Link blag

Conor Friedersdorf knows how to fix the Right. Now if only they were listening...

Larison has smart things to say about the Crist-Rubio Florida Senate Primary.

Pelosi was smart to pass cap and trade early.

The physics of free-throw shooting.

Researchers have found a way to grow new organs by grabbing cells, spraying them onto a protein frame, dunking them in "growth-stimulating compounds," and then sticking them in an oven. Naturally, they're using this technique to grow new penises.

Nicole LaPorte was a Twilight virgin.

A headline to appreciate: "Madonna to meet Jesus's parents".

New poll shows 100% of grandsons are talented...

ATLANTA—A Zogby poll of 1,542 American grandparents published Monday found that grandsons were described as "very" to "extremely" talented by 1,542 of the respondents. "Participants in the poll were emphatic in their descriptions of the talents of grandsons in fields as diverse as advertising and sales, choral performance, baseball, talking, crawling, making their beds, video games, and instructing their elders on proper cell-phone use," pollster Tom Waterton said. "In addition, an overwhelming percentage of grandchildren were described as outgoing, sharp, and looking just like Uncle Andy, you remember Uncle Andy, he was always up to something, too bad he passed so young, he would have loved the grandchild in question." Sources at Zogby admitted that the survey was incomplete, as several hundred pollsters are still unable to get their assigned grandparents off the phone.

Last week's launch

The STS-119 mission of space shuttle Discovery blasts off at the Kennedy Space Center in Orlando, FL on a mission to the International Space Station, March 15, 2009

Robber fatally shot in Miami Burger King

Miami Herald:

The robber entered wearing a ski mask. He approached a clerk, showed his gun and demanded money [...]

A customer eyed him and the two started arguing. The customer had a concealed-weapons permit and his gun -- and the two exchanged gunfire.

The robber crumpled to the floor and was pronounced dead at the scene.

The customer, with several gunshot wounds, was in serious but stable condition at Jackson Memorial Hospital's Ryder Trauma Center.

Robbery is a calculated risk that law-abiding citizens around you will be unable or unwilling to prevent it.

The adage that if you outlaw guns only outlaws will have guns is as true as ever. And they'd be bolder, seeking higher value targets than your local Burger King.

Real people, real families, ctd.

Miami Herald:

As her partner of 17 years slipped into a coma, Janice Langbehn pleaded with doctors and anyone who would listen to let her into the woman's hospital room.

Eight anguishing hours passed before Langbehn would be allowed into Jackson Memorial Hospital's Ryder Trauma Center. By then, she could only say her final farewell as a priest performed the last rites on 39-year-old Lisa Marie Pond.

Jackson staffers advised Langbehn that she could not see Pond earlier because the hospital's visitation policy in cases of emergency was limited to immediate family and spouses -- not partners. In Florida, same-sex marriages or partnerships are not recognized.

[...]

The suit is winding its way through federal court only months after voters approved the Florida Marriage Protection Amendment, which defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman. The statewide amendment garnered more than 62 percent of voters -- surpassing the 60 percent threshold required for ratification.

Supporters of Florida's Amendment 2 -- mostly conservatives and Christian groups -- argued it was needed to protect families and the traditional institution of marriage by promoting homes with a mom and a dad.

Opponents argued that gay and straight, unmarried Floridians risked losing domestic partner benefits, such as health insurance, hospital visitation rights and the ability to make end-of-life decisions.

Again, when will it end?