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, ...Posted in Outside The Beltway | OTB on July 10, 2008 14:01
I Miss Karl Rove
Remember the good old days when everyday events were coordinated by Karl Rove? Today could have counted as one but, alas, Karl Rove is nowhere to be found. Child rapists can't be executed, Supreme Court rules The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 5-4 Wednesday that child rapists cannot be executed, concluding that capital punishment for crimes against individuals can be applied only ...Posted in Outside The Beltway | OTB on June 26, 2008 00:50
Fox Assistant Fired for McCain Worship
A young Fox News staffer was fired for telling John McCain she'd voted for him, Chris Ariens reports. Insiders tell us the assistant, identified as Jennifer Locke, was on assignment with a camera crew to cover the entertainment angle of the event. When Sen. John McCain walked by, the assistant said, "I voted for you in the primary, you're going to ...Posted in Outside The Beltway | OTB on May 10, 2008 07:36
Prostitution as a Capital Crime in the Capitol
Megan McArdle is "physically sick" that the DC Madam has committed suicide, driven to do so by a state using its resources to hound a woman engaging in consensual commerce rather than tracking down violent criminals. James Poulos wonders why he should care that a lawbreaker has killed herself. Emotionally, I'm much closer to James than Megan on this one. ...Posted in Outside The Beltway | OTB on May 2, 2008 09:44
How Whorable is Prostitution?
The Eliot Spitzer saga has reopened the debate as to why prostitution should be illegal. Reason's Kerry Howley has written several posts on the subject arguing that, while anti-prostitution laws are sold under the guise of protecting women, they're really just a form of "slut shaming" aimed at limiting women's sexual freedom. Anti-prostitution laws add a layer of legal sanction to ...Posted in Outside The Beltway | OTB on March 14, 2008 13:49
Eliot Spitzer Resigns. Finally. For Real This Time
New York Governor Eliot Spitzer has finally resigned. New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer is resigning following intense pressure to step down because of a prostitution scandal. Spitzer says his resignation is effective Monday. THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below. Gov. Eliot Spitzer has decided to resign, completing a stunning fall from ...Posted in Outside The Beltway | OTB on March 12, 2008 10:52
Elliot Spitzer Resigns in Prostitution Ring Scandal
New York Governor Elliot Spitzer is "involved" in a prostitution ring. Details are still sketchy. Gov. Eliot Spitzer has informed his most senior administration officials that he had been involved in a prostitution ring, an administration official said this morning. Mr. Spitzer, who was huddled with his top aides inside his Fifth Avenue apartment early this afternoon, had hours ...Posted in Outside The Beltway | OTB on March 10, 2008 14:10
David Shuster Suspended for Chelsea ‘Pimped Out’ Remark
MSNBC's David Shuster has been suspended for his on-air musing, "Chelsea is sort of being pimped out in some weird sort of way?" I saw the news yesterday evening and didn't find it particularly interesting but apparently I'm alone, in that it's getting the mega treatment at Memeorandum. Howie Kurtz, the media critics' media critic, gets page C1 ...Posted in Outside The Beltway | OTB on February 9, 2008 08:27
D.C. Madam Cites National Security
D.C. Madam Deborah Jeane Palfrey is claiming a state secrets privilege because she provided services to Muslims, Carol Leonnig reports. The woman accused of being the D.C. Madam now argues that the fact that Muslim men used her elite, Washington-based escort service before the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks might have played a role in the government's effort to prosecute her. Deborah ...Posted in Outside The Beltway | OTB on September 5, 2007 08:59
Why Arguing From A Single Example Sucks
Ace of Spades guest Jack M. links a two-and-a-half-year-old story about U.N. peacekeepers committing sex crimes in Congo as part 1 in a 5 part series on "International Law: Why it sucks, why people shouldn't buy into it, and why it should be abandoned." In that spirit, I will use his post as the first of an unlimited series on Logical ...Posted in Outside The Beltway | OTB on August 28, 2007 10:06
