The Morning Blog

In an interesting turn of events, the sex assault allegedly committed by Dominique Strauss-Kahn has become significantly more alleged-y and may be dismissed. The supposed victim is a bit fishy: 

According to the two officials, the woman had a phone conversation with an incarcerated man within a day of her encounter with Mr. Strauss-Kahn in which she discussed the possible benefits of pursuing the charges against him. The conversation was recorded. 

That man, the investigators learned, had been arrested on charges of possessing 400 pounds of marijuana. He is among a number of individuals who made multiple cash deposits, totaling around $100,000, into the woman’s bank account over the last two years. The deposits were made in Arizona, Georgia, New York and Pennsylvania. 

Here are other old men behaving badly. Not quite so allegedly in this case.

All things considered, not a good day for the mob.

And the Hacker group Anonymous is carrying on with their shenanigans. This time they're attacking the city of Orlando in response to the arrests of volunteers who were illegally feeding homeless people. Not that I'm a big fan of Anonymous but really? Charity is illegal in Orlando? That's a bit much.

Speaking of hackers... Not a cool thing. Very glad nobody got hurt.

2012 Watch: More on Newt Gingrich and his bling. In fairness, I have to concede that Gingrich is a really generous boss. An awful candidate but still, one hell of a generous boss.

So long Beck. We hardly knew ye. I'm surprised to find out that he was only on the air for 30 months. Seemed to me like he'd been scaring the elderly for far longer than that. I guess time drags when you're watching someone rant with a blackboard.

Speaking of Beck... I predict he'll spend quite a bit of change in this vending machine.

The group sponsoring the flotilla that will attempt to run the Gaza blockade have reported that two of their ships have been damaged. They're accusing Israel of sabotaging the boats. Inasmuch as Israel has been known to practice a somewhat robust foreign policy, I wouldn't put it past them.

Looks like the government is going to have even more problems with the drug trade.

BRAINS!!!!

Bacon, guns and silver! It's time for Libertarian summer camp! Sounds like fun honestly.

Alternately, you could spend the summer visiting Rome's subterranean Temple of Mithras.

But whatever you do, DO NOT go to the pool in Massachusetts. Seriously. Do not.

Of course, there's always Six Flags.

The Morning Blog

Screw the drug trade, uranium is where it's at.

Here's something else to worry about while you're at it. Once again a nasty virus is lurking about porn sites. That strikes me as interesting actually. Why do these things always end up on porn sites? Granted, pornography is the most popular thing on the internet so there's a reason to target them. But still, it seems like there's a certain prudery amongst hackers. It's almost as if they want to punish people that want to look at boobs.

A year of living dangerously. So long guys. Don't let the door hit ya where the dog shoulda bit ya.

Calling all gingers. You know it's a recession when children are lining up to get a job as an orphan.

Anyone else find this ironic?

Anyone else find this charming?

Speaking of charming...

Quote of the Day: "...The operation is limited in time and scope." And yet it keeps going and going and going...When considering Libya, it's important to recall Obama's assertion about it lasting "Days, not weeks". Unfortunately, the only accurate part of that statement is the "not weeks" part.

Oh, I love this idea! The only thing I can say about it is that it should be expanded upon, particularly to cable companies that tell you they'll be there between "noon and four".

Former drug csar William J. Bennett argues against legalizing marijuana. 34,000 dead Mexicans beg to disagree.

This is a pretty depressing review of the current state of space exploration. I'm not saying that it's necessarily inaccurate, merely depressing. Personally, I think it's inevitable that humanity will leave the Earth in large numbers. As noted in the piece, the Earth has a diameter of 7,926 miles. There's simply not going to be enough room for all of us. Even though space exploration is unbelievably expensive, I think it needs to be funded. Right now, we might want to go to space. But sooner or later, we must go to space.

Speaking of travel, here's a harrowing account of a North Korean defector. A major problem facing defectors is an unbelievable amount of culture shock:

She had spent almost every month of her 21 years until now focused on finding enough food to stay alive, and the abundance and choice around her were dizzying.

Rhee had just emerged from three months in Hanawon, a resettlement centre about 12 miles from Sowun, where new arrivals are taught how to go to the shops and how to use a mobile phone. But it is also an experiment with broader implications. Teams of psychologists and sociologists are watching Rhee and her fellow escapees to help plan for the day North Korea finally implodes and the South has to cope with 24 million inmates from the world's biggest prison.

Another defectors story is here.

But hey: Legos!

I'm sorry to see that England has decided to join the circus that is transportation security. For shame. I thought the British were supposed to be dignified.

It is unknown whether or not any TSA agents were involved in groping.

The Morning Blog

Good morning. You should still be worried about Egypt.

Greece too for that matter. Between the troubles in Greece and Egypt, I feel like a Roman.

Interesting piece here about the mathematics involved in Bernie Madoff's sentencing. Personally, I think the man got what he deserves. There's no reason whatsoever for him to see the light of day ever again. That said, there's something unsettling to me about the idea that the majority of his sentence (he'll be long dead), is part of a "symbolic" punishment. Though I think he deserves every second of his 150 year stint, it's just weird to me when government imposes imaginary punishments.

