“Secretary of State John Kerry offered a defense of freedom of speech, religion and thought in the United States on Tuesday telling German students that in America ‘you have a right to be stupid if you want to be.'” [Reuters]

Snorri Haraldson goes cod fishing.

In a move certain to provoke derision the Icelandic government is now considering a proposal to block all internet porn.

Reached for comment in Grndrfjordur, Stinque correspondent for all things viking Snorri Haraldson commented, ‘Dude, Þú þarft að draga það frá kulda, minn dauður hönd.’

“Sweden’s IKEA stopped nearly all sales of meatballs at its furniture store cafeterias across Europe after tests in the Czech Republic on Monday showed some contained horsemeat.” [Reuters]

Left: Michelle Obama, presenting the best-picture Oscar last night.

Right: The fashion critics at the Iranian news agency make it work.

Top Iran Newspaper Protects the Oscars from Michelle Obama’s Shoulders [EA WorldView, via TPM]

Argo, Django Unchained, Life of Pi, Lincoln, Zero Dark Thirty: Until they show up in Netflix, they’re dead to us. That also goes for Amour, Beasts of the Southern Wild, Les Misérables, and Silver Linings Playbook, since The Academy has seen fit to run nine Best Picture nominees this year. (Why not ten? Do you hate The Avengers that much?)

No matter: We just like the show. We especially like carping at the show. Which, with Seth MacFarlane hosting, should give us ample opportunity. So prepare your pity-party popcorn for our Oscars Open Thread/Multiple Cartoon Personality Disorder. Spoiler alert: You won’t remember any of them in two weeks anyway.

And now there’s this cardinal.

Who said these things.

We’re all very shocked.

Title: “Coolidge”

Author: Amity Shlaes

Rank: 71

Blurb: “A brilliant and provocative reexamination of America’s thirtieth president, Calvin Coolidge, and the decade of unparalleled growth that the nation enjoyed under his leadership.”

Review: “His humble persistence and his faith in the people restored economic history.”

Customers Also Bought: “Trickle Down Theory and Tax Cuts for the Rich” by Thomas Sowell

Footnote: Gee, when’s the last time we endured a spate of Coolidge revisionism in service of a President whose hands-off financial policies led to economic collapse? Oh. Right.

Coolidge [Amazon]

Buy or Die [Stinque@Amazon Kickback Link]