Nightdragon's March-April news smörgåsbord

Another of the Nightdragon's infamous news smörgåsbords! Away we go:

Curt Schilling's daughter and the trolls

This is a bit of old news—because it took place last month—but for those of you who have not heard about it: Former MLB pitcher Curt Schilling, he of the bloody sock, recently pursued two internet bullies who had abused his daughter Gabby on-line.
Soon after Schilling posted news on Twitter that Gabby was going to be a pitcher on Salve Regina University's softball team, a torrent of vile tweets ensued. It was revealed that two living test cases for the idea of selective breeding to be taken seriously, Adam Nagel and Sean MacDonald, were responsible for the sexually and violently explicit responses.
MacDonald was a ticket-seller for the New York Yankees. He lost his job upon being exposed by Schilling. Nagel was a student and DJ at Brookdale Community College in New Jersey. He has been suspended from the school.
Please peruse the article that I linked to. All I'll say is that Adam Nagel is actually worth his considerable weight for something. He has shown me—and many others—that it is probably impossible for a human being to be more physically repulsive than him. I'm no oil painting myself, but day-uhm! The Cthulhu beats this guy hands down in the aestetically gifted department.

 

Only Adolf Hitler could love a face like this

After finding out who these two trolls were, Schilling exposed them. In a post in his "38 Pitches" blog, Curt Schilling wrote of Nagel, "how do you think that place feels about this stud representing their school?" On MacDonald, he opined that if anyone had a Montclair State University handbook, he would like to see it, "because I am pretty sure there are about 90 violations in this idiots [sic] tweets."
Predictably, many liberal-minded people got on Schilling's case, asking why he couldn't ignore the tweets. Did he really have to get someone fired and another suspended from college? They were just words, don'tcha know, and ain't they got freedom of speech?
When it comes to free speech, you can cross a line. Gabby Schilling is Curt's little girl and always will be. As a father, he has a duty to protect her. That's exactly what he did by exposing those two imbeciles. Good for him. The only way you could not cheer on Curt Schilling is if you don't agree with his conservative politics.
As for Nagel and MacDonald, they need to consider themselves very lucky that Schilling did not announce to his family the sudden need for some personal time on the road and take care of this situation in a considerably different way.

Give 'Em Enough Rope

Didn't The Clash say this with their second album in 1978? Well, it neatly sums up my attitude concerning prison suicides.
I stumbled across this charming story earlier this week. Notice how it tries to convince you to feel sorry for the Nigerian prisoner, Boniface Umale? A man on trial for rape and three counts of sexual assault. But, of course, what seems to matter most, according to the story, is that he was recently a Masters student at Northumbria University and failed to pick up anti-depressants prescribed to him by prison health workers.
Sorry, you jour-whore-nalistic twits, but it didn't work. I don't feel sorry for Boniface Umale. Any sympathies I have with the depressed are offered to innocent, law-abiding people only. Good riddance, Boniface. One less foreign rapist to have to pay for with my tax money. It's only one, but at least it's a start.
Talk-show host Avi Nelson has said that if word was to filter down to prison authorities that a rapist, murderer or other violent criminal intends to take their life, then the response to that ought to be an immediate supply of rope to the prisoner concerned. I couldn't agree more.

No sunset for the threat posed by "liquid" food

Consider the following, dear reader:

Passengers at airports are falling foul of the fact that food can count as a banned liquid. Airports are reporting that items such as jam, Marmite and baked beans are being confiscated from unwary travellers who attempt to take them through security checks. London City Airport said items seized in the last 12 months included food jars from London stores Harrods and Fortnum & Mason. Stansted Airport in Essex said litter bins in the security area were regularly filled twice a day with surrendered items. LCY said that in the last 12 months its top five confiscated food items were jam/marmalade, marmite, Lyle's golden syrup, Nutella chocolate spread and Heinz baked beans. It said it had donated 300 items collected between January and March to NewhamFoodbank in London. These included 34 jars of Fortnum & Mason jam, marmalade and lemon curd and 22 jars from Harrods.

Normally, any chance I get to pick on people for ignorance I will enthusiastically take. But not in this instance. I actually feel sorry for these travelers. Items from Harrods or Fortnum & Mason are not cheap. They were looking forward to taking these quirky British foodstuffs home to show to friends and family. You have to feel for them.
However, to touch upon the larger issue, it makes you wonder—when is this madness of banning liquids, even water for Cripes' sake, going to end? I understand the initial reasoning behind it, but it was supposed to be temporary. This ban demonstrates all too well that when a government agency comes up with an excuse to further bully and inconvenience people, it will not let go.
People who believe that government edicts and enactments can, once implemented, ever be temporary are the same fools who believe politicians when they say that revenues from such-and-such a tax will be "earmarked" for a specific purpose (for instance, "for the children").
If liquids are such a threat to the security of air travel, then how come airlines serve little plastic containers of water or orange juice, or little plastic cups of tea or coffee? How come you can buy beer or wine on most flights? Why is it that passengers are not expected to choke down what they are expected to believe is eggs au gratin and chicken fricassee on a dry throat because, you know, fluids are verboten? Anyone? Bueller?
Don't be further fooled that there is a "sunset provision" for this inane no-liquids policy on the airlines. It makes regular people's lives all the tougher while putting idiots in the workforce, e.g., the TSA, which of course stands for "The Stupid Apply". Ergo, there is no chance in hell that this policy will ever go away.
Just remember, baked beans can be lethal. LETHAL, I tell you!

Mad Mullahs say 'thanks for making your demise much easier to achieve'

They're celebrating on the streets of Tehran. The leaders of Iran, the supreme leader, the president, the halal nuclear scientists, are ecstatic. They can, quite rightly, claim a victory over the "Great Satan".
I don't have to tell you what you already know and what's already been written about in volumes. You already know that Barack Obama and John Kerry gave away the store to the Iranians. It is only a matter of time now until Iran gets the Bomb. Israel's survival is at stake; the Sunni powers of Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Egypt and Turkey are furious. Yet the Dear Leader thinks his legacy will be a peaceful new dawn of positive relations with Iran and that this will somehow stabilize the Middle East.
It is just a rumor, but I heard that Michelle Obama has to practically drag Barack to bed at night because he stays up talking to the portraits of past presidents. One, why would he want to converse with them? They were typical white people. Two, it only confirms what we already realize. We have an absolute madman in the White House.
The Prez, who is incapable of accepting defeat, is making it his mission to vilify Bibi Netanyahu at every turn and endanger the lives of Israelis for having the nerve to vote him back into power and ignore his efforts to meddle in their election. He wants to embroil America further into the madness of the Middle East by tying our fortunes with that of Iran. Once Iran has taken care of Israel, and most likely Saudi Arabia along with it, they will come for America. Goodbye Los Angeles, farewell Chicago, bon voyage New York City.
And talk about cleaning up Washington, D.C.? The average American citizen and voter has proven ineffective at doing that job, but the Iranians will absolutely take care of that chore for us. In fact, once they're through, voting will be the least of any American's concern.
I say, focus on survival techniques. You'll need them.  Take advantage of your Second Amendment right to self-defense while you still have it.