Dear MacArthur’s Pink Slippers, BFHat…. It’s too damned early for that. Spew warning next time please?!?

What is it with the popularity of wines that run smack into the far right end of the dryness scale? Personally I don’t get into vintages that make we want for an ice tea chaser after taking a swig. That’s not to say that only Reislings and dessert wines are what I shoot for, but find me a sommelier who I don’t have  to ask whether or not I have a goblet of shiraz or a mug of red dustbunniees with interesting flow characteristics.

Just sayin’.

…is a small detail buried in a few of the writeups concerning the search ‘n seizure of Jason Chen’s ‘puter equipment- among them, here. It states that Apple, among other companies, control how a law enforcement agency might seem to be doing the bidding of Steve Jobs’ whims. I’ve been wondering about the REACT task force’s backing of the Apple Corporation and it’s presence on the steering committee for said task force. Hot Air picked up on a Yahoo! news item and seems to be wondering on along the same lines as I am; whether law enforcement task forces might be unconstitutional, or at least in violation of impartiality rules, if their own governing entities are party to the investigations at hand.

Preceded in the article is the debate whether Jason Chen should be considered a journalist for purposes of protection under the reporter shield law. Given that the overwhelming majority of people think that Gizmodo is a legit New Media site, I don’t see how the notion of the possible payment for the iPhone negates the shield protections: the law does not have language akin to “Cannot confiscate any material of a journalist unless said journalist greased somebody’s palm to pick up evidence.” Or at least I didn’t read that part; tell me if I missed it.

Anyhow, I am nailed to the news feeds until Gawker’s lawyers peel themselves away from their turbocharged Smith Coronas long enough to file a complaint to the court in the area. More than anything else, I love watching a good geekfight and this will likely prove to be a doozy.

Edited to include additional link for background.

I wish I cold remember who it was who first proffered the observation that, in every picture ever viewed of Nancy Pelosi,  she always looks to have just sat in something wet.

Because proper attribution of that is credit due.

…I’ve been busy this week. Well, I’m trying to finish up a largish project and this is the “final push” as it were. Expect “stuff” this weekend.

-Flynn

(UPDATED, scroll down)

True to his word, Captain Ed has expanded more upon the sale of HotAir.com to Salem communications, which appears to take effect today, if I read Ed’s words aright. More, it seems from his tone that really not much is expected to change, but Salem being a business the most that I personally expect to see is perhaps a change in the ad serving (ad management, possible ad clients, perhaps more Salem partner sites in promotional ad positions) which is par for the course for such things. By the way, I state this purely on my own assumptions and not from any source, public or private; but I’m in the web business for the day job and know how many of these things often work.

He states that Ed and Allah retain editorial control as was indicated yesterday, so I think all of the Hot Air readership can breathe a collective sigh of relief. Now, if only TownHall.com can prune some of their ad delivery options and clean things up a little…

More: a brief congrats from Jim Treacher, who I’ve been reading more and more since the ongoing SUV-meets-knee fiasco began.

UPDATE:
In the interim, AP has posted his opinions, and his detail of expected site changes are pretty much what I surmised regarding ad serving, above.

Good luck to all!