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Political ads from Alabama have been getting national attention in recent days. Some of their features: violent language, brandishing of firearms, criminalization of adversaries. A good example is this ad by a candidate seeking election as state agriculture commissioner, which has the feel of a trailer for a violent Western:
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But for sheer craziness, this report is hard to top:
An Alabama math teacher used the assassination of President Barack Obama as a way to teach angles to his geometry students. Secret Service officials questioned the Corner High School teacher after someone alerted them about the class session. The teacher was not taken into custody or charged with a crime. Corner is a community in extreme northwest Jefferson County, about 20 miles from Birmingham.
The high school’s principal insists that the teacher will not be fired. However, the Birmingham News reported today that after being visited for questioning by Secret Service agents, he was placed on leave.
More from Scott Horton:
No Comment — April 12, 2013, 11:11 am
A new report from Seton Hall University exposes government surveillance of attorney-client conversations
No Comment, Six Questions — March 18, 2013, 9:00 am
Rashid Khalidi on how the United States sustains the failure of the Israel-Palestine peace process
No Comment, Six Questions — February 4, 2013, 9:00 am
Alex Gibney on his documentary investigating the Roman Catholic Church’s handling of child sex-abuse cases


Years of consideration preceding the inclusion of the word “phat” in Random House’s 1996 Compact Unabridged Dictionary:

Scientists created crash helmets that stink when cracked and fruit flies to whom blue light smells delicious.

In Belize, a construction company bulldozed a 2,300-year-old Mayan temple to make road fill.
“This is the heart of the magic factory, the place where medicine is infused with the miracles of science, and I’ve come to see how it’s done.”