Reason Morning Links: Casey Anthony Shakes Mitch McConnell's Faith in America, Debt Talks Drag on, Italy Flirts With Financial Disaster

• The debt talks are going swimmingly. 
• Is Italy too big to fail?
• After watching the Casey Anthony trial, Sen. Mitch McConnell concludes that American juries cannot be trusted to convict terrorists. 
• Indiana state senator queries constituents about legalizing marijuana, receives overwhelmingly positive response. 
• The News of the World hacked the cell phones of Scotland Yard while the police agency was investigating The News of the World for hacking. 
• Ten years after the first Lebowski Fest, Miller-McCune rounds up the best academic papers on the dude. 

New at Reason.tv: "Economist Murat Yülek on Greek Debt, Turkish Growth, & U.S. Budget Woes"

Comments

[Arcaster]

The teaser poster for The Dark Knight Rises is here! 🙂

http://www.thedarkknightrises.com/

Hopefully the teaser trailer will be out this week.

[?]

Yawn.

[R C Dean]

I'm about to the point where I won't watch any movie with "Rise" or "Rises" in the title.

[Alan Smithee]

What about "The Nipples Rise"?

[Achtung Coma Baby]

The trailer will be previewed with the newest Harry Potter movie on Friday.

My Dark Knight is rising.

[Gibby]

"The Dark Knight Rises"

So it's a film about boners?

[?]

Yes. But not the way you mean it.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Ten years after the first Lebowski Fest, Miller-McCune rounds up the best academic papers on the dude.

A zesty enterprise, to be sure.

[robc]

I am not proud of my city's connection to Lebowski Fest.

[Walter]

STFU Donnie!

[Tulpa]

Well that's like, you know, your opinion, man.

[rather]

Casey Anthony and a murderess 132 years ago.

Plus ca change, plus c'est la meme chose
http://rctlfy.wordpress.com/20.....ck-holmes/

[racist misogynist]

Speak English, bitch!

[Guy from Haiti]

Ki sa ki mal ak krey?l ayisyen?

[Ancient Roman]

Quam male cum Latina?

[Nick]

Kali Ma. Kali Ma Shuk Tee Day!

[goober1223]

Kunta kinte, yabbdabba dabba do.

Hah mishy gishy gushy gushy mishy meshy mushy, motherfucker.

[Nipplemancer]

I tried ripping someone's beating heart out of their chest by chanting that once. it didn't work.

[sloopyinca]

Meka Leka Hi.
Meka Hiney Ho.

[rather]

If you're tired of Casey, puppies!
http://rctlfy.wordpress.com/20.....ool-trick/

[Mr Whipple]

I heard Ron Paul hates puppies.

[Eduard van Haalen]

He loves them, so long as they're cooked right.

[Tulpa]

Rick Santorum is the puppy lover candidate.

[Sinic]

Is Italy too big to fail?

Greece, then Italy. Would that make Turkey next, or France? And that would make the US close to last.

[Scruffy Nerfherder]

I listened to NPR this morning and they interviewed some Italian journalist who summarized the Italian predicament as follows:

"Nothing to see here, move along please."

A guaranteed predictor of disaster to come.

[CoyoteBlue]

Greece is pretty much in default and the only people who don't know that are senile pensioners sitting on their sovereign funds. Now the plutocrats are just working out how to insulate the quasi-state banks of Europe and see how much of the default they can shift to the IMF. It goes without saying, the Greeks are royally fucked.

The problem for Italy is that no one has the cash to save it. Well, maybe the Germans, but this is on the scale of integrating east Germany, and they don't like the greasy latins that much. So if Timmeh and Barak and The Bernanke don't pony up a half trillion soon - the Italians are fucked.

It's starting to look like it's defaults all the way down.

[Scruffy Nerfherder]

Overdue. The only hope for the dollar is to look good in comparison to everyone else.

[Tulpa]

That's not going to be good for our exports though.

[R C Dean]

how much of the default they can shift to the IMF.

For IMF, read "American taxpayer."

[Gray Ghost]

So if Timmeh and Barak and The Bernanke don't pony up a half trillion soon - the Italians are fucked.

Wasn't that the actual point of QE2? http://www.zerohedge.com/artic.....c-economy-

I guess what's another $600 billion at this point?

[The Pope]

Jubilee.

[dbcooper]

Greece, Portugal, Spain, Italy, euro-zone states in eastern europe.

The rest are in a different class.

[dbcooper]

Oops, forgot Ireland.

