

Additionally, the always excellent Publicola offers some insights in the comments section as to why anonymous guys may even be more credible.

SayUncle News February 5, 2004 – Dennis Kucinich reported that he was happy to break the one percent mark. His opponent, SayUncle (who isn’t even running), raked in exactly 0% of the vote. When asked about the neck and neck race, SayUncle responded: I didn’t come out here today to prove that I am only slightly less popular than this other guy whom you have heard of. In fact, I didn’t come out at all.

As the race for the White House among these two candidates is determined by ever dwindling margins, SayUncle stated he was very glad that he was in a statistical three way tie for fourth. On SayUncle, Kucinich reportedly said Who? When Kucinich was informed that he was statistically tied with almost everyone in the country, he quipped This race ain’t over to which this reporter replied Actually, for you, it is.

We’ll keep you posted on this race that is currently too close to call. Al Sharpton could not be reached for comment.

Alex Knapp alerts us that Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf has pardoned Abdul Qadeer Khan, the guy who leaked nuke secrets to Iran, Libya and North Korea. I thought they were on our side?

Kim du Toit offers a great example of how government can mess up a good system.

Politics aside, I’ve always liked Bob Dole. He’s a nice guy and is very funny. He was on The Daily Show last night when John Stewart asked the following regarding Howard Dean (paraphrased):

Stewart: Have you ever seen a guy on top fall so far so fast?

Dole: Yeah, me.

Via Bubba, when asked why Kerry didn’t plan a visit to the Volunteer State:

“John Kerry is not trying to run a regional candidacy. He’s running for president of the United States, with an emphasis on the united,” said Kathy Roeder, spokeswoman for the Kerry campaign in Tennessee.”

Now, I’ll take even more pleasure in watching him lose.

Boy, Lieberman will regret that phrase for a while. The Comedian links to his Joebituary. It’s Joever.

Adam has the latest. It’s the Super Bowl edition.

All the local news media are running stories on Wesley Clark. Is the Tennessee fix in?

This morning, I heard on the radio that someone in Knoxville has started a class action lawsuit against CBS, the NFL, Justin Timberlake, and Janet Jackson over Janet Jackson’s boobs.

Update: Brian has more.

The bill that is to outlaw frivolous lawsuits against gun manufacturer’s has had a rider attached to it by Sen. Diane Feinsten. The rider gets rid of the sunset provision of the Assault Weapons Ban.

Here’s the bill.

The Times Picayune:

The “pit bull” dog conjures up many emotions and opinions among New Orleans residents. Most of the people I encounter think of them as dangerous or untrustworthy and would never consider adopting one. Is this a result of media attention, dogfighting sport phenomena, or truth?

The truth about pit bulls is that they are affectionate, loyal, tough, playful, athletic and intelligent, and exhibit a strong drive to please their owners. It was once the most popular dog in America. You may remember “Our Gang” on the “Little Rascals” television show. Their beloved dog Petie was a pit bull.

Teddy Roosevelt had a pit as did Helen Keller. The most decorated World War I dog was “Stubby,” a dutiful pit bull. Pit bulls, or “bulldogs” as they were called in the late 1800s, were bred for their devotion to people. They enjoy children and will play happily with them for hours.

There’s a lot more. But the negative media attention hits the nail squarely on the head.

Oh, this again.

Salon is poo-pooing anonymous bloggers. Meanwhile, I don’t see them slamming anonymous editorial tripe in major media outlets. What gives? Hell, the stupid Salon article isn’t signed. I assume Karen Croft wrote it, as she is credited to the one above it. But who knows? Lame.

Even Insty (a guy with tenure) says:

I understand anonymous blogging — and pseudonymous blogging — and I don’t think that they’re necessarily illegitimate. But it’s certainly true that I tend to take stuff from named bloggers more seriously. With a sufficient track record, that can change, of course. It does seem, though, that anonymity often affects the tone of a blog. Posting under your real name probably does encourage a certain additional degree of civility, in most people at least.

Bill says:

An anonymous blogger might tell you he can’t blog because his employer might not like it, or his customers – so just trust him that he is who he says he is. Hogwash. He just wants the freedom to behave badly, slander with impunity, and spread lies.

I rarely link to blogs by anonymous bloggers. In the future, I’ll do so even less.

Bill also addresses the credibility of us anonymous types. How much credibility do bloggers have anyway? Seriously. Is Atrios more or less believable than Bill? I doubt it. And I am one more inclined to agree with Bill than Atrios.

Bill also says:

My experience with anonymous bloggers is exactly that – and they often allow cretinous behavior in their comments sections.

I run a rather clean show here. And so do other anonymous types.