Good news for the President: His expensive adventurism in Libya has now almost attained the very faintest veneer of legality according to 14 people. Actually, I take it back. It's still blatantly illegal. Even if both houses of Congress did opt to sign off on this excursion, everything that's occurred between the end of the 60 day deadline and that improbable day is still in complete defiance of the War Powers Act. Sen. Jim Webb responds to the administrations assertion that we're not involved in hostilities quite nicely:

Senator Jim Webb of Virginia, a Democrat, said, “When you have an operation that goes on for months, costs billions of dollars, where the United States is providing two-thirds of the troops, even under the NATO fig leaf, where they’re dropping bombs that are killing people, where you’re paying your troops offshore combat pay and there are areas of prospective escalation — something I’ve been trying to get a clear answer from with this administration for several weeks now, and that is the possibility of a ground presence in some form or another, once the Qaddafi regime expires — I would say that’s hostilities.”

Given his involvement in protests against the Vietnam war which led to the War Powers Act in the first place, Jim Kerry should hang his head in shame for supporting this conflict. I'm sure many would argue that that war had a compelling rationale as well.

More on the cost of war here. Even if no American involved in Libya gets so much as a paper cut, Congress MUST determine whether or not we can afford another debacle.

Yikes!

Yikes!

Dad Bait: Enjoy your fishing while you can. It may not survive the vagaries of fashion.

Sigh. Yet another criminal mastermind attempts a daring and well though out scheme.

2012 Watch: Tom Petty is not amused. Perhaps Bachmann could go with this ditty?

In regards to the Supreme Court overturning California's ban on violent video games, I'm going to be fair. That said, the argument that scientists in favor of the ban are more established misses a crucial point: In what way are video games less deserving of First Amendment protections than films or books? Nice piece from the New York Times on how this will force games to get better here:

Now that the industry has finally gotten what it’s asked for, it can no longer play the aggrieved, misunderstood victim. It is time to grow up and show the world what you can do with your newfound respectability. Will you use it as cover to pump out schlock or will you rise to the opportunity and respectability that has been afforded you?

Probably not the best way to become a "a great, prosperous and powerful nation".

While we're on the subject...

This article started out as a pretty profound WTF moment for me. However, as I read it it began to make sense. If you're going to teach a group how to deal with people with whom they have nothing but contempt, why not expose them to the Westboro Baptist Church?

In other religious news, Pope Benedict is a follower of no one.

Here's one way to deal with walls and barricades: Palestinians make lemons into lemonade.

The Morning Blog

Even nerds have a nerdier subset. And today is their day.

On the subject of funny mathematics, the head of Afghanistan's central bank has fled the country and resigned his position. This follows his attempted investigation into corruption surrounding the collapse of Kabul Bank which was meant to fund government expenditures but was used mostly as a cookie jar for Afghanistan's rich and infamous. He definitely didn't get a golden parachute in leaving his job: His resignation is considered an "act of treason".

In other awkward news out of Afghanistan, these folks will be meeting with the United States and the Afghan government to hash out a road to peace. Should be zippy fun.

Sheesh! Reagan sure does have a lot of statues in Budapest. A new one will be unveiled featuring him wearing moccasins. Nothing says "presidential" like comfortable footwear. At any rate, I've certainly seen worse.

Blagojevich will finally be headed to prison. His hair was convicted of a misdemeanor and will only be subject to house arrest.

2012 Watch: Let's link to this article using a prophetic quote from Will Rogers: "The trouble with practical jokes is that very often they get elected." In a related note, Bachmann keeps swinging for the fences when it comes to gaffes.

Hopefully, we'll have a pro-football season this year. Regardless, someone will be playing. Pretty amazing statistic from this article. One of these indoor teams beat another 138-0.

Samoa is well known for producing alarmingly good football players. Know what else they're good at? Time travel.

I was arguing with my cousin about this at some length yesterday. Here's a follow-up on the Supreme Courts decision to overturn California's ban on video games. I think the Court absolutely got this ruling correct. That said, I find it profoundly weird that I've been in agreement with Justice Scalia on two recent cases. Not something I would ever expect, to say the least.

And now, I find myself agreeing with Texas. Did I wake up in an alternate universe? I might have to go back to bed until this craziness stops.

This is very good news: Israel has backed off of its threat to punish international journalists covering news. Their position truly was indefensible. I'm glad they've come to their senses.

What we aren't saying.

Kacee Bait: Let's take a look at the corporate powerhouse that is Cheyenne, WY.

Seems a little doubtful. I always take prognostications with a grain of salt when the time frame amounts to "Long after I'm retired."

Anyways, why bother waiting up nights for the space aliens to descend when we've got so many unbelievably weird things scurrying about here already?

Could his title be Emperor of Edmonton?

One way to pay for the Libyan war: Spare change.

I suddenly feel much more positive about what I do for a living. It could most certainly be worse.

The Morning Blog

It looks like the hacker group LulzSec will be breaking up. Though no reasons are given, I suspect there's a Yoko Ono lurking in the background.

And while one group breaks up, another comes together. Afghanistan, Pakistan and the United States will he holding talks with the Taliban to hash out something approaching peace in the region. With any luck, the participants will refrain from stabbing each other until at least the third meeting.

While Venezuela's Hugo Chavez convalesces in Cuba, his brother has taken to ranting about the viability of armed struggle in the event the dictator fails in the next election. Always nice to know that communists are so dedicated to the will of the people, that they'll shoot people that don't appreciate their dedication and vote accordingly.

I'm a pretty dedicated pedestrian and walk as much as I possibly can. I also think that people do use their cars more than they should. That said, the idea of governments actively working to make driving more miserable strikes me as profoundly perverse. If providing incentives to take public transportation isn't enough then...well, it seems like people probably want to drive pretty badly. I don't see any reason for governments to punish their citizens for this.

