I love the YouTubes.
South Carolina judge rules that Poker is a game of skill, not chance. Unfortunately, the defendants were convicted anyway, because state law apparently doesn’t permit moneyed gaming in games of skill, either.
Demetri Martin’s 224-word palindrome.
Texas Gov. Rick Perry appoints an anti-sex toy crusader to the state’s parole board.
My high school English teacher (and frequent Agitator commentator) Marta Rose dishes the skinny on Radley Balko, the early years. Yes, I was a stalwart little theocon. My graduation speech actually included the phrase, “the sterile winds of atheism.”
Ann Coulter spotted vacationing in China.
Zooborns!
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on Friday, February 20th, 2009 at 11:49 am by Radley Balko
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TheAgitator.com
LOL at the Ann Coulter line.
So, are you less of a believer now? Would you consider yourself an agnostic?
The “Still Alive” cover you linked to is the very definition of WIN.
Don’t fret about it Mr. Balko. Most of us had that crap pounded into our heads when we were too young to know better and defenseless against it. It’s “the standard” brainwashing we all receive and must overcome once we reach the age of reason.
Seconding the “no shame in being young and impressionable” sentiment. I was much more of a Cartman conservative (hippies are always wrong) than I am now.
Hah, funny story by the teacher. Sounds a lot like me: smart and lazy. And modest, real modest.
Also, I think most freethinkers started out as conservatives. Only when we find out that they are also a bunch of big-government, status quo-loving bureaucrats do we abandon it. Usually happens around the end of high school, beginning of college.
Zooborns? Feh. FUP forever.
I wonder if we could get people who crusade against sex toys, throw teenagers in jail for acting like horny teenagers, and generally assault all the enjoyable aspects of sex …and somehow get them placed on terrorist watch lists. If you hate dildos and porn, then you hate America. Man, I want to hear Sean Hannity say that.
The cake is a lie….
Radley, I LOVE that I made the Morning Links right under a link about sex toys! Perfect!
When I re-read my post I’m not sure it comes across how much I admire the man you’ve become (my turn to be earnest) and that anything I might have taught you, you’ve repaid already many times over through your thought-provoking work and writing.
I’m not sure, though, whether I’m happy or sad that I wasn’t there to hear your graduation speech!
Dude, that “rat” crack at Coulter was totally uncalled for. She looks like a dude, not a rat.
I will use this opportunity to plug my tribute to the Alabama sex toy law.
http://www.realitythinking.org/
I hate to stereotype someone based on their appearance, but I would bet real money that Board of Pardons and Paroles member Shanda Perkins herself owns more than one sex toy. Just sayin’.
I’m not able to read the poker game ruling, but the inference is that in South Carolina, poker is a skill game like chess, bridge, Scrabble, etc. However, betting on the outcome of a single game or session is illegal. So I wonder if poker tournaments with cash prizes would be considered legal, since the other skill games have cash prize tournaments and are considered legal.
Ann Coulter spotted vacationing in China
Lessee:
1) Hysterical state-sponsored xenophobia.
2) Arrest and imprisonment of anti-government dissidents.
3) Rigid internet censorship.
4) Strict anti-pornography laws.
She must feel like she’s visiting paradise.
Maybe she’ll defect.
The palindrome is cool, and Demetri Martin is great, but there’s far longer: http://www.spinelessbooks.com/2002/palindrome/index.html
Alright Radley…you’re turn to perform on You Tube!
We’re ALL EARS!
And a ONE and a TWO…
Marta Rose…”I’m happy to say that Radley has grown up to be insanely bright, hardworking, and only occasionally snarky (and then only when it is well deserved). Most of the time, though, I find him remarkably earnest and even a little bit sweet, and as for his political views, I only disagree with him about half the time, and I respect him all of the time.”
Radley is my HERO! I wanna be JUST like Radley when I grow up and I am already 52 years old!
Ann Coulter has never looked so good!
I’d hit it.
#11 | Dave Krueger
Spectacular!
It’s funny how the people who look like they could benefit the most from these toys oppose them the most…
I would make the sex with Ann Coulter. Does that make me gay?
From the linked story, she seems to be a bit furry.
Good comment on sex toy Perkins. “that’s a man baby!”
You see, I’ve had it with civility and will go to the same well over and over.
Cop abuse story Radley missed from Oklahoma City:
http://www.newsok.com/okc-officer-pulls-man-over-for-anti-obama-sign-on-vehicle/article/3347038?custom_click=headlines_widget
Apparently, the badge-heavy Obama worshipers are turning into right smart Brownshirts. All they need is an armband with the Obama campaign symbol on them.
This clown needs a beatdown from his supervisors. The punishment should be public and harsh. A year’s suspension without pay plus permanent transfer to the rubber gun squad sounds about right. He’s proven that he’s unfit as a street cop, or any other kind of cop for that matter.
@15 — Alex
Nice, but still not even close to being the longest. Take it from your old pal Gonzo, the sole fruity, unpoliticized humanities professional lurking about. The longest, is, in fact, novel-length. Over 31,000 words to be exact.
It’s called “Dr. Awkward and Olson in Oslo,” and I’ve been trying to find a copy of it for most of my adult life.
With my hormones still a’stewing after the birth of my second son 4 months ago, the ZooBorns site is making me all sorts of googly.
O how I miss my babies when I’m at work!
Another interesting palindrome exercise is the song Bob by Weird Al Yankovic.
“the sterile winds of atheism.”
So what does that mean, anyway?
That’s not Coulter……that’s Nancy Pelosi…….and clearly, she didn’t go to Italy……..
I think it means that atheists are safe to bring into the operating room.
Wow, baby gorillas are clear inhabitants of the uncanny valley…
That’s her winter coat.
“The sterile winds of atheism”
I rather like that.
Marta Rose sounds really cool. Reminds me of my high school Latin teacher who called me the laziest white boy in Dade County, FL. I felt insulted that she qualified it like that; I mean, I think I was prolly lazier than yer average black kid, too.
No, srsly, I honor her for her autistic tendencies. She liked your being earnest. Earnest is Good.
But then, I suspect I have a touch of the “A” m’self. A little bit of it is, IMHO, not a bug, but a feature.
Say, Radley, weren’t you a bandsman in high school? Just sayin’, being a borderline-Aspie band nerd.
I usually accede to your site from a link at Say Uncle’s place, he being a very earnest gun nerd, and find that most blogs I read are written by military folks, gun nuts, auties/aspies, libertarians, and people who combine some of those attributes in themselves. What they all have in common is that they are earnest, and have a passion for justice.
Silly-bloggin’ just doesn’t do anything for me.
#30 I agree, I really like that line. The sterile winds of atheism are free of the bacteria otherwise known as theism.
Portal fans here? Cool. I love that song.
The version from the game is here:
http://www.imeem.com/xxlostpointxx/music/XYZlY13e/ellen_mclain_still_alive/
Am I the only old-timer who who hears a similarity btwn this song and “Only Time Will Tell”