The Agitator
Sun Apr 24 04:45:52 EDT 2011
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Saturday Links - The latest vice that causes a “cocaine-like addiction”: fatty foods. With all these new cocaines, new heroins, and heroin- and cocaine-like addictions out there, it’s good to know those poor DEA agents will still have jobs once we finally win the drug war. Fascinating article on “wet houses”, where unapologetic alcoholics go to get their [...]

Five-Star Fridays - I figure we’ll do a little gospel this week, given the holiday weekend. This song is one of my favorites. The problem is picking a favorite version of it. Greg Allman has a great version. So do the Staple Singers. As do June Carter Cash, Willie Nelson, and Loretta Lynn. Even the late Sen. Robert [...]

Late Morning Links - With FourLoko out of the way, State AGs are now shamelessly grandstanding about the next “irresponsible” alcohol product. Cops once again mistake tomato plants for marijuana. This business of getting probable cause for a search warrant based on purchases of perfectly legal products (like hydroponic equipment) has been going on for years. But it’s still [...]

More Grocery Store Protest Goodness - Yesterday, a reader pointed to this unintentionally hilarious blog post from guy who is protesting that Whole Foods planned for the Jamaican Plains neighborhood in Boston. Chris Knighton is from “a white, middle class family” who “will soon be graduating from a private university in Boston.” He’s hopping mad about the gentrification of his neighborhood—which, by [...]

Catch me on Stossel Tonight - I’ll be talking about recording cops tonight on John Stossel’s show. Airs on Fox Business Network at 10pm ET.

Cops Involved in Questionable Shootings Get Medal-of-Freedomed - Cop shoots, kills unarmed Pace University student. Months later, he gets the police union’s “Cop of the Year” award: The Police Benevolent Association of the Pleasantville Police Department said Wednesday it honored Officer Aaron Hess for his dignity and professionalism since the October shooting and throughout his career. Hess fired at Henry’s car as Henry [...]

Afternoon Links - Great Slate piece on the rise of amateur photography. This article made my head hurt. If you haven’t yet, you should watch the amazing new AMC show, The Killing. Here’s an interview with the star, Mireille Enos. Tennessee Republicans are hard at work, tackling important issues like ensuring that public schools are only teaching heterosexuality, [...]

How To Run a Protest-Proof Grocery Store - This piece from my colleague Michael Moynihan about a Whole Foods protest in Boston would be amusing if it weren’t so infuriating. Seems that a group of activists are trying to block a Whole Foods from opening in a gentrifying part of the city. The problem? As we’ve seen with similar efforts to stop Walmart [...]

In Other Words, Just About Everyone - CNN recently obtained a list of the “behavioral indicators” that could subject you to an enhanced security screeing by TSA. Included on the list: Passengers who display arrogance and verbally express contempt for security procedures. Because terrorists are known for drawing attention to themselves by irritating security screeners? Seems doubtful. The lesson here: Not only [...]

400 NYPD Cops Under Investigation for Fixing Tickets - I guess it’s not surprising that 400 were doing it. But it is pretty surprising that up to 400 may face charges. A major ticket fixing scandal is rocking the NYPD, and as many as 400 cops could face bribery and larceny charges for making tickets disappear in exchange for gifts, according to a report. [...]

The Balloon Juice Fallacy - John Cole commits the Balloon Juice fallacy once again. Jason Kuznicki responds here. I’d add a couple things. First, to say that what’s happening in one town in Michigan is “light years more egregious” than the widespread eminent domain cases that gave rise to the Kelo v. New London case shows a pretty astonishing indifference [...]

Morning Links - I took a birthday blog hiatus yesterday. Here are some morning links for you to munch on: The Onion vs. cable news punditry. The worst names in human history, featuring Mr. Fagley Dork. First world problems: There are too many songs available online. Also, cupcakes have too much frosting. L.A. Times starts a website to [...]

A Tax Day Tune - I forgot to put up a five-star Friday post last week. So here’s some Tax Day blues for you. The song is “Governor”. The band is Robert Bradley’s Blackwater Surprise.

I Get Press Releases - …like this one, for a bizarre new book called Revelations and Dog… Stunningly imagined and masterfully executed artwork populates this graphic story of end times with cute dogs, lions with snake tongues and beasts morphed from contemporary political figures like Sarah Palin, Rush Limbaugh, and Kim Jong Il. Sound far-fetched? It shouldn’t writes Janette Platana [...]

Obligatory Tax Day Post - The surprisingly high number of Americans who owe no federal income tax: 47 percent. (That’s the figure from 2009, it may well be higher this year). It’s true, as a number of left-leaning commenters pointed out last year, that low-income people still pay Social Security and Medicare taxes, and that where applicable, they still pay [...]

Morning Links - I’m going to have to side with the right-wing culture warriors who are outraged over this J. Crew ad. That kid is way too young and impressionable to be wearing hipster eyeglasses. The regulatory issues here are interesting, but also, this article contains the phrase “the breast whisperer.” 12-year-old arrested over spilled milk in the [...]

More NYPD Professionalism - I missed this story when it came out last December. [NYPD Police Lt. Robert] Henderson, Lt. Robert Ortlieb and Sgt. Joseph Seminara identified [Shane] Rhooms as the gunman who started shooting after they spotted him smoking pot on Lenox Road in East Flatbush on Sept. 6. Seminera later picked Rhooms out of a photo array [...]

Your Sunday Morning Nut Punch - Here’s an enraging video in which NYPD cops pull over and cite a bicyclist for, according to the NYC the Blog, briefly riding on the sidewalk. Shortly after the stop, a passerby engages in some friendly jibes with the bicyclist. One of the cops apparently thought the passerby was talking to him (not that this [...]

Sunday Links - I’d like to thank Maggie McNeil for adding me to her blogroll. I’d like to especially thank her for listing me as a “friend of whores”. I think I’m going to add that line to my bio. They look so innocent when they sleep. Not at all surprised to learn that an informant plea bargaining [...]

Obama: Worse Than Bush on Bullshit Gambling Moralizing, Too - The Obama Justice Department has indicted executives from the three largest online poker sites—Full Tilt, Absolute Poker, and PokerStars—on charges of money laundering and bank fraud. This is the by far the most serious federal attack on online poker to date. I just checked my Full Tilt account. The site still appears to be up, but it isn’t accepting payments. Or [...]