Today, Attorney General Eric Holder announced that prosecutors will be seeking the death penalty against Dzhokhar Tsarnaev for the bombing of the Boston Marathon. This is not without precedent, and this was not unexpected. Hell, it might be the most predictable news story of the day. There are a number of reasons to find the death penalty unjust. Some see the massive racial disparity, some see the sheer number of innocents who accidentally get murdered by their state, some see the torture possibly inflicted by unverified drug cocktails, some straight-up do not believe the State, as such, has...
Continue reading...January 2014
New York Times Columnist Line of the Day
If you’re one of the three people who remembers this here blog from its hay-day, you have once in a blue moon checked out the New York Times op-ed page. You probably recognize the names of the columnists, who every day spout the most conventionally wise of the conventional wisdom. This is a feature that is dedicated to these folks, highlighting one line that is either funny, ridiculous, strange, or actually intelligent or well-written. Sometimes it\’s fun when it\’s just devoid of context. Today\’s is from Gail \”The Collander\” Collins, who in her column today \”How preschool...
Continue reading...A final short thought on the State of the Union address
Yes, I’ve called the State of the Union address long, boring and pointless. And it is. But how is it that the most important presentation before the most powerful and important institution in the country is basically a 16th-century Puritan sermon? Hell, even churches—those bastions of technological innovation—in the 21st century use music to accompany to enhance the experience and use screens to present images to make the material a little easier to understand. But the president walks up an aisle, stands at a lectern, and simply talks for a while, thanks God, and then we’re on our way...
Continue reading...“Well, space is there, and we’re going to climb it, and the moon and the planets are there, and new hopes for knowledge and peace are there.”
I’ve been struggling all day to put together thoughts on the Challenger tragedy anniversary and the bigger question of what role the U.S. should maintain in humanity’s exploration of space. Part of it is the very happenstance of the calendar: it’s a thought that only occurred because of the anniversary, as probably any other day that isn’t already taken over by State of the Union madness would be a better day to meditate on the theme. Surely, unlike President John F. Kennedy’s address to Congress on May 25, 1961, or President George W. Bush’s own 2004 State...
Continue reading...Two random North Korea-related stories of note
Just two random interesting things I came across today: The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea apparently can’t get enough South Korea’s Choco Pies. In a country where the best jobs pay $63-100 a month, “the snacks are viewed as exotic, highly prized treats, selling on North Korea’s black markets for as much as $10.” In the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, meth is offered as casually as a cup of tea.
Continue reading...Ninety percent of fast food cooks will be affected by D.C. raising the minimum wage
D.C. recently passed a law gradually increasing the minimum wage, from $8.25 to $11.50 by 2016. According to a report by the D.C. Fiscal Policy Institute, this will affect ninety percent of D.C. fast-food cooks. I don’t have much more to say about that, except it’s a damned shame we have to have this job-killing minimum wage, because corporations would be paying workers way better without it. Or something. Unleash the free market or whatnot.
Continue reading...The State of the Union address is too long and boring
As according to custom, the president (LOL) has been invited to address Congress tomorrow on “the State of the Union and recommend to their Consideration such measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient.” There are lots of ruminations and predictions going about as to what the speech will contain, what themes will be prevalent, and what initiatives will be unveiled. I predict that it’s going to be long, boring and utterly ineffectual. Arguably the greatest State of the Union address to date is President Franklin D. Roosevelt\’s 1941 installment (he, uh, had a few), which is...
Continue reading...New York Times Columnist Line of the Day
If you’re one of the three people who remembers this here blog from its hay-day, you have once in a blue moon checked out the New York Times op-ed page. You probably recognize the names of the columnists, who every day spout the most conventionally wise of the conventional wisdom. This is a feature that is dedicated to these folks, highlighting one line that is either funny, ridiculous, strange, or actually intelligent or well-written. Today\’s is from Roger \”Copacabana\” Cohen, who in his column today, \”The Egyptian Disaster,\” does his part to save the Egyptian economy: I...
Continue reading...New York Times Columnist Line of the Day
Ha, two years since I typed that headline and the muscle memory is still in severely good shape. Anyways… If you’re one of the three people who remembers this here blog from its hay-day, you have once in a blue moon checked out the New York Times op-ed page. You probably recognize the names of the columnists, who every day spout the most conventionally wise of the conventional wisdom. This is a feature that is dedicated to these folks, highlighting one line that is either funny, ridiculous, strange, or actually intelligent or well-written. Today\’s is from Paul...
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