Jerry Stratton's Blog, page 78

The Elements of Journalism

Now that the Internet empowers readers to check the veracity of news reports, journalists need to come up with more and better justifications for their bias.

Stephen Colbert’s Christian nation

If this is going to be a Christian nation that doesn’t enforce Christian values, then we should just give up and admit that… we don’t want to teach creationism in schools or to protect the unborn.

Oh, wait. Did you expect something about taxes and charity?

Eucalyptus development ends, removed from app store

Jamie Montgomery has stopped selling the Eucalyptus Gutenberg reader.

National Review supports seller-location-based sales tax

The National Review now supports an Internet sales tax based on the seller’s location rather than the buyer’s.

A very long suspicion

It is very dangerous to relax requirements of a speedy trial. The longer it takes for a trial to go to court—and even worse, the longer it takes to even make an accusation—the more it hurts innocent defendants.

Confirmation journalism and the death penalty

Iterative journalism is like the Red Queen in Alice in Wonderland: “Sentence first, verdict after.” The Elements of Journalism praises David Protess’s project that railroaded a mentally disabled man into prison for fourteen years, because it served their bias.

Turning crime into a profit center

Asset forfeiture and traffic laws have one dangerous thing in common: they turn danger into a profit center for government.

Charlotte Observer and WBTC 3 cover for Hagan?

It looks a lot like the Charlotte Observer and WBTC 3 in Charlotte, North Carolina, pulled a story because it was critical of Democrat incumbent Kay Hagan.

Kitchen-Aid attachment stuck because pin extends too far

If your Kitchen-Aid attachments no longer twist far enough to remove them, it may be because the pin has slid out. You should be able to push it back in with a cheap clamp and possibly a screwdriver.

Liberty enlightening the world

On October 28, 1886, the Statue of Liberty was dedicated, and this poem inscribed.