BOTJ

In a bit of shocking news, conservative media icon Andrew Bretibart has died of natural causes, at the age of 43. Needless to say, I wasn't exactly a fan of a lot of his work, but my prayers go out to his family and friends. As for speaking ill of the dead, I think the old rules should still apply.

UPDATE: Not everyone agrees with this, obviously, but my point still stands.

UPDATE #2: I think this from Andrew Sullivan is important:

A man has died at a painfully early age. He has family and friends and colleagues. They are in grief.

Look, I 'm not in any way trying to whitewash Breitbart's record, and I remember his comments after Ted Kennedy's death, but there is something to be said for magninimity, and maybe this is because I have personal experience with the unexpected loss of a loved one, but his family and friends are in grief. We ought to honor that. Be classy, because it's the right thing to do. That's all.

Teeee-bow!

I say this as a die-hard, full-throated Ravens fan, who expects the Ravens go all the way. Now, full disclosure: A Steelers loss is always a good thing to watch, and if the Tebow magic continues into New England next week, the Ravens get a AFC Championship home game. The thing is, I'm a Tebow fan. I really am. Full of potential, and a genuinely decent human being.

Steve Jobs has died. We have lost an icon today. RIP.

Farhad Manjoo laments Netflix's decision to change their billing structure, and to split in two. I think he's overreacting a bit, but he has a point: I dig the idea to separate the streaming service from the DVD service, but to split into two companies seems hasty. I may be one of the few people who appreciated Netflix's original idea to have a streaming only service under the Netflix banner. 99.9 percent of my Netflix use over the past three years has been the streaming service, via my PS3 and iPad. I have nothing but love for the streaming service. I haven't rented a DVD in five months, the primary reason being that new releases have a month delay before they hit Netflix. I also have Blu-ray, and the idea of paying extra for Blu-ray bugs me. So, going from ten bucks to eight bucks for unlimited streaming is good for me...but that's just me.

A lot of customers, who do in fact rent DVDs, were hit pretty hard with the price change. If your aim to is have both DVDs and streaming, the cost has gone up, and now you're going to have to exert more effort to get what you want. It's a problem, although as Manjoo points out, there may be a bright side. I think more competition in the game rental front is good.

Any thoughts?

Ten years later, we never forget.

Hilarious.

It's a day after the fact, but congratulations.

HT: Althouse

"...it will have about the same effect on morale as a reading of the memoirs of President James Earl Carter."

Not quite what you think. Hitch, on the proper preparation of tea.

Next time you are in a Starbucks or its equivalent and want some tea, don't be afraid to decline that hasty cup of hot water with added bag. It's not what you asked for. Insist on seeing the tea put in first, and on making sure that the water is boiling. If there are murmurs or sighs from behind you, take the opportunity to spread the word. And try it at home, with loose tea and a strainer if you have the patience. Don't trouble to thank me. Happy New Year.

First the bad news: Being a self-important douchebag with lousy ratings may not get you fired from CNN.

The good news? Being an anti-Semite? It most assuredly will.

Better late than never, CNN. Glad to see there is a line you can't cross over there. Happily awaiting Sanchez's upcoming evisceration by Stewart.

HT: Althouse

Based on this, can we consider this man a terrorist, albeit an unsuccessful one?

Just thinking out loud...

It's so hilarous, it's almost tragic:

TIME Announces New Version Of Magazine Aimed At Adults

HT: The Daily Dish

"...and tell me it's the 'most revolutionary rain storm ever!' "

That is ostensibly, the reason behind this, from Helen Thomas. Now the age-old debates about free speech, and whether people should be fired for saying outrageous things are free to be had, but irrelevant with regards to the validity and decency of her argument. I'm not sure what an apology what acomplish, seeing that she appears to believe what she says, and thus any apoolgy would be insincere. Now, it's possible that she really has lost it in her old age, but I doubt it.

Keep in mind, that the only logical outgrowth of her statement, that the Jews should "get the Hell out of Palestine," and return to Germany, Poland, etc, is that she refuses to acknowledge the legitimacy of the state of Israel, and that those who see the presence of Jews in the land as an oocupation are correct. This position is of course repulsive, ignorant of plain history, and untenable, but unless something is up--it's the one she holds. I think she will doubtless get a substantial amount of rebuke and comdemnation for this view from respectable quarters--and every bit of it, she deserves.

That's all.

Wow.

The President was will within his rights to do this, and as Justice Alito was well within his rights to respond, so was the Chief Justice.

The Saints have done it.

Unfortunately, so did the Colts, but the Jets were outplayed.

I am thoroughly convinced that this new controversy about the suspect ornaments on the White House Christmas tree is, at the end of the day, a non-story with the typical righty pile-on by the usual suspects. I have no problem believing the White House's argument about the community decorating the tree.

That being said, since when does the White House let just anybody put anything on the official Christmas tree? Did they just say "do what you want," and "knock yourselves out?" Didn't someone think to maybe check the tree from time to time, and screen it for, you know, something controversial? You're telling me that the White House Staff couldn't have just walked in and said, "you know, the Mao thing, that's no good," or something like that? Talk about unforced errors.

Like I said, at the end of the day, this is a non-story, as it's entirely plausible that there are Mao-sympathizers, Hedda Lettuce fans, and those drunk on Obama hero worship out there, and if you just let people put up what they want, crazy things will happen.

What happened to normal decorations, like lights, bulbs, and candy canes, anyway?

UPDATE: You know what, total non-story. Apparently, this sort of thing has happened before. I think the Daily Show handles it well.

I mean personally, I prefer a straight-up Christmas tree, with traditional ornaments, and when you allow 80 some-odd community groups to donate ornaments, things can get weird, but clearly this is purely fake outrage. So much so that I'm wondering if I should've even posted on this at all.

Sen. Ted Kennedy has died, at the age of 77, after his battle with brain cancer. I don't think I need to say how big a deal this is. It's the end of an era, and an icon has fallen. My prayers go out to his family. RIP.

ADDED: Now, I don't want to start anything, but you know that wise rule, about not speaking ill of the dead? Certain folks just refuse to play along. Appalling. Not surprising, but appalling.

Google's motto has always been "Don't be evil." All of us ought to know that "[a]ll that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing."

So, Google, don't be evil!

HT: Sully

UPDATE: Good start!

Ann Althouse elaborates on why she voted for Obama, and yet is in the running for Grande Conservative Blogress Diva. Interesting.

BTW, I made my case here. My reasons aren't the same as hers, but similar in many ways.

Also, if I had to make a choice as to the Grande Conservative Blogress Diva, I'd pick Althouse, Shay from Booker Rising, or a few others I had in mind, but I'm a moderate liberal Democrat, so I'm not sure how much weight that carries.