It finally makes sense to me! The Libyan bombing campaign isn't an "act of hostility". No, no, no... It's a pilot program!

Pretty much a day of governments behaving questionably it seems. Sadly, Israel is joining in the fun. Blocking journalists from reporting on what is clearly a news story is such a profoundly bad idea. As the country becomes increasingly isolated, it indicates that they've abandoned any attempt at controlling the narrative. They could take this as an opportunity to discuss their security concerns and show the world that they're able to respond to the situation with appropriate force. Unfortunately, it seems as though Israel just doesn't care anymore.

Forty years of futility.

Here's a bit of a silver lining though. It can't all be bad.

Here's another one.

2012 Watch: There are so many, so very, very many reasons to not support Rick Perry. My personal, number one reason? He killed a man.

As long as we're on the subject, this person is running too. Shocker.

Kacee Bait: How to...

Quote of the Day: "I told her to put it down because I thought it was a rat."

I think we can probably file this under bank robbery. I find this particularly chilling:

His experience doesn't bode well for Santiago's possessions.

"We have never gotten one piece of property back," he said.

Slow news day.

The Morning Blog

Well, this feels like deja vue. Here's Hilary Clinton arguing against a bill that would end funding for the blatantly illegal Libyan war:

Earlier this week Clinton said lawmakers were free to raise questions, but she asked, "Are you on Gadhafi's side, or are you on the side on the aspirations of the Libyan people and the international coalition that has been bringing them support?"

This is straight out of the Bush playbook. That's right kids; you're either with the President or with those that wish us harm. Never mind the Constitution. Never mind the law. Considering that Obama has done nothing (save ending torture), to roll back the security state and imperial executive established under Bush, I shouldn't even be surprised that they'd plagiarize their arguments. Fact is, in case after case, Obama has in fact expanded upon the unconstitutional practices of the Bush administration. Glenn Greenwald provides a helpful primer here.

Afghan civilians discuss their fears concerning the American withdrawal. Sadly, things look pretty bleak for quite a few people out in the provinces. However, I'm not sure what is expected of us here. Though I have no sympathy for Karzai, I sympathize with people out in the country who've just been trying to get by. Perhaps Afghans that aided Americans and face direct threats from the Taliban can be given Visas to come to the States? Outside of that, I don't know that there's much we can do for them.

You say 'tomato', I say 'tomahto'. For the Fun: Anyone interested in submitting a name can do so here. I'm a big fan of "72 Virgin Airways" myself.

Because things have been going so well for the country, Zimbabwe's military has announced that they'll make sure that Mugabe will remain in power indefinitely. From what I gather, their army considers their greatest threat to national security to be democracy.

I know I'm a day behind here but... So long Whitey. You will not be missed.

Inasmuch as I can't watch my beloved Steelers right now...

How often does one get to read a history of Argentinian, Jewish cowboys? Certainly it's a prouder tradition than that of white rappers.

How very cool!

How very cool, Part II! I sincerely believe that hundreds of years from now, archaeologists will refer to our time as the Lego Epoch.

This is a bit of positive news: The Pulitzer Prize winning journalist who revealed that he was an illegal immigrant is probably safe from being deported. He came to the United States at the age of 12 and was unable to become a citizen essentially due to bureaucracy. His story can be read here. The tragedy of course, is that hundreds of thousands of other people that have lived in this country and contributed to this country since they were children are still forced to go about their lives under the shadow of deportations to countries they barely know.

Good question. Personally, I don't think the planet could stand anymore of us.

The Morning Blog

Obama is expected to make a speech on Wednesday concerning the scope of the withdrawal of American forces from Afghanistan. I think it's high time we leave. If nothing else, we've left it a nicer country than it was when we began our occupation. Granted, that says very, very little. We are after all, talking about Afghanistan. But still, it seems a marginally better place. Why the decapitation rate alone has plummeted and you hardly ever hear about someone being stoned to death of late! Senators who wrote a letter asking for a shift on Afghan policy sum it up nicely:

"Given our successes, it is the right moment to initiate a sizable and sustained reduction in forces, with the goal of steadily redeploying all regular combat troops," the senators wrote. "The costs of prolonging the war far outweigh the benefits."

Again, "successes" are pretty relative things when you're talking about this particularly blighted hell hole. But still, progress has been made. As to benefits...Wait, we were supposed to be getting benefits out of this thing?

Speaking of Afghanistan, their Finance Minister has announced that he's "run out of patience" with the IMF. Certainly, it poses a grave financial crisis for the rest of the world when an economic powerhouse like Afghanistan gets fed up. Undoubtedly, they'll stop funding the IMF and see a total collapse of the central banking system. How on Earth will the world of finance survive without fabled Afghan largess?

Come on now, Ireland. At this point, you're just being silly. I mean seriously, it's time to move on, don't you think?

Interesting article about the lack of anonymity on the internet. Admittedly, that's a bit like discussing the lack of penguins in the Sahara but still it's worth reading particularly because everyone is so completely aware of it. Everyone knows that the internet is very, very public (well, maybe Anthony Weiner missed the memo). What you put up there always has the potential to become known to basically everyone on the planet. And everyone seems pretty content with that. There's certainly no shortage of people uploading things to YouTube or what have you. It seems as though Maslows hierarchy of needs may require an additional category to traditional ones like food and shelter: recognition.

Speaking of which, Here's some recognition people would probably rather avoid.

Kacee Bait: What, no whiskey? It makes you feel better!