[JW]

PIIGS, baby.

[Mr Whipple]

Is Italy too big to fail?

Is Iceland?

[proegg antichicken]

Iceland is like Rhode Island in population and economy. Italy is more like California. Not that this means they can't all fail.

[db]

And this is one line in which it really sucks to be last.

[sarcasmic]

Dude ain't getting laid after being caught staring at Bachman's ass.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/new.....-poll.html

[Brett L]

"Funny, she doesn't look evil from this angle."

[SugarFree]

"Nice ass and she hates fags. She's my perfect woman!"

[sarcasmic]

"Is that a skid mark?"

[JW]

Does that make her the Commando in Chief?

[Gibby]

She doesn't hate fags, just thae faggy shit they do.

[Ice Nine]

Dude might have thought of acting like he'd seen one before.

[Sinic]

He's a Republican; he might not have.

[Brett L]

Maybe he's never seen one that narrow in Iowa.

[Lord Humungus]

corn fed!

[SIV]

Representative Michele Bachmann, is subject of several male gazes during a speaking engagement today

Where have we heard that term before?

[SIV]

In feminist theory, the male gaze expresses an asymmetric (unequal) power relationship, between viewer and viewed, gazer and gazed, i.e. man imposes his unwanted (objectifying) gaze upon woman. Second Wave feminists argue that whether or not women welcome the gaze, they might merely be conforming to the hegemonic norms established to benefit the interests of men ? thus underscoring the power of the male gaze to reduce a person (man or woman) to an object (see also exhibitionism).

[Scruffy Nerfherder]

I've got to include hegemonic norms in conversation some time today.

[SugarFree]

[Scruffy Nerfherder]
I'm sorry that my tiny penis doesn't conform to your brutal hegemonic norms!
[/Scruffy Nerfherder]

[Scruffy Nerfherder]

I'll go with Warty's.

[Warty]

Your norms are looking awfully hegemonic tonight, male oppressor.

[William the Conqueror]

>>I've got to include hegemonic norms in conversation some time today.

You talkin' to me?

[OO]

is better to be looked over, than overlooked ! mae west

[Lord Humungus]

Now I remember why I became an anti-intellectual in college. Whatever that means.

[Scruffy Nerfherder]

It means you don't buy into the specialty sociology degrees, basically anything that starts with an ethnic group and ends with Studies.

[mad libertarian guy]

Correct.

Not falling in lock-step with those who have useless degrees qualifies as anti-intellectualism.

[Tonio]

Mirrorshades for all, woot!

[Fluffy]

This definition appears to be absolutely clueless of the fact that it would very most definitely be an asymmetric power relationship if one was able to STOP men from "gazing" at particular women - and, in fact, EVERY LAST HISTORICAL INSTANCE of a situation where such social rules were enforced was marked by such relationships. Women who are angry about "male gaze" are exactly the same as the women who in previous milieu would have had a black man lynched for "gazing" at a white woman, or would have had a serf killed for failing to avert his eyes from an aristocratic woman.

A social situation where everyone can "gaze" at whatever they want is actually the only real relationship of equals. Anything else is unadulterated power domination of the male who is "unworthy" to look at his social superior.

[Womyn]

Stop talking down to us!

[Bingo]

What I don't get is there is such a definitely such thing as a "female gaze" (licking lips, playing with hair, looking at your crotch) and I've never heard a single guy complain about THAT.

[Tulpa]

In my experience, women don't mind being gazed at as long as it's done by the guy they're trying to get to gaze at them (hence the strange phenomenon of women making a point of exposing certain extra areas of flesh with their clothing choices, and then getting pissed that men are looking at those areas). The hard part is figuring out if you're that guy. I generally assume I'm not, which seems a safe bet.

[Bingo]

Tulpa you are such a defeatist of course they don't want you looking at them. Alpha up, brosef.

[Sinic]

PILF?

[Bee Tagger]

The plural of gay is gazes?

[TRTB]

+lol

[The Immaculate Trouser]

[insert porno base here]

[SugarFree]

Joe Bob and Jim Bob grinned and giggled and nudged each other in the ribs as Michelle struggled from her white polyester dress. The three were alone in the convention hall. Streamers and balloons were everywhere. Tom Petty played softly in the distance. Joe Bob and Jim Bob moved closer to the edge of their folding chairs as Michelle finally shucked off her panties.

