This year I'm making a change for Halloween. I'm going to let the kids have their choice -- regular or menthol. But only one cigarette per kid; don't get greedy.

newtimes.com | Web Extra "Contrary to what Adam magazine might like you to believe, we are not 'holy hedonists,'

SPAM: SPAM Oven Roasted Turkey The turkey says, "SPAM! SPAM! SPAM!"
Now if you thought the turkey said "Gobble! Gobble! Gobble!," you obviously have not tried the newest offering under the SPAM brand. If you had, you'd know that it's you who'll "Gobble! Gobble! Gobble!" up the new SPAM Oven Roasted Turkey.
SPAM Oven Roasted Turkey contains 100% white, lean turkey and is 100% delicious. And since we're talking turkey, did you know that each individual serving contains only three grams of fat?
So go ahead and get creative with new recipes for SPAM Oven Roasted Turkey. Who knows... perhaps you'll discover so many delicious recipes that it'll be you that gets stuffed. Gobble up a can today!

'Invincible': Imitations Of Greatness (washingtonpost.com) Jackson, the subject of pedophilia-related allegations in 1993, also spends a lot of "Invincible" asserting his bona fides as a ladies' man. "You Rock My World" starts with a dialogue between comedian Chris Tucker and Jackson as they pretend to ogle a babe. "I can get her," Jackson announces, doing his level best to sound leering.

Five dollars to anyone who can come up with anything more annoying than that.

New Glory

Being American doesn't have to mean that you think that Muslims are crazy, or that indefinite bombing is a reasonable solution to anything, or that it makes sense to pay $120 for slave-made sneakers and then use a credit card to put gas in your car that gets 10 miles per gallon. Being American, in fact, should mean that you can criticize all these ideas, even in time of war, without being mistaken for a traitor. As chronicled on this blog and elsewhere, some of us have been wondering how to show our shock at the recent acts of terror, our sympathy for the victims, our support for the forces of civilization, and yet our dissent from many of our nation's mistaken policies. Lisa Miller and I have come up with some ideas for a new American flag -- a New Glory -- that you can display in good conscience. Take a look at http://originalcopy.com/new and let us know what you think.
-- Mr Joel

re: Is cannabis now legal? In case anyone is reading this blog, yet not well-informed and sensitive to detail, please note: The article below is from ENGLAND. Just FYI.
-- Mr Joel

Guardian Unlimited | Archive Search Is cannabis now legal?
No. The home secretary, David Blunkett, has, however, made it a class C drug - putting it on a level with controlled substances such as tranquillisers and steroids.
What does that mean in practice?
Police will no longer be able to arrest anyone caught smoking the drug. Most people caught in possession will face no legal action, although the maximum penalty will be two years in jail (reduced from five). To prosecute, police will be required to produce a court summons; few will bother.
Is this decriminalisation?
No. Cannabis use will still be a criminal offence. The penalty for possession with intent to supply (dealing) is to be cut from 14 years in jail to five, but - unlike straightforward possession - police will still be able to make an arrest. This means that when the proposals are in force, expected to be early next year, it will be an arrestable offence to supply cannabis but not to possess it.

Saturday was a good time, bopping around Adams Morgan to celebrate the aging of Adam's organs. Or something. Here's a comic that is eerily relevant to part of that evening's discussion.
--Mr.Joel

At the concert at RFK yesterday Huey Lewis was one of the performers. Evidently cryogenics is more advanced than we thought.

CONGRADUATIONS

Adam Magazine, Master of Lighting Design, 2001. Buy him a drink on Saturday (for his 35th birthday) and help him erase all that knowledge as quickly as possible. -- Mr Joel

Music!
Everyone go see Jenny Toomey when she comes near your town. Stay out late, it's worth it.
-- Mr. Joel

I'm not too worried about Anthrax -- its bacterial, and the strains we've seen respond well to penicillin in addition to expensive drugs like Cipro.
What does scare me is smallpox. Its a virus, so once you get it, you are in trouble. And we know what happens when it enters a previously unexposed polpulation. Ask all of the inhabitants of the Western Hemisphere.

