From the NYT: Conventional histories cite the mid-1700s as the turning point in the development of the modern adversarial system of justice in England and Colonial America, with defense lawyers and prosecutors facing off in court, Mr. Hitchcock and Mr. Turkel said. Their analysis tells a different story, however. “Mapping all trials suggests that the…
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…when you post pictures of a slug. But I don’t have a dog. I found this little guy in my backyard trying to molest a grape. His two eyes stick out a lot further when I’m not trying to take a picture from inches away. Did you know this kind of slugcan live 3 years,…
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In Germantown, Montgomery County, Maryland. Anybody got any ideas how to prevent this? Is it possible to lock everybody insidethe store? Certainly if catch one of the kids, it would be pretty easy to get them to snitch. But then what? It would take a lot of police work simply to bring shoplifing charges against…
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Hey Republicans… you know why “treason” matters more than other insults? Because the Constitution mentions treason seven times, you want every idiot to be able to carry a gun, and treason is usually punishable by execution. But what do I know? I’m just another “lib”. I wonder what Karl Rove would say? Oh… I guess…
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Here are some thoughts on Syria. Actually they’re my wife’s thoughts, but I second them. I’ve never traveled in any country where the people have been as nice, hospitable, and honest as the average Syrian (and also not pushy or sleazy). It’s also perhaps the cleanest country I’ve been in (I’ve never been to Japan).…
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I’ve written about this before, but it’s worth a second telling. Besides, how many of you read footnote #14 to the Epilogue of Cop in the Hood? Chicago and Toronto are similar sized cities. Chicago is having a record low number of murders; Toronto is having a record high number of murders. Chicago is patting…
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Here’s me defending flogging for my favorite TV news show, the NewsHour. It’s very interesting that the option of flogging over prison currently registers over 70% support in their online poll. This mirrors the earlier newser survey in which 63% percent thought is was “brilliant” and another 13% found it “intriguing” (20% clicked in one…
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Presidential hopeful and former New Mexico governor Gary Johnson calls (once again) for
There’s very little that strikes me as more absurd than offering or accepting a guilty plea for time served. It represents so much about what’s wrong with the criminal justice system. And that’s a lot. If you’re guilty, then it’s a travesty of justice because you get to go home. If you’re innocent, it’s an…
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The current and first issue of the new food magazine Lucky Peach has an article about yakamee in New Orleans. This further supports my belief that Baltimore and New Orleans were siblings separated at birth. Yakamee is a crappy Chinese take-out noodle dish. I ordered it once, to the amazement of the woman behind the…
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