We have been neglecting Book TV of late, the weekend mini-network on C-SPAN2 concentrating on serious nonfiction. This weekend’s feature is “24 Hours of History”: Join Book TV this weekend for 24 hours of History starting midnight on Saturday December 21st to midnight Sunday December 22nd. Authors will discuss the …

Hey, when you pry open the mind of a segregationist, vile things can pop out: WASHINGTON — Majority leader Trent Lott issued a formal apology last week: “My mistake,” explains Lott, “was forgetting that coons are people too, and they have feelings. Feelings and votes.” Lott was apologizing for comments …

We have been following the very serious privacy and civil liberties aspects of the Patriot Act. Book sellers and libraries seem to be most institutionally offended, as well they should be. Here is a site that rather flippantly fights back with signs available for your library. Here’s one: “Were Sorry… …

LawMeme and Electronic Freedom Foundation, with an assist from Blogcritics, attempt to smoke suckas wit logic.

Hey, what’s on TV tonight? Anything warm and fuzzy for the holidays? It would appear so based upon pre-reviews from the NY Times, Daniel Pipes and the show’s own website – Muhammad: Legacy of a Prophet on PBS. There is no doubt that Islam has come under much closer scrutiny …

Smuggling endangered species into the country isn’t funny, although monkeys in your underwear is worth a chuckle or two: A man nabbed with two endangered pygmy monkeys in his pants after his flight from Thailand landed at Los Angeles International Airport pleaded guilty Tuesday to smuggling protected wildlife. In entering …

Man, am I sorry I missed this one – hard to believe an accident could be so sweet: A technical glitch at the local cable company caused a risque HBO comedy show to replace the morning news the other day. Some viewers complained they were seeing topless women, while hearing …

I wish the sudden convert to affirmative action would give up the ghost already so we could concentrate on other things, but here’s more ammo for Trent Lott’s ouster: the Philadelphia Daily News, among “50 things you didn’t know about Trent Lott,” reveals these nuggets: 11. Practiced food segregation as …

The judge in the ReplayTV vs. Hollywood-TV networks lawsuit says the studios may not withhold internal documents about their lobbying efforts and finances: The federal judge presiding over Hollywood’s lawsuit against Sonicblue Inc.’s ReplayTV, a commercial-skipping video recorder, has rejected a novel attempt by the entertainment companies to withhold key …

Rep. Rick Boucher, D-Va., says ElcomSoft’s acquittal doesn’t sway him away from wanting to change the DMCA (previously discussed here), he reveals in an interview with CNET: “As far as the bill going forward is concerned, the need for the legislation is as great as ever,” Boucher said in an …