Jesus Christ, it’s only the 5th of the month and we already have a mass slaughter by a crazed shooter, this time in an act of “domestic terrorism” directed at Sikh Americans.  Unfortunately, Sikhs have been killed before by ignorant jackasses who thought they were Muslim. Brown, bearded, wearing a turban? Obviously, must be a terr-rist!  (Not that it would ever be acceptable to kill random Muslims, this inability to tell the difference between Sikhs and Muslims is more a telling statement on the lack of knowledge/education in the idiocracy known as the U-S-A.)

From the AP:

Since 9/11, Sikh groups in the United States have reported a rise in bias attacks. There have been more than 700 reports of hate-related incidents against Sikhs since the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks, according to the Associated Press. “Sikhs don’t practice the same religion as Muslims,” the AP noted, “but their long beards and turbans often cause them to be mistaken for Muslims, advocates say.”

In the wake of the shooting in Wisconsin, law enforcement officials in other cities, including New York City, increased patrols near Sikh temples on Sunday. However, there is no known threat against Sikh temples in New York, the NYPD said.

[NYT]

Because why not?

Audio NSFW:

NASA rocket scientists are preparing for tomorrow when Curiosity, a roving robot/laboratory is scheduled to land on Mars and begin gathering all sorts of interesting things for scientific research. But first the thing has to actually land on Mars, and the engineers have named the planned landing “seven minutes of terror.”

They’ve even come up with a groovy video illustrating how the landing (hopefully) will occur.

[SF Chronicle: Curiosity to Make Tricky Mars Landing]

[Jet Propulsion Laboratory]

Ex-Idaho Senator Larry Craig (R-Closet) is arguing that his infamous trip to the john in the Minneapolis-St. Paul airport in July 2007 was “official Senate business” and therefore it was okay to take almost a quarter of a million dollars out of his campaign fund and use it to pay for his legal defense.

The Federal Elections Commission begs to differ, stating that his legal defense in the sex-sting case had nothing to do with his official duties.

Fuck the money, all I can ask is, “It’s already been five years since wide stance?”

My, how time slips away.

[SF Chronicle]

What is it with all these asshats from Pennsylvania thinking that something that offends their sensibilities is as traumatic as 9/11?

Last week, it was a Penn State alumnus comparing the NCAA sanctions against the school’s football team to the attack that killed more than 2,000 people.

Yesterday it was Rep. Mike Kelly (R-PA), comparing the date of 8/1/12 with 9/11 and December 7 (Pearl Harbor Day for those of you still not fully awake).

Why?

Not because it would have been Jerry Garcia’s 70th birthday, but because it’s the day that the Affordable Care Act’s provisions went into effect requiring insurance companies provide preventative reproductive health care services to women, including free pap smears and equity in coverage of contraceptives.  Beware of the terrorist vagina avengers, all freshly cleaned and protected from unwanted pregnancies, out to attack AmeriKKKah.

[NY Mag]