Thursday, October 22nd, 2009
Via the comments, more naked news. Looks like prancing about naked on your own property is at least still legal in Oregon. Even if you’re in plain view of just about everyone. (Warning: Fleshy fat guy photos.)
Julian Sanchez debates the PATRIOT Act over at the L.A. Times.
This almost left me completely speechless. Then I thought: I wonder what would happen if someone threw him a Commodore 64?
Newsweek: Also, Hitler had some good ideas about trains and highways.
New York cops are arresting gay men on charges deemed unconstitutional more than two decades ago.
London wants to make it a hate crime to say mean things to fat people.
The drug warriors’ latest cunning plan: Requiring a doctor’s prescription to purchase cold medication. Which means you’ll be forking over an extra $95 every time you’re kid gets a runny nose. Or your health insurance will.
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TheAgitator.com
Cracktop
Enough said.
I find the cold medicine stuff extremely disturbing. About a year ago I had a pretty nasty cold and I went to my local grocery store to pick up some nyquil. I was shocked when I was actually required to have my driver’s license run through the computer system to make sure I wasn’t stocking up on supplies to make meth. If I was a bigger man I would’ve refused to do it and not bought the medicine but like a good little lemming I just went with it. The whole thing felt like an episode out of 1984. I mean, I have no idea where that information went or whether it is now stored somewhere that on January whatever 2009 at 8:17 pm I purchased some nyquil.
The whole thing just illustrates how ridiculous our society has become. We seemingly will go to any lengths and suffer any intrusion, no matter how absurd, based on the fear that somewhere, somehow, someone could be getting high. Before you know it you won’t be able to buy nutmeg without your ID being scanned.
All that aside kudos to the fat man and Oregon’s acceptance of nudity!
Is it politically incorrect to say that the laptop video was one of the gayest things I have seen in weeks?
In re the laptop tricks:
1) How did this kid discover that he had a prehensile ass?
2) How does one PRACTICE this, ah, skill?
3) Where are all the laptops coming from?
4) Why are these guys wearing singlets?
5) Isn’t the, ah, pitcher here worried about handling a laptop that has been ensconced in the other guy’s, uh, you know….
Here’s one to watch:
Woman recants story of West Virginia abuse
http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/10/21/assault.recanted/index.html
This is the black lady who was held in a trailer and tortured for a week or something in West Virginia. Now she says she made the whole thing up. 6 people are in prison over this, and
Maybe because they have no money?
In another twist, the current prosecutor was actually the defense counsel for one of the six.
Anyway, weird situation.
everyone knows the laptop video is fake, right?
That NYC cops story is so infuriating. But mroeover it proves that police and prosecutors don’t care on whit about following the(ir) Constitution or the law; that they are just liek criminals who will do whatever they can get away with, and will do so for decades and decades.
Perhaps this effort was additional motivated by homophobia, but it still goes to the willingness of officers to make people’s lives miserbale and generate some municipal revenue simply because the victim of their efforts is foreign, dumb, poor or otherwise powerless to do anything at all about it. Does anyone still argue that cops and prosecutors care about the law, about individual rights? They should be made to print copies of this article and swallow each sheet of paper whole.
They recently expanded hate crime coverage in the U.S., too. I’m all for expanding coverage of hate crime legislation, because eventually everyone will be covered and we’ll all be equal under the law again.
Well, sorta. I mean we’ll never be equal to cops or politicians, but I look forward to a day when beating the shit out of me isn’t considered less of a criminal simply because I had the misfortune of being born into one the underclasses.
Sorry, gotta put all this somewhere.
Remember Stephanie Lazarus? She’s the LAPD detective who apparently killed her ex-boyfriend’s new wife in 1986 and got away with it for 23 years. It’s obvious that her friends on the force at the time covered up for her, to the extent that they might have even staged a robbery in the same apartment complex a couple of weeks after the murder so that they could divert their “investigation” in that direction.
She’s now trying to get the case against her dismissed. Why?
Yes, you read that correctly. So, first her friends cover for her. Then, she decides that they’re really depriving her of due process by covering for her. Have your cake and eat it, too.
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2009/10/lapd-detective-accused-of-1986-slaying-argues-missing-clues-and-evidence-compromises-her-defense.html
Either her protectors all quit and forgot to mark the case as “don’t investigate too closely”, or she pissed someone off who was familiar with her history and she’s getting payback. I’d love to know which is true, but likely never will.
By the way, in case you’re wondering if she did it:
Extremely likely. It was extremely likely *without* DNA evidence, so this is the icing on the cake.
Hey, hey, hey, let’s not be too upset.
If NYPD is changing it’s “it’s okay to shoot people for no reason” and “it’s okay to arrest people for no reason” policies to “it’s okay to ticket people for no reason” should we not welcome this incremental change?
How does some activists in London proposing that discrimination based on weight be prohibited morph into London wants to make it a hate crime to say mean things to fat people.
