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06 Dec 2010 21:47

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U.S.: Write a threatening poem, go straight to jail

  • cause In 2007, Johnny Logan Spencer wrote and posted online a poem depicting the (obviously fictional) assassination of Barack Obama.
  • effectSpencer has since been sentenced to three years in prison. Yeah, he shouldn’t have done what he did, but really, three years? source
Posted by Seth Millstein • 0 Comments • Permalink

06 Dec 2010 21:30

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Politics, U.S.: Ezra Klein: Tax cut deal a net positive, but not by much

  • This is not the government making a major new commitment to the recovery. It’s the government not getting in the way, and maybe doing a bit to help, the horribly slow recovery that’s happening anyway.
  • Policy wonk Ezra Klein • Regarding the tax cut deal struck today by The White House and the GOP. Klein likes the thirteen-month extension of unemployment benefits; on the bad side, he cites the effect the deal will have on the deficit. “It’s a lot better than I would’ve told you the White House was going to get if you’d asked me a week ago,” he admits, but still not quite enough to substantially stimulate the economy.  source
Posted by Seth Millstein • 0 Comments • Permalink

06 Dec 2010 20:06

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U.S.: Ninth Circuit leaning towards Prop. 8 repeal – and a narrow decision

  • Do we have to reach that point?
  • Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Stephen Reinhardt • Suggesting that the court may not decide the Prop. 8 case with a broad brush, and may choose a more narrow route instead. It seems that the court in general is favoring gay-marriage supporters, with the court’s most conservative judge, N. Randy Smith, noting that the blockage of marriage seems arbitrary, considering that gays have equal rights in almost every other point of Californian life. “What is the rational basis for that?,” he asked. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

06 Dec 2010 10:53

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U.S.: Gay marriage: Prop 8 trial heads to Ninth Circuit today

  • It’s a very favorable panel for the challengers to Proposition 8.
  • University of Pittsburgh law professor (and Ninth Circuit expert) Arthur Hellman • Handicapping the highly-anticipated horse race over Proposition 8 in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals starting today. The court, which chose to hear the case before allowing Judge Vaughn Walker’s initial decision to stand, could throw some wrenches in the case, though; namely, if they want, they can decide the case in such a way (by suggesting that supporters fo Prop. 8 didn’t have the standing to appeal the case) so that it doesn’t go to the Supreme Court, even if it legalizes gay marriage in California. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

06 Dec 2010 10:34

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Biz, U.S.: Supreme Court takes up massive labor suit against Wal-Mart

  • What’s bigger than a breadbox, involves a lot of women, and could give Wal-Mart some major fits? If you answered Wal-Mart Stores v. Dukes, a very large class-action discrimination suit that’s about to hit the Supreme Court. The case revolves around whether the class action suit is too large to be treated as a class-action suit. If it is, Wal-Mart wins because it won’t be forced to pay, because the cases will have to be treated individually. If it isn’t, Wal-Mart could be forced to pay out an epic settlement. We like watching Supreme Court cases where a lot is at stake, so, really, we win either way. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

05 Dec 2010 22:36

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U.S.: Today in random-plane-crash-in-residential-neighborhood news …

… a plane crashed into a residential neighborhood in Roy, Utah. Nobody has died, but the pilot took the brunt of the crash and is severely injured. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

05 Dec 2010 21:09

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U.S.: “Why Sam, why?” Marinette, Wisconsin mourns student in standoff

  • Sam, you are in good hands now. Someday when we meet again, you can tell me what happened.
  • Marinette, Wisconsin resident Jon Hengel • Expressing grief towards his son Sam, who held a classroom hostage last week and ended up shooting himself to death. Sam’s memorial service was today, and hundreds of mourners found themselves at Marinette High School staring at one of his favorite things in the world – a campground, complete with trees, a tent, a canoe and even a fake campfire. The younger Hengel, who was the only person hurt during the six-hour standoff, left behind more questions than answers, sadly. “This is not about Sam’s sin. This is about the world’s sin,” said the Rev. Nick Johannes, a local Lutheran pastor who presided over the somber ceremony. “Something has gone terribly wrong.” source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

04 Dec 2010 20:59

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U.S.: Ronald Reagan once stopped an air traffic controller crisis – with pink slips

  • 2010 In Spain, air traffic controllers forced the country’s military to get involved to stop a strike. The workers are upset because their average wages are getting cut – from roughly $463,000 per year to $263,000 per year.
  • 1981 In a similar strike involving air traffic controllers in the U.S., Ronald Reagan called a union’s bluff and fired nearly 12,000 striking air traffic controllers, which led to smaller staffs that did work that was just as good. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

04 Dec 2010 14:46

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U.S.: Good news, fat people: Lap-band surgery may become easier to get

  • 40 the BMI overweight people used to need to get the food-limiting lap-band surgery, which has become very popular
  • 35 the BMI an FDA panel now recommends for fat people to get the surgeries – if they don’t have health problems
  • 30 the BMI panel now recommends for lap-band surgery if you already have health problems source
  • » A good alternative: If you’re a fat person who can’t make sense of confusing traditional weight-loss programs, the FDA panel’s recommendation of looser standards for lap-band surgery could be a godsend for people would otherwise need to be chained to a wall to prevent them from eating in large quantities. Like us *chews laptop*.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

03 Dec 2010 18:45

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Culture, U.S.: Church pastor: Sure, we’re a hate group

  • I do hate homosexuals and if hating homosexuals makes our church a hate group, then that’s what we are.
  • Pastor Steven Anderson • Of the Faithful Word Baptist Church. The Tempe, Arizona church was recently classified by the Southern Poverty Law Center as a hate group; this was the church’s response. source
Posted by Seth Millstein • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
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