"I've had 27 kids," Michelle said, framing her huge modesty of pubic hair with spreading hands. Joe Bob and Jim Bob nodded. Joe Bob licked his lips ponderously. "Ah bet you got yourself a right-nice pussy under all that." Jim Bob let out a high and hysterical giggle, and said, "Bend over and turn around. Ah want to see your butthole. Ah like buttholes." Joe Bob guffawed so convulsively his mesh hat fell off.

"Get undressed," she said. Joe Bob and Jim Bob scrambled to comply. Greasy hands and filthy fingers fumbled at jeans and zippers, shirts and buttons, and tighty whitey underwear gone loose and yellow.

"I want you two to touch each other," Michelle cooed, straining to narrow her eyes to a leer. Joe Bob sputtered, "I ain't no fag, missus!"

"Of course, not. Of course not. Even if you were, I could cure you. But touch each other a little bit. A little bit never hurt anyone, right?" Jim Bob had been nodding and staring at Joe Bob's jutting penis while Michelle cajoled. As Joe Bob ruminated, Jim Bob reached forward and tentatively cupped his balls. Joe Bob stared about wildly. Jim began to gently rub his thumb into the base of Joe Bob's penis, where it met his scrotum. Joe Bob groaned; it sounded loud in the echoes of the empty hall.

"That's how ah like to touch myself," Jim Bob said, eager as a puppy for Michelle's approval. Michelle ignored him, focused on Joe Bob's erection. Absently, Joe Bob began to grope in Jim Bob's crotch as he continued to groan. He began to tug insistently at Jim Bob's penis once he found it. Jim Bob ejaculated on the fourth stroke.

Michelle snorted and grabbed at Joe Bob, "Come on, Jim Bob. Let's fuck while you still can."

"But, I'm Joe Bob, ma'am."

"Does it look like I give a fuck?"

She backed herself to the stage and pulled him into herself. Joe Bob flung himself over and over again into her dark passage. Jim Bob stared at his semen cooling on the floor. He stalked toward Joe Bob with his thumb stiffened before him. It was in Joe Bob before either understood what was happening.

"Gawdammit, Jim Bob!" Joe Bob, bellowed. But he didn't slow his assault on Michelle's vagina.

"Oh, yes, Jim Bob!" Michelle exclaimed.

"Oh, Gawd, Jim Bob!" Joe Bob exclaimed.

"Ah like buttholes!" Jim Bob exclaimed.

"Oh," Michelle screamed, "Oh, oh? Whichever Bob! Spill your filth in me!"

[The Immaculate Trouser]

"framing her huge modesty of pubic hair with spreading hands."

And they say libertarians don't appreciate art.

Question: how does one lick one's lips ponderously?

[SugarFree]

Slowly and without even a tiny spittle of grace.

[Critic]

Your writing still sucks.

D-.

[SugarFree]

Why, thank you. A D- from a troll is like an A+ from someone who matters.

[Andrew Dice Clay]

"Italy is too big to fail," said Mois?s Na?m

Little Miss Muffet
Sat on a tuffet,
You know what else is too big to fail?
My penis.

[Ice Nine]

You know, Andy, that Viagra can kill ya.

[bah]

The Dude... worst character in worst Coen brothers movie.

[Brett L]

D-. Too many known fans at H&R.

[Ice Nine]

Shut the fuck up, Bahhy.

[Fist of Etiquette]

OVER THE LINE!

[Scruffy Nerfherder]

You just be a nihilist.

[The Immaculate Trouser]

Hey, at least it's an ethos.

[Montani Semper Liberi]

bah is the kind of person who would fuck a stranger in the ass.

[Pope Jimbo]

And not even have the common-fucking-courtesy to give them a reach around...

[Citizen Jesus]

bay, you try that shit on us, you pull your piece out when you're on H&R -- I'll take it away from you and stick it up your fucking ass and pull the trigger until it goes "click."

[Fist of Etiquette]

"I don't think a foreigner is entitled to all the protections of the Bill of Rights. They should not be in U.S. courts. They should be at Guantanamo and before military commissions," McConnell said.

I think all of them should have been tossed into Gitmo for Mr. Moonlight alone.

[Bee Tagger]

Ouch, that's as cold as ice.

[Max Stirner]

Can we just put McConnell in Gitmo?

[Aqua Buddha]

Repost from deep in another thread yesterday
Constitutional Myth #7: The 10th Amendment Protects 'States' Rights'

[Bee Tagger]

The News of the World hacked the cell phones of Scotland Yard while the police agency was investigating The News of the World for hacking.

In telephone parlance, we call that a Star 69.

