June 1, 2005
Costs of cannabis prohibition is lot more potent than in the 70s
The Budgetary Implications of Marijuana Prohibition by Jeffrey Miron of Boston U.. So far, endorsed by 500+ economists, including Milton Friedman.
Key points:
*End prohibition and save $7.7 billion in govt. expenditure.
*Tax its sale, like alcohol, and generate $6.2 billion in revenue.
Key points:
*End prohibition and save $7.7 billion in govt. expenditure.
*Tax its sale, like alcohol, and generate $6.2 billion in revenue.
surf guitar
Take your PoliticsFilter elsewhere!
Josh Micah Marshall, longtime favorite blogger of the center-left crowd, has opened up a new spin-off discussion site for his eminently popular Talking Points Memo, which has long been lacking for open yammering from the peanut gallery. The new site will feature weekly guest bloggers, and is hitting things off right with former vice-presidential candidate John Edwards!
Acerbic commentators need not apply.
Thomas Butler, Physician- Scientist, prisoner
Thomas Campbell Butler at 63 years of age, is completing the 1st year of a
2-year sentence in federal prison, following an investigation and trial that was initiated after he voluntarily reported that he believed vials containing _Yersinia pestis_ were missing from his laboratory at Texas Tech
University.
Blow, Larry King, Blow!
Watch Larry King blow his nose and solicit the Bushes during a commercial break. (an .mov file via Harry Shearer and The Huffington Post.)
How can people be so stupid?
... they sold us to the Pakistani authorities for $5,000 per person.
"It wouldn't surprise me if we paid rewards"
--As part of the AP's receipt of transcripts of the millitary tribunals in Guantanamo, multiple reports of our allies using money the US gave them to buy "terrorists" for shipment there.
..."When I was in jail, they said I needed to pay them money and if I didn't pay them, they'd make up wrong accusations about me and sell me to the Americans and I'd definitely go to Cuba," he told the tribunal. "After that I was held for two months and 20 days in their detention, so they could make wrong accusations about me and my (censored), so they could sell us to you." Another prisoner said he was on his way to Germany in 2001 when he was captured and sold for "a briefcase full of money" then flown to Afghanistan before being sent to Guantanamo....
--As part of the AP's receipt of transcripts of the millitary tribunals in Guantanamo, multiple reports of our allies using money the US gave them to buy "terrorists" for shipment there.
..."When I was in jail, they said I needed to pay them money and if I didn't pay them, they'd make up wrong accusations about me and sell me to the Americans and I'd definitely go to Cuba," he told the tribunal. "After that I was held for two months and 20 days in their detention, so they could make wrong accusations about me and my (censored), so they could sell us to you." Another prisoner said he was on his way to Germany in 2001 when he was captured and sold for "a briefcase full of money" then flown to Afghanistan before being sent to Guantanamo....
Spoiled!
Spoilers for all your favorite TV shows. This new column has all the insider info and links about Lost, Desperate Housewives, and a ton of other shows. (Don't click if you don't want to see spoilers - duh.)
Oh my God there it is!
Prophet Yahweh summons UFOs. (video) Prophet Yahweh has the uncanny ability to summon UFOs (unidentified flying objects, not space aliens) by praying. Press release. More news about this important news from important news sources.
"Like the Fist of God, We Will Smash Them"
"Together, you and I will destroy the gays." United American Technologies telemarketers sell their phone service as a Christian alternative to gay-loving rivals like ATT and MCI. Eugene Mirman recorded a few of their calls. More on United American Technologies here.
Daily Typography Sketchbook
Daily Type is a creative project run by five russian type designers. Day by day, they create original typefaces and post their results along with routine.
Free Credit Report
If you live in the South/Southeast U.S., as of today you are able to get your Free Annual Credit Report via Equifax, Transunion & Experion. Chose one service every fourth month and get reports year-round.
Falluja - The Day After
Falluja - The Day After "This video has been recorded in Falluja in early Janury, 2005, when the city was reopened to civilians after the American attack of November 8th, 2004."
Warning: contains graphic images. [via Informed Comment]
Warning: contains graphic images. [via Informed Comment]
Black Cycling Shorts
What the hell is this???
