Submitted Without Comment

Just Because...

Just because they were once one of the most relevant bands of their time:

More here.

Why Prohibition Doesn't Work

The effects of our War on Drugs™ on the people of Mexico.

What happens when something that people want is made illegal?

1. The supply drops more than the demand, so the price goes up. (Indeed, drug demand has increased enormously under prohibition.)

2. Forcing the illegal product underground garbles the flow of information necessary to an efficient market. Without an efficient market, there is less price competition.

3. Lacking competition, dealers charge monopoly prices, and profit margins widen.

4. The big profits draw in people who would not otherwise break the law, spreading corruption among the police and disdain for the law among otherwise law-abiding citizens. (Of course, big profit margins also attract people who are very experienced at breaking the law. See item #6.)

5. Supply becomes conspicuous, marketing becomes more aggressive, the price falls, and demand rises, drawing the attention of the forces that got the substance outlawed in the first place.

6. The law cracks down on the supply, driving the amateurs out of business and leaving organized crime in control, now with even higher profit margins and with connections to corrupt law enforcement. At this point the illegal market has attracted the people capable of making it an institution, including some who wear badges. Henceforth it will be all but impossible to eliminate the suppliers. Greater enforcement can shake out the less skilled or the less daring but merely raises incentives for those who remain.

UPDATE from Nate Silver at FiveThirtyEight:

Submitted Without Comment

Smacking Down the Bitches

It's hard out here for a rightwing tool.

Submitted Without Comment

Submitted Without Comment Pt. 2:

Submitted Without Comment

Please...

...let him get what he wants.

You Know It's Bad When...

Beer sales (off-premises, at-home consumption) are taking a hit in this economy:

Ebert Remembers Siskel

Siskel died ten years ago tomorrow.

Kicking Fox in the Balls

This is how you do it, do it...

There Are No Sweeter Words...

than 'pitchers and catchers report to spring training'.

On My List of Things To Do

Skittles-infused vodka.

Natural Air-Fresheners

A list of the best air-cleaning plants.

Chicago: Home of the Tallest Buildings...

...and the deepest man-made holes:

Who's to Blame?

Who's to blame for the financial catastrophe? Time magazine offers up 25 culprits:

Woot!

Unfortunately, Bus Travel Wins

I remember having a conversation with someone equally as brilliant and modest as myself about which mode of travel has the highest miles/person/gallon efficiency. Well, our questions are answered here.

Submitted Without Comment

Submitted Without Comment

My Irrational 'Dislike' for Him is Now Justified

A-Roid.

Submitted Without Comment

I Wish I Had This When I Was Younger

Unless I hit a dinger, I was never sure which base I got to.

Let's Talk About Tripping

And why a teacher should never leave their coffee unattended.

Let's Talk About Drinking

And more importantly, WTF is a beer engine and why should I care? Thanks to this OR blog.

Thinking About Getting a Haircut

I need the money:

To celebrate the release of their new caffeinated Butterfinger Buzz candy bar, the company is hosting a free event at Chicago Buzz barbershop on 124 S. Franklin Street on Thursday, February 12 from 7 to 10pm. The catch: To earn a $100 gift card, you dudes have to get a buzz cut and have the company's logo spray-painted on your new 'do. (You'll also be entered for the chance to win a trip for four to Las Vegas for two nights, a year's supply of Butterfinger candy bars and a $2,500 gift card.) Hosts promise the orange color will wash out in time for Valentine's Day.

UPDATE.

Michael Phelps ROCKS!

Here’s a crazy thought: If I can smoke a little dope and go on to win 14 Olympic gold medals, maybe pot smokers aren’t doomed to lives of couch surfing and video games, as our moronic government would have us believe. In fact, the list of successful pot smokers includes not just world class athletes like me, Howard, Williams, and others, it includes Nobel Prize winners, Pulitzer Prize winners, the last three U.S. presidents, several Supreme Court justices, and luminaries and success stories from all sectors of business and the arts, sciences, and humanities.

Just Got Back From the Dentist

Not me, this kid:

UPDATE

Yup...

Bourdain:

"I'm ambivelent (sic) about a lot of places, but I am unrestrained in my love for Chicago. Only Chicago could convince me that the New York hot dog was not, in fact, anywhere near the apex of the hot dog arts. (The Chicago Red Hot deserves that honor) . Two respectably old school baseball teams, great, great bars, a tradition of unapproachably good and important music, its own, truly imposing style of architecture, an attitude both big city wise-ass and heartland lack of bullshit, a city open to the best and most excessive/creative of new, experimental cooking styles, loaded with great chefs (many of whom are pals), it's simply another place I'll use any excuse to visit. Tonight's episode was just such an excuse."

For What It's Worth...

...this was my favorite.

Yes Lew, It IS Interesting...

This ad caught my eye. People were talking while it was playing and I didn't get to hear the set-up but there was something about this ad that made me uneasy.

Thanks to Lew, now I know why.

On My List of Things To Do

New Glarus Brewery, WI.

He's a Ramblin' Guy

A nice little article on Steve Martin and his banjo skills.

I'm a Little Speechless

For once, someone blames their Jeezus. Super Bowl XXXXIII loser, Kurt Warner:

"I always credit God for my victories and earlier this week I said I had an advantage in tonight's game because of the power of Jesus. Clearly, however, Jesus let me down. And so I am not responsible for tonight's loss. If you want someone to blame, this one is 100% on the man upstairs."

BTW, it's satire.

I Just Came Across This Quote...

...and love it:

Our names are labels, plainly printed on the bottled essence of our past behavior. ~Logan Pearsall Smith