Boring

I was so excited to make fun of the math, and discovered that about 10 people beat me to it. Still, what gives? Let's call it "journalistic license" for a writer to be a bit loosey goosey with numbers--"tweaking" [ahem] them a bit to create a more compelling narrative.

Gary, my hapa brother, you whiffed on this one. Channeling Maureen Dowd a bit too much.

I really enjoyed this post. The yakkers on every sports broadcast drive me crazy ... especially in gymnastics.

But maybe your editors could, for variety, begin your next headline with something other than, "As a former elite ..." Just sayin'.

I nervously await whatever is to replace this staple of mine.

I like to switch between these two:

- Of Montreal's "Sunlandic Twins" (because it moves me)

- El-P's latest (because I imagine being chased by dogs and helicopters)

It's interesting that I would never divulge the key plot twist of a feature motion picture, but I don't hesitate to dish on a TV episode the day after it airs. My attitude is probably a holdover from the days when everyone watched TV at the same time, so if you missed it you just had to hear about it at the water cooler. Obviously we consume TV in a much different manner now, with Tivo and DVD's. Still, I don't think I can give up engaging in extensive discussions of TV episodes (especially online) immediately after they air. Those discussions are part of what separates TV from other media. TV is still, as much as anything these days, a shared cultural experience. So let's share. Sorry to those who didn't catch the show when it aired, but I think I'd just have to recommend that they not read these articles until they've seen the show.

Funniest article I've read on Salon in a long time. I remember one time getting into a shouting match with my dad about whether I was an idiot or just stupid. Not very colorful compared to "little fucker," but I look back on the exchange with certain fondness. And yes, I was being a stupid idiot. I think I had driven my car over the high school's front lawn. There is probably a difference between verbal abuse and calling a spade a spade. My parents loved me very much and treated me with great respect, which is why it was important for them to let me know when my actions made me a stupid idiot.

Kudos, Dash. Jack escaping from China was what I desperately wanted to see out of this season. At the end of last season I was thoroughly convinced that this season would be set in China. Seriously, I was ready to crown the writers geniuses for injecting something incredibly refreshing into the tired old 24 formula. But then the current season premiered with the deus ex machina of Jack's return. I was willing to play along with the martial law and nuclear fallout angles because both posed some intriguing plot possibilities. But, to echo gerontion, they totally abandoned that stuff. Instead we got a school of red herring and, the coup de grace, a 100% new story to finish out the last 7 hours of the day. Boo! Filth! Rubbish! I'm done with this show.

I'm certain that every federal employee, from the President down through CIA and NSA agents to the lowliest Capitol Hill intern, swears an oath to uphold the Constitution of the United States of America. Upholding the Constitution should be the ultimate duty of loyalty for all public servants. If any government agent sees that the Constitution has been compromised, or is being abused in any way, it is incumbent upon her to redeem it. When our government tortures human beings across the world, or when it spies on its own citizens, every American who knows about those practices has a duty to reveal them, by a leak, or by any means necessary. To defend the soul of the country in such a way is a truly heroic act.

On the other hand, when a leak is used offensively, selectively, or deceptively, to further political purposes, that is a truly despicable act. There is no Constitutional or moral justification for that.

Great work, Salon. I've always been a full supporter of Salon's decision to publish these photos, but I have to admit now that I wish some things had turned out differently. Salon's publication of the Abu Ghraib materials never gained traction with the MSM and the public. The last hope of grabbing Americans' attention seemed to be a judicial decision adverse to the government, ordering it to turn over the videos and photos. It seems unlikely now that such a decision will be forthcoming. The government's concession to the ACLU, to turn over the photos that have already been released, is not going to grab the public's attention in the same way that a fiery opinion from the bench (one can dream) might have done. Americans are so over Abu Ghraib. That upsets me.