I’m thinking that stopping a man who molests toddlers from strolling around naked in front of school buses isn’t a genuine infringement on that man’s liberty.
What is intriguing, though, is that parents and neighbours have been complaining to the school board about this for years and yet the board silences the drivers and gets hissy when asked. I wonder why?
Regarding the cold medicine…
Well, of course they want to write laws directed at non-drug users in the name of fighting the drug war. I mean shit, actual drug users are sneaky and do their thing in secret. It’s hard to catch those bastards. Much better to target non-drug users. I mean, shit! They’re everywhere you look. Easy pickins’.
You know, with the crime rate dropping, cops need a stimulus package no less than the automotive industry. Creating criminals gives cops job security. It’s an easy way for the public to give back to those who daily put themselves between us and evil.
#7
Perhaps??? I did not read one account of a straight man arrested for hitting on a woman. Or of any woman arrested for hitting on anyone. If every single person cited or arrested is gay, then yes, I think we see a pattern.
#12
I’m not advocating/suggesting anything but eventually someone is going to find his corpse in the weeds.
[grammar nazi]
Which means you’ll be forking over an extra $95 every time you’re kid gets a runny nose.
Which means you’ll be forking over an extra $95 every time your kid gets a runny nose.
[/grammar nazi]
you’ll be forking over an extra $95 every time you’re kid gets a runny nose. Or your health insurance will.
All the more reason to pass health care reform. NOW. Without even reading the bill!
I can’t get the laptop video out of my head. Help!
Oh, and as for that Russian chart, not only is the visually misleading (I thought it was a bar graph until I blew it up and looked at the actual numbers), but the implications are oversimplistic to say the least. Life expectancy is down .3 years! The “economically active population” is down (roughly in proportion to the overall population decline)! More people are diagnosed with diseases (possibly because they have access to more modern health care?)! Alcohol consumption is up (possibly because alcohol is cheaper and more readily available post-communism, and overall consumption is still less that that of such hellhole countries as Belgium, Switzerland, Denmark, Portugal, France, Germany and Luxembourg)! Head for the hills, Ma Barker!
The government is the ULTIMATE middleman. Adding nothing, subtracting much, taking huge cuts, and patted on the back by sheep too dumb to know better.
Now let’s have them run medicine (effectively the tool which keeps us alive).
Fucking fuckity fuck socialists!
Re Russia:
No dictatorship is worse than utter kleptocracy. This was also explained on Reason here.
#14,
Sorry I wasn’t very clear. I didn’t my to throw out a query as to whether that was the actual motivation since I agree it played a large role.
What I was trying to convey is that someone might claim this incident is an abberation or not indiciative of NYPD officers’ attitudes towards the law, and Constitutional/individual rights issues, because it’s really just about them hating gays. Which is not a much better argument but does limit the ability to extrapolate this action to predict other lawlessness by NYPD specifically or police in general.
I was trying to say that I would find such an argmunet crap, even though clearly this was an incident replete w/ homophobia.
my local police department arrests and is prosecuting guy dropping F Bomb during argument.
http://www.fox4kc.com/wdaf-story-fbomb-jail-102109,0,6382017.story?track=rss
As a very overweight person I’ve experienced the prejudice, cruelty and thoughtlessness that many people feel is fair treatment for someone of my girth. There seems to be a pervasive sentiment that fat people are at fault for their conditions and therefore deserving of any and all derision. Most people don’t consider themselves flawless, but many can’t comprehend being flawed in such a way that renders them obese. Somehow obesity is perceived to reveal a greater, more fundamental character deficiency than, say, smoking cigarettes, excessive drinking, or philandering.
Nonetheless, I would never support a policy that attempts to regulate behavior on such a level, especially if it endangers the 1st Amendment. It simply makes no sense to try to govern such things as attitudes and how people treat each other (short of violence and other serious crimes, of course). Even if legislation prevented a guy on the street from calling me a lard-ass, no law is going to change that guy’s or anyone else’s opinions. An intrusive and oppressive law could even magnify hatred by adding resentment to simple disrespect.
Personally, I’d rather not gag those who would devalue me. I get taunted. I get deprecated. But then I know where I stand with such people. Sure, it stings on one level, and it even hurts if I let myself dwell on it. But I know who my real friends are, and I get plenty of input on who’s a superficial creep. (Frankly, I would also miss some of the fat jokes. Innocent, crude humor should never be taken too seriously, and some of it’s genuinely funny. For example, whenever I haul ass it takes two trips.)
RE: London wants to make it a hate crime to say mean things to fat people.
Pretty amusing, considering I had just read a story on LewRockwell.com’s blog about the British nanny-state takiing an obese couples 7 children to prevent them from turning their kids into fatties. Apparently you can steal fat people’s kids, but you must say mean things about them while you are doing it.
