Jesus people, never has a comment thread better demonstrated that the perfect is the enemy of the good. Stevis sounds like a decent guy, willing to listen, with some genuine progressive ideas. His opponent is a conservative dinosaur - creationist, anti-choice, anti-immigrant. Even if you don't live in Kansas, or even the US, surely you recognize the utility in removing someone like that from elected office?

Anyway, I just donated $75.
posted to MetaFilter by thewittyname at 7:30 PM on July 16, 2008

As a general rule of thumb, the later in the week that the FDIC takes over a failed bank, the less severe the crises is (well, as non-severe as a bank failure can be). The FDIC likes to use the weekend to consolidate control of a bank's operations, so that most customers can be served by the following Monday. When a bank is closed earlier in the week, it is usually impossible for the FDIC to get its hands around enough of the bank's problems to allow withdrawals the next day. This increases... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by thewittyname at 8:18 PM on July 11, 2008

Do politicians normally admit to smoking weed, in the UK or the US?

In the US, this is not yet common but it is becoming more so. Barack Obama admitted to smoking weed (and even doing cocaine) in his first book. Contrast that with Bill Clinton's embarrasing pseudo-admission in 1992 that he tried pot, but he "didn't inhale."

Admitting past pot usage has also come up in nominations for the US Supreme Court. In... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by thewittyname at 4:35 PM on May 7, 2008

Loving v. Virginia is probably one of the most important U.S. civil rights cases that nobody has ever heard about.

What amazes me most of all is that two states, Maryland and Virginia, had anti-miscegenation laws on the books dating from the 1690s. Thanks to the Lovings, my wife and I can happly miscegenate here in Maryland. I can only hope that an equivalent case for gays and lesbians will come soon.
posted to MetaFilter by thewittyname at 4:17 PM on May 5, 2008

Leave it to Paris to get the real protesting done. America cannot be shown up like this, though. San Francisco, our eyes turn to you.
posted to MetaFilter by thewittyname at 8:35 AM on April 7, 2008

The US not only imprisons juveniles, it executes them also.

This is incorrect, the execution of individuals for crimes committed before the age of 18 was held unconstitutional by the US Supreme Court in Roper v. Simmons in 2005.
posted to MetaFilter by thewittyname at 7:25 AM on March 11, 2008

This guy is beggin' for an eggin'
posted to MetaFilter by thewittyname at 3:15 PM on October 13, 2007

What do you expect from a state who's unofficial motto is a threat?

Texas' state motto ain't got nothing on Virginia's.
Sic Semper Tyrannis!

Or New Hampshire's "Live Free or Die"
posted to MetaFilter by thewittyname at 9:50 AM on September 28, 2007

Minimum waaaaaaage, heyah!
posted to MetaFilter by thewittyname at 8:16 AM on September 7, 2007

This website could replace my uncle.
posted to MetaFilter by thewittyname at 8:10 AM on August 16, 2007

Mister_A: Seeing as how neither pedestrians nor bikes are allowed on interstate highways, I'm not sure why the new I-35 bridge should set space aside for them.
posted to MetaFilter by thewittyname at 1:34 PM on August 14, 2007

Mister_A: Given the speeds at which people travel on interstate highways, it is not a simple task to safely segregate foot and pedestrian traffic from highway traffic. And, the expense of doing so seems wasteful given that there is a pedestrian (and possibly bike) accessible bridge, the Cedar Avenue Bridge, not more than 100 feet away from where the new I-35 bridge will be located.... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by thewittyname at 2:14 PM on August 14, 2007

Oh man, that's a serious bummer. (Although I, too, thought he had passed several years ago). The random episode that sticks out in my mind was the one about water conservation, and how much water a dripping faucet wastes in a day, week, month and year. After seeing how many gallon milk jugs got filled up with wasted water, I became a little bit OCD about turning faucets off tightly at home.

For all the cool science, I salute you Mr. Wizard!
posted to MetaFilter by thewittyname at 6:07 PM on June 12, 2007

This opens the door for states to impose even more onerous restrictions on abortion. Now that the health exeption has been cast aside, get ready for all sorts of nonsense. Also, remember the furor when the Kansas attorney general subpoened abortion providers in his state? Yeah, that's now going to happen all over the country. And, I bet the FBI is going to form an Abortion Crimes Unit now.

Lovely.
posted to MetaFilter by thewittyname at 8:33 AM on April 18, 2007

Got 49 states in about two minutes. West Virginia took me about five more.
posted to MetaFilter by thewittyname at 1:53 PM on March 2, 2007

Although this might be well-intentioned, this proposition is bad for a number of reasons:

1) It undercuts the moral authority of the pro-gay marriage position. By trying to limit the rights of those who are infertile, these activists are no better than the wingers that oppose them. What makes it extra hypocritical is that, like homosexuals, people who are infertile, with a few exceptions, didn't choose to be that way - nature just made them so.... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by thewittyname at 7:33 AM on February 4, 2007

.