Flight of the Creative Class
Rise of the Creative Class followed by the Flight of the Creative Class. Following up on The Rise of the Creative Class (2002), Florida argues that if America continues to make it harder for some of the world's most talented students and workers to come here, they'll go to other countries eager to tap into their creative capabilities—as will American citizens fed up with what they view as an increasingly repressive environment. He argues that the loss of even a few geniuses can have tremendous impact, adding that the "overblown" economic threat posed by large nations such as China and India obscures all the little blows inflicted upon the U.S. by Canada, Scandinavia, New Zealand and other countries with more open political climates. Florida lays his case out well and devotes a significant portion of this polemical analysis to defending his earlier book's argument regarding "technology, talent, and tolerance" (i.e. that together, they generate economic clout, so the U.S. should be more progressive on gay rights and government spending). He does so because that book contains what he sees as the way out of the dilemma—a new American society that can "tap the full creative capabilities of every human being." Even when he drills down to less panoramic vistas, however, Florida remains an astute observer of what makes economic communities tick, and he's sure to generate just as much public debate on this new twist on brain drain.
Go problems on the Web
Go problems database with a slick web interface. Go is one of the most rewarding games I've ever played. You can play games at ItsYourTurn.com, who also have a nice rule summary.
"We could make this great land of ours a greater place to live"
"Approximately 250,000 persons viewed and passed by the bier of little Emmett Till. All were shocked, some horrified and appalled. Many prayed, scores fainted and practically all, men, women and children wept". Chicago Defender, September 1, 1955.
Federal officials this morning erected a white tent over the grave of Emmett Till in Alsip, Ill., in preparation to exhume the body to shed light on the Chicago teenager's death 50 years ago.
Till, 14 years old at the time, was killed in a hate crime in Money, Miss., that sparked the Civil Rights movement. (previous Emmett Till MeFi threads here and here)
Why Doesn't Uncle Sam Want These Troops?
Why Doesn't Uncle Sam Want These Troops? Perhaps because even wounded heroes get discharged for being gay, like Sgt. Robert Stout. When don't ask, don't tell is costing the military valuable talent and more than a quarter-billion dollars, veterans, partners and the at least 63% of the public are calling for the repeal of 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell'.
What's the matter with wacky nutjob artists in Kansas?
J.P. Dinsmoor fought in the Civil War and had two children in his eighties. He was a die-hard Populist, the first resident of Lucas, KA to go electric and when he died he was mummified. Somewhere in there he had time to build The Garden of Eden, discussed in "What's the Matter With Kansas" and contrasted with this wingnut.
And they're both called Populists.
And they're both called Populists.
identity theory
Interviews: Russell Banks, Susan Orlean, Tibor Fischer, Azar Nafisi. | Writing on social justice: Susan Power on Bosnia. Barbara Erenreich on poverty. | e-books: Aristotle, Emma Goldman, Buddha. | New Non-fiction, fiction. | Hundreds of Reviews. Graphic Art, Poetry, Music, and much more from identity theory, one of the best literary websites I've encountered, thanks to an incredulity-inducing amount of work by what seem to be volunteers. Wow. (Specific interviews already MeFid in these threads.)
Yay, Christian radicals...
Ford Motor Company is under attack by the American Family Association for supporting gay rights, or as the AFA calls it, "affirm and promote the homosexual lifestyle".
Other targets of the AFA include Carls Jr., Kraft Foods, Mary Kay Cosmetics, Old Navy, and NutriSystem Inc.
Previous targets include Walt Disney Co., Wal-Mart, and Microsoft.
Dangerous Reading
The Ten Most Harmful Books of the 19th and 20th Centuries from Human Events Online, a weekly conservative journal. [more inside]
BBC Seeks Crackpot Inventors
BBC Seeks Crackpot Inventors: Dave Gorman, of Googlewhack fame, seems to be fashioning himself into the first techno-comedian. His latest project for BBC Radio 4, entitled , seeks wacky inventions and world-shattering solutions from you. Sort of a reality radio version of half bakery or roundtuit.
The right person for the right job
Nominative determinism could hang like an albatross around your neck. I'm sure the the Kinsey Institute's current director, however, is pretty relaxed about such things. She comes across as quite cool in this interview on Science Blog. I can't help but wonder if the interviewer is starting the conversation with a dig in the same juvenile vein as this post.
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