While we're on the subject of snake oil, here's an expose on the seedy underbelly of nutritional supplements. A doctors response to the bill pushed through by Orrin Hatch that basically lets supplement companies claim that their products do...well, everything, is available here.

And as long as we're talking about whiskey...

Never thought I would say this but... Wow. Clarence Thomas is right. His dissenting opinion in this case is completely correct: People facing jail time regardless of the reason, absolutely have a constitutional right to representation.

Having found myself in agreement with justices Thomas, Scalia and Alito, I now look forward to seeing flying pigs.

The Morning Blog

In praise of beer. Makes good, solid sense to me. Looks as though if things keep going the way they've been going, we'll all have to do our part and drink our way out of this recession.

Last night I found myself watching the Miss American pageant (I don't recommend it by the way. Afterwards, I had horrible dreams involving centipedes and parking garages). One thing I found heartening about it though was that the winner called for the decriminalization of medical marijuana. It's a tiny step but nice to hear someone say something showing minimal common sense on that stage. I think we can agree that at the very least, we should let people suffering from cancer toke up if they want to. More arguments favoring decriminalization are available here.

Brazil continues its efforts to clean house prior to the upcoming World Cup and Summer Olympics. I'm glad that at least this time, when they called out their marines to invade a slum, it didn't turn into a tiny civil war. Honestly, there are plenty of reasons for Brazilians living in the slums to be angry. Case in point...

Afghan president Karzai bites the hand that feeds him and not surprisingly, gets slapped back. Frankly though, both Karzai and the US ambassador have points. Karzai is right to be angry about civilian casualties. Ambassador Eikenberry is certainly right to be angry about Afghan ingratitude. My solution is simple: We leave. That way Karzai won't have to worry about NATO accidentally striking a civilians home and we won't have to worry about what is or is not being done with the aid we provide. There. Problem solved. You're welcome.

Speaking of civilian deaths, I would argue that under the formulation of the Obama administration, this is clearly impossible inasmuch as the we're not involved in hostile actions in Libya.

Speaking of Obama, as a candidate he scathingly rebuked lobbyists and special interests thus:

"They write the checks and you get stuck with the bill," Obama said at the time. "They get the access while you get to write a letter. They think they own this government, but we're here today to take it back."

And went on to give 200 administration posts to big money donors or their spouses.

Guns don't kill people, cowboys kill people.

As do zombies.

The Morning Blog

Foreign Policy asks: "Mr. President, please stop insulting us."

For my Massachusetts People: Congratulations on winning the Stanley Cup! I can take comfort knowing that at least a team wearing the black and gold triumphed. I see that Vancouver has reacted with typical Canadian reserve.

Wait...what? The Falkland Islands are still an issue? How is this even possible? I was of the understanding that the Argentinians and British had resolved their spat over who owned what chunk of rock and what sheep decades ago.

I see Al Qaeda has a new person for us to kill. Ayman al-Zawahiri is the new boss. Defense Secretary Robert Gates provides your Quote of the Day regarding why it took so long to find a replacement for Bin Laden:

“It’s probably tough to count votes when you’re in a cave.”

In all honesty, the man sounds perfectly dreadful even by the admittedly low standards of Al Qaeda. From what I gather from the article, he's considered to be very difficult to work with. For example:

One dark tale from Mr. Zawahri’s past is recounted in “Growing Up Bin Laden,” a 2008 memoir by Bin Laden’s son Omar bin Laden. He describes an episode in Afghanistan in the 1990s when a friend — a teenage boy — was raped by several men in the camp where they lived. The men snapped photos of the abuse and circulated them as a joke.

Mr. Zawahri was incensed by the photo, believing that the young man was guilty of homosexual activity, Omar bin Laden wrote. Mr. Zawahri had the teenager put on trial and condemned to death.

Not exactly the sort of person you want in charge of HR. Anyways, here are some management tips.

This is interesting: Scientists have created brain implants that restore memories for rats. I was tempted to insist that scientists go out at once and watch "Willard" as a cautionary tale before they fiddle around with those bastards anymore. However, it really is quite remarkable. What's especially interesting to me is that the implants are able to essentially record the actual memory and relay it back to the rat. If the technology is advanced, conceivably you might come home from vacation with much more interesting things to share than some photos.

Speaking of photos...

And more photos...

Need a lawyer in 15 minutes? There's an app for that. Pretty interesting service. Its purpose is to get lawyers to clients almost immediately. While I think that that's a pretty great idea and hopefully could help reign in on some abuses by police, I have to wonder: who on Earth would want to get a monthly subscription for this sort of thing?

Well, maybe these folks. Am I reading this article correctly? Is 'raid' the correct word to use in this? If so, I can't comprehend why that would be justified. Hard to imagine the reasoning behind kicking down the door of someones house because they possess a monkey without a permit.

The revolution will not be televised. However, it may crap in your yard.

Well what do you know? Pivoting off that last post, here's your Daily Dose of Synchronicity.

Here's something new for you to worry about: the sun will be hibernating shortly.

Might as well worry about extra-terrestrial, shape-shifting squid while we're at it. Wanna argue about it?

Kacee Bait: Astonishingly enough, a house fire that did not occur in Pittsburgh.

Speaking of fires...

Heads in the clouds.

Sigh...I can't help myself. Weiner pulls out.

The Morning Blog

What else can I say other than that Pakistan has ranked up another victory in its war on the war on terror? It's sad to say but at this point, they're just humiliating us. They arrest some of the C.I.A informants that were critical to getting Bin Laden and our response is to discuss possible "restrictions" on the $2 billion we give them annually. At this point, Pakistan is behaving like America's abusive boyfriend. No matter what they do, we seem to keep putting out.

