Sunday, February 7, 2016

Link roundup

1. "Ink color, to [Sovereign Citizens], is crucial. They believe that black or blue ink signifies corporations; red ink signifies flesh and blood people."
They think red ink fingerprints are the highest form of ID. Some even file legal documents with their fingerprints stamped in blood.
2. Fake Rothko trial.

3. "Everyone Hates Martin Shkreli. Everyone Is Missing the Point"
Most of our Presidential candidates claim to disdain Washington politicians, but, on Thursday, Shkreli put that disdain into practice—and helped illustrate, to anyone paying attention, why it is so richly deserved. He is candid even when candor doesn’t pay. (Can there be any doubt that Hillary Clinton, after her own recent appearance before Gowdy and some of his colleagues, would have loved to send a tweet like Shkreli’s?) Last fall, Trump said that Shkreli “looks like a spoiled brat”; in fact, he is the son of a doorman, born to parents who emigrated from Albania. Look at him now! True, he has those indictments to worry about. But he is also a self-made celebrity, thanks to a business plan that makes it harder for us to ignore the incoherence and inefficiency of our medical industry. He rolls his eyes at members of Congress, he carries on thoughtful conversations with random Internet commenters, and, unlike most of our public figures, he may never learn the arts of pandering and grovelling.