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08 Mar 2010 23:47

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U.S.: The Supreme Court takes on Fred Phelps’ hate-causing cronies

  • cause Phelps’ Westboro Baptist Church,
    which has made it a mission of
    theirs to protest soldiers’ funerals,
    was sued in 2006 after they
    protested the funeral of Lance Cpl. Matthew Snyder.
  • issues The corresponding issues of
    free expression and right to dissent meet with the conflicting issue of
    privacy in this case, which could
    set a pretty huge precedent for
    protesters. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

08 Mar 2010 23:38

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Biz: 911 cell phone caller: “HELP! MY PRIUS WON’T STOP!”

  • Police had to help them stop their vehicle. Everyone’s favorite barrel fish to shoot, the broken Toyota accelerator, reared its ugly head again tonight when someone in one of the hybrids could not stop their vehicle, at one point going as fast as 94 miles an hour. While the Prius in the past hasn’t suffered from the sticking pedal problems that Toyota’s other cars do, it does suffer from braking system issues (the 2010 model), along with a gas pedal that can get caught in the floor mat (the 2004-2009 models). source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

08 Mar 2010 21:09

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Politics: How awkward is it “to have a political argument with a naked man?”

  • Eric Massa has reportedly seen Rahm Emanuel naked. It’s a good thing this video doesn’t have any video in it, because it would probably be disturbing to watch. Anyway, Massa, a New York congressman who left office today under the weight of an ethics scandal involving a male staffer he made sexual comments to, decided to let ‘er rip on a radio show, calling Obama’s Chief of Staff the “son of the devil spawn.” Speaking of our boy Rahm, this New York Times profile piece on the dude looks incredibly entertaining.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

08 Mar 2010 20:48

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Culture: Dear Betty White: We’re glad you’re hitting “SNL” soon

The most prominent/alive of the four Golden Girls (sorry, Rue) has agreed to appear on an episode. Thanks, Facebook campaign! source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

08 Mar 2010 20:30

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Politics: Obama pulls out some of his campaign fire on health care

  • Let me remind everybody: those of us in public office were not sent to Washington to do what’s easy. At this moment, we are being called upon to fulfill our duty to the citizens of this nation and to future generations.
  • President Barack Obama • Making an emotional plea for Democrats to support health care. The New York Times compared the appearance to one of his early campaign speeches. Dude got emotional. Thing is, though, is all this vigor lost on the American public? Seems like all he ever does nowadays is push health care. While a good point, it increasingly feels one-note. Hopefully he’s on the last laps. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 2 Comments • Permalink

08 Mar 2010 20:18

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Offbeat: Want to buy some sex? Sex.com up on the auction block

  • $1 million minimum to get a little more sex(.com) in your life source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

08 Mar 2010 20:12

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World: The Chile earthquake shook entire major cities out of alignment

  • 10′ the distance Concepcion was displaced
  • 11″ the distance Santiago was displaced
  • 1″ the distance Buenos Aries moved source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

08 Mar 2010 12:11

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Politics: Note to mainstream news bloggers: Get over your fear of linking

  • The fundamental problem with Kouwe was that when he saw good stories elsewhere, he felt the need to re-report them himself, rather than simply linking to what he had found, as any real blogger would do as a matter of course.
  • Reuters blogger Felix Salmon (who knows how to rock a pair of glasses) • Nailing the real problem with a lot of mainstream media blogs (but specifically regarding the situation of New York Times plagiarist Zachary Kouwe), which is that they’re link-phobic. Instead of having the guts to link to a story (out of fear of looking like he was behind the story), what Kouwe and other mainstream journalists do is find a story that needs to get on the blog, rewrite it and make it their own. Unfortunately for Kouwe, he left pieces of language from the other stories in his posts. Salmon puts his criticism like so: “If there’s a minor news story on a trustworthy wire service, and you think you need it on the blog, then link to it.” source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

08 Mar 2010 11:16

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Offbeat: Granny DJ: Officially our new hero. Go away, Epic Beard Man

  • Yo Grandma! Get out the booth! Seriously, though, this British grandma knows how to mash some bangers better than we do, and that deserves some mad props. We hope she releases an album of French house that’s better than Justice’s.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

08 Mar 2010 11:09

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Politics: Is Timothy Geithner getting the credit he deserves?

  • Barring something unexpected, the bailout will end up costing taxpayers less than the savings-and-loan implosion of the early nineteen-nineties. The government could conceivably end up making money.
  • New Yorker writer John Cassidy • Regarding Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner’s much-maligned financial plan, which appears to be much less of a nightmare than it seemed a year ago. While many things are imperfect – the high unemployment rates and the bank’s seeming lack of desire to loan money to small business – it is looking like the government’s plan will likely put them in cash flow positive while helping to get the weakened economy out of its doldrums. Will Geithner get credit, though? source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
 
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