[Scruffy Nerfherder]

Winner

[Bee Tagger]

State senator surprised by support for legalized marijuana bill

Just to be clear, this is going to be a story about how out of touch this state senator is and not about how surprising it is that people support legalized marijuana, right?

[Quetzalcoatl]

Surprisingly, yes.

[SugarFree]

The Shrewd Calculus of Cuckholding

She didn't tell me until after New Year's Day. While Jill and I had been in a "friends with benefits" arrangement, she'd also been growing more serious about another man, Ted.* She'd first slept with him for the first time two nights before she had last slept with me. It was that week that Jill got pregnant, and as she would later tell me, there was no way to know for sure which one of us was the father.

But there was no question which one of us was a better bet as a romantic partner. Jill had broken things off with me as soon as she and Ted had decided on an exclusive relationship (just before she found out she was pregnant.) Ted was several years older than I was, professionally and emotionally stable, and clearly falling in love with Jill. I was drinking, partying, with some time to go before I'd hit my rock bottom. Jill wanted to be a mom. Ted wanted to be a dad. I wasn't sure what I wanted. In her mind, these facts settled it: the baby was Ted's. Or it needed to be Ted's.

[The Immaculate Trouser]

Anyone wanna bet that Jill's real name is Sweet Dee?

[Scruffy Nerfherder]

That story is just missing some drug resistant gonorrhea.

http://healthland.time.com/201.....-superbug/

[T]

I would think Jezebel wouldn't want to play into the whole conniving whore thing. What am I missing? Or is this one of those "the heteronormative patriarchical system screwed us all" deals?

[Warty]

When you say phrases like "conniving whore", it demonstrates that you are an enthusiastic participant in the hegemonic norms of the patriarchy. You cisgender bastard.

[T]

I'm ironic in my participation in the hegemonic norms of the patriarchy, you cretin. You can't subvert the system from the outside.

[Warty]

When you say words like "cretin", it demonstrates that you are an enthusiastic participant in the hegemonic norms of the intelliarchy. You cisbrained bastard.

[NeonCat]

If T supports the efforts of American IT companies to help the Chinese government monitor its people, does that make T a ciscisco bastard?

[T]

I'll cop to that one. In fact, I support harsher penalties for violations of the hegemonic norms of the intelliarchy.

[Brett L]

The crazy must be somewhere else, because this part is just life. Pray she marries the guy before the baby is born and spares you 18 years of child support. Once the other guy's name is on the birth certificate, you're free and clear.

[Fluffy]

Well, as Joe from Lowell taught us all, the IMPORTANT thing is that this kid have a dad.

If that requires this Ted guy to be lied to and to be tricked into raising another man's kid, that's just the price Ted is going to have to pay.

And if those lies just happen to improve the life prospects of a conniving whore, well, that again is just part of the price Ted has to pay in the interest of the stable family unit.

Because as the wisdom of Joe has shown us, truth does not matter, justice does not matter, and fairness does not matter. What matters is that conniving whores need to get to live in nice houses and their offspring need support. That's the important thing.

[juris imprudent]

Damn, I miss Joe.

[Invisible Finger]

We lost a joe but gained a Tony. Tony's an idiot, but joe was pure evil.

[R C Dean]

there was no way to know for sure which one of us was the father.

Umm, yes there is. Starts with "D", ends with "A".

Count your blessings, buddy. It doesn't sound like you're getting stuck with the tab. Don't ask for that DNA test unless she comes after you for money.

[T]

I'm not a nice man. You wait until the kid's thirteen to come after me for money, I'm going for full custody based on the fact you're a lying whore who tricked some other guy into raising your kid for 13 years. I may lose, but I'll goddamned well make you work for it and drag you through the mud in the process.

[Ice Nine]

And, when they've finished working you for it you can always torch yourself off on the courthouse steps. That'll show 'em.

[T]

I'm not a fan of useless gestures like that, Ice. I'm more a "share the misery" kind of guy. If I'm going down, I'm bringing company along for the ride.

[Ice Nine]

Word

[Apple]

Awesome! The only reservation any of the commenters can muster up is that the child might not have an acurate medical history. No one gives a damn that the dude might have been forced to give up on any of his own dreams to get married and raise a kid that might not be his. After all, Tim wanted to have a kid with a girl he'd only been dating for three weeks, right? Who wouldn't? I mean, there's no reason to think she would lie about something like that just because she might have told a little white lie about her child's paternity.

[Lord Humungus]

We're (meaning men) are just piggy-bank sperm-donors now.

