Genuine headline: MILF blamed for Maguindanao bombing. My immediate thought: since when have Sela Ward and Lauren Graham been terrorists?

MILF in this case actually stands for the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, a guerrilla group in the Philippines that is believed to have ties to al-Qaeda.

The Harlingen (Tex.) Valley Morning Star reports on local highway funding increases, focusing on the potential for funding for Interstate 69 in Texas. Notable quote:

Also in January, Valley leaders hope President Bush includes a request for $6.6 billion for the I-69 project in his budget proposals. If Congress says yes, experts believe the Texas section of I-69 could be built within 10 years.

Bush is believed to be an I-69 supporter; his inclusion of the route in FHWA's new expedited environmental review program suggests that I-69 will be included in the TEA-21 reauthorization. Due to the slow start Texas has gotten on the environmental review process and complications due to grafting I-69 onto the Trans Texas Corridor concept, 2013 seems awfully optimistic, but barring lawsuits a substantial portion of the national route seems likely to be done or under construction by then.

Virginia Postrel requests that I (and other bloggers and journalists) “promise never to write the words, "Yes, Virginia," unless they are actually addressing someone with my name.”

Mea culpa. Mea maxima culpa. But in fairness to me, that was over 100 posts ago. And I still think the usage was at least mildly amusing, if horribly clichéd. So I resolve to stop forthwith. And you can take that to the bank.

Incidentally, readers should also take the opportunity to help Virginia pick a jacket photo for her upcoming book Look and Feel; I'm partial to 2, 5, and 6, but I don't have a clear favorite.

Happy holidays from blog.lordsutch.com, on remote location via frequently-disconnecting dialup from butt-numbingly-cold Memphis, Tennessee, once home of my “opinionated” MemphisWatch website, before I moved to warmer climes (i.e. Oxford); MemphisWatch may have been a blog before anyone really knew what a blog was, including me.

Among my Christmas presents: a blogroll entry from Bill Hobbs. When I get around to coding the blogroll part of LSblog, I'll be sure to recpirocate.

Scare quote courtesy of the Memphis Commercial Appeal, who devoted a whole column inch to my site in 1998 or so. I still have the archives laying around at home, so I'll put them up over the weekend.