OK, this guy is a complete asshole. No. I don’t want him arrested, fined or committed. Still, he’s a total jerk seriously lacking in basic social skills and likely has a couple of screws loose.
The government has this cute little gingerbread house in the woods run by an older lady dressed in black….
Ladies & Gentlemen, I give you the Libertarian Party Presidential Candidate for 2012.
;P
Regarding the “Better Red Than Free” report, here’s an interesting analysis (written almost three years ago, when things were going well in the USA) of how that actually worked out better for them than our own situation has (so far, anyway..) for us:
Closing the ‘Collapse Gap’: the USSR was better prepared for collapse than the US
http://www.energybulletin.net/node/23259
The last time I went to the drugstore, I picked up a package of NyQuil. I was perfectly healthy at the time, but I’d used up a package of it a few weeks before when I had a persistent cold, and I wanted to make sure I’d have medicine on hand the next time I get sick. So the plan is to make sure that, instead, I have to go to the doctor’s office, and then the store, while I’m still coughing and sneezing all over the place every time I need cold medicine?
I am emphatically not looking to be the Libertarian sacrificial lamb in 2012.
That said, could I be any worse than Wayne Allen Root?
About Sudafed….so now that the government is tracking and limiting how much Sudafed we can buy, wouldn’t that encourage us to stockpile as much of the stuff as we can, so we know we will have it when we need it? Isn’t that exactly what the government wants to avoid? I use Sudafed or something like that maybe about twice a year…so should I start buying as much as I can every week, in case I might need more than one box worth of Sudafed when I get sick? If there’s a chance of this prescription requirement becoming law, I guess I better start my Sudafed stash ASAP.
Re: the Patriot Act.
Sanchez was a bit of a dick, but deservedly so. The opening argument in the “pro” article was that the Patriot Act improved information sharing between the agencies! Huh?
The pro piece is so vague and fact/detail free that it is remarkably dishonest – even if accidentally so. Her summary of the Patriot Act was just absurd. And Sanchez hits the nail on the head: it’s not about the Patriot Act in general but about specific pieces which may or may not go to far, may or may not be useful or effective, and whether reforms can limit abuse withouth correspoding limits on effectiveness….. OR whether pieces of it are Unconstitutional. God forbid we discuss that dimension of this issue.
Nudity’s no fun unless someone gets her panties in a twist over it ;-)
If that guy was my neighbor I’d make a point to have a non-reaction every time I saw him, like I completely didn’t even notice he was naked. I’m sure he gets most of his thrill from other people’s horrified/disgusted reactions.
Let’s not forget the fact that this guy is a kiddy diddler who just happens to wander out and about when the school buses go by. This isn’t some fellow caught making toast by a nosy trespasser.
As long as you don’t live in one of about a dozen states which obstruct legal purchase, this site can hook you up as long as you provide proper ID
In combination with standard over the counter products like Nyquil, tylenol etc, you should be good to go
http://dmdpharm.com
Here in Florida, numerous convenience store outlets sell products from this website right over the counter, though at modestly inflated retail rates.
“[W]henever I haul ass it takes two trips.”
Funniest thing I’ve read in ages. Who said that? Ralphie May? I love that guy.
After the government drives the price up by making us get prescriptions for cold medicine, some enterprising drug dealer will figure out how to make cheap cold medicine with his leftover pseudoephedrine. Since only a small part of the population uses illegal drugs like meth he could expand his potential customer base.
Picture this, its late at night you are hacking and coughing so you cruise through the bad part of town stop at a corner, the guy comes up to your window and asks if you want crystal meth or cold medicine.
London? No, a couple of activists in London.
It’s allready not legal in the UK to discriminate on, for example, something which has no direct bearing on how someone will do a job. Unless there’s a *direct* reason (say – health and safety. The equipment you use has a maximum safe rated weight)…
You know what’s really annoying? Previously you could get pseudoephedrine based cold remedies behind the counter in the UK (basically, “ask the pharmacist”, rather than “on the shelves”).
But because the US market has reformulated to Phenylephrine-based remedies (which are no better than placebos, in pill form), most of the remedies *here* are also now phenylephrine-based.
I ended up getting a nasal spray using phenylephrine recently, which works fine. But the pill form? Useless. Utterly useless. Thanks, US drug warriors!
Leon, it was done for your own good.
/must I?
Sounds like NYC needs another Stonewall Inn riot. Only this time make sure the cops pulling this stunt end up as lamp post decorations. Preferably with their genitals cut off and stuffed in their mouths.
As for Jim Beilsmith, another pseudo-human who needs to become a Christmas decoration this holiday season.
My understanding is that the sudafed bans have largely had the effect of moving meth production away from local scum home-cooking it, and over to professionals from Mexican drug gangs cooking it up. I wonder what fraction of the money and PR push for this nonsense came, directly or indirectly, from those gangs.
Regarding the NYPD story:
Is that the “New Professionalism” Justice Scalia talks about?