I have no more nor less credibility being anonymous. What leads to a bloggers credibility is their political and social predisposition; their agenda and positions on issues; and the clarity and intellectual ability with which they express themselves. Not their name. My name is unimportant. I’d tell it to you and you’d respond with a hardy Never heard of him. That doesn’t discredit my opinion on an issue.

Blogging for most of us is the equivalent of one big chatroom where people discuss stuff. Why does one need to use their real name to do that? I send anonymous gifts to charities too. Is my donation less credible?

I haven’t said who I am. So, I am who I say I am. I’m nobody special. Just some guy, ya know.

Update: To support my contention that identity doesn’t matter, it does occur to me that in the one year and five months that I’ve had a blog and my 130,000ish hits that no one has ever asked me who I am. I’ve even been interviewed in local media and haven’t been asked.

Update2: Via email, Glenn informs me:

It’s by Christopher Farah. It says so right there.

Not on the version I am looking at. I even did a Find and got nothing. Maybe it’s because I am not a subscriber and got one of those day passes to read the article.

I stand sort of corrected.

Last Update: Insty emailed me the entire text. I suppose there is a difference between what subscribers see and what us daily pass folks see. No scandal. No hypocrisy. Keep it moving, nothing to see here.

Really the last update and I mean it this time: Insty says he has a day pass too. I don’t know what gives but I see no name attributed to the article. So much for anonymous blogger’s credibility. For those who may doubt, here’s what I looked at.

People have started endorsing their candidates. Mr. and Mrs. Bubba are for Clark. William is for Edwards. Brian is too. Who do I endorse? Glad you ask. I endorse Yellow Dog.

Let’s compare Yellow Dog to other Democrats:
Read the rest of this entry »

I was heating up some broccoli cheese soup* in the microwave here at the office and I paused the microwave to stir it. I spilled a drop on my leather shoes. I took a paper towel and wiped it off. It left a surprisingly lustrous shine on my brown shoes. Strange.

* Broccoli Cheese Soup – super easy, fast and tasty

2 cups frozen or fresh chopped broccoli

1 medium onion, diced

1/4 cup flour

1 to 2 cups milk depending on desired thickness

14ish ounces of chicken stock (homemade or from a can)

Pepper to taste

1 cup of grated American cheese (or Velveeta – am I the only one concerned about a dairy product that isn’t refrigerated at the grocery store?)

In a large pot, bring to light boil onions, broccoli and chicken broth. Reduce heat and simmer for 8 or so minutes. In bowl, combine flour, pepper and milk mixture. Stir milk/flour mixture into broth/veggie mixture. Stir regularly for several minutes to allow mixture to thicken.

After mixture has thickened, gradually stir in cheese. Cook until all cheese melts. Good stuff!

Update: Shine is gone now and I am left with a white film. Eew!

A while back, I set up the site so I could link to comments, particularly insightful ones. This is why.

When confronted with bullies, should you teach your kids to retaliate? I think so. So does Ted.

I am not making this up:

When I was about six, there was a neighborhood bully who had some severe emotional problems. He was about nine and weighed considerably more than me. He’d snap if a game didn’t go his way or he didn’t get what he wanted. I was never taught to be a fighter. He beat me up several times and I’d go cry to Mom. One day mom said that if I fought back, the kid would stop. Actually, it’s my mom. Who am I kidding? What she said was if I he kicked my ass again, she’d kick my ass again when I got home. Ah, I love my mom.

One day it happened. The ice cream truck didn’t stop (seriously, I’m not making that up). Psycho kid then took out his rage on the nearest thing. It happened to be me. He punched me in the stomach several times and kicked me some. It stopped. I went running home.

I recalled what mom said about getting two ass-kickings in one day. Not a good thing. I got to my porch and pondered. I stopped crying. I grabbed a Tonka truck (the old metal kind that are probably deemed unsafe for kids today due to some arbitrary federal regulation) and went back into the street.

I walked up to the bully and pummeled him relentlessly with the Tonka truck. He later required stitches. He never went nuts on me again. In fact, he and the other kids in the neighborhood never picked on me again. Justice was served.

I found out later that maybe I took it too far. Mom wanted me to fight back and kick his ass. Not necessarily assault him with a Tonka truck. I went a bit overboard but based on my parental guidance thought I made the right decision. Regardless, she was still proud.

That’s one of the many reasons why I love my mom and her wisdom.

The veto against CCW was not overridden. Owen says it’s not over and has a plan of attack. Help if you can.

This quiz says I am a liberal.

Thanks to John for the pointer.

Mike is trying to organize a meeting of Memphis bloggers. If you’re interested, drop by.

Maryland wants its own in case the federal one sunsets. More here.

The Governor opposes it. Good for him.

The anti-gun folks have boners for it.

Knoxpatch has a snazzy new look. Lots of good stuff over there too.