As opposed to Pakistan for example, these guys are operating on a shoestring. Seems like a bad idea though...

That said, the good money we throw away after bad in Pakistan is still only a third of what we waste on ethanol. Nice to see that Democrats and Republicans can at least agree on one thing: They're terrified to even look funny at farm subsidies. Quote of the Day:

“Parochialism trumps the best interests of the nation,” Mr. Coburn said after the vote.

And Quote of the Day, Part II:

“We simply can’t afford to pay the oil industry for following the law,” said Senator Susan Collins, Republican of Maine.

On a completely different topic, here's your Quote of the Day, Part III:

"The lawsuit contends that law-abiding citizens' constitutional rights are not, cannot and should not ever be 'collateral damage' in the government's war on drugs."

Speaking of the drug war, we really, really, really need to start worrying about Mexico. That said, there are things we can do to be helpful (decriminalizing drugs in order to wreck the profit motive that's fueling the violence would be a good start), and things we can do that would be less helpful.

2012 Watch: Meanwhile, the GOP field calls for peace, love and understanding. Certainly, that's all well and good. Who am I to complain about anybody calling for less war? However, I think it's just typical of American politics. Politicians will always reverse their positions when they're practiced by the other party. Were a Republican President conducting the wars in Afghanistan and Libya, I'm quite certain every one of these candidates would be calling them exercises in expanding freedom or some such drivel.

In other 2012 news, Romney is a dork.

Awkward...

And more awkward. Sort of puts the Anthony Wiener nonsense in perspective don't you think?

I am extremely proud to say that I did not click on the link to the shirtless image of Newt Gingrich. I'm better than that. So there. Anyways, anytime I look at him, I always think that he should have a gravy stain on his shirt. For a man that wants to be President, he seems awful disheveled.

The Morning Blog

Good news! The governments case against NSA whistleblower, Thomas Drake has collapsed. Unable to prove any significant wrongdoing, the government has offered a plea deal including no prison time. Drake was accused of revealing massive waste at the agency, including the decision to scrap a $3 million in house program in favor of a $1 billion contractor developed one. Bear in mind that prior to the Drake case, three of these sorts of cases had been pursued in American history. The current administration is currently juggling five of them. So much for government transparency:

Beyond the prosecutions, the Obama administration has been entangled in other perplexing disputes over classified information. Last September, the Defense Department spent $47,300 to buy and destroy the entire first printing of an intelligence officer’s Afghanistan war memoir, saying it contained secrets.

In April, the Justice Department warned lawyers for Guantánamo detainees that they could not read or discuss publicly military documents published by WikiLeaks describing their clients, even though the documents are freely available on the Web.

We've gone down the rabbit hole.

2012 Watch: Newt, we hardly knew ye! The Gingrich campaign has gone completely off the rails. How far off? Well, to Greece actually. As Gingrich was enjoying a cruise amongst the Grecian isles, his campaign manager and senior advisers were planning their resignations. The issue was that they felt that the Lizard King simply wasn't putting in enough time on the campaign trail following some spectacular gaffes and the disclosure of his curious jewelry bill. A two week holiday to Greece pretty much settled things for them and they've decided that they deserve a well needed vacation of their own.

In other 2012 news, I think that this might be the worst job ever: Combing through 24,000 pages of emails by Sarah Palin. It sounds like an English majors version of hell. Honestly, I have to say that a Palin fan puts it best:

When told of the e-mail release, one of those tourists, Stephanie Stein, said, “I love Sarah Palin.” She added: “But is it really going to be that exciting? Is it relevant?”

Your daily dose of the inevitable. Not surprisingly, Andrew Sullivan puts the brouhaha over the Iron Lady's snub of Palin into context:

"What he doesn't understand is that Palin's nutsiness is not a partisan matter in Britain, or anywhere else in the world. It is an obvious truth marvelled at by all. Palin's emergence as a serious figure in American politics has made the country a laughing stock across the world. The idea that a stateswoman like Thatcher, in advanced dementia, would be used by such a crackpot is simply unseemly."

I mentioned something about this before but it bears repeating: couldn't labor costs be controlled by expanding the labor pool through greater immigration? Granted, uncertainty about health care costs are critical. But I think that providing a large pool of labor (and this will hurt but it's just a fact), at a cheap price, is the only thing that's really going to get companies investing in personnel again.

Well, this is obviously a bad example, but still.

The Morning Blog

The Obama administration has not-at-all-quietly escalated its efforts in yet another undeclared war. Notably, this has included further assassination attempts against American Anwar al-Awlaki, a man that while almost certainly deserving a killing, remains when all is said and done, an American and thus protected against extra-judicial killings ordered by the executive branch. More on that can and should be read about here:

One can find that view odious and repugnant. One can find it dangerous and frightening. But what one cannot do is dispute that it is pure political speech squarely within the zone of First Amendment protection, as established by Brandenburg. And to punish or kill an American citizen for expressing those views -- which is exactly what the Obama administration is attempting to do with Awlaki -- is a grave assault on core free speech rights (let alone to do so without any judicial process). The Supreme Court, in Claiborne, has also ruled -- unanimously -- that the First Amendment bars imposing liability on someone for the criminal acts "inspired" by their speech (it so ruled when protecting NAACP officials from attempts by the State of Mississippi to hold them liable for the violent acts their fiery speeches inspired on the part of their followers). If one wants to argue that Awlaki's speech falls outside the scope of Brandenburg and Claiborne protections, the place to do that is a courtroom after indicting him, not vesting the President with the power to act as judge, jury and executioner.

