.| UrbanNerd |.

I love the TSA’s excuse, only a bureaucrat could dream up this excuse “we only screen for explosives when bags are checked”… but we can rough up old ladies for 3.5 ounces of cold cream?

From the LA Times:

Airport security officials at Los Angeles International Airport failed to detect a loaded handgun that was contained in a traveler’s checked bag Sunday, according to several law enforcement sources.

An airport ramp crew discovered the loaded .38-caliber handgun Sunday after it tumbled from an unzipped compartment in a duffel bag they were loading onto Alaska Airlines Flight 563, according to the sources. The aircraft was leaving the terminal at LAX at 8:15 a.m. Sunday, bound for Portland, Ore.

Workers called Los Angeles Airport Police to report the discovery. The owner of the gun was questioned at the LAPD’s Pacific station and released and allowed to board a later flight to Portland. The gun was turned over to Los Angeles police, the source said.

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From New York Mag: Over the past month, the crusaders at Zuccotti Park have braved the elements, tussled with police, and stood their ground against Mayor Bloomberg. But how much do the protesters actually know about the economic system that they’re fighting to change? To find out, we asked 50 occupiers a series of questions about Wall Street, taxes, and government. The results were mixed. See if you can do better.

(Full disclosure of author: I am no atheist, but I do believe that an Atheists money is as good as mine any day)

It seems too good to be true, but could cancer already be cured?

That is the impression once is left with after a puzzling refusal by the American Cancer Society to take a pledge of up to half a million dollars to their charity. Even more puzzling is the lack of coverage on this topic in any “formal” news source.

Read the rest of this entry »

from THINKPROGRESS: Covington, Kentucky city commissioner Steve Frank (R) recently took to Facebook to rail against the Wall Street protesters who are spreading across the country. In a post on Oct. 9, he wrote, “Turn out the lights on the Occupiers, I feel like going Taliban on them!!!”

Watch the live stream here

“Word just came in that the owners of the park have rescinded their request to have the park cleared, too many people there.”

Statement from the Deputy Mayor:

“Late last night, we received notice from the owners of Zuccotti Park – Brookfield Properties – that they are postponing their scheduled cleaning of the park, and for the time being withdrawing their request from earlier in the week for police assistance during their cleaning operation. Our position has been consistent throughout: the City’s role is to protect public health and safety, to enforce the law, and guarantee the rights of all New Yorkers. Brookfield believes they can work out an arrangement with the protesters that will ensure the park remains clean, safe, available for public use and that the situation is respectful of residents and businesses downtown, and we will continue to monitor the situation.”

This story reminds me of this fantastic quote (audio) from the TV show Archer, which applies wonderfully in this situation.

Tampa Bay Online, TALLAHASSEE — When Rick Scott singled out anthropology degrees as job market losers, maybe he had inside knowledge.

Kandah did not go to work in the field. She was a special education teacher before enrolling this fall in a Masters of Business Administration program.

Howard Buffett, the Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK/A) director and son of Chairman Warren Buffett, said Wall Street protesters were provoked by abuses from corporations amid a widening disparity between rich and poor.

“I think it takes that to make things happen sometimes,” Howard Buffett, 56, said of the demonstrations in an interview yesterday in Des Moines, Iowa. Over the past 15 years, “we saw large corporations really screw people.”

read more at Bloomberg

From the Washington Post:

“Conservative activists have created a Tumblr called “We are the 53 percent” that’s meant to be a counterpunch to the viral “We are the 99 percent” site that’s become a prominent symbol for the Occupy Wall Street movement. The Tumblr is supposed to represent the 53 percent of Americans who pay federal income taxes, and its assumption is that the Wall Street protesters are part of the 46 percent of the country who don’t. “We are the 53 percent” was originally the brainchild of Erick Erickson, founder of RedState.org, who worked together with Josh Trevino, communications director for the right-leaning Texas Public Policy Foundation, and conservative filmmaker Mike Wilson to develop the concept, according to Trevino.”

From the Washington Post:

The newest Washington Post-ABC News Poll has congressional approval ratings hitting new lows, with an overwhelming 82 percent of Americans disapproving of the legislators. Of those, 60 percent “strongly disapprove.” These numbers make Congress less popular than animal cloning, BP’s handling of the gulf oil spill and even the use of caning as punishment for teenage vandals.

A prominent endorser of Rick Perry has said that Romney’s in a cult, 70% of gays have AIDS, and Muslims are pedophiles amongst other things. I wonder if Rick Perry wishes he might not be so prominent in his endorsey-ness?

Check it out at the Liberal Link Think Progress