mcgees.org

Breaking news.  A Federal Court Judge in Michigan has ruled the “Terrorism Surveillance Program” as unconstitutional under the First and Fourth Amendments and illegal under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.  More here.

We must first note that the Office of the Chief Executive has itself been created, with its powers, by the Constitution. There are no hereditary Kings in America and no power not created by the Constitution … It was never the intent of the Framers to give the President such unfettered control, particularly where his actions blatantly disregard the parameters clearly enumerated in the Bill of Rights.

From a Snapfish email:

Add fun mystery text and a photo to a puzzle for you’re a loved one (will you marry me? and photo of a ring)

This does actually mean something.  At least if you insert a comma after ‘puzzle’.  And some quotation marks.  And maybe a colon.  Just nothing like what they intended.

mcgees.org has officially sold old.  Discuss.

I actually experimented with Google Adsense for a bit (you may have seen it briefly), but, to be honest, the main reason I’m opting out is all the Christians and New Agers who try to advertise on my atheism posts.  Who needs a free market when you can have, say, a publisher-slash-dictator (me)?

So all the banner ads you see will be personally vetted by me.  Many of the companies I have personal relationships with and can recommend, and would have anyway.  The others seem above-board and useful.  I try to tailor the ads to topics visitors of my site might be interested in.  I need your help to tell me if I need to yank an advertiser, due to a bad experience you have with them.  I don’t expect this to happen.  But click-through revenue is not worth sending my readers on bad leads.

Seriously, discuss.  Do the ads bother you?  Enough to stop visiting?

- Josh

Bzzagent.  And Tremor.  And others.

Word-of-mouth advertisers that allow you to sell your soul for free product samples.  Talk up products on your website, at work, at parties, and earn points to get, say, an iPod.  Free mint samples to turn yourself into a corporate shill.  MetaFilter addresses here and here.  More than a year ago.  I’m out of touch.

It Figures, from In Praise of Argument.  Jay Heinrichs reveals rhetorical tricks and pitfalls in the news.  I guarantee you’ll love it.  (Quick: What technique is that?)

The Nostalgia Factory.  Buy original movie posters and press kits for surprisingly little money and with low shipping charges.  Also, the official provider of poster images to IMDB.