If you don’t read The Atlantic, you should. Not only can you act like you’re smart, you might become smart. Or at least a lot smarter than you’ll ever become reading the typical drivel in a cop magazine (yes, I know, “staying alert can save your life”–so remain in “Code Yellow” and read something worthwhile). Here’s a short piece on…
What do we do with all that weed?
Explain this to me: In the past few weeks about 155 tonsof marijuana has been stopped from coming in from Mexico. Numbers of that magnitude tend to numb. I have no idea what 155 tons means. So I did some figuring. 155 tons is about 1,500 big men (or 3,000 very petite women). It’s about 1.3 times what the space…
War on Drug Continues
It didn’t surprise me that Prop 19 lost. I’m still amazed that it did so well and was taken so seriously. A lot of progress has been made over the past 10 years. I suppose only history will tell if we’ll look back on this as the high point (there was really no pun intended when I first wrote that)…
Trick or Treat
Some very good Halloween pics from Baltimore by photojournalist Martha Cooper. (Though it’s titled “Halloween in da Hood” and from what I can tell — occupied blocks and well maintained buildings — she’s in a pretty decent neighborhood.) [thanks to A.H.]
Reality-Based Thinking
The key is to un-learn the academic habit of treating every proposition and argument offered as needing to be taken seriously and requiring a refutation, if false. Note to self: Making sh*t up is a valuable research technique. Must use it more often. So says Mark Kleiman. [thanks to Jay]
I don’t understand
“No one can get a straight answer on how many cops are patrolling the streets,” Vallone said. In other cases, he added: “They just don’t want to provide the statistics. I don’t understand why, because when they do, it always shows the N.Y.P.D. is doing what they are supposed to do.” Just FYI, I don’t like Vallone. He’s my councilman…
Convicted prisoners to get vote
In the UK. According to the BBC. Something about “human rights,” sez the E.U. Bunch of socialists.
Gang membership
Do you ever see a headline that says “Gang Membership Down”? I’m suspicious. Gang membership did not increase 25% in one year. That I can guarantee.
2nd Amendment for Immigrants
It’s not too often supporters of the 2nd Amendment and supporters of immigrant rights can find common political ground. But here’s a case. Whatever happened to discretion? Immigration officials are always on the lookout to deport “criminal aliens,” and it appears that last week, Mr. Valerio’s name came up. … He had been a legal permanent resident of the United…