Friday, January 29, 2010

Hiding from Fame, Setting Gerry up for Another Big Fall


The AP asks, "What's in J.D. Salinger's Safe?"

I'm deeply disturbed by the question because I fear it can only lead to Geraldo Rivera, a work crew, and a live TV special. On the plus side, the schadenfreude would be even sweeter this second time around.

(Unrelated question: Am I really one of the very few who is annoyed by Catcher in the Rye? It's one of those books that everyone is expected to fawn over, but I just can't do it. One of the 100 best English-language novels of the 20th Century? Really? According to Time Magazine, yes. According to me, no freakin' way. Portnoy's Complaint (also on Time's list, sadly) leaves me similarly weary: the constant bitching and moaning of the two books' narrators is too much for me to overcome.)

Thursday, January 21, 2010

Corporations and Free Speech

So the Supreme Court ruled moments ago that corporations have the same free speech rights as individuals. Do other basic rights apply to corporations, as well? For instance, will corporate officers be able to take the Fifth if they feel their testimony might incriminate the companies they represent? And what about Second Amendment rights? How much more exciting and interesting will the Microsoft vs. Google and the Google vs. Apple wars become if those companies can now keep and bear arms?


UPDATE: A friend responds to this by observing that, "Conservatives will be happy with the 2nd amendment rights just as long as Microsoft and Apple can't get gay-married."