[Apple]

Okay, so the story actually originated on another site where a lot of the comments call the dude and his ex out as the total douchebags they are. My faith in humanity is (slightly) restored.

[jtuf]

Not wanting to let an emergency go to waste, British PM Cameron is responding to the scandal at The News of the World by creating a government panel to oversee the "press culture" among tabloids. Not surprisingly, the Guardian supports the plan to have the government clamp down on its competition. This is a clear violation of freedom of the press.

http://www.spiked-online.com/i.....cle/10749/

[Gaia]

Freedom of the press is not a fundamental right in Britain.

[Clich? Bandit]

Yes, it is. It is just not recognized by government. (been a while since I had this rant) Rights are inherent and individual. Period. Even if I live in feudal Gaul I still have the right to free speach, life, and property duely and legally acquired, regardless of whether or not that government recognizes those (or any other) rights.

I LOVE SERIAL COMMAS, A SYMBOL OF MALE GAZENESS!

[Fist of Etiquette]

You sick bastard.

[cynical]

Sounds like the people pushing gun control because of the gunwalker scandal -- your own dudes get caught behaving badly, and you use it as an excuse to punish your enemies. It's like government is too lazy to even bother with the pretense of an agent provocateur any more.

[jtuf]

From the legalizing marijuana article:
Foley, who is also a lawyer, worries that legalizing marijuana, even for medicinal use, opens the door wider for drug abuse. "I've seen too much trouble start with marijuana," Foley said. "Unless I'm convinced strongly otherwise, I'm not inclined to support legalizing marijuana."

Foley cites the difficulty that other states have had regulating the drug once it becomes legal. He noted California's experience with medicinal marijuana and the proliferation of what he called "pot shops" that opened up to service people who were able to easily obtain marijuana prescriptions from their doctors. "There was so many people with back ailments," Foley said.

Ritalin was the gateway drug for my group of friends back in high school. I would like the see the DEA bust the special ed department of that government school.

[The Immaculate Trouser]

Riiiight... preventing people from lying about back problems is totally worth the human and financial costs of the drug war. That corpse riddled with SWAT bullets? Totally just saved all of us from the horror of telling a white lie to a physician.

[Scruffy Nerfherder]

You just hate the children

[Lord Humungus]

I do.

[The Immaculate Trouser]

Can you really hate something that compliments caviar so well?

[The Immaculate Trouser]

"Complements", even.

[T]

Children are rarely complimentary about caviar. It's a little too sophisticated for the toddler set.

[The Immaculate Trouser]

Philistines.

[l0b0t]

That's why one must take a page from Mame Dennis and tell the children it is merely fishberry jam.

[The Other Kevin]

When I read that I thought, So What? Who the fuck does it hurt if a person pretends to have a back problem so they can sit at home and get high?

[T]

If those slackers were out working, productivity would be higher, our economy would be doing better, so there'd be more jobs, and thus a larger tax base. So those drug-addled slackers are stealing tax money from the government.

Or have you never encountered the "lost productivity" numbers the drug warriors like to throw around as a 'cost' of drugs?

[Otto]

Good thing the *magic of law* keeps there from being any lost productivity from throwing non-violent people in prison.

[Zeb]

Oh, I love the lost productivity argument.

Fuck you! My productivity does not belong to the collective.

[R C Commerce Clause]

I beg to differ.

[jtuf]

Let me clarify. I want the drug war to end, but I'm disgusted by the fact that the feds go after dealers who cater to adults while ignoring the government schools that push kids to get addicted to mind altering drugs.

[Brett L]

"Attleboro police said Coheed and Cambria bassist Michael Todd showed a Walgreens pharmacist a note on his smartphone Sunday afternoon, saying he had a bomb and demanding prescription drugs."

Link. I'm assuming that C&C were a bigger hit and now can't afford their drugs. Poor bastards.

[Bee Tagger]

saying he had a bomb

To be fair, I believe he was just showing them a picture of the cover of their latest album.

[Fire Tiger]

Robbery - They have an app for that.

[The Immaculate Trouser]

Since Johnny isn't here to pick up the slack... The Goal-den Girls.

[Brett L]

I'm moving to Paraguy.

[R C'z Law]

Is pleased.

Paraguy

No homo.

[Brett L]

I'm not such a good typist one handed. I admit it.