Damn, between losing her and Ann Richards, its now even tougher to be a progressive in Texas.
posted to MetaFilter by thewittyname at 8:02 AM on February 1, 2007

From what I know of him, he was a man of upstanding personal integrity and honor - a true southern gentleman. He was neither a sadist like Stonewall Jackson (it seems he truly abhorred war, rather than gloried in it) nor a militant racist like Nathan Bedford Forrest (although he did oppose Black suffrage). His personal appeal to southern troops to lay down their arms after Appomattox spared the country years of guerilla warfare (and earned the emnity of quite a few Confederates). After the... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by thewittyname at 8:08 AM on January 19, 2007

This is very cool, and sobering. Thanks for the post.

One correction: the map shows casualties from both Iraq and Afghanistan.
posted to MetaFilter by thewittyname at 3:23 PM on January 10, 2007

This is actually a huge dissapointment, because civil unions are fundamentally inferior to recognized marriage. Remember, the NJ Supreme Court came within one vote of mandating same-sex marriages, instead of leaving this issue up to the legislature. (BTW, the media reporting on this facet of the story is terribly misleading. The mention the fact that the vote was 4-3, leading people to believe that the homosexual plaintiffs barely won. In fact, the court was unanimous in... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by thewittyname at 7:37 AM on December 15, 2006

This decision will make for VERY interesting debates in the NJ Legislature in the near future. New Jersey has the potential to be the tipping point in the status of single-sex marriage in the United States.

The biggest fear of conservatives has been the ability of same-sex couples to "spread" same-sex marriage outside of any state where it is currently legal. Right now, only Massachusetts allows for gay marriage. Due to the outrageously bigoted application... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by thewittyname at 1:13 PM on October 25, 2006

oh, thewittyname, if NJ goes the VT route with Civil Unions containing exactly the same benefits as marriage, will the same scenario still play out?

I doubt it, because so far no other state has recognized a VT or CT civil union as being equivalent to a marriage. That wouldn't stop someone from arguing that NJ's civil unions are somehow different, but I don't see that as a winning argument.

The Massachusetts Supreme Court... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by thewittyname at 1:37 PM on October 25, 2006

.
posted to MetaFilter by thewittyname at 11:25 AM on September 14, 2006

The state is invoking the common law legal doctrine of in loco parentis.

This is tough, not only because the child seems self aware enough to choose for himself, and because the states actions are directly contrary to much of the American libertarian tradition, but it is clear that if he was the age of majority, he would be within his rights to refuse treatment.

Starchild is a victim of the bright line, as it were.... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by thewittyname at 8:13 PM on July 21, 2006

It's amazing to consider what NASA was capable of doing when it had the will power (and tons of money from Congress) - especially in the face of having computers with the computational power of today's graphing calculators.
posted to MetaFilter by thewittyname at 9:52 AM on July 20, 2006

The legal slang term is "genericide" - which is when a trademark becomes so popular in common use that the term no longer exclusively describes the specific product.

There is a list of genericized trademarks at Wikipedia: from allen wrenches to zippers
posted to MetaFilter by thewittyname at 3:49 PM on July 7, 2006

[i]It's clearly a violation of Full Faith and Credit except that some states have already passed laws saying they won't honor it if it's gay marriages.[/i]

Actually, its not clear that DOMA would violate the FF&C clause of the Constitution. The Supreme Court has long recognized a "public policy" exception to the clause, which allows states to ignore the acts of other states that would be in conflict of its public policy. Forcing another state (say... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by thewittyname at 1:34 PM on July 7, 2006

I wonder what will become of his estate now? Could his death serve to protect his family from being wiped out at the hands of creditors? (Not that they deserve anything they have right now...)
posted to MetaFilter by thewittyname at 8:00 AM on July 5, 2006

I love the delicious irony in the fact that the Statue of Liberty is based on the pagan concept of a goddess of liberty.
posted to MetaFilter by thewittyname at 7:57 AM on July 5, 2006

[this is good]
posted to MetaFilter by thewittyname at 7:30 PM on June 14, 2006

I'm as wary of these people as anyone can be (as an atheist, some of them would like me dead, I'm sure) - but these articles strike me as puffery scare tactics with an eye towards selling Ms. Goldberg's book.