What I want to see is Survivor:Antarctica.

The Weakest Link -- special comedian edition. Featuring Carrot Top. And people wonder why the world hates us.

Now you can get TV glasses, just like Elvis wanted.

Somebody I don't know actually linked to my site. Thanks, Sherri Murphy-Jacobs.

Another year, another time I was runner up for the Nobel Peace Prize. Always a bridesmaid...

Should I be disturbed that I visit sites with advertisers like this?

Salon.com News | Source: FAA chief quits in protest The head of security for the Federal Aviation Administration decided to quit after he was told to reassign air marshals to commercial flights carrying members of President Bush's Cabinet, a source with knowledge of the resignation said Thursday.
Michael A. Canavan, named associate administrator for FAA's office of civil aviation security in December, said the marshals had been assigned to other flights that he felt could be more at risk of a hijacking, according to the source, speaking on condition of anonymity.

My thoughts on the War.

As I have moved further to the left, I have found ideological compatibility with the hard left -- The Nation and its fellows. Many of the people with whom I agree most often are either very conflicted, or in outright opposition, to pursuing the terrorists of September 11 by military means.

That some of the Left are against the War is a fact that gives me pause. The anti-Stalinist Left has been right much more often than it has been wrong on issues of American foreign and military policy.

The Left was the first and strongest critic of Fascism. In fact, there is a chilling phrase "Premature anti-fascist" to describe persons opposed to Hitler, Mussolini, Franco, et al. before the responsible people did. In recent months an attack has been waged on the memory of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade, arguing that Americans and other foreigners who fought on the Loyalist side in Spain were either dupes or worse of Stalinist Russia.

Yet the opposition to fascism by the Left is one of the things I find most admirable. The fact that the mainstream of American society came late to seeing Hitler as a greater threat to freedom even than Stalin is something that should shame us.

The left also included many anti-Stalinists who were quite aware of the horrors of Soviet-style communism. [Much more to come]

CBS -- which has already postponed the Emmy broadcast twice -- is evidently considering doing the show from a military base. For security reasons. Thank God Ellen Degeneres, Shannon Doherty and David Hyde-Pierce will be safe. Ray Romano will be kept at a secret, secure location in case of attack.

We need a cabinet-level Department of Celebrity Defense. Celebrities are among our most precious resources. Julia Roberts represents all of the things that Osama Bin Laden hates.

What can you do -- buy People and Us magazines. Watch Access Hollywood. See Corky Romano . And next time you see a celebrity, let them know that you are praying for them. But no touching.

Why the flag?

I'm a moderately left-wing political cynic. We've never had a flag on our house, and even after 9/11, I didn't go from store to store looking for one. But when some store chain placed a full-page flag in the New York Times, I cut it out and hung it in the window. My friends on the left have asked me why I would do such a thing. As one guy put it, he'd prefer a symbol that didn't make him feel like a member of the John Birch society.

So why did I hang the flag? Another friend called it protective coloration, but that's not quite right, because my impulse is honest, however murky. It's more like this: You either hang the flag or you don't. A range of beliefs is represented by either choice.

Not hanging the flag embraces conscientious objection, disagreement with the more Neanderthal policies of this administration, doubt of this administration's very legitimacy, pacifism, and anti-globalization -- all ideas for which I have varying but positive levels of sympathy. But flaglessness can also represent a complete disgust with America; it can represent a lack of sympathy with those who died for the sin of being American; it can represent simple apathy.

