Some of the news that is fit to print

Super Bowl of hysteria...

My Hero, Janet Jackson [NYT, 2.15.2004]
By Frank Rich
You can argue that Janet Jackson is the only honest figure in this Super Bowl of hypocrisy. The halftime viewers are as guilty as CBS.

For those who still couldn't get enough, the cable news channels giddily played the video over and over to remind us of just how deplorable it was. Even though by this point the networks were blurring the breast with electronic pasties, there was still an erotic kick to be milked: the act of a man tearing off a woman's clothes was as thrilling to the audience as whatever flesh was revealed therein, perhaps more so. But to say that aloud is to travel down a road that our moral watchdogs do not want to take. It's the unwritten rule of our culture that the public is always right. The "folks," as Bill O'Reilly is fond of condescending to them, are always the innocent victims of the big, bad cultural villains. They're never complicit in the crime. The idea that the folks might have the free will to tune out tasteless TV programming or do without TV altogether — or that they might eat up the sleaze, with or without young 'uns in the room — is almost never stated on television, for obvious reasons of fiscal self-interest. You don't insult your customers.

Um, your book sucks!

Amazon Glitch Unmasks War of Reviewers [NYT, 2.14.2004]
By AMY HARMON
A glitch on Amazon's Canadian site revealed the identities of people who had anonymously posted book reviews on the U.S. site.

Pressing on WMDs...

Yeah, so there are no WMDs... weapons of mass distruction, of course! Who would guess we would ever know that acronym off the top of our heads? There has been much press about what the W knew and whether he was "sexing-up" the data. But what about the press's role as a watchdog? Slate.com's regular round-up of what is in magazines has this based on an article in the NYReview of Books...

New York Review of Books, Feb. 26 Michael Massing builds a convincing case that the U.S. press corps was "far too reliant on sources sympathetic to the administration" in the buildup to war in Iraq. The New York Times, and especially Chalabi chum Judith Miller, get the most damaging broadsides. Miller's story in September 2002 that Iraq had acquired aluminum tubes to help build nuclear material "would become a key prop in the administration's case for war, and the Times played a crucial part in legitimizing it." Massing also criticizes the papers for ignoring the reports of weapons inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency that there was "no sign whatever of any effort by Iraq to resume its nuclear program." And then there are editors who buried critical stories from enterprising reporters in the dark recesses of the A section. (Also see Jack Shafer's Judith Miller takedown in Slate.)

Slate also has a round-up from The Economist...

Just a quick aside on the Economist. I admit that I do not read the Economist regularly... OK, almost never! Although many people who I respect call it one of their must-reads, my sense is that it is pompous and stodgy. That being said, they have really done an amazing job with their covers recently. I have included a few from recent months...
This one... "Where's the stick?"
12.13.2003, "The shape of things to come"
and perhaps my favorite magazine cover of all time from 9.20.2003, "The charming outcome of the Cancum trade talks" Talk about an image capturing an event.

Anyway, this week, it is about Cable's attempted take-over of the Mouse House...

Economist, Feb. 14
Comcast's bid to take over faltering Disney may augur a return of 1980s corporate culture, the halcyon days when corporate raiders "disciplined poor managers with the boot" rather than the golden parachute. (No word on the potential rebirth of shoulder pads.) Despite warnings that "combining content and distribution in one company" may not make sense in the digital age, the magazine is generally positive about Comcast unleashing "weapons of mouse destruction." Hey, maybe Pixar's Steve Jobs would even unpack his cardboard boxes if Michael Eisner got pushed out.

The city without the sex?

So Federal Communications Commission Chairman Michael Powell is promising to regulate indecent material on television. But what about cable?

Can the FCC Regulate HBO? [Slate]
Michael Powell promises to crack down on cable. Can he?

Not really, although it can try to use its clout to browbeat cable channels into better self-policing.

Happy Valentine's Day

A cosmic rose for Valentine's Day...

Source: Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics via SJMN's Good Morning Silicon Valley

It's Valentine's Day weekend...

The history of the holiday...
and the Catholic take on St. Valentine...
But it is not like it used to be...
and the first cards were produced in the 1840s. In the first year, they sold a then mind-boggling $5,000 in cards...

Equation Predicts Marriage Success or Failure [Reuters, 2.13.2004]

Sex Is on the Menu This Valentine's Day [WSJ, 2.13.2004]
Normally Staid Restaurants Dish Out Some Spicy Offerings; Adult Pudding for Two
If Janet Jackson's Super Bowl stunt -- or the latest "Sex and the City" episode -- makes you blush, then shield your eyes from this year's Valentine's Day restaurant menus.

By The Numbers: Valentine's Day as culled from Poynter's always interesting Al Tompkins
All of this is from the Census Bureau:
Candy is Dandy
1,040
Number of locations producing chocolate and cocoa products in 2001. These establishments employed 45,913 people. California led the nation in the number of such establishments (with 116) followed by Pennsylvania (with 107).

24 pounds
Per capita consumption of candy by Americans in 2002; it is believed a large portion is consumed around Valentine's Day. Candy consumption has actually declined over the last few years: in 1997, each American gobbled or savored more than 27 pounds of candy a year.

