“Last weekend, a computer glitch took 50 U.S. nuclear missiles offline for more than 45 minutes at a Wyoming Air Force base. The military says it still could have launched the weapons had it needed to, and there’s no evidence of foul play.” [Yahoo]

The Atlantic’s Jeffrey Goldberg requests a pat-down instead of a body scan from a TSA agent at the airport, and learns he might soon prefer the other option:

“Yes, but starting tomorrow, we’re going to start searching your crotchal area” — this is the word he used, “crotchal” — “and you’re not going to like it.”

“What am I not going to like?” I asked.

“We have to search up your thighs and between your legs until we meet resistance,” he explained.

“Resistance?” I asked.

“Your testicles,” he explained.

Later, on board, all the dudes swear he didn’t make it past the knees.

For the First Time, the TSA Meets Resistance [Atlantic]

• Doom: 1:1
• Pestilence: 1:1
• Cannibal Anarchy: 1:1

Read more »

As if we wouldn’t get this title back:

The English, who invented lawn mower racing, couldn’t let that stand. Don Wales went to Pendine Sands (in Wales) and reset the mark to 87.8.

Last month, [Georgia’s Bobby Cleveland] pushed the limit to a little over 96 miles per hour. The quote from Bobby says it all. “It scared me so good,” he said.

Lawn Mower Land Speed Record Returns to ‘Merica Where it Belongs [Jalopnik]

Theodore C. Sorensen died today at the age of 82. He was John F. Kennedy’s right hand guy through the ’50s and JFK’s presidency, and ghost wrote Profiles in Courage and large portions of the 1961 Inaugural address.

[NYT]

David S. Broder – because attacking a sovereign nation worked out so well the last time:

Here is where Obama is likely to prevail. With strong Republican support in Congress for challenging Iran’s ambition to become a nuclear power, he can spend much of 2011 and 2012 orchestrating a showdown with the mullahs. This will help him politically because the opposition party will be urging him on. And as tensions rise and we accelerate preparations for war, the economy will improve.

Read more »

Title: “Life”

Author: Keith Richards

Rank: 1

Blurb: “Keith Richards was born in London in 1943.”

Review: “If you criticize Mick to him, he’ll slit your throat.”

Customers Also Bought: “Decision Points”, by George W. Bush

Footnote: Sixty-fucking-seven in December. Everybody lost that office pool.

Life [Amazon]

Buy or Die [Stinque@Amazon kickback link]