“Gun proponent John Lott was scheduled to speak at the University of Texas on his pet subject, how more guns lead to less crime. However, the talk was canceled when a gunman wearing a ski mask entered the school library and fired several shots before taking his own life. According to RightWingWatch, Lott’s appearance was being sponsored by the Texas Federalist Society, Students for Concealed Carry on Campus, Libertarian Longhorns, and the Objectivist Society.” [Liberaland, via Tom Tomorrow]

Adrian Morgan, editor of Family Security Matters — a name that spikes the landing on a difficult Triple Axel of clichés — would like you to know that Muslim comic-book superheroes are terrorizing America’s Youth:

Are we going to see ass-kicking Christian superhero nuns, called Faith, Hope and Charity, whooping sinner’s butts and sending Satan into Hell? It is doubtful. This disparity is one of the worst things affecting society at present. Christianity and Judaism do not get featured in mainstream media, but Islam is not only depicted in all strands of the media, it is being promoted by a president who seems to have forgotten what he swore to uphold when he entered office. If Obama can promote Islam, he should also publicly promote Christianity, Judaism, Buddhism and every other faith. The fact that he does not is a very worrying development in politics.

Well, not nearly as worrying as Archie getting into the act.

Is Obama Trying To Indoctrinate Your Children With Muslim Comic Books? [TPM]

In Archie, Obama vs. Palin [Politico]

“O’Donnell’s LinkedIn bio page lists ‘University of Oxford’ as one of the schools she attended, claiming she studied ‘Post Modernism in the New Millennium.’ But it turns out that was just a course conducted by an institution known as the Phoenix Institute, which merely rented space at Oxford.” [Plum Line]

In news that will make you sigh and say, “well, shit” because you already all knew it, the 2009 census data shows that the gap between rich people and the poors is bigger than ever.  You are welcome to greet this news by either:

• Donning your suit made from diamonds and the skin of poor people, and dancing the foxtrot, for celebration.
• Wishing this news were printed on real paper, so you could burn it for fuel. You’ll  subsequently get kicked off the public library’s computer because that one librarian always thinks you’re masturbating, because sometimes you masturbate at the library, because it is a quiet refuge in your crowded shitstain of a life.  Because you are poor.
• Clinging to the last vestiges of middle class existence.  Wishing haplessly to be elevated into the ranks of the top 1%, but realizing you’ll probably die penniless and dirty, of scurvy or cholera or something.

Anyway, if you are part of the shrinking middle class, uh congratulations?

Census Finds Record Gap Between Rich and Poor [Yahoo]

Welcome to the Stinque Panel Discussion on Issues Concerning Stinque Panelists. Our first guest this morning is the Transportation Security Administration, here to tell us about an exciting career opportunity:

The Behavior Detection Officer (BDO) program utilizes non-intrusive behavior observation and analysis techniques to identify potentially high-risk passengers. BDOs are designed to detect individuals exhibiting behaviors that indicate they may be a threat to aviation and/or transportation security. The program is a derivative of other successful behavioral analysis programs that have been employed by law enforcement and security personnel both in the U.S. and around the world.

Read more »

Well, barring a last-second schedule change or purge, North Korea is going to have its totally-not-preordained-result Workers’ Party of Korea conference (approximately nowish Stateside).  Word from KCNA [for the best in live, local and late-breaking news, trust KCNA... North Korea's News (Dear) Leader] is that Kim Jong Il will — in a stunning development — have a vote:

The meetings of delegates of the party committees of the KPA and provincial (political bureau) party committees elected General Secretary Kim Jong Il as delegate to the conference of the WPK representing the unanimous will of all the members of the party, servicepersons of the KPA and people.

And there you have it.  So, there’s only one thing left to do.  Dance, dance!  (Also: Revolution!)  As you well know, there ain’t no party like a Communist Party — and Kim knows how to get down.

Titanic actress Gloria Stuart has passed away at the age of 100. The Washington Post notes that Gloria, who was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, is the oldest actress to ever be nominated for an Academy Award - Gloria got an Oscar nod for her portrayal of “Old Rose” in 1997’s Titanic.

“When I graduated from Santa Monica High in 1927, I was voted the girl most likely to succeed,” Gloria wrote in her memoir, I Just Kept Hoping. “I didn’t realize it would take so long.” [Just Jared]