Flowers
$410 million
The wholesale value of domestically produced cut flowers in 2002 for operations with $100,000 or more in sales. Among states, California was the leading producer, alone accounting for about two-thirds of this amount ($279 million).

$56 million
The wholesale value of domestically produced roses in 2002 for operations with $100,000 or more in sales. Among all types of cut flowers, roses were a close second in receipts to lilies ($58 million).

23,870
The number of florists nationwide in 2001. These businesses employed 125,116 people.

Jewelry
29,780
Number of jewelry stores in the United States in 2001. Jewelry stores offer wedding, engagement, and other rings, as well as other baubles, to lovers of all ages.

Romantic-Sounding Places
2
The number of places in the United States named Valentine. Valentine, Neb., was the more populous of the two, with 2,842 residents on July 1, 2002; Valentine, Texas, had just 185.

9
Number of places identified by the Census Bureau nationwide with "love" in their name. Loveland, Colo., was the most populous, with 55,273 residents in 2002. The others: Lovejoy, Ga., Loves Park, Ill.; Lovelock, Nev.; Love Valley, N.C.; Loveland, Ohio; Loveland Park, Ohio; Loveland, Okla.; and Lovelady, Texas.

Still haven't had your fill of love? Try Loving County, deep in the heart of Texas, with 64 residents in 2002. Or cross the border into New Mexico to the city of Lovington (population 9,484), or the village of Loving (population 1,313), or go to Oklahoma and Love County (population 8,911). And don't forget Lovington, Ill., with 1,210 residents. (1, 2)

If you really have your heart set on Shakespeare this Valentine's Day, you might start the day by visiting Romeo (Romeo, Colo.; Romeo, Mich.; or Romeoville, Ill., with 384, 3,765 and 28,765 residents, respectively, in 2002) and end it by calling on Mount Juliet, Tenn. (population, 15,465).

Be Mine
2.3 million
Number of marriages that take place in the United States annually. That breaks down to nearly 6,200 a day.

25.3 and 26.9
The estimated U.S. median ages at first marriage for women and men, respectively. The age for women is up 4.4 years in the last three decades. The age for men is up 3.6 years.

60 percent
Percentage of people 15 and over in Idaho who are currently married - the highest rate among states. New York has the lowest rate, 50 percent.

Red book, Blue book...

From Andrew Sullivan...

Fascinating graphic of how hermetically sealed we are becoming one from another. We don't even read the same books any more, depending on our blue-red identity. I agree with Jonah that there's nothing wrong with a divided country. It can be fun! But a divided country where both sides don't even talk to one another? That's a little more worrying. One side benefit of my raising gay issues on this blog strikes me as being exactly that conversational clash. I understand why most people avoid it - it's grueling to be in the middle of the vortex. But it's important too. And increasingly rare.

The Blair book...

OK, cheap shot time... I wonder who is actually writing this book?

Publisher: Jayson Blair Book Will Surprise Readers [E&P]

Less than a month before publication of "Burning Down My Master's House," by disgraced former New York Times reporter Jayson Blair, the book's publisher claims it will surprise readers because it includes few excuses for what Blair did. He told E&P that Blair takes the blame for nearly all of what occurred, citing a sentence on the first page that states, "I lied, I lied, I lied."
"The person he is most critical of is himself," said Michael Viner, president of New Millennium Audio and Press, which will publish the Blair book on March 6 (and release audio and CD copies as well). "It is not an excuse book. The tone is not what so many of these books do, which is excuse their actions."

More MTP follows...

E&P has its critique...

10 Questions Russert Didn't Ask [E&P]
The missed opportunities for follow-ups.

Partisans may debate whether Tim Russert on NBC's "Meet the Press" Sunday morning was too tough or too easy on President George W. Bush in his questioning. Certainly, Russert challenged Bush sharply on several occasions, but he also missed opportunities to raise at least 10 highly relevant questions:

And a blog report from CJR's blog.

Andrew Sullivan notes my take away point...

Bush offered no compelling rationale for reelecting him.

Finally... Peggy Noonan has a pretty harsh review of Bush II's performance...

The president seemed tired, unsure and often bumbling. His answers were repetitive, and when he tried to clarify them he tended to make them worse. He did not seem prepared. He seemed in some way disconnected from the event. When he was thrown the semisoftball question on his National Guard experience--he's been thrown this question for 10 years now--he spoke in a way that seemed detached. "It's politics." Well yes, we know that. Tell us more.

the 'eh! everybody knew it' defense...

Kozlowski's Defense Strategy: Big Spending Was No Secret [WSJ, paid subscription required, 2.9.2004]
Lawyers for Kozlowski are trying to turn the conspicuousness of his consumptions into their main defense. They argue that payments to the former Tyco CEO were hardly a secret, in an effort to cast doubt on whether he acted with criminal intent.

Doing his time...

ABCNews.com's The Note notes that the LAT investigative ace Richard Serrano has details on the FOIA all the media should have filed by now regarding POTUS records....

'I Did My Duty,' President Says of His Military Service Record [LAT, 2.9.2004]

Answering Democratic critics, Bush says he is 'absolutely' willing to authorize the release of documents on his time in the National Guard.