Currently listening to podcast No Agenda which breaks down as follows: 70% crackpot, 25% begging for donations, 38% entertaining me (there’s substantial entertaining/crackpot overlap). But one thing they just said really hacked me off.

They say Obama  just appointed some dude to head up some agricultural trade commission. Whatever. The problem, they say, is that this new appointee used to have some other bigshot government health job where he lifted the cap on how much drug companies could charge for cancer drugs. Both show hosts are disgusted with Obama appointing this jerk who, they imply, must be beholden to Big Cancer. “And this really hits home because my aunt has cancer,” says Adam Curry.

STOP.  A cap on drug prices HURTS cancer patients.

Say a drug company sees potential for a possible new cancer treatment drug, but the government puts a cap on how much they’d be allowed to charge for it. They run the numbers and realize that even if they developed a drug that actually worked, they couldn’t break even on it, let alone make a profit.

Would you want a company in your 401k portfolio if they produced drugs at a net loss? No, and neither would any other stockholder. Investments would dry up, jobs would be lost, and the company would eventually go under.

Putting price caps on cancer drugs prevent drug companies from exploring and developing innovative treatments.

What’s that you say? ..This post has nothing to do with criminology?..

Hey kids, don’t start fires.

MOST COURT RECORDS ARE PUBLIC. You know what that means, doncha girls? That’s right. “I didn’t know!” won’t cut it anymore. Rules differ depending on jurisdiction so just Google your state and/or county and the word “courts” to find info. (If you can’t find them anywhere else, U.S. Superior Court records are available through PACER, which requires a subscription.)

Example: Washington State

Go to Washington Courts Online to search by name. This can be a little addictive. Family members, ex-whatevers, that weird chemistry teacher from 8th grade… go nuts.  That means it can be difficult to tell which ones are serious offenses, so don’t assume the worst if his name pops up. Or do.  Ya know, whatever humps your camel.

In Washington, most courthouses have public computers with access to court records from any county. Using the system (which allegedly predates the Taft administration) can be tricky so don’t be afraid to ask for help. If you have a case number from the name search above, bring it in to find out the details. If it’s a common name you can compare date of birth, address, etc to see if the guy you’re into is child-molesting Brad Smith or expired-fishing license Brad Smith.

This post courtesy of the Consortium for Condescending Paternalism

But Tom didn’t deserve this. He just wanted everyone to be his friend… is that so wrong? I don’t know who committed this atrocious crime, but there’s no shortage of suspects.

For example, me. I’ve made it pretty clear I don’t like Myspace. I can’t deny it, it’s in the first paragraph, right there in black and white. Also I have no alibi for the murder since no matter what night it took place, I can almost guarantee you I was home, alone, counting my money. And then putting it in penny rolls so the bank lady won’t get mad at me.

Another suspect is This Guy (right). I can’t quite make out his face, but word is he was recently seen in the vicinity of the internet. Clearly he has an ax to grind with Tom… but so do many other 14-year-old Hot Topic customers with twenty bucks of t-shirt money burning a hole in their pocket-protector protected pockets.

The plot thickens.

I saw a handcuff necklace like this one in a magazine a few months ago, I liked it at the time… but removed from the fashion spread it’s looking a little less stylish and a tad more fettishesque. If you’re jonesin’ for one, Dolce Vita may or may not sell them.