Get Cynical

Even Wisconsin Republicans realize that their Governor is too fucking stupid to answer a phone and are trying to pass legislation to help him. But they really are the party for smaller government..

A week after Wisconsin Republican Gov. Scott Walker received a prank call from blogger Ian Murphy, who posed as conservative billionaire David Koch, two Wisconsin legislators introduced a bill Monday that would ban prank calls, reports the Badger Herald.

Republican state Sen. Mary Lazich and Republican state Rep. Mark Honadel said their measure would forbid deceiving the call’s recipient into believing the caller is someone he or she is not.

“While use of spoofing is said to have some legitimate uses, it can also be used to frighten, harass and potentially defraud,” Lazich and Honadel told the Badger Herald.

The bill wouldn’t affect everyone, however. Law enforcement officials who make fake phone calls to fight crime would be exempt from the law.

(via Gerry Canavan)

From The Root:

Mediabistro reports that KOMO reporter Shomari Stone, was on assignment near Seattle’s waterfront when he noticed an altercation taking place nearby. One man (black) jumped on top of another (white) and began repeatedly punching him in the head. Jones (black) rushed in and tackled the assailant. He broke up the fight and a witness called for help.

“Instinct just snapped in,” Stone said.

According to police officers, the man that Stone saved was possibly a white supremacist. The guys beating him up say on the video that he’d attempted a robbery.

When the victim, who had arms covered in swastika tattoos, approached Stone to thank him, the reporter/rescuer had a piece of advice: “Remember to judge the man by his character and not the color of his skin.” Talk about a teachable moment.

From CNN:

A professional soccer player in Colombia faces up to three months in jail for kicking an opposing team’s lucky owl, which had been been hit by a ball after landing on the field Sunday. The owl died Tuesday.

The owl was considered a good luck charm for the Atlético Junior squad in Barranquilla and lived in its Metropolitan Stadium.

Luis Moreno, a Panamanian player for Deportivo Pereira, was met with chants of “Murderer! Murderer! Murderer!” after kicking the owl and had to leave the stadium under heavy police guard, according to the Daily Mail in London. (The Daily Mail has video of the owl kick, or you can check it out on YouTube.)

For those too squeamish to watch the footage, which the Daily Mail warns constitutes animal cruelty, a Pereira defender chases a Junior attacker into the penalty box, wins the ball from him and clears it, poorly, hitting the owl that had landed on the field.

The referee stops play, and Moreno trots over and kicks the bird off the field, a distance of about three yards.

“I did it to see if the owl could fly,” the Daily Mail quoted him as saying.

(via Boing Boing)

I was trying to avoid this car wreck but these…..

From Channel 3000:

According to court records, Judge Daniel Moeser has issued a temporary restraining order to reopen the Capitol until a trial court can schedule a hearing. The order says the building must be open to the public during business hours and when “governmental matters, such as hearings, listening sessions, or court arguments are being conducted.”

Attorney Peg Lautenschlager represents the Wisconsin state employees union. She filed a motion for an injunction on Monday to reopen the Capitol. She will submit an amended motion Tuesday.

Police limited access to the Capitol on Monday after protesters inside refused to comply with police directives. Department of Administration officials didn’t immediately return a message.

From USA Today:

Fed up with attempts to find a traditional publisher for her young-adult paranormal novels, Hocking self-published last March and began selling her novels on online bookstores like Amazon and Barnesandnoble.com.

By May she was selling hundreds; by June, thousands. She sold 164,000 books in 2010. Most were low-priced (99 cents to $2.99) digital downloads.

More astounding: This January she sold more than 450,000 copies of her nine titles. More than 99% were e-books.

Hello.

I’m interested in purchasing your website.
I’m willing to offer 2500$ for it, payable through PayPal or by wire transfer.
As soon as we’ve detailed information about the site and come to an agreement, I’ll be willing to go through with the sale immediately.
I expect to get this done within 2-4 days.

I apologize if my proposal isn’t appealing, not timely or doesn’t correspond to the site’s current revenue.

WooHoo! I’m rich. I never have to deal with another email that starts out with “I know it’s your blog and everything but…” again! So long suckers!