Archive for October, 2005
October 31st, 2005
October 28th, 2005
This Scandal
Michael Kinsley has an entertaining summary of whatever scandal it is that had a big event today. One good fact to know, which I didn’t: Niger and Nigeria are two different countries.
October 26th, 2005
October 24th, 2005
One-Star Reviews of Great Books
The Morning News has a list of bad reviews of good books, including this one about Slaughterhouse Five:
In the novel, they often speak of a planet called Tralfamadore, where he was displayed in a zoo with a former movie star by the name of Montana Wildhack. I thought that the very concept of a man who was kidnapped by aliens was truly unbelievable and a tad ludicrous. I did not find the idea of aliens kidnapping a human and putting them in a zoo very plausible. While some of the Tralfamadorians’ concept of death and living in a moment would be comforting for a war veteran, I found it relatively odd. I do not believe that an alien can kidnap someone and house them in a zoo for years at a time, while it is only a microsecond on earth. I also do not believe that a person has seven parents.
October 21st, 2005
Kansas Court: Gay Underage Sex Is Not Worse
“Moral disapproval of a group cannot be a legitimate state interest,” said Justice Marla Luckert, writing for the high court.
A mildly retarded, 18-year-old boy who was sentenced to 17 years in jail for giving a blowjob to a 14-year-old boy will have his sentence reconsidered. Kansas has a law that gives shorter sentences to offenders who are under 19, but it only applies to opposite-sex encounters. This distinction was justified thusly:
A lower court had said the state could justify the harsher punishment as protecting children’s traditional development, fighting disease or strengthening traditional values.
Which is crap. Being that the convicted boy has now served longer than the maximum sentence for a straight offense, he should be released shortly.
[via Sullivan]
