$1 Million Given to Literacy Group - New York Times

Bravo to Random House for this move! Others should follow in very large numbers, both in dollars contributed and in people contributing. Which bookstores offer an option, with each purchase in stores and online, the chance to buy a book for someone who cannot afford one? Are there any that do this?

"Edwards to Pull Out of Fund for Lenders" - The New York Times

I'd put this in the category of "more bad judgment exercised by John EDWARDS". My vote for President is going to the candidate with the best track record of showing good judgment. EDWARDS has already amassed a huge deficit on that score that I think will prove impossible to overcome. See my earlier comments on the same point.

Banner blocking

The version of Norton antivirus software that I use allows me to block banner ads on most websites. It also gives me the option of allowing some, but I have not taken the time to figure that out. I had originally blocked all banners, and thought many web pages looked more attractive and simpler without the banners.
Recently, I unblocked them to see what I was missing. Yes, there were a couple of banners that caught my eye, and I was intrigued by some of the interactive functionalities provided in some of the banners.
But.....I have now switched back to blocking. Yes, I realize I am undermining some of the web revenue model, but I found most of the banners to be irrelevant, too distracting, taking more time to load when I access the sites where the banners appear, and generally not worth it.
Why would anyone want to see all those ads unless for others, the ads turn out to be either of direct interest or simply entertaining?

Push and Pull

The question of whether we like finding the newspaper in front of our homes or prefer to go find it on the web is an important one. A lot of the economics of the news business depend on that answer. Think about the different ways you now get news, the news that's important to you and the news you might like to have had earlier or better. If the obligation is entirely on you to go find "it" somewhere, you may or may not get there ahead of the others in front of whom you would like to be - whether family, friends or others. The concept of delivered news is under assault for the wrong reasons. It merits some reconsideration that does not start off with either the inevitability of the internet or this morning soggy newsprint newspaper.