Judge strikes down mayor’s ban on “reason station” in city hall

By Dan Brooks in Church People 1 Comment
Warren, MI mayor Jim Fouts swallows a crab that was holding a Vicodin

This is seriously the best available picture of Warren, MI mayor Jim Fouts.

A federal judge ruled yesterday that Jim Fouts, the mayor of Warren, Michigan, was wrong to deny resident Douglas Marshall’s request to set up a “reason station” in the atrium of City Hall. Marshall submitted his application in response to a prayer station that Fouts authorized for the same atrium, presumably so that people could file property tax assessments without missing their hourly prayers of intercession. You know—basic city services. I mention this story partly because it’s fun to watch municipal governments fail to close the separation between church and state, but mostly because Fouts’s original letter denying Marshall’s application is a masterpiece of bad reasoning. Excerpt after the jump.

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New York Times, not Buzzfeed, on what you learn in your 40s

By Dan Brooks in Contemporary Media 2 Comments
The Fed announced continued quantitative easing for the third quarter. You won't believe what happened next.

This Fed chair announced quantitative easing. You won’t believe what happened next.

Last year around this time, the internet briefly worried/hoped that the New York Times innovation report would lead the paper to become more like Buzzfeed. That didn’t happen—or did it? The Gray Lady has not become obsessed with viral stories or replaced page A1 with its Twitter feed, but it did run a Sunday op-ed titled What You Learn in Your 40s. It’s nice. Its premise is also remarkably similar to this Buzzfeed listicle, or this one, as well as this one and these. The difference is that the Times essay is built around a tone of humorous reflection rather than GIFs from Friends, and it’s about being 40 instead of 20.

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Friday links! Maybe you should be funnier edition

By Dan Brooks in Friday Links 0 Comment

Priorities

Yesterday in the comments section, one Cookie Greene brought my attention to a grievous error in this week’s Indy column. I said Rep. Ryan Zinke (R–MT) had not previously revealed his military service record, when in fact he “mentioned it in nearly every ad on TV during his campaign and at every talk he did traveling the state.” I don’t know how that escaped me, since it was obvious to everyone else, but here we are. It’s probably because I’m not a Montanan. Touché, Cookie. Today is Friday, and it’s funny because it’s true. Won’t you join me in trying to be a little more honest?

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Correcting POTUS, Zinke reveals military service

By Dan Brooks in Uncategorized 4 Comments
A candid photo of US Rep. Ryan Zinke (R–MT)

A candid photo of US Rep. Ryan Zinke (R–MT)

Last week, Montana’s own Ryan Zinke celebrated his first month as a congressman by correcting the President. Obama was mistaken to think his proposed operation against ISIS could be successful without large-scale ground operations, Zinke said to pretty much any news outlet that would listen. In doing so, he also dropped a thunderbolt: Ryan Zinke used to be in the Navy. I think I speak for all Montanans when I say that I am shocked to learn of this chapter in his life. It’s no wonder Zinke never mentioned his military service, though, what with America’s pervasive bias against the troops. The only way to restore respect for the men and women of our armed services is to get them into combat immediately, before our quick successes in Iraq and Afghanistan convince the public that war is something anybody can do. That’s my argument in this week’s column for the Missoula Independent, and I’m sticking to it. Probably, this one will cost me some readers. Not you, though—we’ll both be back here tomorrow for Friday links. Right?

In landmark ruling, Judge Dread sentences rude boy to 400 years

By Dan Brooks in Epistemology, Music 3 Comments
Prince Buster circa 1967

Prince Buster circa 1967

By the time you read this, I’ll be famous. I assume that everyone else on the internet also spent the last few weeks listening to Prince Buster, and this blog post about his influence on The Specials will go viral instantly. Probably, the Combat! blog server has already crashed, and this essay is now hosted by NASA. In case you live in Iraq or something and don’t know the central elements of western culture: Prince Buster was a musician during the first wave of Jamaican ska in the 1960s. The Specials were a band during the 2-Tone ska revival in late-seventies London. They relate to each other much as the individual relates to the culture he or she inherits, echoing Ortega y Gasset’s construction of modernity. Video after the jump.

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