Brute News

• Amazon recently went into their customers' Kindles and deleted books. Don't worry, the online-marketing giant meant well (the books were questionably copyrighted). But as Farhaad Manjoo points out, the display of power is astonishing and it may point to the future of book banning. Also at at Slate: a racous debate between the tree-killers and the time-killers. [Slate]

•  Walter Cronkite is being remembered at many news outlets. I'm going with this friend-focused tribute from Brian Stelter. Truthfully, the impact of this really hasn't hit me. It has less to do with a delayed reaction and more to do with him not being part of "my time." I understand his place in the news pantheon, but I almost resent the recurring notion that he's a symbol of a "simpler, more honest time." News is different now, no doubt. Cable is an Orwellian nightmare, ink and paper is dying, and there's too much stuff to dig through. At the same time, readers have never had more choices, updates come every minute, and cyberspace has given a mouth to those who must scream. *cues Brute theme music* I promise to do for Manjoo, Huffington, and Stewart what has been done for the Cronkster when the time comes. [New York Times]

• The band Campanas de America will not be allowed to play Mariachi classic "El Son de la Negras" on the "Today" Show. The NBC morning news show says they want a song more fitting of their widespread audience. The band thinks it's an ignorant act of political correctness. I'm a little on the fence myself. Any derivative of "negro" can be loaded when delivered on a wide scale and the "Today" show may have a legit concern. But if they demand "La Bamba" instead, El Brute might have some words for them. Unfortunately, I couldn't find a video of Campanas doing the song. Here's Mariachi Vargas instead. [My SA and Youtube]  

• Not even Microsoft can escape the economy. But they've also created some of their own problems. Companies are avoiding Vista and people are buying cheap "netbooks" (loaded with XP). As a result, Micro$oft PR is not making Windows 7 seem like the magic OS they wanted us to think Vista was. News like this continues to baffle me. I think I'm the only person out there who thinks Vista is just fine. [New York Times]

• President Obama turns a press conference into a health care reform primer. Seems the guy can do nearly anything (except return my phone calls, the jerk). This article isn't anything new, just the same old run down of the health plan being passed around in Congress. I continue beating the drum on it to remind people that it won't be a Stalin-esque takeover. [Mother Jones]