Wednesday, March 10th, 2010
- USA Today tracks the remarkable recent progress toward the legalization of marijuana.
- The Catholic church can’t bring itself to defrock priests who diddle little boys, but it’s perfectly willing to expel a little girl from private school because her parents are lesbians. (Standard libertarian disclaimer: The church is free to make its own policies about its schools. And I’m free to criticize it for those policies.)
- Sean Penn not only continues to defend tyrant Hugo Chavez, but suggests imprisoning American journalists who criticize Chavez.
- D.C. councilman who pushed smoking ban now asks for exemptions for his favorite events.
- This is just a damned nice story. Conan is great.
- Panel recommends D.C. cop who brought gun to a snowball fight get a 10-day suspension.
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Monday, March 8th, 2010
The 137-year archive of Popular Science is now searchable online. Pretty cool, though it’ll be better when it’s browsable, too.
A handy reminder that ad blockers, ahem, harm your favorite websites.
As a general rule, legislators should always assume that if a law can be interpreted in an overly broad way that will result in injustice, some eager prosecutor will eventually interpret it that way. Even if you’re pro-life, this Utah bill ought to trouble you.
The U.K. Nanny State takes aim at the thickness of french fries.
Dahlia Lithwick vs. Liz Cheney.
The global chronic pain problem.
Off-duty deputy crashes while driving under the influence, is let go by a fellow cop. Same cop then crashes against 30 minutes later.
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Monday, February 22nd, 2010
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Thursday, February 18th, 2010
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Friday, February 5th, 2010
I am shocked to learn that a new federal law enforcement agency charged with protecting the country has been bogged down by public choice conundrums, petty bureaucracy, and infighting. Who could have predicted this?
I’m not a lawyer, but I think there’s a legal term we use to describe what you’re doing if, while under federal investigation, you destroy any evidence of the possible crimes for which you’re being investigated.
Photos of buzkashi, Afghanistan’s crazy national sport, where the “ball” is a headless goat carcass.
U.K. court says a man’s castle is no longer his home.
Neocon bloodlust really is boundless. This article is just revolting, on a number of levels.
Fantastic Slate slide show on failed architecture.
Massive anti-gang raid in Riverside, California involved 650 local, federal, and state law enforcement personnel. Looks like they hit a number of innocent people, too. (Via Injustice Everywhere.)
Chief Justice of Missouri Supreme Court says jailing non-violent offenders “doesn’t work.”
Come on, guys. Can’t we join together and rebel against the Nanny State by clogging customer arteries peaceably?
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Thursday, February 4th, 2010
SWAT team responds to second-grader with a cap gun.
Guy’s wife cries at the end of every movie. Naturally, he videotapes her and makes a website.
Great photo. Takes a master photographer to squeeze so much ego into one frame.
Stories like this one are enough to make me embrace my inner William Bennett. Who thought this was a good idea?
Cheetahs vs. baby antelope. No blood, just nuzzling.
AC/DC’s Brian Johnson tells Bono to get over himself.
Fourth-grader reprimanded, nearly suspended for bringing two-inch Lego gun to school. Looks like they did at least manage to avoid calling the SWAT team.
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Friday, January 15th, 2010
Via the comments, police break into Pennsylvania man’s home, arrest and jail him after he exchanges words with an off-duty state trooper. The man says he was confronting the trooper about parking in a no-parking zone. Even if the guy was drunk and cursing, as the cops allege, that isn’t cause to break into his home. The refusal to release the 911 recording certainly inclines one to think the cops are lying, here.
D.C. Metro general manager John Catoe resigns. ‘Bout damn time.
“…there could be two Americans receiving the exact same benefits, but one American may be taxed and one wouldn’t, and the only difference would be one of them being a member of a union.” Welcome to Obamacare, where some people are more equal than others!
He does work in mysterious ways.
Federal judge blocks FDA’s attempt to prohibit electronic cigarettes. The campaign against e-cigarettes is one of the dumbest things the agency has done in some time. It could quite literally kill people.
Another fun blog: Letters of Note.
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Saturday, January 2nd, 2010
Roundup of all the new laws that will take effect in California this year. Remember when people once described Schwarzenegger as libertarianish?
I want one.
Man commits robbery for jail time away from his in-laws.
Interesting: The Michaelangelo Effect and relationships.
“They killed my lawyer.”
The true odds of airborne terrorism.
The top blog posts and articles at Reason last year.
Ninth Circuit panel rules that Tasers can’t be used for mere noncompliance. This is a huge decision if it holds up.
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Thursday, October 29th, 2009
Is anyone remotely surprised by this?
Or, for that matter, this?
Police enter home unannounced after receiving reports of a neighborhood prowler, shoot and kill family dog. No prowler.
Massachusetts AG Martha Coakley, a frontrunner for Ted Kennedy’s Senate seat, was the AG who argued before the U.S. Supreme Court that forensic experts shouldn’t necessarily be subject to cross examination. Apparently, she didn’t do so well. Coakley has also been aggressive in the crackdown on prescription pain medication and has defended the controversial “recovered memory” sex abuse scandals from the 1980s and 90s.
British towns requiring parents to pass a criminal background check before being allowed to supervise their own children on public playgrounds.
Why I like Rep. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.).
Read the bills? Why not just read the Constitution?
Pretty cool way of illustrating the tininess of atoms.
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Wednesday, October 21st, 2009
Want to banish a sex offender enclave? Build a day care center near them.
Martin Short as Jerry Lewis singing Bob Dylan in an old SCTV bit. Found this SCTV skit on the same page, and it’s even better. (Via Max Sawicky.)
Interesting story about the A.P. reporter whose beat is to cover executions.
SCOTUS Chief Justice John Roberts wants to broaden the drunk driving exception to the Fourth Amendment.
Hi Britain. Welcome to the drug war, American style.
Food activists finding that idealized school lunch proposals will . . . actually cost money. I don’t have a problem with the idea that if we’re going to have public schools, they should try to serve the kids healthy food. In fact, I support that idea. But these nutrition activists often seem rather detached from reality.
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