Canada: American Military Deserters Not Welcome

If you've volunteered for service in the U.S. Armed Forces but don't actually want to go to war, don't count on hiding in Canada. The Canadian government’s effort to remove [U.S. Army deserter James Corey] Glass contrasts with the warm reception given to deserters and draft avoiders from the United States during the war in Vietnam. And although the war in ...

VP Talk Heating Up

Team Obama is reportedly seriously vetting Connecticut Sen. Chris Dodd and Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius as vice presidential candidates.  It's hard to imagine that he'd go with Dodd, who I find likeable and serious, given that he's running on a "youth" and "change" message and Dodd is old and has been in Washington since roughly the Civil War.  Sebelius is ...

The Inevitable Profession

Economic researchers at Yale managed to successfully train Capuchin monkeys to understand and use currency. The result? The monkeys used their newfound currency to buy sex: Perhaps the most distinguishing characteristic of money, after all, is its fungibility, the fact that it can be used to buy not just food but anything. During the chaos in the monkey cage, ...

McCain Killing Iranians with Cigarettes, Risks Killing Presidential Chances with Bad Jokes

John McCain's secret plan for Iran: kill them with cigarettes. Presidential candidate John McCain, who once sang in jest about bombing Iran, on Tuesday reacted to a report of rising U.S. cigarette exports to the country by saying it may be "a way of killing 'em." McCain, known for acerbic comments and for sometimes firing verbally from the hip, was ...

Is Your Washroom Breeding Bolsheviks?

I found this earlier and had to share: As best I can tell from Googling, this is not a PhotoShop but an actual ad circa 1930. The image has the watermark of the Georgetown Book Shop, which offers the poster for sale. The copy reads: This is a perennial bestseller and attention grabber, but to us the best line in the ...

Who’s Smearing Whom?

James Kirchich, recent nominee for an Yglesias Award for fairness, says that, while the Obama campaign is setting itself up to believe that "The only obstacle between Barack Obama and the presidency is the mountain of smears that will no doubt come his way," the truth of the matter is that most of the smears are coming from his side. Thus ...

OTB Caption Jam^TM

Weekend Caption Jam Linkfest. . . Rodney would've preferred Leisure Suit Larry. Wizbang's car is being recalled. Wyatt Earp is off to a black-tie event. Willisms is getting a leg up on the competition. Cowboy Blob is taking a little ...

Caption Contest Winners

The Thirty Days In The Hole Edition OTB Caption ContestTM is now over. This one was delayed as my power (and subsequently internet) was knocked out for 12 hours yesterday night into this morning (AFP/File/Jean-Loup Sense) ✰ THE WINNERS ✰ First: Hodink - ""I sure do miss Johnny Cash."" Second: John Burgess - Martin was too scary, even for Clown School. Third: Bithead ...

Manhattan Dirtier than Singapore

The lovely and talented Belle Waring is visiting her native New York from her home in Singapore and was shocked to find how dirty Manhattan, and in particular the Pulaski Skyway (pictured right), is. Old metal that's just black with soot! And graffiti! Man, if I fully acclimatize to the level of cleanliness, safety, and well-built massive public ...

Caption Contest Winners

The Queen and I Edition OTB Caption ContestTM is now over. (Larry Downing/Reuters) ✰ THE WINNERS ✰ First: Maggie Mama - "I say, it seems like Russert still has a few questions for you, Georgie." Second: Suzanne Berton - It's a bird; it's a plane; no, it's your father sky diving again. Third: Wyatt Earp - "And one night when we ...