Fortunately though, the governments case against a whistleblower at the National Security Administration appears to be collapsing. So much for those campaign promises about transparency and accountability in government.

There is of course, the minor issue of traffic tickets.

Meanwhile, our vacation in sunny Libya continues anon. I note that American military operations are on course to cost hundreds of millions more than previously estimated by the Pentagon. Good thing the government doesn't have to worry about funding "All Things Considered" anymore!

Not just a marital aid anymore, now Viagra helps war crimes. Probably not an association they'll be featuring in any commercials.

Here's another heated conflict, nerd style. Anyone else find it unfortunate that Vietnam is run by a Prime Minister Dung? That's even worse than Weiner.

As soon as we wrap up our war on terror, it might be time to start hunting even more deadly foes. Specifically, lightning bolts.

Shopping for lacy underthings in Saudi Arabia.

Nicely bucking the Chinese trend of a state led economic model, India continues to thrive despite, rather than because of its government. This stands out as a good example of the Indian model:

In Gurgaon, economic growth is often the product of a private sector improvising to overcome the inadequacies of the government.

To compensate for electricity blackouts, Gurgaon’s companies and real estate developers operate massive diesel generators capable of powering small towns. No water? Drill private borewells. No public transportation? Companies employ hundreds of private buses and taxis. Worried about crime? Gurgaon has almost four times as many private security guards as police officers.

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.

The Morning Blog

Looks as though things are finally winding down in Yemen. Following a rocket attack on the presidential palace, President Ali Abdullah Saleh has debarked for Saudi Arabia to seek medical treatment. Though sources say that he intends to return in the next couple of weeks, it's questionable whether or not the Saudis will permit him to go back absent the signing of a transfer of power. Unfortunately, while this stage of the Yemeni insurrection may be coming to a close with the departure of Saleh, problems still exist. His sons still control key military posts and tribal rivalries should keep things much more interesting than anyone wants for the foreseeable future.

More fun from the Middle East: Israeli security forces killed another 22 Palestinian protesters that were approaching the border fence. At this point, I would ask the Israelis: How long exactly are you willing to keep shooting unarmed protesters? It's simply not sustainable. I mean...duh:

Israeli officials, who say they tried every nonlethal method of crowd control at their disposal before resorting to live fire, worry about being cast as the villain but admit they are in a bind.

Something that should have been resolved before we got involved, doncha think?!?!

It's the sort of question that seriously should have been answered prior to us writing a blank check of support for the Libyan insurgency. We DO NOT want another Pakistan:

We have been the enablers of every stage of that wretched state’s counter-evolution, to the point where it is a serious regional menace and an undisguised ally of our worst enemy, as well as the sworn enemy of some of our best allies.

Things are getting interesting in India as well as an anti-corruption protest was broken up by police using canes and tear gas. Mostly, I only mention it as an excuse to use a picture of the yoga guru leading the protests. If you don't listen to his wisdom, you better listen to his beard.

And in Texas, the scourge of dastardly cattle rustlers, continues anon. Hang 'em high!

What is this, the 19th century? First cattle rustlers, now pirates?

Returning to the present day, let's take a look at crimes that do not involve ten gallon hats or eye patches. Specifically, the not-so-wild west that is the internet. I have to say...That's a pretty stunning level of infiltration by the FBI. I'd be very curious to find out why they're not able to reap the same successes with other crimes.

Speaking of the internet and crime...Feel free to follow me on Twitter @CommonMurre. Unless you're French. I'm simply gobsmacked that this sort of thing is illegal.

And sometimes, Facebook friends are a little more real than you think.

The Morning Blog

Good morning! You have a new right! It's Christmas in June!

One of Venezuela's prisons is in the iron grip of the "Rabbit".

Alabama has managed to amp up the craziness over illegal immigration. Specifically, they've sent a bill through their legislature that would not only be tougher than Arizona's, but strikes me as specifically targeting children:

Alabama’s bill goes beyond Arizona’s. It bars illegal immigrants from enrolling in any public college after high school. It obliges public schools to determine the immigration status of all students, requiring parents of foreign-born students to report the immigration status of their children.

The bill requires Alabama’s public schools to publish figures on the number of immigrants — both legal and illegal — who are enrolled and on any costs associated with the education of illegal immigrant children.

Why not just go a step further and give the kids arm bands? As long as Alabama is determined to create a class of secondary citizens, they might as well abandon any pretext of subtlety.

The House of Representatives has voted to rebuke Obama over his continued flaunting of the War Powers Act. To recap: The President has taken steps that seriously erode the separation of powers, specifically those covering the ability to declare war. In return, the House has offered a modest scolding. Not enough guys. Not enough by far.

Sadly, this is another pointless action: We lost. Maybe policy makers will listen to this (to say the least), august body:

“Poorly designed drug law enforcement practices can actually increase the level of violence, intimidation and corruption associated with drug markets,” notes the report. It echoes many of the points made in a 2009 by a commission that focused on Latin America but did not go as far as recommending that governments debate and seriously consider “models of legal regulation” of all drugs, not only marijuana.

Maybe now we can stop beating ourselves up about it? Maybe we can find something better to do than imprison millions of non-violent citizens? Maybe we can stop actively subsidizing vicious, criminal gangs? Maybe we can stop pouring more good money after bad? Oh wait... Sean Hannity is apparently concerned about "the moral destruction of a human soul". Obviously, a joint will destroy a soul far more effectively than a stint in prison. Of course.

