News Roundup for 11/15/11

Armed and dangerous -- no, not the cops...

-Headline of the Day-
"City Claims Occupy Wall Street Protesters Were Stockpiling Weapons, Fights Court Order To Reopen Park."

Them Occupy Wall Street commies got big piles of guns and stuff!

Wait, no. According to the City of New York, currently fighting a legal battle to declare Zuccatti Park a free-speech-free zone, are getting a little creative in their defense. Deputy Mayor Cas Holloway "filed a motion on behalf of the city today opposing a court order requiring the NYPD to allow Occupy Wall Street demonstrators back into Zuccotti Park."

In that motion, Holloway wrote, "It was our understanding that the protesters may have had a significant number of items that could potentially be used as weapons." For the record, that could be pretty much anything. The biggest threat to public safety cited were "cardboard tubes with metal pipes inside," which I guess are more weapony than just metal pipes. Other evidence of a heavily armed protesters includes the aftermath of an October 1st march across the Brooklyn Bridge, where authorities reportedly found "knives, mace and hypodermic needles were observed discarded on the roadway."

OK, I'm going to go ahead and call bullshit on that one. One, who discards a knife? Those things cost money. And cops have been macing protesters, not the other way around. Finally, hypodermic needles? Yeah, that's my weapon of choice, right up there with thumbtacks -- it's New York, those are called "litter." I'm surprised they didn't include used condoms in that list of "weaponry."

There's a lesson to be learned here, of course. If you're going to stockpile weapons (or be accused of it) make sure they're guns.

When the cops come to take your guns away, the NRA will have a hissy. Guaranteed. (Gothamist)


-Racism is dead!-


Click to embiggen

Except when it's not. (McClatchy)


-Bonus HotD-
"Scalia and Thomas dine with healthcare law challengers as court takes case."

You know, it's one thing to have a conflict of interest and it's quite another to go out of your way to create it. The first is called "random stuff that happens in life," the second is called "being a dick about it." (LA Times)