No doubt that there are many, many Christian dominionists who believe scary, scary things. I don't think it's out of bounds to compare them, especially their stated political aims, to Nazism or Islamic fundamentalism.

I do, however,... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by thewittyname at 7:24 AM on May 15, 2006

This won't happen because the Democrats know that if they retake just one of the chambers of Congress this year, they can cause the White House two years of unrelenting pain via public investigations, subpoenas and (if Dems take the House) maybe even an impeachment vote. Democrats don't need far-right grassroots activists to win this fall, and its not like Phyllis Schlafly is going to vote Democratic anyway.

Besides, where was this guy two years ago? Did he really... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by thewittyname at 8:21 PM on May 10, 2006

Best. Duel. Ever.
posted to MetaFilter by thewittyname at 4:46 PM on April 24, 2006

Charging them with practicing medicine without a license I can see, but how does the state justify criminalizing castration (i.e. the felony castration and maiming without malice charges)? If someone wants to cut off their balls, what right does the state have to tell them no?
posted to MetaFilter by thewittyname at 3:05 PM on April 24, 2006

Invalidating a will becuase its missing one (but not both) signature is almost unheard of. Witness signatures are the most technical of all the details that go into making a will valid, and most courts will uphold obviously valid wills despite a deficiency in the number of signatures. The obvious conclusion, to me, is that it's not just the cousins that were out "get a fag" - the court was happy to join in.
posted to MetaFilter by thewittyname at 4:05 AM on January 21, 2006

doh!
posted to MetaFilter by thewittyname at 3:03 PM on December 1, 2005

The outcome of this case is totally dependant on whether or not O'Connor is still on the Court when the decision is handed down. If she is, the law is struck down 5-4, if Alito is in her place by that time, the law is sustained 5-4.

The common wisdom, based on past voting patterns, seems to be:

- Four justices will automatically vote to strike down the law: Breyer, Souter, Stevens and Ginsburg.

- Three will... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by thewittyname at 9:14 AM on November 30, 2005

Be sure to check out the illustrated guide to making your own orgone devices.
posted to MetaFilter by thewittyname at 2:16 PM on November 25, 2005

Man oh man, if we Yanks could only call for a national election right now...
posted to MetaFilter by thewittyname at 12:47 PM on November 23, 2005

I'm American...Texan actually - and yeah, we do talk like that.
posted to MetaFilter by thewittyname at 12:51 PM on November 23, 2005

I know the Worst Album Covers of All Time, and these, sir, are not the Worst Album Covers of All Time.
posted to MetaFilter by thewittyname at 9:07 AM on November 15, 2005

Bonus: Read the followup article on the #1 worst cover album
posted to MetaFilter by thewittyname at 9:13 AM on November 15, 2005

So even if Alito's confirmed, it'll still be 5-4 in favor of a right to abortion, so what's the problem here?

There is also a fear that four solid conservative (and Catholic) Justices might be able to swing Kennedy back into the firm anti-abortion camp, where he once lived. As Dios pointed out, he was very close to upholding the PA law at issue in Casey.

Although, I'm dubious of the prospect. Kennedy is... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by thewittyname at 5:03 PM on November 14, 2005

Due to the language of conspiracy statutes, one need not even by physically invovled with the killing in order to be convicted and executed for murder. Therefore, there is no theoretical limit to the number of people who could be executed for a single murder.

Practically, OTOH, for that to happen, you'd have to be talking about mass slaughter or the assassination of someone very important.
posted to MetaFilter by thewittyname at 12:52 PM on November 11, 2005

Don't worry Dover, so far Orlando has managed to avoid those earthquakes and meteors that Pat promised them in 1998 when there was a Gay Day event at DisneyWorld
posted to MetaFilter by thewittyname at 8:13 AM on November 11, 2005

[this is good]
posted to MetaFilter by thewittyname at 6:10 PM on November 7, 2005

God knows we've always needed a "ye" tag.
posted to MetaFilter by thewittyname at 8:09 PM on November 6, 2005

Just because Rove wasn't indicted today doesn't mean that he won't be in the future. Although we'll have to wait until 2PM EST to find out for sure, I don't think this investigation is over, just this particular grand jury's involvement in it.
posted to MetaFilter by thewittyname at 9:57 AM on October 28, 2005

I hope Libby gets nowhere near a Congressional hearing - can you say congressional immunity?
posted to MetaFilter by thewittyname at 10:34 AM on October 28, 2005

God, I spent so many days here as a kid - this makes me really sad to hear that it's closing down. I'll never forget the Warp 2000 ride, it was my absolute favorite when I was young...

Jesus this sucks.
posted to MetaFilter by thewittyname at 10:29 PM on October 24, 2005