This excerpt is a direct quote from Slate.com

The basic rule of American constitutionalism is this: Before the government can forbid you from doing anything, it has to provide a reason. “Because we say so” does not count as a reason. To limit ordinary liberties (like selling eyeglasses), most any reason is good enough. To restrict fundamental liberties (like using birth control while having sex), however, the government must have a really important reason. (Getting to decide which liberties are “fundamental” is one of the cooler parts of being a justice.) Under the equal protection clause, even if the government has a plausible reason for putting a burden on you, it also has to explain why it treats other people better. If the justices suspect that the government may simply dislike people like you, they will demand an especially convincing explanation for the different treatment. And if the government wants to interfere with your liberty by actually taking your house or property, it has to pay you “just compensation”; and even if it’s ready to fork over compensation, the town can’t take your stuff at all unless it’s going to use it for a “public purpose.” (Current hot topic: Is forcibly taking old people’s homes to make way for a spiffy new Wal-Mart really a “public” purpose?)

I’m sure by now we’ve all heard about the tragedy that occured on Virginia Tech’s campus yesterday. But while they were still trying to identify the bodies and contact family members, some asshat was already trying to turn a profit by selling Virginia Tech Memorial Ribbon Magnets and stickers on eBay. The seller is charging $9.99 or $7.99 after shipping, and there is no mention of any of the proceeds going to any actual memorial fund. And to add to the insult, he or she includes this disclaimer:

This item is being offered to help people with thier greiving process, and to raise awareness against violence. If you plan to send me hatemail, you will be reported to ebay.

Thankfully, as of press time, only two suckers have supported this sycophant and purchased something. I can only hope that they are just a couple of idiots making an impulse buy and not anyone that was personally effected by the shooting.
We saw the same kind of opportunism post-9/11, but at least those scumbags had the decency to wait a few days before trying to make a quick buck out of the suffering of their fellow man. This kind of thing makes me sick, enough to draw me out of my semiretirement from blogging and try to spread the word about this.

Hat tip to Darth Mode at wackbag.com for pointing this out.

*UPDATE – The next day both auctions have been removed. I don’t know if enough people complained, or the seller just came to his or her senses.

I can’t even begin to understand how amazing this is. 50 orangutans were seized from a theme park, and are being flown to Indonesia where they will be released into the wild. The article says that the animals “were forced to stage mock kick-boxing bouts.” Now these deadly apes can wreak havoc on the Indonesian jungles with their superior kung fu.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,25689-2359023,00.html