TechnoChitlins

Iowahawk-

When I first learned of the arrest of my colleague Professor Henry Louis "Skip" Gates after he stood up to the fascist jackboots of a declasse, ill-educated Cambridge police officer, I was of course angered -- but scarcely shocked. L'Affaire Gates simply aired, in public, the dirty 100-thread-count table linen of an American culture where Harvard faculty assholes still face a daily struggle against profiling, abuse, and insolence.

It will come as no surprise that Skip's arrest was the talk of the Douchebag Room at the Harvard Faculty Club last Friday. I and a group of colleagues had assembled for our weekly lunch; I opted for their competently-prepared Ahi Tuna Tartare and an amusing glass of '05 Hospices de Beaune Premier Cru Cuvee Cyrot-Chaudron. I had noticed that the Franz Fanon Memorial Booth -- Skip's long-reserved lunch spot -- was uncharacteristically empty, and asked our waiter Sergio for an explanation.

"Professor Skeep, he no is come today," said Sergio. "I tink he is in the jail."

via Ace

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via Drudge

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Via Ilya Somin

The vast scope of federal criminal law is a very serious problem. Because of it, most Americans are effectively at the mercy of federal officials whenever they might choose to come after us. We are used to thinking of "criminals" as a small subset of the population. In that happy state of affairs, criminal law threatens only a small number of people, most of whom have committed genuinely heinous acts. But when we are all federal criminals, perfectly ordinary citizens can easily get swept up in the net simply by being unlucky or because they ran afoul of federal prosecutors or other influential officials. Overcriminalization also leads to the longterm imprisonment of hundreds of thousands of nonviolent people (mostly as a result of the War on Drugs, but many for other reasons as well) who haven't caused any harm to the person or property of others. Some 55% of all federal prisoners are nonviolent drug offenders. In addition, the ability to convict almost anyone of a federal crime means that federal officials have wide discretion to punish people who are unpopular, politically weak, run afoul of the current administration, or otherwise become tempting targets. Tellingly, the people who get imprisoned for nonviolent drug offenses are mostly poor and lacking in political influence, while middle class people who do similar things are less likely to be singled out by federal prosecutors.

I remember reading a book one time... oh yeah!, the one Amazon zapped off everyone's Kindle.

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Oh w00t w00t w00t!

Ettore, your heritage is in good hands...

I especially like the footage near the end where the Veyron comes off a standing start as the GT-R blasts by at full speed.

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...Has died. A man after my own heart. He was

the world's oldest man when he died Saturday at 113, attributed his remarkable longevity to "cigarettes, whisky and wild, wild women."

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Via Glenn, a guy I could sit and have a beer and disagree with...

His was the liberalism of counterpoised power on behalf of individual freedoms. He argued that concentrations of power often develop in certain sectors of capitalist economies with large corporations. And our decentralized, federal system too often sometimes lets local and state governments abuse individual rights or groups of people who are powerless to defend themselves, such as the Jim Crow era for Blacks in the rural South and urban North.

To protect the freedom and opportunity for all individuals equally, only the federal government has the requisite power to oppose such hurtful combinations, so it is justified in pursuing activist government initiatives like anti-trust litigation, consumer protection and civil rights legislation. First Amendment rights also must be protected first and foremost to insure the free flow of public debate.

You need not agree with that argument to appreciate that it is imminently reasonable, logical, and at least arguably based on historical basis in fact. Add Polinard's wise-cracking, insatiable gusto for debate and the result was usually a wonderfully constructive discussion.

Here's another shocker. Among the American politicians I most admire is Hubert H. Humphrey, the "Happy Warrior" from Minnesota. His "I am ready to lead this nation" acceptance speech at the chaotic 1968 Democratic National Convention was a rhetorical masterpiece now lost to history, thanks to Mayor Daley and the Chicago 7.

I remember Hubert- and 1968 was not our finest hour. What we have governing ourselves is a product of those dark old days, and I, for one, am not particularly proud.

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This probably doesn't matter unless you are from or live in Alabama. Bert Bank has passed...

Mr. Bank's name probably doesn't ring a bell unless you grew up in western Alabama. Around Tuscaloosa, Bank was known as a pioneering broadcaster, civic leader and politician. He put two of the city's first radio stations on the air, and ran them for more than 30 years. He was involved in countless community projects and was elected to both the Alabama House and State Senate, where he served in the 1960s and 70s.

Mr. Bank also earned the undying loyalty from fans and alumni of his alma mater, the University of Alabama. In 1953, he put together the first state-wide radio network for broadcasts of Crimson Tide football games, and produced those broadcasts for almost 40 years. Even in retirement, he remained a fixture in the press box at Bryant-Denny Stadium and was named producer emeritus for Alabama sports broadcasts, a title he held until his death.

By any standard, Bert Bank crammed an amazing amount of achievement and service into his 94 years on this planet. But it's equally amazing that Mr. Bank lived long enough to become a broadcast executive, a pillar of his community and a successful politician. In fact, it's remarkable that Bank lived to see his 30th birthday, given the horrors and deprivation he endured as a member of the U.S. military.

You see, long before Bertram Bank bought that first radio station or won his first political campaign, he survived the Bataan Death March and nearly three years of hellish captivity in a Japanese POW camp. Many of his comrades weren't as fortunate; thousands perished during the march to the camp, or during their years as "guests" of the Emperor.

I'm still a newbie here, probably always will be, but I stand in awe of the man and all that he survived and accomplished. Go with honor, sir.

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I am in awe... but whatever

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This is truly getting strange. Go here and follow the link- and obey

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