The Editors is a show I'm warming to; they gather editors from U.S. and Canadian magazines and have them talk at a table about whatever's going on in the world. It sounds deathly boring (and can sometimes be), but it's not always. It's nice to get the take of journalists & editors other than the standard rogue's gallery of polished, insincere, trash-talking media pundits you get from the major networks.

It's apparently been on for 11 seasons (who knew?); I first heard of it when our TiVo recorded it without asking (bless you, TiVo). It's partially sponsored by The Economist, which apparently doesn't think it needs to be promoted very much.

It's on in the wee hours of Wednesday morning on WETA where I am; you may have to look hard to find it (or just find 'Editors' in your TiVo).

Press gets too chummy with Secretary of State [Washington Post]

...the press corps surprised [Colin Powell] with a cake on board his plane. The highlight, according to The Post's Steve Mufson, was when the Fourth Estate sang "Happy Birthday" . . . in Mandarin Chinese.

It's his family's business to celebrate his birthday, or maybe his co-workers, or maybe his personal buddies. It's not something the people who are supposed to cover him (sigh) objectively should be doing. Integrity? Anyone?

New column from OReilly.net's Mac DevCenter: Digging Deeper into Mac OS X by Mike Beam. I'll be reading.

Pat Robertson says: abortion's wrong, wrong, wrong, not allowable in any case... unless, of course, you're forcing it on people with the goal of maintaining racial purity. Then, you know, he doesn't like it, but we shouldn't make a big deal about it, either.

• Robertson Remarks on China Abortions Rile Conservatives [Washington Post]
  [Robertson:] "I think that right now they're doing what they have to do. I don't agree with the forced abortion, but I don't think the United States needs to interfere with what they're doing internally in this regard."
  
  Kate Michelman [of NARAL] said Robertson revealed "the deeply cynical side of his views... The only thing he is consistent about is his opposition to the right of women to choose."

Why does anybody listen to this guy any more?

The press treats Bush tenderly by Geneva Overholser [Seattle P-I]

Last week, I watched President Bush make a speech before a group of newspaper editors here. Then I saw the press coverage. I'd have to say that the picture you're getting is missing some pieces.

For one thing, you're not seeing how unsure of himself George W. Bush appeared to be -- how guarded, how tense, even programmed. Or how uncertain about important issues.

Many editors talking to one another after Bush's inhabitance of the Marriott stage spoke of their surprise that he has yet to figure out how to look at all presidential. They wondered why he hadn't been briefed about a topic so likely to be brought up at an editors' gathering as freedom of information. They noted the short time he allotted for questions and answers, the long period afterward he spent shaking hands. The overall effect, said more than a few, was unsettling. Even scary.

What do you do if what you sell is perceived as a commodity but you still want to charge prices that are beyond ridiculous? Create branded diamonds [NYTimes].

The XFL's failure to catch on has given me some small cause for faith in the intelligence of the average person; maybe people will see through this ploy? ... Nah.

The Horse's Mouth, a.k.a. Official Transcripts of White House Press Briefings. Related: Today's content-free press releases from our funny little White House occupant.

I love the Web. Ten years ago we had no such easy access to primary sources. Whether there's anything useful to be gotten there, I don't know, but still, direct access is great.

Sifting through the backlog some more. I found all of these interesting and worth reading; you may not.

34,148 see first Women's United Soccer Association game (Freedom 1, CyberRays 0). We didn't go to that one, but we do plan to go sometime this season.

No, you can't actually get roach eggs living in your tongue from licking an envelope.

"I think Washington, D.C. is a festering mass of corruption and a blight on decent civilization; Please, send me there!": Why Do They Hate Washington? by Sally Quinn [Washington Post]

From rc3: having a pro sports team does not raise a city's income, no matter what economic 'studies' the teams fabricate. Surprise.

Want to be a paid, professional writer? John Scalzi's Useless Writing Advice is not, in fact, useless.

'West Wing' Producer Faces Drug Charge [WPost]

The McDonald's Spilled Coffee Case wasn't as ridiculous and funny as the media made it out to be.

IRS Help is Wrong 47% of Time [WPost]