Hanging the flag can show general conservatism, personal support of George Bush, militarism, a belief in the divine right of the United States to dominate the world. Worse, the flag is often used by causes that stifle free speech, promote homogeneity and isolationism, even blur the line between being American and being a white, heterosexual Christian. Needless to say, I oppose all these ideas. But perhaps naïvely, I continue to believe in America. I think that the political right is willfully ignorant of just what that means. Go to the primary documents, the Bill of Rights, the philosophical tradition of Locke and others. Remember that the country was founded in the ideal of not letting the majority, or a vocal minority, dictate the conscience of the individual. Foolishly or not, I believe in the grand experiment of a society that's diverse and tolerant, where the marketplace of ideas is at least as important as the marketplace of dollars, where, at least in theory, what you do is more important than where you were born. America is composed of and led by human beings; by nature, humans are often petty, small-minded, fearful, blind. But my dissent from many of our national and cultural decisions occurs within the context of the great debate, not as a disgusted dismissal of the whole. And beyond doubt -- it should go without saying -- I support even the most foolish decisions of a free society against those who would short-circuit debate by violence.

So the ideas shown by hanging a flag include some unpleasant things. But overall, and especially now, I'm less comfortable with the unpleasant aspects of showing no colors at all.

-- Mr. Joel

The Real Adam

Center for Online and Internet Addiction - Help and Resource for Internet Addicts, Healthcare Professionals, and Corporations dealing with Internet abuse. What is Internet Addiction How can you tell if you are addicted? Here are some typical warning signs:
Do you feel preoccupied with the Internet (think about previous on-line activity or anticipate next on-line session)?

Do you feel the need to use the Internet with increasing amounts of time in order to achieve satisfaction?

Have you repeatedly made unsuccessful efforts to control, cut back, or stop Internet use?

Do you feel restless, moody, depressed, or irritable when attempting to cut down or stop Internet use?

Do you stay on-line longer than originally intended?

Have you jeopardized or risked the loss of significant relationship, job, educational or career opportunity because of the Internet?

Have you lied to family members, therapist, or others to conceal the extent of involvement with the Internet?

Do you use the Internet as a way of escaping from problems or of relieving a dysphoric mood (e.g., feelings of helplessness, guilt, anxiety, depression)?

Tales of the city...
The next thrilling installment of Nine Day Nation is now online for your viewing pleasure. Don't miss the secrets of Slack Francisco!
-- Mr Joel

John Tesh stars as himself on Bob Patterson. Make that three weeks.

Like a delicate flower, Bob Patterson will bloom briefly, and then die, never to be reborn. I give the new Jason Alexander sitcom four weeks.

How about the Statue of Liberty as a more inclusive, less jingoistic symbol of America?

Do you realize that Becker is still on the air?

Hey, I like the new look. Re: something to wear, I've seen a red white & blue ribbon in the style of the medical causes... here's a web-based version. -- Mr Joel

Here's a problem with the Lincoln idea -- he was a Republican.

I would like to wear something to acknowledge the atttacks of September 11. The problem is that the profusion of American flags makes me uncomfortable. I wish we had another symbol, one that wouldn't make me feel like a member of the John Birch Society. Maybe a bust of Lincoln? Washington? I like the idea of Lincoln. He represents freedom, strength and sacrifice. Now go out and do something about it.

From Salon.com An elite press consortium made up of the New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal and CNN also apparently handed the Bush administration another big favor this week when it indefinitely delayed making public the results of its Florida election recount. The long-awaited analysis of 200,000 disputed ballots from the presidential election was supposed to be published on Monday, but the Times quietly informed its readers in a Sunday essay by political reporter Richard Berke that the "move might have stoked the partisan tensions" and "now seems utterly irrelevant." A journalist involved in the project later told Inside.com, "There's a sense that now is not the time to be writing about something that might make it look like someone else should have been elected president."
The Times' decision to withhold information that is clearly the public's right to know is a startling one, and in its desire to avoid reopening potential wounds, more therapeutic than journalistic. In 1971, a much more divisive time in the nation's history, the Times was motivated more by First Amendment considerations than by appeals to a narrow patriotism when it pressed to publish the Pentagon Papers. In lifting the restraining order that the Nixon administration had brought against the Times, U.S. District Judge Murray Gurfein, a Nixon appointee, agreed that the paramount value for the press -- even in a time of heightened national security concerns -- must be the public's right to know. 2