More from one of the members of the panel here.

Probably someone worth listening to.

Three things typically appear in Pittsburgh's local news: House fires, the elderly and shootings. This story manages to get them all covered.

2012 Watch: The Poetry of Sarah Palin. Please Lord...Make it stop. Shouldn't we be collectively ignoring this ongoing car crash?

Hmm... Nature vs. nurture? Might be hard to determine seeing as how these two brothers (religiously and otherwise), had pretty much the exact same lives.

Always fun: Here's one way to imagine the national debt. The good news is that given that we could stack the money involved and climb to the moon and back, maybe we won't need the shuttle program after all.

Mom Bait: Hey, thanks for the lift. Anyways: Kinda looks like Ron, doncha think?

Didn't think I'd find myself saying this today, but here's an industry that might need a bit more regulation. I'm just glad the audience members weren't left thinking they were chickens.

Wocka wocka.

The Morning Blog

There's been speculation as to whether or not Yemen is on the verge of a civil war. Yes. Yes, I should say that it is. Hopefully, the dire economic condition in Yemen will be a wake up call to the rest of the Middle East. If you base your entire economy around a single, rapidly dwindling source of revenue, sooner or later, you're just going to run out of cash. Sadly, I've no idea what Middle Eastern countries could peg their economies to other than oil. Granted, the fat boys of Dubai can always hope for ski tourism but I don't know that that's the best thing to rely on in a desert.

At this point, strapped for cash and unable to keep buying supporters, Yemen's president Ali Abdullah Saleh is finding that insurgents are taking it personally.

Well, I see that at least one Middle Eastern country is pegging it's economy to something else.

I'm lucky enough to get along with my neighbors. They're all decent people. Though they might play their music a bit loud, I'd say that we have a pretty good relationship. Some people aren't quite so fortunate. It's not surprising to me that North Korea would make such an aggressive response to reports that South Korean soldiers were using images of the Kim clan for target practice. It's important to understand that as far as the North Koreans are concerned, the Kim's were, are and always will be, the literal embodiment of all that is their state. Thus, we get statements like these:

Kim Il Sung remains North Korea's "eternal president" 17 years after his death, his beaming face on billboards, portraits and the small pins North Koreans wear affixed to their shirts and jackets.

North Korea said in its statement that South Korea had "staged such rowdyism as setting up a target and daring fire at it, a thrice-cursed criminal act of hurting the supreme dignity of" North Korea. It also mentioned alleged anti-North Korea propaganda in the South.

Thrice-cursed, criminal rowdyism no less...

Can't really say that there's much cheerful news today. Uganda has announced that it will pull its soldiers out of the African Union force in Somalia if the mandate of the Somalian interim government isn't extended for another year. The worry is that going to a vote would give insurgents the time they need to reorganize and retake lost territory. Honestly though, given that the interim government controls mere blocks within a single city, how long could a vote possibly take? You could probably conduct it by strolling door to door.

With all the troubles going on in the Third World and developing countries, I think it's safe to file this as a First World problem.

Well, I guess this is something to be cautiously cheerful about: Congress is finally, hesitatingly, haltingly growing a pair. Two resolutions have been proposed (by a Democrat and a Republican no less), demanding that the executive branch explain what the hell we're doing in Libya, what it's going to cost, what our goals are, and why the President has been in flagrant violation of the War Powers Act, which demands an end to hostilities after 60 days without congressional approval (a deadline that was passed May 20th). Naturally there's some push back from the executive:

“It sends an unhelpful message of disunity and uncertainty to our troops, our allies and, most importantly, the Qaddafi regime,” Mr. Morrell said. He also warned that the Kucinich measure could harm American relations with NATO allies contributing troops to Afghanistan.

No, no and no. What it sends is a message that the President is not above the law, especially those explicitly pertaining to him. If he wants his war, he has to get approval from the elected representatives of the people. It's just that simple.

The Morning Blog

Looks like those pesky Chinese are at it again! Google has revealed that the Gmail accounts of US government officials were compromised during an attack that appears to have originated in China. Included in the accounts that were accessed, was one belonging to an unknown member of the cabinet. Here's looking at you Joe Biden, you scamp! By now, you should have learned to never open an email with the subject line hottgirlz4u!

More on China here.

More on the American response to cyber-attacks here. Notably, it states that the US would consider retaliations (possibly including military actions), in the event that "key US computer systems" were attacked. I wonder, does the definition of "key systems" include those in the private sphere? If so, is that a good thing or a bad thing? I could see how an attack on a huge, private system like Google for example, could have profound effects across the country, particularly as more and more companies (and government institutions), use it as their communications network. But should we go to war over a private company's problems, even if it affects millions of people? Furthermore, what sort of control would a private company like Google have to transfer over to the feds in order to receive protection from them? Lots of questions to answer about this. Thoughts? Reuters puts it into context here. To sum up:

The idea of responding militarily to most of these threats is preposterous. We thwart hackers with better passwords, IT professionals and policing, not aircraft carriers. We do not threaten to bomb countries caught spying on us in traditional ways and should not do so just because the prefix “cyber” applies.

Meanwhile, the British seem to be having fun with it.

This is very good news: The UN Human Rights Council has gone on record as repudiating anti-blasphemy laws. Laws banning dissent in essence, ban the formation of civil society:

America's historical experience has been that its society's capacity for tolerance grows stronger through exercise. Protections afforded speech and the press are not only a means of safeguarding something of great and unique value (that is, open discussion), but also a means of developing the habit of moderating natural but dangerous individual and societal tendencies.

