The Morning Blog

Sort of ugly news this morning. Sorry.

To begin with... You've got to be kidding me. Just pure, dumb ugliness. It's got everything you could ask for: collective punishment, religious terrorism, take what you want from it and ask yourself, how a people brutalized by Kristalnacht could ever, ever take part in something like this. I'm glad that Netanyahu has at least condemned the burning of this mosque (though that's a pretty low bar, to be blunt. What non-sociopathic human wouldn't?). I can only hope that this is something being done by a very small group of evil people. Sadly though, it's described as a "practice" so I assume it's not uncommon. Just disgusting behavior. Shameful, hypocritical, loathsome.

Oh and while we're at it, the United States has held two inmates in solitary confinement for 23 hours a day for the last forty years.

And this guy is a jerk. While I appreciate that there are First Amendment issues at stake, he's publicizing a medical procedure (or not. It's unclear whether or not an abortion even took place). That's something that's pretty clearly considered confidential. So outside of just being an all around bastard, I don't think that what he's doing can be protected speech.

Speaking of jerks... I continue to be dumbfounded how conservatives can argue so fervently for limited government except where it concerns private relationships. It seems such an obvious contradiction that were it not so odious and so hurtful to so many people, it would be beneath mention.

I'm entirely of the position that drug prohibition is worse than useless. For one thing, it artificially inflates the price of drugs to astronomical levels and funds the criminal gangs involved. What are they buying with their vast wealth? Tanks.

Inasmuch as the war on drugs is an abject failure, it's nice to see that the police are ratcheting up their efforts in the war on cameras. More on it here. The police clearly have some 'splainin' to do. Reading that last article, I might have to change my link name. It's less a war on cameras and more a war on bystanders, four of whom were evidently wounded by police gunfire.

Oh, this is positive news! The life expectancy in Zimbabwe is shooting upwards! In fact, voter rolls show more than 41,100 voters over the age of 100! How remarkable! It is also wonderfully surprising that nearly 17,000 of them share the same birthday. I would imagine that Zimbabwe is party central on January 1st.

Do politicians just not understand the internet? I will never understand why this sort of thing keeps happening. Again and again and again, it seems. And these are the people we're expecting to write legislation concerning sexting? Glass houses and all that...

Getting into a fight is the easy part. But ending it... not so much.

Quote of the Day: "Yes, it is a big ridiculous." I've decided that being a Libyan propagandist wins out as the worlds most difficult job.

Payable in gold.

The Iranians women soccer team has been banned from the Olympics because of their outfits. It's probably for the best. Anyone else think they look like the sperm from Woody Allen's "Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Sex"?

Interesting study here: Cracking down on undocumented immigrants may cost Americans jobs.

2012 Watch: Palin on Paul Revere and the British. and naturally enough, the British on Sarah Palin and Margaret Thatcher. Sorry to foist her upon you, England.

Sorry about this too, while I'm at it. We're not all lunatics, please believe me.

By the way, here's some summer reading.

Your next vampire movie. I say that only partly tongue in cheek. Let's face it, as soon as they figure out a way to make jellyfish brooding and teenage-y, it's bound to happen.

This makes sense: I always suspected that Australians were space aliens. It's the only way to explain the mercurial rise of Paul Hogan.

Kacee Bait: WHISKEY! WHISKEY! WHISKEY!...Oh wait. It's merely scotch.

Speaking of the booze, it's nice to see that Pennsylvania is still collecting a tax on alcohol to repair a town damaged by flooding in 1936.