Some Reading Material

Missouri has passed a castle law (HT: Fark Headline). a topic about which Freakonomics has a good post.

Reason has a good article entitled "Bogus Claims of Bigotry" in which is found this gem of a line: " Oh, please. This is like saying that Dan Quayle got ridiculed because he's a blond."

Reason also does a public service by giving proper attribution to South Park for discussing the "Green to be Seen" issue waaaaaaay before the New York Times.

The EU, in a stunning move apparently designed to reclaim its title as world's top agricultural subsidy machine, is considering plans to make "payments directly to farmers, encouraging them to diversify into other crops, rather than continue to overproduce sometimes poor-quality wine." Rather than, say, letting people make bad wine, not sell any, and thereby learn a valuable lesson about real life.

Apparently, police in Philadelphia feel that they are the law and that one or both of the following is illegal: (a) singing in a park [loudly enough to interfere with a police officer hearing his radio], (b) not asking "how high" when a police officer tells you to jump. Luckily, at least one judge disagrees (HT: Fark Headline).