I [heart] the smugness here!

http://stuffwhitepeoplelike.wordpress.com/2008/01/26/28-not-having-a-tv/

Articles like this really draw 'em out of the woodwork, don't they?

You can't have a valid critique of something if you don't know anything about it. Of course there is a lot of dreck on TV, but there is enough seriously high-quality programming these days for solid adult entertainment (not sure about the state of "entertainment for children"). But really, if you don't know what's on, you don't have standing here to bash.

You're missing my points.

One, I never said it was ok for kids <= 2 to watch TV. I actually think this is a good thing (to keep infants off the TV).

Two, your crack analogy is false and hyperbolic - there is of course no redeeming value in crack, but you yourself admit to the existence of worthwhile TV programming.

If you don't like commercials, get a DVR (e.g. Tivo) and skip 'em. (That's what I have.) If you don't like crappy programming, then don't watch it! How easy is that!

So, what are you doing about all the "crappy" stuff online? Or is it TV = bad and Internet = good? Your knee jerk reaction against TV but not against all the dreck on the internet shows your bias.

That's all, except I have to put something here to get the message accepted.

The guy is not frugal - he has (serious) issues with wealth. Sounds to me like he's (violently) reacting to money and beautiful places (which probably arose from being wealthy). What's his family like? I wonder if his parents were wealthy and he's rebelling against that by being poor with ugly living spaces.

When one is frugal, one is usually orderly. He is not. Sounds like he has some issues he needs to deal with.

This is par for the course, folks - welcome to what you voted for.

And shame on the Congress for ignoring this and every other thumbing of the WH's nose at the law. Get Pelosi out of there and put someone in who has the stones to go after the Bush-ites.

I mean, wouldn't you rather almost hit another plane than almost miss it? That seems more logical to me.

Nice.

I do believe that's called racism.

Explain to me why, as a working-class American who can not afford of the creature comforts al Buthe does, I am supposed to care about his supposed Constitutional rights?

Wow. If you don't understand the importance of upholding the Constitution - not much we can do to help you. And what's with playing the "working-class American" card? What is that code for here?

At least we know he's not a lawyer:

The Constitution protects due process For AMERICAN CITIZENS

That's just patently false. The Constitution protect due process for all "U.S. Persons," a legal term meaning all those who reside in the US legally. And most protections (not sure which exactly) are afforded to those who are here illegally as well.

I know I shouldn't keep feeding the troll, but it's just so tempting.

p.s. - no one's called it "Frisco" since about 1978.

Does she have any credibility left? She is digging so fast and furious it is hardly believable. "Don't read anything into it." Right.

If she and Bill want to have any standing in the party or in the country, she needs to get the hell out of the race NOW. I used to have a lot of respect for her. Now she has basically zero political capital left.

Yes, he'll do well now that the book is No. 1 on Amazon, but that wasn't a given when he signed his contract

Oh come on - we al know this book would be huge. Doesn't take a rocket scientist to know it would sell like hotcakes. Let's be realistic here.

I must confess I spend way too much time fantasizing about this scenario. And I know it's not healthy, in several ways.

As someone earlier mentioned, $3M is not a lot of money these days, especially if you live some place like the (SF) Bay Area. So it's not like you're going to live off it for the rest of your lives, unless you move to someplace like Mexico or Appalachia.

So you need a plan. You need to decide what is important to you in life and make plans to those ends. That of course is the 50,000 ft view, but that's where you need to start.

Some things I consider worthwhile in a universal sense, which you should seriously consider:

- Art. Art is almost always more useful than being a bean counter/cubicle dweller in the long run. (Who really remembers and finds inspiration from the best salesman 10 years running?) Contribute to the beautification of society.

- Give a big chunk of it away, preferably to some worthwhile unsexy cause, like malaria eradication or water purification in the 3rd world.

- Run for public office and not have to be beholden to corporate interests for your funding. Then you get to really say what needs to be said. (If you decide to do this, watch Bullworth first and be prepared to accept the consequences.)

- Give moderate-size chunks away to random people on the street and watch their minds be blown. This is fun.

- It's not all a burden - see the world before you can't. Maybe you will be inspired by someone/somwhere. Take lots of pictures.

• There was no 7 second delay in place when this happened - it was all live. The network did not have the SB Halftime Show on a delay.

• That said, Janet's nipple was present on screen for LESS THAN ONE SECOND - the camera on her zoomed out and spun away faster than you can say "Evil Dead". Why is no one mentioning this fact (which makes this incident barely even trivial)? I was watching the show, and I have a DVR, and even with me rewinding and pausing the live TV, I could barely make out anything there. You had to have had your eyes glued to the TV set at that exact second to even know what was going on. At my SB party (about 10 of us), I was the only one who thought something even remotely odd was happening.

Good riddance to this truly arbitrary and capricious FCC fine.