"A Kentucky pastor who starred in a reality show about snake-handling in church has died -- of a snakebite. Jamie Coots died Saturday evening after refusing to be treated, Middleborough police said. On "Snake Salvation," the ardent Pentecostal believer said that he believed that a passage in the Bible suggests poisonous snakebites will not harm believers as long as they are anointed by God. The practice is illegal in most states, but still goes on, primarily in the rural South."
"What I do love about ‘Gotham,’ that I can say so far, is that it creates this incredible world that, for me, you can step into things that almost feel like the roaring ’20s, and then there’s this other really kind of heavy Blade Runner vibe floating around. It has this anachronistic element to it where it feels like it’s either New York in the ’70s, or it kind of exists independently of time and space in a way, and you can dip into all of these different genres.
On Gotham’s conflict - There’s kind of an ambiguous line between good and bad. We have to let certain bad guys do certain things, in order for the greater good, for this machine to keep working. And then someone comes in who’s like ‘No, I have a much more black and white view, I’m not into this notion of moral relativism. There’s right and there’s wrong.’… And what is law? Is law this platonic form of truth that floats in space that is fixed, or is it something that’s this arbitrary thing where it’s like “the law is me and you, right now, in this car. Whatever we determine, that’s the law.” And that’s the kind of thing that will be a conflict in this show."
Communication & Marketing 101.
"As my father suffered in his death bed, I angrily blogged about my feelings on the topic and - I believe - forever changed the debate. I say that because my blogging on the topic got a lot of attention. In a follow-up post I demonstrated that there really is no one on the side the debate that says government should have the right to overrule the wishes of you, your family, and your doctor when it comes to end-of-life medical decisions. The alleged divided opinion on the subject was nothing but clever bullshit from creationist nut jobs. The reality is that almost no one thinks the government should have a veto over their own end-of-life medical decisions. That becomes clear when the polls ask the question correctly. So perhaps I helped that cause a bit. And that feels good."
"How is it that Christie Brinkley’s plastic surgeons aren’t winning some kinds of scientific awards in small European cities?
There’s always old dudes in black tie and hair coming out of their ears applauding some Czech doctor who cured lyme disease or some such trivial shit.
But here you have 60-year old Christie Brinkley with the chiseled body of a 20-year old female. It’s exactly what Ponce de Leon was wading through the swamps of Florida for four hundred years ago."
This is a big part of why I've always had a problem with claims that you can trust the police, in addition to the civil liberties abuses we report at Reason. Cops can be as crooked as anybody else—and are more dangerous for it, because of their power and position. It's the old problem of "Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?"—"Who watches the watchmen?" The more you give the watchmen to do, the more tempting it becomes to corrupt them, and for them to let themselves be corrupted. And the more temptation for corruption, the more the likelihood that such temptation is the main attraction for people who want to be watchmen...
The Knapp Commission convened over four decades ago. But the NYPD still faces allegations of corruption, including traditional ticket-fixing, outright theft of cash and jewels, and taking bribes to deliver accident reports to doctors and clinics who then market their services to the victims. Honest cops who blow the whistle still suffer retaliation for their pains. Not that the NYPD should be singled out. Baltimore cops have been accused of working as muscle for drug dealers. Cops elsewhere have been drug dealers, taking advantage of the opportunity afforded by their badges to shut down competitors in the illegal but highly profitable trade and keep the opportunities for themselves And then there are the FBI agents who got tight with Boston mobster James "Whitey" Bulger."
"He absorbs their dread with his narrative."
"...since assuming office, Obama has broken more campaign-trail promises on executive power than you could fit into a Buzzfeed listicle. A sample: “The President does not have power under the Constitution to unilaterally authorize a military attack [absent] an actual or imminent threat.” But “kinetic military action” against Libya is a different story entirely. “No more ignoring the law when it is inconvenient." Still, taking care that Obamacare's firm legislative deadlines are faithfully adhered to would be really inconvenient before the midterms. “We're not going to use signing statements as a way of doing an end run around Congress.” Unless Congress gets out of line and defunds my czars. “No more national security letters to spy on citizens who are not suspected of a crime.” Actually, according to the Electronic Frontier Foundation, the president has “continued to block reform and has even sought to expand NSL powers.” Obama didn't set out to forge a legacy as the Surveillance State's greatest champion, any more than President George W. Bush had an ideological precommitment to vastly expanding presidential power over the economy. But as Howell notes, “presidents can ill afford to repudiate any power that might enable them to address the onslaught of expectations put before them.”"
