Picture: Snail, sorta

How did a ceramic snail get into my yard?

Comment Elsewhere: Pathology and Mass Murder

Yeah, it's a discussion of the Oslo/Utoya killings, so forewarned. Some yahoo claimed that only the psychologically abnormal kill, which is just weird:

Apparently sociopathic behavior can be the result of extreme conditions rather than an underlying mental condition: which is to say, just because he did something which defies normal rational moral explanation doesn’t mean that he’s insane in any meaningful way. He thinks he’s at war, fighting for the life of himself, his race, and he’s willing to do what it takes to win. He’s not insane. He’s not a “madman” or somehow unaccountable for his actions. He’s a political actor who made a tactical decision in what he believes is a time of crisis.

And he should be required to watch a continuous loop of home movies and tributes of his victims in a jail cell from now until the end of his natural life.

Picture: Ants and Egg

Picture: Tattered Flag

Picture: Boiling Bubbles

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Picture: Slow Exposure Hearth

Picture: Quiche

Comments Elsewhere: Birtherism and the Ground Game

After watching 80-odd comments on the birth certificate issues miss the point, I added

There’s a whole raft of birther-related bills floating around statehouses, targetting the next round of primaries and national elections: filing season is going to come up in a matter of months. Releasing these documents now is a reminder to every state attorney general, every state legislature that they will mire their state in costly legislation, and if they craft a bill that excludes Obama’s documentation, they’ll be in violation of constitutional due process and full faith and credit protections, and if they don’t, they’ll just look like idiots for missing their target.

Frankly, the short-form birth certificate was enough, legally, but this just drives it home.

Probably won’t stop them from trying, but it could peel away enough cost-conscious state senators or governors to keep the legislation sane and/or kill it outright.

Picture: Fuzzy Fungus