Tuesday pot-shots

War is just another government program full of waste, fraud, and abuse. A fine illustration is this story  about the Army's new batch of M-240L machineguns  supposedly at the eye-popping price of $86,000 per weapon. However if you read the story you'll see that's not the actual price. Too bad that even after you read the complex details in the story that you still won't  have any idea what they really cost the taxpayer.
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Ever wonder what the 10 most pirated movies on the Internet are? C/Net has a list. I don't blame people for stealing a view of these films; I wouldn't pay $10 to see this shit either.
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A Volkh Conspiracy blogger comments that people tend to discus politics with people they already agree with and read/listen/watch political media whose viewpoint they already support. This is news? People believe what they chose to believe and are likely wary of starting arguments, feuds, or causing ill-feelings with friends and acquaintances when they don't have to. Who can blame them really?
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What daily existence looks like when a court runs your life. The story of the New Jersey supreme court since the 1950s. The justices are appointed for "life" (until age 70) and lacking any restraints whatever. "Absolute power" corrupts.
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An altogether pointless article that closely examines some  libertarian philosophical  minutiae in great depth but to no apparent purpose. "Too many books make one weary", eh?
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Prospective jurors for the upcoming Hutaree Militia trial  have begun the voire dire process. Good. It's been nearly two fuckin' years since they were entrapped arrested. This lengthy time lapse just goes to show that this stuff about the US government being required to give arrestees a "speedy trial" is bullshit.
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Detroit's  own version of Toulouse Lautrec's oeuvre (i.e., low-brow subject matter like prostitutes, strippers, and prurient nudes done with a classical painter's technique).

Sign of the Times...

The libertarian oriented Reason magazine is the latest to chime in on the fear of Right-wing Militias hysteria that the Obama administration is trying to spread far and wide. The case against the Hutaree isn't as well-founded as what it first appeared in the headlines two months ago, according to the federal judge overseeing the case. The Sixth U.S. Court of Appeals in Cincinnati is now dragging it's feet about releasing the Hutaree defendants on bail at the behest of the US Atty, and which for them must be quite embarrassing. Or it would be if they had any shame.

But in the larger sense (e.g., the political sense), the damage has already been done. The well is poisoned as far as the Hutarees getting a fair trial and the "Beware of those Dangerous Right-wing Militias" trope has been put out there into the public mind from all headlines and news coverage. So, as with most things, the state wins no matter what the outcome is for the Hutarees.

Sign of the times

A sputtering, fuming and astonished US Attorney vows to appeal a ruling allowing the Hutaree Militia defendants to be released on bail reports the Detroit News. And then AUSA goes on to try and link the Hutaree defendants to a recent murder of a Detroit police officer by convicted drug dealer.

Sheesh. More "well poisoning" on the U.S. Attorney's part. The defense lawyers should go for a court order to prevent any more of these ill-considered and prejudicial comments by the U.S. Attorney. And so the Hutaree defendants get to languish in jail despite their legal victory while the U.S. attorney's office appeal wends it way through the legal system.