* From “How To Win A Debate<\/a>,” in The American Prospect:<\/p>\n This is the common thread running through all the decisive moments of past debates, whether it was Michael Dukakis failing to cry out in anguish when Bernard Shaw asked him, “Governor, if Kitty Dukakis were raped and murdered, would you favor an irrevocable death penalty for her killer?” or Gerald Ford supposedly not knowing that Poland was under Soviet domination, or George H.W. Bush glancing furtively at his watch in 1992, or Al Gore sighing condescendingly in 2000. None of these moments revealed something new; instead, they allowed reporters to say, “See, what we’ve been telling you all along about this guy is true.” Quayle was a lightweight, Ford was a bumbler, Bush had no patience for voters and had all but given up, Gore was a supercilious dork — voters may or may not have believed these things, but journalists certainly did.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n * I’m oddly fond of this new version of the capitalist pyramid<\/a>. The illustration style looks like something from Mad Magazine. If you know who the cartoonist is, please tell me.<\/p>\n * The Feminist Friend Comic Book Store Map!<\/a> This is awesome. Check it out, and add to it if you know of a good store.<\/p>\n * At The Art Of The Possible<\/a>, Jennifer Abel writes:<\/p>\n Advice for aspiring criminals looking to reduce the opportunity costs of time spent in prison: if you\u2019re given a choice between selling drugs or murdering a young woman, choose murder so you\u2019ll get a shorter prison sentence. Consider the example of Robert Chambers, the so-called \u201cPreppie Killer\u201d who in 1986 strangled Jennifer Levin to death in Central Park. He got 15 years for the deed, served it, got out and just returned to serve a 19-year sentence for selling cocaine. And that was a plea bargain; he could\u2019ve gone to prison for life.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n * Speaking of drug policy, Cato<\/a> has posted an interesting debate about drug laws. And then read Scott Morgan’s response<\/a> to Mark Kleiman<\/a>.<\/p>\n Oh, and check out this chart, seen on Hit and Run<\/a>:<\/p>\n And the moral of the story is: Some things got worse under Clinton.<\/p>\n![](\"http:\/\/www.norml.org\/share\/marijuana_arrests_chart500_short.gif\")
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