I made an attempt:
The cute is definitely counterbalanced by the sad face.
Archives for 2009
Because Flying Is Too Much Fun
James Joyner reacts to the new TSA “security” efforts:
We’re simply going to make people miserable for no apparent reason. There have been precisely three attempts over the last eight years to commit acts of terrorism aboard commercial aircraft. All of them clownishly inept and easily thwarted by the passengers. How many tens of thousands of flights have been incident free? And, yet, we’re going to make hundreds of thousands of people endure transcontinental flights without reading materials or the ability to use the restroom?
Pretty much. What we are dealing with is a country who has been force-fed a steady diet of fear-mongering regarding terrorism for years and a highly charged political climate. It doesn’t matter if the new security efforts do anything, what matters is that it looks like something is being done. No one wants to be accused of having done nothing when someone finally is successful.
What makes me laugh is that we are now going to do all sorts of new stuff to people here in the states, when the flight originated overseas.
I Tweeted the Law
This is a weird reaction from law enforcement:
In a ritual nearly as familiar as Santa Claus and crowded stores, police agencies again have stepped up enforcement of drunken-driving laws this holiday season, setting up sobriety checkpoints that studies show reduce alcohol-related crashes because drivers who’ve been drinking stay off the road, fearing arrest.
But some public-safety officials say those efforts are now being thwarted by technology, with drivers now using text messaging, Twitter and other tools to keep each other informed about the location of sobriety checkpoints.
KFC- It’s What for Dinner
I heard this the other day and thought it was really funny:
Christmas isn’t a national holiday in Japan but many Japanese celebrate the 25th with a special meal: fried chicken – specifically, Kentucky Fried Chicken. Colonel Sander’s chicken is considered a Christmas tradition there. The fast-food chain is so popular long lines form outside Japanese stores.
You can listen to the whole piece at the link- apparently KFC dinners are so popular in Japan that they take reservations for months ahead of time.
Credit where credit is due
I was stunned to see this from Bobo yesterday:
The most powerful essay I read this year was David Grann’s “Trial by Fire” in The New Yorker. Grann investigated the case of Cameron Todd Willingham, who was executed in 2004 for murdering his three children by setting their house on fire.
In the first part of the essay, Grann lays out the evidence that led to Willingham’s conviction: the marks on the floor and walls that suggested that a fire accelerant had been splashed around; the distinct smoke patterns suggesting arson; the fact that Willingham was able to flee the house barefoot without burning his feet.
Then, in the rest of the essay, Grann raises grave doubts about that evidence. He tells the story of a few people who looked into the matter, found a miscarriage of justice and then had their arguments ignored as Willingham was put to death. Grann painstakingly describes how bogus science may have swayed the system to kill an innocent man, but at the core of the piece there are the complex relationships that grew up around a man convicted of burning his children. If you can still support the death penalty after reading this piece, you have stronger convictions than I do.
Maybe I’m setting the bar too low here, but it’s surprising to me — in a good way — to see a conservative columnist write about this.
Choices
Decided I am going to a matinee today. What should I see? I’ve narrowed it down to Avatar, Nine, and Invictus. Sherlock Holmes looks like it will really suck, and It’s Complicated seems like it will be one of those cutesy films where you have seen every funny part in the previews.
Leaning towards Avatar, but I think 3 hours of 3D might make me vomit. Is there a non-3D option?
The new tinkerbell strategy
Patrick Ruffini aside, most of the wingnut attacks on Obama over yesterday’s attempted terrorist action center on word choice. RedState:
Even the White House is calling this an attempted terror attack.
Pete Hoekstra (via ThinkProgress):
Administration says attempted terrorist attack. No. It was a terrorist attack! Just not as successful as they (AQ) planned.
“It was great to see that the Attorney General said, `I know that we are at war,’” Rudy said. But he went on to lament that under current policy, we aren’t supposed to use the phrase “war on terror” anymore.
Just as clapping louder won the war in Iraq, using the words “terrorist attack” and “war” will keep Al Qaeda at bay.