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Happiness is a Worn Gun

In Harpers, Dan Baum has the best piece you’ll ever read about carrying a concealed gun. Why is it the best? Because it doesn’t fall into any of the usual left-wing-hate-guns right-wing-love-guns cliches. Along with guns, Baum likes rational drug policy, bicycles, hats, food, and my book (we have much in common). He’s, you know, your typical gun-loving liberal Jewish…

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Cost of Crime

The UK’s Daily Mailreports how two very criminal families, over the course of four decades, have cost taxpayers £37 million ($59 million). The families were members of two notorious gangs in Birmingham, the Burger Bar Boys and the Johnson Crew. The total cost to the public of these two gangs – as opposed to only the two families themselves –…

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Giuliani’s Daughter Arrested for Shoplifting

Is thisreally news? No. But then again… if somebody else’s daughter were arrested, I’m sure Giuliani might have something to say. Suffice it to say, she’s no alter boy. I’d file this in the right-wing hypocrisy cabinet (which is similar to but takes up slightly more space than left-wing hypocrisy cabinet). If your big thing is family values, perhaps you’d…

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Worth a Read

New York Representative Anthony Weiner writes aboutwhy he got angry on the house floor. Good on ya, Tony. It’s a shame that those who wrap themselves in the flag and take “patriotic” photo-ops in my city won’t put their money behind their mouth.

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“I feel as though…”

These are adopted from my field notes: It’s 1am and ______ and I are on the way to John’s Express to pick up a pizza I ordered 10 min. earlier. They said they’re closing at 1am. I’m hungry. We’re going south on Broadway past Monument and the Hopkins folks are waving to us. I wave back. But they really want…

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Rape Claims in Baltimore

While I was out, there’s been a bit of a brouhaha over a Sunreportthe fact that “since 2004, Baltimore has led the country with more than 30 percent of rape reports marked ‘unfounded’ by detectives, meaning police believed the victim was lying.” And though I applaud Bealefeld for his generally sensitive handling of this issue, forcing officers to call a…

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In from the cold

The cradle of democracy is safe. My work there is done. Ferry boat from Piraeus to Mytilene. The sea is indeed wine dark. The beach town of Skala Eresou (aka: Eressos). The little harbor. The beach in the morning. The Eressos Valley We stumbled across this guy making Traxana. 200 kilos of goats’ milk and flour stirred all day. We…

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