Gangsters in Blue

Sunday Links

Sunday, February 5th, 2012

Iran is planning to execute a Canadian-born software developer because his product was used by a pornographic website. (NOTE: Per the comments, the Guardian article linked in the Reason post actually say the Iranian high court quashed the death sentence. But it has since been reinstated.)
More on how Stephen Colbert’s Super PAC isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.
Judge allows Houston residents to become party to lawsuit between the city and a red light camera contractor.
Feds end criminal investigation of Lance Armstrong, but “sources close to the investigation” continue to smear him in the press, anyway. Don’t hold your breath waiting for a criminal investigation into who is leaking grand jury testimony.
Houston TV station bites on the vodka-soaked tampon story. Favorite quote from alleged expert on teen drinking habits: “More often than not, it’s happening in a lot of the Houston area.” More often than not? What could that possibly mean?
Attempted puppycide.
French court fines Google for providing a free map service, which is apparently an anti-competitive act of aggression against French companies that charge money to use their maps.

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Sunday Links

Sunday, January 15th, 2012

Cribs: The GOP Edition.
This is the most terrifying thing I’ve read in weeks. And I’m not even a carpenter ant.
Incredible photos from yesterday’s cruise ship sinking in Italy.
We may soon have our first picture of a black hole.
Panic of the day.
First person account of a bad interaction with the New Orleans Police Department.
Lawsuit: Family woken, taken outside, handcuffed at gunpoint after neighbor mistakenly reports burglary.
Responding to a rape call, Louisiana police break down the door, storm the wrong house. Sheriff calls the mistake a “boo-boo.”

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Bonus Afternoon Links

Friday, January 13th, 2012

I think I’ll pass.
David Boaz catches the Heritage Foundation using some blatantly misleading graphs to argue for more defense spending. That the Iraq and Afghanistan wars aren’t included in the graphs makes them all the more dishonest.
TSA posts its top 10 “catches” of 2011. Bruce Schneier points out that none of them were actually terrorists.
I don’t like where this is going.
New Hampshire activists get police officer to concede he was wrong about the state’s wiretapping law.
CNN, which left Gary Johnson out of debates because he wasn’t polling high enough in their poll that didn’t offer him as an option, will now break its own rules to let Rick Perry participate in an upcoming debate.
Supreme Court declines to hear challenge to law mandating licensing for interior design.
Bad news. Also, more bad news.

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Morning Links

Friday, December 30th, 2011

Puppycide.
And another one, this time a ferocious Jack Russell Terrier.
Why Ken White matters. Be sure to read White’s excellent dissection of the culture of prosecutorial misconduct in the criminal justice issue of Reason.
How many things wrong with this picture can you find?
Police union fights to reinstate cop who was driving 143 mph with a .089 BAC.
I always thought this was a joke. It apparently really exists. (It’s also available in a can, but only on your birthday.)
How to make a Thing in a Jar.
Headline of the day. (Bonus points: Santorum retweeted it.)
2012 will bring the end of Happy Hour in Utah.
Indiana lawmaker wants to hand out fines for poor renditions of the national anthem.

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Morning Links

Tuesday, December 27th, 2011

Virginia drivers ticketed for breaking a law that doesn’t exist.
Another tribute to Siobhan Reynolds from Eapen Thampy.
Professional Courtesy: NYPD officer suspected of drunk driving after car crash wasn’t given a blood alcohol test until eight hours later.
DOJ changes its position on the Wire Act, possibly clearing a path for legal online poker.
Annapolis police arrest the wrong “Hot Dog.”
The New York Times looks at the expanding bourbon market. I’m excited for the new Woodford Reserve Double Oaked.
People Are Awesome, the 2011 edition.

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Morning Links

Tuesday, December 13th, 2011

Another example of how when police know a suspect is actually armed and dangerous, they find other ways to apprehend them than to send in the SWAT team while the suspect is sleeping.
America’s is losing its faith in government. If this brings some skepticism about giving government ever-more power (though it likely won’t), it’s a good thing. But it also means government is failing at its most basic and fundamental obligations.
Mark Hemingway on how the fact-checking trend in journalism has evolved into a way for journalists to simply validate their own opinions.
The Supreme Court may be on its way to authorizing medical patents. Tim Lee explains why this is something to worry about.
Alabama: Where it’s illegal to brew your own beer, but it’s perfectly fine to drink while you’re serving on the jury in a death penalty case.
The latest in the Michael Mermel saga: An Illinois court has reversed the conviction of Juan Rivera, the subject of the New York Times piece that led to prosecutor Mermel’s resignation.

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Morning Links

Tuesday, December 6th, 2011

Great piece by my HuffPost colleague John Rudolf about an Alabama woman trying to find out why and how her son died in police custody.
Marist poll (PDF): In hypothetical general election matchup with Obama, Ron Paul is tied. All the other GOP candidates would lose.
Mississippi Supreme Court admonishes DA Forrest Allgood. (PDF)
DEA has laundered millions of dollars from Mexican drug cartels. Hey, why not! It’s our policy that made them rich in the first place. Not to mention that we’re also arming them.
Mitt Romney’s staff spent $100,000 in public funds to wipe out all email from his tenure as governor of Massachusetts.
I did an interview yesterday with Wall Street Journal Radio about police militarization. You can listen here. My interview starts at about the 22 minute mark.
New threat: drunken gummi bears.
The Durbin Swipe Fee Amendment: the latest consumer protection measure that isn’t protecting consumers.
How Rand Paul prevented World War III.

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Morning Links

Monday, November 21st, 2011

Your morning worry.
Headline of the day.
Smart kids do drugs.
Georgia cop admits to falsifying breath test results in DUI cases.
New York’s highest court ordered the state’s family courts opened to the public in 1997. They’ve mostly stayed closed, anyway.
Yale law professors propose paying students to quit law school.

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Morning Links

Wednesday, November 2nd, 2011

In defense of jury nullification.
Income inequality in perspective. More from Will Wilkinson.
Florida man arrested for recording conversation with cops; newspaper misstates the law in Florida.
The sweet, sweet demise of Righthaven.
At least it wasn’t the Virgin Mary.
Headline of the day.
The National Motorists Association takes down a hysterical Boston Globe report that judges are going easy on drunk drivers.
More insanity from NYPD: Woman arrested, jailed for two nights for being in a public park after it had closed, then not having ID.

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Morning Links

Wednesday, October 5th, 2011

Police raid suspected meth lab . . . that turns out to be a guy making his own beer.
Colorado man makes last-ditch effort to overturn his 145-year sentence for a sex crime his alleged victim says never took place.
The Milky Way, taken near the North Sea.
Wisconsin judge says you have no right to drink the milk from your own cow.
The FTC goes after Four Loko again, this time for packaging the drink in cans that are apparently too large.
CBS reporter says White House “screamed” at her over Fast & Furious story.
Speaking of which, the Obama administration apparently thinks it’s fine to sell guns to murderous Mexican drug cartels, but they draw the line at pot-smoking cancer patients.

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