Hot off the Press: The useless theater continues edition

The Obama Administration secretly detained a terror suspect for two months aboard a US Navy ship: http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-somali-detainee-20110706,0,5686806.story.

The federal government has warned airlines that terrorists are considering surgically implanting explosives into passengers: http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-pn-tsa-implants-20110706,0,7473541.story.

In Minnesota, which is officially closed, vandals broke into closed state parks over the Fourth holiday. Thankfully, many of them were arrested: http://www.startribune.com/politics/statelocal/125028954.html.

The future of 37 Iowa unemployment offices is in limbo as the executive and legislative branches spar over their funding: http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20110707/NEWS10/107070335/Future-of-37-Iowa-unemployment-offices-in-limbo.

South Sudan became a sovereign nation on July 9. Here is a BBC feature about how to establish a nation: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-14014083.

Mexican truckers will now be able to drive across the border and deliver shipments to anywhere in the US instead of being limited to a 25-mile buffer zone: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-14059115.

Los Angeles County will be converting HOV lanes on the 10 and 110 freeways to toll lanes, and a few people are not happy: http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-0707-toll-lanes-20110707,0,4636835.story.

An example of cronyism in Illinois' DuPage County: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/ct-met-sheriff-contributions-20110707,0,7220623.story.

Happy birthday, Neptune! (Not really, but it has been one Neptunian year (164.79 Earth years) since it was discovered.): http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-14081162.

Some self-proclaimed "green" detergents contain petrochemicals: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/story/2011/07/08/laundry-detergent-green.html.

The UN estimates that the world population will hit 7 billion — double what it was in 1968 — around October 31: http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/story/2011/07/10/f-world-population-day-7billion.html.

A German supermarket was closed and sprayed with pesticide after a staff member unloading crates of bananas saw a Brazilian Wandering Spider — one of the deadliest and most aggressive spiders in the world — jump out and scurry under a shelf: http://www.spiegel.de/international/zeitgeist/0,1518,773656,00.html.

A Riverside County politician has floated the idea of California's conservative southern counties succeeding to form a new, conservative state: South California. To my amazement, it is apparently the 221st proposal to partition the state since the 1850s: http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-south-california-20110711,0,2846870.story. Here's a funny quote from the governor's spokesman:

"It's a supremely ridiculous waste of everybody's time," said spokesman Gil Duran. "If you want to live in a Republican state with very conservative right-wing laws, then there's a place called Arizona."

I have absolutely no problem with a South California. If they feel they will be better off, then let them try it. However, I can foresee a few problems. Riverside County is home to a ton of retirees. Medicare and Medicaid funding, anybody? Also, down the line I am sure the folks in San Diego County, America's Keynesian dream, would get tired of bankrolling the rest of the state.

A WaPo article about the other time the US defaulted on its debt — kind of — and the consequences: http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/delayed-payments-in-1979-offer-glimpse-of-default-consequences/2011/07/10/gIQARRBj7H_story.html?hpid=z1.

French researchers refute government recommendations for "safe consumption" of alcohol, saying no amount of alcohol is safe when regarding long-term consequences, such as cancer: http://www.latimes.com/health/boostershots/la-heb-alcohol-cancer-risk-20110711,0,5156757.story. Bummer.

Want to hack into text messages, stalk co-workers, or evade the popo after drinking? There are apps for that: http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-outlaw-apps-20110712,0,1220955.story.

The marriage pledge drafted by Christian Nazis has caused a stir because "[a]n introductory passage of the marriage vow drawn up by the Family Leader claimed that a child born into slavery in 1860 was more likely to be raised by his mother and father than an African-American born after the election of the country’s first black president." The language was removed over the weekend: http://caucuses.desmoinesregister.com/2011/07/11/iowa-marriage-pledge-continues-to-stir-controversy/. Two funny things about this: 1) Both Michele Bachmann and Rick Santorum promptly signed the pledge without reading it, and 2) these quotes from Gary Johnson (who?):

Republican candidate Gary Johnson objected to the candidate vow itself, saying it condemn gays, single parents, divorcees, Muslims, women who choose to have abortions “and everyone else who doesn’t fit in a Norman Rockwell painting.”

“Government should not be involved in the bedrooms of consenting adults. I have always been a strong advocate of liberty and freedom from unnecessary government intervention into our lives,” Johnson, a former New Mexico governor, said in the statement.

The Chicago Tribune has expanded its "opinion palette," giving more room for its editorials, editorial cartoons, and reader letters: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/tribnation/chi-more-opinion-pages-in-the-chicago-tribune-20110708,0,215847.story. I'm not sure why, but okay. As a newspaper it should provide news. Leave the over-saturation of commentary to the cable whores.