The Morning Blog

Today, I'll be leading with the most Earth-shatteringly important news story I can think of. I assume it's a burning issue for all of my readers.

Must they....Must they mess with my muppets!?!?! Disney will be taking steps to revitalize the franchise for an upcoming Thanksgiving movie. Before anyone panics, no: Michael Bay has no involvement with this particular re-figuring of a childhood memory. I actually feel carefully optimistic about it. They're going to have the Muppets play Muppets rather than shoehorning them into "A Christmas Carol" or "Treasure Island" or some such. Intriguingly, the directors credits include "Da Ali G Show"...We shall have to wait and see. It also seems that ever actor they approached jumped at the opportunity to appear in the movie because who wouldn't? We're talking about the Muppets here, damnit!

Speaking of movies, there's an interesting take here on how movies have evolved from (I would argue), nearly religious, mass rituals to a past time largely reserved for individuals. Gone are the days when people would "go out" to the movies, share their attention with other people and then discuss them. Now with films available instantly on everything from your dvd player to your smart phone, has anything been lost? Personally, I always felt that there was something vaguely hinting at the profound when I sat in a theater with an audience and directed my gaze towards huge sights that filled my vision. Did it make for better movies? I can't say. However, it certainly made the viewing an experience rather than I dunno...Whatever it is to sit before your computer and hit 'play'.

Speaking of religious experiences... Say what you will about the practitioners of voodoo, at least they never come round knocking on your door, first thing on a Sunday.

I see that I have now clicked on my last free article at the New York Times for the month. I'm not sure how that applies to articles that I receive through my email so...We'll just see how it goes. Anyways, I guess I better make this one count. John Thompson who was nearly murdered by prosecutors that hid exonerating evidence from his defense team raises some sharp issues:

I don’t care about the money. I just want to know why the prosecutors who hid evidence, sent me to prison for something I didn’t do and nearly had me killed are not in jail themselves. There were no ethics charges against them, no criminal charges, no one was fired and now, according to the Supreme Court, no one can be sued.

Worst of all, I wasn’t the only person they played dirty with. Of the six men one of my prosecutors got sentenced to death, five eventually had their convictions reversed because of prosecutorial misconduct. Because we were sentenced to death, the courts had to appoint us lawyers to fight our appeals. I was lucky, and got lawyers who went to extraordinary lengths. But there are more than 4,000 people serving life without parole in Louisiana, almost none of whom have lawyers after their convictions are final. Someone needs to look at those cases to see how many others might be innocent.

Here's a good example of a young man who managed to live the American dream. Unfortunately, it's become a nightmare. He's the son of a security guard and a maid. He's about to graduate magna cum laude from Georgetown. He did this on a full academic scholarship all while working two jobs to help support his family. He's already been offered a plum position on Wall Street that could change his family's life forever. Or he might be deported because he had the terrible audacity to come to this country without permission when he was two.

Kacee Bait: Good question: So why do Republicans hate art, the elderly and children? It's a plea for adult behavior amongst our politicians, one that can certainly be directed at both sides of the aisle. I'm sure you've wondered by now "Why do Democrats hate freedom, wealth and marriage?".

More Kacee Bait: We will not see the remake. Ever. I promise. And I refuse to mention it ever again. However, here's a history of the lovable drunk.

Is that a planes fuselage in your pocket or are you just happy to see me? Hey England! Your national security forces should probably step up their security. It's been revealed that enough military equipment to "launch a small coup" was stolen last year. Not only were guns, body armor and...for crying out loud, a planes fuselage stolen, but the brigands also made off with the silverware!

This guy certainly looks like a criminal. Amongst other things, he was convicted of killing a man with a samurai sword. This woman certainly does not look like a criminal. But she might face jail time for wearing clothes the French government disapproves of. Leave it to the French to unleash the fashion police:

"Fines? They don't bother me. What is the state going to do, send a policeman outside my front door to give me a ticket every time I go out? For me this is women's liberty, the liberty to wear what I wish and not be punished for it.

"If women want to walk around half-naked I don't object to them doing so. If they want to wear tight jeans where you can see their underwear or walk around with their breasts hanging out, I don't give a damn. But if they are allowed to do that, why should I not be allowed to cover up?"

In order to be even handed, I would point to this interview with a woman that would most likely disagree.

And pivoting off that, Islam offers its own version of Mother Theresa with Father Abdul.

More on religion: Yeah, I think he probably would. By all accounts, he was a sensible enough young man.

Friggin' lasers! It appears as though the Navy has beat out Dr. Evil.

In other tech news, here's your chance to go back to the future.

Bling!

I used to work with a man that would endlessly, tunelessly whistle. And I wanted to murder him.

Which is not a terribly cheerful sentiment with which to end this post. So tell you what? Let's look at photos of the day.