[Virginia]

http://momsorganicmarket.iappl.....-3308.html

Qualifications: Seeking candidates that meet the following requirements:
- Is it innate for you to seek continual improvement in your professional and personal life?
- Do you have a passion for organic agriculture and food?
- Are you an enthusiastic leader that loves to build strong teams?
- Are you committed to positive communication?
- Are you detail oriented?
- Are you devoted to restoring the environment through consistent actions and hard work?
- Do you strongly dislike working with assholes?

Not that any of these are real qualifications to begin with but that last one is just surprising.

[T]

A moderate dislike of working with assholes is insufficient.

[Gibby]

This is what I hate about corporate America. There are assholes in companies and the solution in HR's mind is for me to learn how to get along with them. In my mind, the solution is firing the assholes.

[Bee Tagger]

It's weird since most of the other criteria describes most assholes I've encountered in my life.

[Scruffy Nerfherder]

Not enough bizspeak.

Missing Tiger Teams, championing an effort, etc....

[Warty]

- Do you have a passion for organic agriculture and food?

- Do you strongly dislike working with assholes?

Years ago, there was a psychology paper called "Unskilled and Unaware of it", which demonstrated that people who suck at things don't have the skills to know they suck at things. I think something similar happens where you have no idea you're an asshole unless you're not an asshole.

[Tim]

We're all assholes.

[Virginia]

I can't tell if I'm an a-hole or a sonofabitch.

[Axman]

Tim and Virginia, get your terminology straight. We're all sonofabitches. There are two types. One is the asshole. The other is the creep.

Lyndon Johnson was the quintessential asshole, Richard Nixon the quintessential creep.

[Bingo]

Describes Geithner to a T. At least the sucking at things, no idea if he's an asshole (though his resume seems to confirm that as well).

[Brett L]

Are you a Type A hippie who can't stand working with other Type A hippies, but want to meet hippie chicks who have to bathe due to the health code? All you have to do is pretend your boss isn't an asshole.

[MNG]

The Obama administration implemented its most aggressive and controversial gun measure to date Monday when it ordered dealers in four Southwestern states to report multiple sales of semiautomatic rifles to the federal firearms bureau.

The rule, which had been opposed by the National Rifle Association and many members of Congress, takes effect immediately and is meant to stem gunrunning to violent Mexican drug gangs. It requires about 8,500 dealers operating in the border states of California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas to alert authorities when a person buys within five days two or more semiautomatic rifles greater than .22 caliber with detachable magazines.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/.....story.html

The balls of this on the heels of the gunwalking scandal...

[Res Publica Americana]

Tyranny. I wholeheartedly hope that our Fuckhead-in-Chief is tried for his entire presidency someday.

[OO]

u mean like lil w was?

[cynical]

Thing is, Americans care less about W, because (aside from the wiretapping) his abuses were mostly targeted at foreigners (presumed to be terrorist by boobus Americanus) or resident minorities.

Attacking gun owners (a large domestic group) and gun rights (an enumerated Constitutional right) is going to engender more actionable antipathy. They're going to want revenge, and frankly there are so many instances of tyranny and lawlessness to choose from (even if Gunwalker doesn't go to the top, Libya sure as shit does) that there's a good chance Obama ends up at least being forced to resign.

[Barack Obama]

I don't believe that anybody is above the law. On the other hand, I also have a belief that we need to look forward as opposed to looking backwards.

What? What are you laughing at?

[Res Publica Americana]

I hate W, too -- so what the fuck is your point?

[T]

I've heard anecdotes of buying several rifles at one time here in Texas and having the ATF show up shortly after and ask to see them. So this is not a new thing, it's just explicit now.

[Pablo]

Greater than .22 caliber? I guess that means .22 caliber is exempt? So does that include 5.56x45mm?

[Brett L]

Probably not. It's .223.

[Nipplemancer]

which is like, .oo3 bigger than .22 so it's ok, amirite?

[T]

Probably worded as centerfire rifle .22 and larger.

[Pablo]

Yeah I cant imagine even those idiots leaving a loophole that big.

[Warty]

Capillarian Crest

[Tonio]

After watching the Casey Anthony trial, Sen. Mitch McConnell concludes that American juries cannot be trusted to convict terrorists.

So much for rule of law. What he's saying is that the jury should have known a priori that she was guilty of something and voted to convict her of whatever she was charged with on the strength of that.

Of course he was just grandstanding but it's still nauseating.

[robc]

guilty of something

That actually happened to me in traffic court.

To be honest, the judge was right, but still, I wasnt guilty of the charge on the ticket. The cop was an imbecile and said I ran a stop sign at an intersection that didnt have one.

