The state of Florida killed convicted murderer Angel Diaz by lethal injection last night. In and of itself, that’s not terribly remarkable, but the facts that it took 34 minutes and two seperate injections to kill him, and that he continued to move until for 24 minutes are. They are also totally unacceptable. I’m opposed [...]
Archive for November, 2011
This is un-fucking-believable. The IRS expects you to report income from–among other things–bribes, illegal income, kickbacks, and stolen property. Here’s what they have to say about illegal income: Illegal income, such as money from dealing illegal drugs, must be included in your income on Form 1040, line 21, or on Schedule C or Schedule C-EZ [...]
People often tell me that I’m too cynical about the government, but after reading this story, I think I may not be cynical enough. Essentially, what is says is that the Immigration and Customs Executive (I.C.E.) knowingly allowed one of its drug informants to take part in the murder of thriteen Mexican citizens and one [...]
Good news! The new chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, Silvestre Reyes (D-TX), doesn’t know shit about the Middle East! For instance, here is what ensued when interviewer Jeff Stein asked him if al Qaeda is Sunni or Shia: “Al Qaeda, they have both,” Reyes said. “You’re talking about predominately?” “Sure,” I said, not knowing [...]
Actor Peter Boyle died today at age 71. Most news outlets are reporting his death with some variation of this: “Everybody Loves Raymond actor Peter Boyle Dies,” which is a damn shame because a) that show sucks and b) he was in much better things, like this and to a much lesser extent this. Oh [...]
Do economists agree on anything? Well, according to a recent study by Robert Whaples, there are a few places where there is near consensus among members of the American Economic Association. (These numbers have been circulating for a few weeks, I just kept forgetting to make this post; my bad.) The area of most agreement [...]
After he denies to an interviewer that he was a defender of Reagan in the ’80s, legendary filmmaker David Lynch says that he was/is a libertarian and then launches into a hilarious tangent on traffic signals: But at that time [the 1980s], I thought of myself as a libertarian. I believed in next to zero [...]
Researchers at Columbia have discovered that people who choose to work responsibly instead of partying are usually pleased with their decision….but only in the short run. After a few years people tend to deeply regret their decision not to party more. I guess the only difference between most people and myself here is that I [...]
Sorry for the shortage of posts this week, but a friend was visiting, so I was obliged to entertain for most of the week. But here are a few things to brighten your Friday and weekend. “Wow” is pretty much all I can say about this. Who knew that the Fresh Prince was into metal? [...]
The much awaited report from the Iraq Study Group was finally released yesterday, but I really question why anyone cares. Is it news to anyone outside the Bush Administration that the situation in Iraq is “grave and deteriorating” or that the current policy “is not working”? If so, really? I mean, have you been living [...]