"mitchwagner: National Intelligence Director James Clapper says if the NSA had just told people right after 9/11 that it was collecting phone data, we’d have been fine with it, just like we’re fine with airport security.
So. two things, Clapper: 1. We’re not fine with Airport Security. We hate airport security. The government is forcing us to go through security theater for a variety of reasons, among them corruption and contractors.
2. Go fuck yourself. You should be in jail for lying to Congress."
"Stop talking to people who don’t give you the same effort back. You’ll be happier."
"In October 2011, Florida Highway Patrol Trooper Donna Jane Watts pulled over a fellow law enforcement officer who was zipping along a highway at over 120 mph. Miami Police Department officer Fausto Lopez led Watts for seven minutes before finally stopping. He told Watts he was on his way to an off-duty job. Often in such cases, the officer in charge will extend what police culture has dubbed “professional courtesy” to the offending officer. That is, they’ll let him go. To her credit, Watts didn’t do that. She arrested Lopez, who had a history of speeding and dangerous driving. Lopez was later fired.
But that isn’t the end of the story. The Florida Highway Patrol then investigated Watts for her handling of the incident. The agency cleared her of any wrongdoing, but it took two months. It’s hard to believe a cop who arrested a regular citizen for driving 120 mph, and who then initially refused to pull over, would be subjected to a similar investigation.
But then the real retaliation began. On police Internet discussion boards, Miami police officers posted open threats against Watts. One Miami cop apparently tried to pull over an Florida Highway Patrol officer in retaliation, until that particular move backfired. Another FHP officer found his car smeared in human feces. For Watts, the harassment has been quite a bit worse. She has received hundreds of calls to her private phone, some pranks, some threatening. She has had pizzas randomly delivered to her home. Strange cars began parking outside her home. And her career as a police officer may well be over. The Miami New Times reported in 2012 that her “superiors don’t think she’ll ever be able to return to duty on the road, and if she ever got into a situation where she needed backup she does not think she would receive it.”
...The 2007 Post-Intelligencer investigation also showed that professional courtesy in Seattle extended even to drunk driving offenses. That too isn’t limited to Seattle. Just last month a cop in Tennessee was given a DWI pass by his fellow officers. Indianapolis is still dealing with the fallout from a 2010 incident in which IPD Officer David Bisard struck two motorcycles, killing one person. His fellow officers waited more than two hours to test his blood-alcohol content, which even then registered .19. In 2006, Bernardino County, Calif., Dep. Kenneth Holtz faced harassment from colleagues after arresting a fellow deputy on a DWI charge. Holtz was eventually fired for violating policies regarding “respect among members” and “conduct reflecting adversely on the department or employee.” The deputy he arrested was promoted...
In 2009, a Chicago an off-duty detective with a history of causing accidents smashed into a parked car, killing two people. He was drunk. Despite the fact that two of his prior accidents also involved slamming into other cars, causing injury, he was never given sobriety tests, and he was never even ticketed."
"Queens parents are using any means necessary to stop their children’s teachers from besmirching Malcolm X’s name. Teachers at Public School 201 in Flushing told fourth-graders last week that the controversial activist was “violent” and “bad.” They also refused to let the kids write about the assassinated icon for Black History Month. Parent Cleatress Brown, 47, of Flushing complained to Principal Rebecca Lozada on Friday after a teacher forbade her fourth-grade son from writing a report on Malcolm X. “I’m outraged,” said Brown. “As a teacher, you’re imposing your opinion on a bunch of kids.” She had her son write about him anyway — and then turn the paper in to her. “That’s called learning,” she said."
Classic.
"this man ran a country for 8 fucking years"
