By far the clearest, most comprehensive explanation of the nature and extent of the charges currently filed against Julian Assange. Please read before posting your next whinge about whether or not Assange is some form of sub-human monster or merely a lesser incubus.
Day: December 8, 2010
Howard Dully’s Lobotomy
In 1966, Howard Dully became one of the youngest recipients of an “icepick” lobotomy at the age of 12. The psychiatrist who administered the procedure, Dr. Walter Freeman, believed that mental illness was tied to overactive emotions, and that this procedure of cutting the brain dulled the errant feelings, and “cured” the patient. Howard Dully was brought in for the procedure because his stepmother described him as “unbelievably defiant,” saying among other things: “He objects to going to bed but then sleeps well. He does a good deal of daydreaming and when asked about it he says ‘I don’t know.’ He turns the room’s lights on when there is broad sunlight outside.” After Howard’s stepmother visited with Dr. Freeman, he suggested that “the family should consider the possibility of changing Howard’s personality by means of transorbital lobotomy.” Dr. Freeman’s transorbital lobotomy procedure was literally an ice pick hammered through the back of each eye socket into the brain then wiggled in a stirring motion, often taking just a few minutes under local anesthesia.
Wow. Even more information in the original NPR story.
The end result [of Elizabeth Edwards pushing her husband to make a comprehensive and universal health-care reform plan the centerpiece of his second presidential campaign] was that the three candidates ended up fighting over who would do more to pass a universal health-care bill the fastest, which meant they made repeated promises that, in Obama’s case, he eventually found himself having to keep. Without Elizabeth Edwards’s involvement, the Edwards campaign would likely have come out with a more modest effort, and the Obama and Clinton campaigns would have taken a similarly incremental approach, and none of the campaigns would have made as many promises on the subject as they did, and health-care reform might never have passed.
Ezra Klein remembers.
The Edwards campaign really had an outsize impact on the de facto Democratic platform as a whole, “progressivizing” it much more than Kucinich ever did; presumably because Edderds was seen as a very serious candidate, at least in the early going, and had to be responded to, in detail, in a way that Kucinich just never did.
The old “remarkable woman behind a deeply flawed candidate”…in another era, John would have been the Billy Carter dragging on her campaign.
The Edwards campaign really had an outsize impact on the de facto Democratic platform as a whole, “progressivizing” it much more than Kucinich ever did; presumably because Edderds was seen as a very serious candidate, at least in the early going, and had to be responded to, in detail, in a way that Kucinich just never did.
The old “remarkable woman behind a deeply flawed candidate”…in another era, John would have been the Billy Carter dragging on her campaign.
Step in Front of the Telescreen
Wal Mart, long known to be target number one of al Qaeda, is going to be taking part in a Department of Homeland Security fear indoctrin…er, “See Something, Say Something” terrorism interdiction program. At Wal Marts around the country.
“If you see something suspicious in the parking lot or in the store, say something immediately,” Napolitano said in the video [to be played at check-out lines in Wal Mart]. “Report suspicious activity to your local police or sheriff. If you need help ask a Wal-Mart manager for assistance.”
No doubt the next 9/11 will indeed unfold in an exurban Wal Mart parking lot, unleashing a devastating attack on a number of poorly parked SUVs and abandoned carts. Well played, DHS, well played. Another sane, sober response to the relative threat. Let’s get some porno scanners into the cart area so we can finally be safe.
Lemkin 