The Japanese seem to be taking a momentary pause in their practice of going through prime ministers like toilet paper. Naoto Kan has survived a no-confidence vote though he's indicated that he'll step down in the next few months once the various crises have been resolved. He would have been the sixth prime minister to leave power in the past five years. Seems to me that at this point, they could probably save themselves a lot of fuss and bother by just filling the spot through temp agencies.

Maybe someday they'll find a credible prime minister. Certainly, they could do worse.

The Morning Blog

Not that he needs it, but here's a defense of my favorite President. I wasn't aware that there was so much snarling out there about Teddy Roosevelt. They'd best be careful. He's more than capable of bringing himself back to life to punch someone in the mouth.

In positive news, protests are breaking out in Tripoli against Qaddafi. This comes in the wake of a failed peace overture by South Africa's Jacob Zuma and hundreds of officers and soldiers announcing their defections. Hopefully, this means that things are winding down for Qaddafi but I'm worried. Considering the steps he went to crush insurgents in Benghazi and Misurata, I can only imagine what he's capable of in his own capitol.

Since we're discussing South Africa if only in passing, we might as well take a look at the strange case of the talking monkey witch.

Boots on the ground?

In other delightful news from the Middle East, the United States has been compelled to pull it's human rights officer from Bahrain after he and his family received death threats on a pro-government web-site. What's fascinating to me (other than I don't know what the government of Bahrain could possibly be thinking sanctioning this sort of thing), is the incoherency of the conspiracy theory the diplomat was alleged to take part in. It includes sadly typical anti-semitic nonsense about him being Jewish but goes on to claim that he was coordinating things with Hezbollah of all groups. Really? They're drawing a connection between a Jew and not-particularly-friendly-to-Jews-at-all Hezbollah? On what planet?

Noted ladies man Silvio Berlusconi gets blowed. Oh no! Sorry...Meant to say "Berlusconi Takes Blows". My fault. English sure is a slippery language, huh?

More fun with English: "Colon Continues to Surprise" is a headline that has nothing to do with proctology.

Sarah Bait: Hey, I thought Ned's dad might like this. Don't know that he'd care for this though.

The Morning Blog

Going to have to be a very quick one today, Folks. Blame the holiday.

Anyways, some quick thoughts...

Having nationalized, seized or redistributed everything else in the country, Zimbabwe's Robert Mugabe turns his eyes to God.

Utah has made gold and silver coins legal tender. They'll be valued at their weight value rather than their face value when making purchases. It seems like it's probably going to cause some headaches. Are retailers going to be expected to not only keep scales about their stores for this sort of thing, but also know the current value of silver and gold?

There are lots of terrible cliches about lawyers being terrible, terrible people. Generally, they're not true.

Snakes on a train.

A little bit of wow.

It being Memorial Day, people will be flying their flags. My personal pet peeve: People espousing rabid patriotism and then leaving their flags out after sunset. If you're going to display a flag, do it properly. And while we're on the subject of celebrating the holiday, be sure to make some decent burgers.

The Morning Blog

Sorry I didn't get the chance to post anything yesterday. I had to venture all over the city for tomatoes and copies of keys.

Which I'm sure is the most interesting thing you'll read all day...

Because we had such a relaxing time during our last visit, we'll be returning to an idyllic chalet in scenic Abbottabad. I suppose this is good news given the recent (and justified), spats between the CIA and the Pakistani ISI. If nothing else, it might help the CIA determine who showed up for Bin Laden's sleepover parties.

Meanwhile, Clinton plays nice. While it's certainly possible that nobody in the upper echelons in Pakistan was aware of Bin Laden's residence, I find it hard to believe that somebody at some level didn't know something. I think that if Pakistan is interested in repairing relations with its largest donor, they're going to have to do some very thorough and very public house cleaning.

Words, words, words...Libya's government has called yet again, for a ceasefire. That seems to translate as "Please be polite enough to not shoot at us while we shoot at you". Understandably, it's viewed as less than credible. Interesting quote from the Prime Minister concerning any future role for Qaddafi in Libya:

Mahmoudi said that only Gaddafi would determine his future role. “It is he who decides what the Libyan people want,” he said.

I can imagine it'd be slightly difficult to negotiate with someone like that. In a change of position though, it looks like the Russians are willing to give it a try.

What else are the Russians up to? Putting a moratorium on car inspections. It appears as though the system is simply impossibly corrupt and by taking inspections out of the hands of the police, citizens are expected to save upwards of $1 billion a year in bribes. Insert canned statement about the implicit dangers of overly powerful states here.

Super powered no less!

Speaking of overly powerful states: North Korea will be releasing a US citizen who's been held for the last six months on charges of committing a grave something-or-another. I wonder if this might be related to Kim Jong Ils recent sojourn to China? I can see the Chinese advising him that the best way to build his country into an economic powerhouse is to not be obviously crazy.

Here's another overly powerful state. Malta is the only country in Europe (and one of only two on Earth), that maintains a ban on divorce. Not surprisingly, it's also a country where 30% of the children are born outside of marriage. A vote on ending the ban is pending.

And one last example of an all too powerful state: Zimbabwe remains crappy. To be honest, I'm less surprised that a police sergeant was jailed for daring to use Robert Mugabe's toilet than I am that Zimbabwe actually hosts an international trade fair. What company in it's sane mind would ever invest in a country notorious for asset seizure?

And speaking of bad, bad, bad men...

And speaking of scum...