Anyway, judge died shortly thereafter, so I call it a draw.

[R C Dean]

Had an "accident", did he?

[robc]

It was natural causes, as far as anyone in local law enforcement knows.

He was facing disbarment hearings (he really, really sucked as a judge) and had a "heart attack". You know, stress and all.

[The Immaculate Trouser]

Yes, I imagine that having a pissed-off libertarian screaming "fuck off, slavers" while slicing the air with an imaginary machete doesn't have positive effects on the ol' blood pressure.

[robc]

I brought a friend with me who had one task - to stop me from saying "I have nothing but contempt for this court."

[Mr Whipple]

Next time bring a lawyer. Personally, I don't even go to traffic court without an attorney anymore. I plead not guilty to a loitering charge and the Judge told me the max was 6 months in the county jail. Pleading guilty would have been a $750 fine. I fought it and won. The lawyer cost me $500. But I lost two days of work, but if I had to do it again? I'd rather pay the lawyer and miss work than give them fuckers any money.

[juris imprudent]

I'm assuming that TPM is quoting the good Senator while sagely nodding their heads.

[Pablo]

What no one seems to be asking is how the fuck does Miss Hathaway--er, uh, I mean Sen. McConnell--find the time to watch the entire trial? Doesn't he have other stuff to worry about, like the debt ceiling issue, four or five unsustainable and futile wars, impending collapse of medicare/social security, etc?

[MNG]

Legislation fueled by populist anger over bad legal cases often becomes the subject of maudlin and mediocre Lifetime movies, but it's seldom a good idea in real life.

Such is the case with Caylee's Law, a hugely popular push that would make it a federal crime for a parent or guardian not to quickly report the disappearance or death of a child.

More than 1 million people have signed a petition on Change.org that would make it a felony if parents fail to report the death of a child within an hour, or fail to report a missing child within 24 hours. The petition is the most successful campaign in the site's history. Lawmakers in more than a dozen states, backed by voter support, have introduced similar bills.

http://www.telegram.com/articl...../107129929

Here we go...

[Brett L]

Eh. Florida has a long history of this. The disappearance of Adam Walsh kicked off the America's Most Wanted TV show and pretty much mainlined the idea that predators were lurking in every shadow to snatch up your precious chirrens and do horrible things to them.

Florida. We freak the fuck out about dead kids but regard massive hurricanes and death by stingray as nothing to get excited about. What the fuck is wrong with us?

[Scruffy Nerfherder]

Too many old people with nothing to do but watch Nancy Grace.

[Otto]

It's the heat, I think.

[The Immaculate Trouser]

This right here is a great example of a law that has a surfeit of good intentions and a deficit of piss-poor thinking behind it.

[The Immaculate Trouser]

Or rather, a deficit of *sound* thinking. I really need my coffee today.

[Ted S.]

I don't think it has good intentions.

[Otto]

Holy shit. Within an hour? That's some fuckin' compassion these assholes have. Someone's kid dies, and if they forget to call the cops, they face years in prison.

[TRTB]

Don't worry, they won't abuse this. It will only get used against people who really deserve it. Pinky-swear.

[MP]

The Conspiracy shredded this yesterday, citing an excellent article from Balko.

[R C Dean]

Another fine example of the rule that any bill with a person's name in it is a bad bill.

Double-minus points for a kid's name. Triple-minus for a dead kid.

[Res Publica Americana]

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=8bc_1310260736

[Res Publica Americana]

http://www.wnd.com/index.php?f.....eId=320825

[Zeb]

I am very pleased to know almost nothing about Casey Anthony.

[Fist of Etiquette]

CASEY ANTHONY IS GUILTY! (Unless Casey was the child, then probably not.)

[T]

All children are guilty of something, Fist. It's your job as a parent to figure out what.

[Fist of Etiquette]

My kids will have to find me first.

[asdf]

I don't know anything about her as well, feels good man.

[Patrick]

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/.....id=6758380

1) Cops in Bakersfield investigating "reports" of adults buying beer for minors.

2) Cops detain ex-NFLer outside convenience store in said probe.

3) As-yet unclear things occur.

4) Ex-NFLer throws beer at cops.

5) Cop shoots and kills ex-NFLer.

Don't worry though, the cop is on administrative leave pending investigation.

And the AP at least waits until the second sentence of the story to mention his "long arrest history after his playing career was finished."

[R C Dean]

Well, if the story in on ESPN its probably getting more eyeballs than if it was on the evening news.

