Freedom of ...

I've been wondering how to address the issue of freedom of speech as it's being terrorized this week. To be honest, I worry. Zealots know no bounds. Zealots have no respect. Zealots have thin skins. And bullets and bombs and rocks render skin shattered, effectively shutting down any speach of the individuals. However, braver souls and publications than I have taken this issue on. I encourage you to visit the following sites:

Get Religion (a very balanced religion journal)
International PEN (an organization defening freedom of expression)

Out of the Frey-ing pan...

...and into rehab. Apparently being a loud-mouth junkie will get you a sweet book deal. From my e-mail inbox from Publisher's Lunch:

Velvet Revolver front man Scott Weiland's memoir of his rise to the
pinnacle of rock stardom, first with Stone Temple Pilots and later recreating himself as the sober lead singer of Velvet Revolver, to Brant Rumble at
Scribner, by David Vigliano of Vigliano Associates.

Courtney Love's Dirty Blond, journals including never-before-seen intimate
photos and revealing writings about her career, family, and rehab, to Denise
Oswald at Farrar, Straus, for the Faber imprint, by David Vigliano of Vigliano
Associates.