Author: Brett L

Happy Wednesday, Glibertarians. I’ve started asking my iPhone things that include the words, “bomb”, “America”, and “ISIS” a lot.

• Tinder has a new service that matches rich people to “hyper-attractive/upwardly affluent types.” Which I think means hot people looking to date big wallets. Sadly, I am married and won’t be available for the service to use as the Face.
• Cops in Michigan think it is vital to their cases in prostitution stings that they “go all the way.” They also want the same privileges when pretending to be Johns.
• The Church of Scientology will officially take the lead in urban development in downtown Clearwater, FL. So glad we found a house further down the coast.
• Wanted: South Florida Python Hunters. And yes, this story is SFW.

If we’re going to start doing music with the links, I submit Ann and Nancy Wilson with a special appearance by Luke Skywalker.

Some fun and exciting times around the Internets today.

First, our commentariat is having a lot of fun in the logo contest that ends a week from tomorrow. We have now seen ALL of the permutations of a certain other brand’s logo and letterhead. And laughed at each one. Now come up with something we can use or Sloopy wins by default. And not even Sloopy wants that.

Sloopy and perhaps others will have some in depth coverage, but in case the Afternoon Links is your first stop after slithering out from under your rock, Wikileaks has reopened the war on the US Intelligence Community and they don’t seem to be losing. Nor does freedom seem to be winning. The Russian hacking of Hillary’s emails just became “Russian” hacking.

Not to worry, though. If you already have an opinion, chances are the facts won’t change your mind.

Per standard operating procedure, NOAA has responded to possible budget cuts by claiming that everyone will die if they receive even one dollar fewer.

Kuato don’t surf! Scientists have a plan to bring oceans back to Mars.

“How many Presidents were in the KKK?” Google to fix wrong results to their “one true answer” feature. After correctly identifying President Woodrow Wilson as a racist, Google is backpedaling.

In which Ezra Klein of Vox and I agree on something. The absolute shittiness of the GOP Obamacare-Lite bill, which seems to have been written by the various states’ Bureaus of Insurance Regulation to keep said agencies in business.

Sucks to your Monday. Have some downer links.

• The WHO posts what may be the most mendacious study results ever, claiming 1.7 million children under the age of five die from “environmental risks such as indoor and outdoor pollution, second-hand smoke, unsafe water and poor sanitation”. I’ll leave the commentariat to guess which of these the article focuses on.
• 7 places where the science still isn’t quite settled. It’s weird that fundamental physics like gravity and nuclear strong force are more open to discussion than other, less rigorously observed fields.
• For all of you super-intelligent, maladjusted commenters, a rumination on why you might turn to crime. And no, the answer isn’t because literally anything you do is probably illegal anyways.
• China releases $150B military budget. “China has the world’s second-largest defense budget, although it is still only about one-quarter of what the U.S. spends.” No, that’s one quarter of what gets appropriated during the budgeting process. It ignores all the “emergency” spending.
• Today marks the 228th anniversary of the US operating under the Constitution. Maybe some day we can return to that.

Happy Ash Wednesday. I was wondering why all the old people at the grocery store had tattoos on their foreheads. And I may or may not have bothered to wear contacts on that trip.

Any American techies who want a free trip to Hobbition, New Zealand will pick up your tab for a job interview. This totally isn’t a timeshare scam, they swear.

As ever, technology is making humans obsolete. Take up your sabots and destroy those power looms ordering kiosks!  The Rise of the Useless Class should be about people who make their living giving TED talks and doing jack shit.

Ouch, relentless self-promoter-in-chief gets in fewer than half as many references to himself in his first address to Congress than his predecessor. Terrible!

Someone thinks America needs a military department just for space. Would you like to know more?

Tucker Carlson shows Bill Nye that he’s no science guy and unworthy of the bow-tie.

Happy Tuesday. Welcome to today’s edition of sleep deprived afternoon links. Hopefully this resembles something not entirely unlike links.

• Colon and rectal cancer incidents are rising in young people. It may be prudent to get your asses checked earlier.
• More bad news for Big Diamond, every kiss may begin with Kay, but giving her a job at a jewelry store isn’t the same as giving her jewelry.
• JP Morgan software does 360,000 hours of lawyers’ billable work in seconds. This surprises nobody who has ever had to employ a lawyer for a matter that should take minutes and somehow takes 20 hours.
• The robc Memorial “State Out of Marriage” Bill has passed out of Committee in Alabama. Is it poetic justice that bigots created marriage licensing and now want to undo it? Is this the Libertarian Moment when politicians wake up to the Iron Laws?
•  China to consider financial incentives for second child. Why, its almost like the State’s policy led to entirely predictable, but completely unforeseen negative consequences. We should definitely encourage the American government to create as many of those situations as possible, right? Right?

  

Friday Links. On time, bulleted, and with content. This Interwebz shit ain’t so hard.

• Not exactly a gasoline fight. Male models rescue teens who fall through ice at Central Park. Jesse and Riven have tickets to NYC already booked.
• AFL-CIO cutting staff due to slow sale of their product. I wonder if they’re getting cushy pensions and unemployment benefits from their former employer.
• If you hoped Trump’s fight with the deep state would become a fight with the police state, you’re disappointed today.
• Good news cocaine users, heroin’s share of overdoses rise to 25% of the total. Only, not heroin, the stuff people adulterate heroin with. If only there were a solution…
• What to publish if you don’t want tenure.

Happy Close-Enough-to-Friday

Climate models warming twice as fast as reality.

Sex on a motorcycle at speed? Lots of people want to die having sex, but having your scrotum ablated off should be optional.

As if NYPD cops need their commissioner to tell them to ignore the law.

…And the best part is, he’s learning!

Today’s late links are brought to you by Benadryl.

• The French are using giant eagles (or tiny handlers) to fight drones. One presumes by carrying the terms of their unconditional surrender to the other party.
• Looks like the 4th Circuit wants to get smacked down on the 2A by the Supreme Court. Everyone knows that assault rifles just “go off”
• The Atlantic wants you to pay no attention to the entrenched bureaucracy behind the curtain
• Trump to issue new EPA orders. Hopefully, these orders were drafted and reviewed by someone who actually passed law school.