The State of the Vocation

In case you missed it, Brian Leiter has an interesting new article assessing the state of our profession here.  It seems right on to me, but I wonder whether others (including my more experienced colleagues) would agree.

Linguistic Oddities of the South

While emailing a friend today, I noticed something odd:  I take it that a honky tonk is a kind of rowdy bar found in the southern U.S. that plays to a mostly working-class clientele.  Is anyone offended by the name "honky tonk"?  Why or why not?  Isn't the word "honky" still a racial slur toward whites?  Clearly "chinky tonks" or "kikey tonks" would be offensive.  What's the difference?