I exploit you, still you love me
I tell you one and one makes three. – Vernon Reid, “The Cult of Personality”
I’m sure you’re wondering what that title means, so I won’t keep you in suspense; this was the 111th week since I started the blog, if one counts the first two days (a Saturday and Sunday) and the static pages together as a short week. Since I’m going to be doing these link pages every week they needed some general name, and it would be too repetitive and confusing to call them by the same number as the TW3 columns. So while the latter are numbered by the week of the calendar year in which they appear, these link pages will be numbered by the week of the blog as a whole. Got it? Without further ado, then, the links: as usual, Radley Balko’s Twitter feed was a gold mine, providing everything down to (and including) the video.
- It’s a start.
- Welcome to our world, pain patients.
- Defining characteristic of a fascist society #4: Avid militarism.
- The most interesting part of this article is how a widespread myth evolved from a single incident.
Though it wasn’t what they intended, this anti-drug ad is actually a perfect metaphor for the federal government’s reaction to drug use:
- Remember that Dominican cancer patient who doctors refused to treat for fear of prosecution for abortion? She died Friday. (Via Wendy Lyon)
- Finalists in the six-word short story contest; my favorite is Ami Hendrickson’s. (Via Brooke Magnanti)
- The Illustrated Guide to Criminal Law, Part 16: “Guilt Without Fault”. (Via Mike Siegel)
- Ebay has banned the sale of magic items, potions and spells. (Via Cthulhuchick)
- Democrats vs. Republicans = Coke vs. Pepsi. (Via Amy Alkon)
- How government helps the needy. (Via Walter Olson)
- Well, that’s one way to get out of an arson charge.
- So-called “privacy laws” are not what they are pretended to be.
- This week’s edition of “Never call the cops for any reason whatsoever”.
- Michigan mayor who shut kid’s hot dog stand is sad because the media are mean to him.
- Pat Robertson says it’s a bad idea to adopt sexually abused children, because they could grow up “weird”.
- Veteran abducted by cops and FBI and held for “mental evaluation” because he made a Facebook post which criticized the government.
- New spy software uses tracking data to predict where any “smart” phone user will be in 24 hours, with an average error of only 20 meters.
For maximum effect: start this video, wait 30 seconds, then click on the link below it and read while it plays.
- A new monument to the Beloved Leader, Eternal Guardian of Peace.
- Shades of “Ghost in the Machine”!
- Massachusetts city comes up with an unsurprising excuse to steal people’s cars.
- “There is laxity on the part of the police to conclusively investigate the case…” Well, you know, NHI and all.
(First two items below the video via Franklin Harris, last two via Jessica Land.)