Unfortunate Juxtaposition of the Day: Italian weekly gossip mag Oggi is giving away a set of knives with the purchase of its latest issue — the cover of which just happens to feature a photo of the recently acquitted Amanda Knox.
Subtle.
[mediaite.]
Dangerous Precedent of the Day: Hot on the heels of a major crackdown by the Obama administration on medical marijuana dispensaries, the House Judiciary Committee yesterday passed a bill sponsored by chairman Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Texas) that aims to criminalize the discussion or planning of any activities abroad that would violate the United States’ Controlled Substances Act.
This includes activities which would be perfectly legal in the countries where they would be performed.
“Under this bill, if a young couple plans a wedding in Amsterdam, and as part of the wedding, they plan to buy the bridal party some marijuana, they would be subject to prosecution,” Drug Policy Alliance director Bill Piper is quoted as saying. “The strange thing is that the purchase of and smoking the marijuana while you’re there wouldn’t be illegal. But this law would make planning the wedding from the U.S. a federal crime.”
The bill is so vague, the doctors and academics discussing drug decriminalization and needle exchange programs with foreign colleagues might be subject to charges. Even something as innocent as an email to a friend in Mexico about over-the-counter drugs that require a prescription in the US might land a person in hot water.
The law was proposed in response to a 2007 court case involving two Miami men convicted of planning to transfer cocaine from Colombia to Saudi Arabia who had their convictions overturned because the drugs were not intended for US distribution.
Piper notes that the Smith bill goes too far in making it illegal to plan legal drug-related activities.
“They could have limited this law to prohibiting the planning of activities that are illegal in the countries where they take place,” he said. “That would have allowed them to convict the guys in the Miami case. There was an amendment proposed to do that and it was voted down on party lines. They intentionally made sure the bill includes activities that legal in other countries. Which means this is an attempt to apply U.S. law all over the globe.”
[huffpo.]
Sure Why Not of the Day: A shot-for-shot of the title sequence from Nick’s The Adventures of Pete & Pete, complete with a competent cover of Polaris’s “Hey Sandy,” and a gratuitous Beach Boys montage.
[thd.]
Insensitive Font Choice of the Day: Even staunch Comic Sans apologists have to agree that death deserves at least a Georgia, if not a full-blown Bookman.
Say What Now of the Day: Rep. Ritch Workman (R-Melbourne) isn’t sitting around talking about job creation like most of his colleagues in the Florida House of Representatives — he’s actually doing something about it.
That something? Introducing a bill to repeal a law banning dwarf tossing.
“I’m on a quest to seek and destroy unnecessary burdens on the freedom and liberties of people,” Workman told the Palm Beach Post. “This is an example of Big Brother government.”
The dangerous and demeaning gimmick was banned in the state in 1989.
“All that it does is prevent some dwarfs from getting jobs they would be happy to get,” Workman said. “In this economy, or any economy, why would we want to prevent people from getting gainful employment?”
Now, don’t get him wrong: Workman thinks the practice is “repulsive and stupid,” but feels “it’s none of the state’s business if somebody wants to do this.”
According to Robert Van Etten, the former president of Little People of America who convinced the state legislature to ban the so-called sport, that somebody is nobody.
“It’s something that brings out the worst element in some people, and it’s focused on people who are the most vulnerable,” Van Etten told the Post.
tl;dr: Your tax dollars at work.
[pbp.]
The Interpipes Are Leaking of the Day: A Keyboard Cat toy? What’s next? A real-life LOLcat?
[chuckieart / joannecasey.]
In Case You Missed It of the Day: “The Princess Bride reunion” means exactly what you think it means: 24 years later, the cast of Rob Reiner’s modern-day classic reunited on this morning’s Good Morning America, minus André the Giant (RIP), Peter Falk (RIP), and a few other no shows (couldn’t spare five minutes, Fred Savage?).
[abcnews.]
Dubstep Thing of the Day: The moment dubstep hit the scene I turned to my buddy and said “just you wait — someone somewhere is going to set their juggling routine to dubstep.”
Thirteen years later, and lo and behold — dubstep juggling.
[vvv.]
Stop What You’re Doing And Watch The Hell Out Of This of the Day: Metro Detroit native Ross Capicchioni, who was shot multiple times by a person he thought was his friend, tells The Berrics his absolutely must-hear story of survival, recovery, and justice.
[b3ta.]
