Welcome to The Now

...you get people like Sheriff Donny Youngblood of Kern County, California, who advocates shooting to kill instead of shooting to wound because it's more cost effective in the long run . As opposed to say, making sure that you're shooting the right person in the first place.

Boy meets girl. Boy falls in love with girl. Boy marries girl. Girl has an affair with old roommate. Boy catches girl and roommate in bed and shoots roommate. Boy gets acquitted because of Stand Your Ground .

Florida appears to have a problem relating to black people . Missouri appears to have a problem relating to gay people . Pennsylvania appears to have a problem relating to women .

Because the states are barely keeping track of the outcome, that's why ! CHAMPAIGN, Ill. --  Most states are doing a poor job tracking whether their tax breaks for businesses are actually spurring job growth, including some that have poured hundreds of millions of dollars into corporate incentive programs even while grappling with record deficits, according to a new report. The report released Thursday by the Pew Center on the States found that no state regularly takes a hard look at the effectiveness of all of its tax breaks. Twenty-five states and Washington, D.C., do little if any evaluation, including Illinois, which is among the states facing major budget struggles. Only 13 were found to be doing enough, the study found.  13 out of 50 states is 26% of the country, people. 26% of the nation is "doing enough" to evaluate whether tax breaks are resulting in job growth. That is a problem, and the media should be talking about this a bit more (I only c...

That's the only conclusion I can come too when you have a state where jamming a plastic medical device in a woman's vagina because she's considering an abortion seems like a rationale and necessary piece of legislation. Granted, they took out the probe, but they still passed the legislation . And it's not helping their case that when experts are called in, men outnumber women by a ridiculous amount . Seriously, how can you have a discussion/debate where the topic involves a woman's body, and not have women speak on it? If the contraception flap from the last few weeks heard from every religion but Catholics, they'd be in an uproar (like the conservative ones have been, despite having the conversation revolve around their point of view). Personally, I don't see how Gov. McDonald recovers from this; all someone has to do is call him the "vaginal probe candidate" and it's a wrap. And if this isn't enough, Virginia, the home of two Va Tech ...

Interesting . Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik calls Senate Bill 1070 a "stupid law" that will force officers to start profiling. He is one of the first local law enforcement officials to rebel against the law. "We don't need to enforce it. It would be irresponsible in my opinion to put people in the Pima County Jail at the taxpayers expense when i can give them to the Border Patrol," Dupnik said. [snip] The law also toughens restrictions on hiring illegal immigrants for day labor and knowingly transporting them. ABC15 has learned that pop star Shakira is plannning a visit to the Valley this week to speak with officials about the legislation. According to City of Phoenix spokeswoman Debra Stark, the singer could be in Phoenix Thursday, but the time and location for her appearance has not yet been set. The difference is Shakira isn't obligated to enforce the laws and the sheriff is. I can understand the guy challenging the law (it is racist and st...

You heard me : Someday, Howard David Ludwig's Firearm Owner's Identification Card will be stored in a box with his first pair of shoes and perhaps a lock of his baby hair. That's because the card was issued when Howard, nicknamed Bubba , was just 10 months old. It lists his height (2 feet, 3 inches) and weight (20 pounds) but doesn't note he's yet to learn how to walk. With some exceptions, FOID cards are required of any Illinois residents purchasing or possessing firearms or ammunition within the state. The card wasn't a mistake. Bubba's father, a columnist for The ( Tinley Park) Daily Southtown who is also named Howard Ludwig, paid the $5 fee and filled out the application. Not only does this expose a ridiculously loose gun policy, but a potential danger to the country's security. What's to stop the next Trench coat Mafia or homegrown terrorist from getting an FIOD card?