[Russ 2000]

ESPN's web site is so annoying I can't remember visiting any main page there in two years. I have an ESPN link to the baseball stats page which has no annoying video nor any annoying "news" either.

[Arcaster]

"Don't worry though, the cop is on paid administrative leave pending investigation."

Don't forget that he's getting paid while not being charged for murder.

[Virginia]

according to his son who saw his dad murdered, the cop hit him in the back of his legs as he turned to go causing the bag of beer to fall to the ground. then the other cop shot him twice.

[Patrick]

Link? Need to see this from the angle of a story not written for knuckle-dragging LawNorderrr!! types.

[Johnny Clamboat]

http://www.local12.com/news/lo.....62OBg.cspx

[SFC B]

The comments from the ESPN folks are so very, very depressing.

We are royally and truly fucked.

[Patrick]

Not sure how often people here visit ESPN.com, so I should have included the standard "don't read the comments if you want to retain your sanity" disclaimer (perhaps call it HuffPo dictum?). My apologies.

[FotR]

Steven Trek
I love how people always get that backwards, it's actually "to protect and serve". I doesn't seem like the order would make a difference, but it does. Their first duty is to protect not us (the people), but themselves (anyone with a badge); their lives come before any service to the public and if they feel threatened in the least, many officers will not hesitate to kill you.

FUUUUUU

[HL Mencken]

And people wonder why I say democracy doesn't work.

[Mainer]

Were cops always this trigger happy ?

[P Brooks]

Mitch McConnell is a despicable sleazy shitbag.

I bet you didn't know that.

[P Brooks]

"Straw purchases" of beer are now a capital offense. This will end the scourge of underage drinking.

That story is so unbelievable for so many reasons; what the fuck is wrong with those jackbooted thugs (other than pants-pissing cowardice, of course) that they couldn't just go up to the group of kids outside the convenience store and say, "You guys quit bugging people and clear off" and then leave?

Did they think they were going to bust an international beer-smuggling ring wide open and get a commendation from Eric Holder?

Jesus Fucking Christfag this pisses me off. The head of MADD must be about to bust his buttons with pride.

[Brett L]

For OM, Spoonman and the rest of Space City contingent. Sheila Jackson Lee, compassionate boss.

"Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee's former legislative director is suing the Democratic congresswoman, claiming she made 'humiliating' comments about her vision disability while refusing to do anything to accommodate her.

At one point, the lawsuit claims, the congresswoman told her: 'I don't care anything about your disability.'"

[T]

The congressWOMAN is legendarily a shitty human being and a huge pain in the ass to work for. Hell, Continental told her to fly other airlines. This is completely unsurprising.

[Ice Nine]

For anyone working around Sheila Jackson Lee, a vision disability has to be considered a blessing.

[Patrick]

As would a hearing disability.

[Spoonman.]

I have no idea what it will take to knock that woman out of office.

[T]

Her untimely death, most likely. For all of the faults of the congressWOMAN, she does excellent constituent service when she is in town. She shows up at damn near any event in her district with more than about 50 people. If there's a news crew there, she'll be guaranteed to show up. That plus her incessant TV whoring convinces a lot of people in her district that she's working hard for them.

[P Brooks]

Whether or not the "facts" are in dispute, a man is dead because of a moronic law being enforced by morons.

[P Brooks]

'I don't care anything about your disability.'"

I wonder how she voted on ADA.

[NoVAHockey]

wasn't congress exempt from the ADA until fairly recently?

[Arcaster]

Anyone else despise Jeff Immelt?

http://money.cnn.com/2011/07/1....._Highlight

I always thought businesses were focused on making money, not creating jobs.

[P Brooks]

Anyone else despise Jeff Immelt?

Why, yes.

Yes I do.

[Spoonman.]

On the linked NYT story, there is a graphic showing debt relative to GDP. It's lampshaded because everything from 0 to 60% is gray, but Estonia has 7%. The next lowest is Bulgaria at 16%.

Looks like Mart Laar's policies are helping them out.

[Arcaster]

Thanks for mentioning that. I'd never heard about Mart Laar until now, and I'm enjoying reading up on him.

[Fire Tiger]

Spicoli had the right idea, California lifeguard retires at 51 with a $108,000 pension.

[Mike M.]

"Healthy-eating" advocate Michelle Obama downs 1,700 calorie lunch: A burger, fries and chocolate shake.

Is it any wonder that her ass is so damn fat?

[proegg antichicken]

that's why it's government's job to do something about it, duh.