Authenticity is the “in thing” for presidential candidates. But often, as is the case with Gary Johnson, authenticity is awkwardness. Johnson is now allowed in the debates, which is a good thing. Now he can lose the nomination because the GOP has no interest in a small government candidate who is pro choice and in favor of legalization, rather than simply rejecting him by virtue of never having heard of him. Progress!

I have never been one to know when to shut up and let something go and this was as true in my single-self love life as well as anywhere else. Some woman allegedly called her ex-boyfriend 65,000 times over the course of a year. That’s almost 200 calls a day. I feel less obsessive now.

It’s a common question as to whether or not we should pay college athletes. Fresno State players decided that if the university won’t pay them, then welfare should.

As mentioned previously, the University of North Dakota is having to change its mascot name from the Sioux due to the name being considered offensive to one of the Sioux tribes. The other Sioux tribe is offended by the prospect of the name being changed to something else. Meanwhile, the University of Kansas has been put on notice: Jayhawks is offensive.

An Atlanta cop arrested a disabled woman for sitting outside and waiting for the ice cream man. Putting aside the cop-abuse angle, loitering laws in general are a sign of societal dysfunction. In a sense, it’s actually more distressing when such laws are necessary than when they are not. As I’ve said before, you can tell the degree to which there is a crime/pandering problem by the size of the No Loitering signs on the storefronts.

This is a sign of dysfunction of another sort,l though I don’t know what to call it exactly. It makes me think of episodes of The Practice where the case for self-defense hinges not on whether an armed man is in your house, but rather whether he was stepping towards you at the time you shot you.

Massachusetts is overhauling alimony.

Frequent HC commenter Abel Keogh’s new book, Dating a Widower, is available.

A teacher in California is penalizing kids for saying “bless you.” Allegedly, it has nothing to do with the religious implications.


Category: Newsroom

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10 Responses to Linkluster Soixante-Quatre

  1. web says:

    To paraphrase Ronald Reagan: “I didn’t leave the Republican Party. The Republican Party left me.”

  2. Peter says:

    As I’ve said before, you can tell the degree to which there is a crime/pandering problem by the size of the No Loitering signs on the storefronts.

    You know that a neighborhood is a complete dump if the ubiquitous Chinese take-out restaurants* have bulletproof Plexiglas barriers above the counters.

    * = Why do cheap Chinese restaurants have such big menus? Because there’s more than one way to skin a cat.

  3. ? says:

    Cuckovich says the policy has nothing to do with religion, but says the phrase is just a outdated practice and disrupts class time

    Actually, shaking hands was originally developed as a courtesy between medieval knights as a way of indicating that their sword hands were empty. I’m pretty sure that most of our social courtesies have origins that are similarly “outdated”. So what?

  4. Kirk says:

    About paying players: one reason the schools don’t want to do it, is that they’d have to pay worker’s comp. Considering that some players have been paralyzed while playing, you can imagine how much the insurance would cost.

  5. Mike Hunt says:

    A teacher in California

    When I was in 8th grade, our English teacher told us we shouldn’t say it either. The next day in Social Studies, our teacher sneezed and none of us said a word. He started to yell at us and we told him what the English teacher had said the previous day. In so many words, he told us that she was insane. That was the day that I figured out that teachers don’t all like and respect each other.

    An Atlanta cop

    I am actually supporting the cop on this one. There is no inherent right to loiter, especially on private property like this woman was doing. As I am getting older, whenever I see people hanging around doing nothing, it makes me nervous. As the great Ted Knight said in Caddyshack: Don’t you people have homes?

    Massachusetts is overhauling alimony.

    The concept of alimony is a funny thing. It is a codification of the fact that women are less attractive as they get older. It’s something that isn’t said in polite company, but it is right there in the law books. Having said all that, I have no problems with it, within reason. After all, if anyone deserved alimony, it was your mom. She just had the bad luck to marry an alcoholic who couldn’t find work after she put him through college. Under normal circumstances, she would be entitled to some support after divorce. Come to think of it, so do you, if your marriage ever breaks up. Fair is fair, you moved and sacrificed for her career; you deserve some of the rewards.

  6. trumwill says:

    You know that a neighborhood is a complete dump if the ubiquitous Chinese take-out restaurants* have bulletproof Plexiglas barriers above the counters.

    That I do not generally see in places I’ve lived. Even the really run-down ones. Maybe it’s more of an eastern thing.

  7. trumwill says:

    Actually, shaking hands was originally developed as a courtesy between medieval knights as a way of indicating that their sword hands were empty. I’m pretty sure that most of our social courtesies have origins that are similarly “outdated”. So what?

    I can only guess that the difference is that hand-shaking is cordial but saying “bless you” is pointing out that somebody did something wrong.

    Or the word “bless” is the problem, contrary to the protestations of the teacher.

  8. trumwill says:

    There is no inherent right to loiter, especially on private property like this woman was doing.

    The fact that it is private property should only come into play if there is a complaint by the property owner or a No Trespassing sign.

    Sorry you don’t like people standing around and doing nothing, but I like to hang out in places other than where I live and where I work. A property owner has the right to run me off his property (or post a sign), but I make no apologies.

    The concept of alimony is a funny thing.

    This was one of my more selfish discoveries. I thought alimony was a crock right up until I was in the position that women are more typically in. It brought a whole new level of understanding to it. The main problem with alimony is that it is problematic in combination with no-fault divorce laws.

  9. Scarlet Knight says:

    Sorry … but I make no apologies.

    These two statements contradict themselves. 🙂

    In all seriousness, where do you loiter? Why do you loiter?

    I like to hang out in places other than where I live and where I work

    So go to a bar. People who hang out outdoors doing nothing are creeps. I always look askance at them. The only reason I don’t call the police on them is I distrust the police more.

  10. trumwill says:

    These two statements contradict themselves. 🙂

    I contain so many multitudes that they become apparent in a single paragraph!

    In all seriousness, where do you loiter? Why do you loiter?

    Parks, the sides of convenience stores, rest stops (there were rest stops in the middle of two of my longer commutes). I try to stay out of the way since I know the cigarette smoke bothers people.

    Why? Why not? I enjoy people-watching. I enjoy changes of scenery. I enjoy being out of the house and/or office.

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