I think I'm getting stupid

No original material for now because my brain continues to fall down a Flowers For Algernonian spiral, but three links of varying value:

• The always wonderfully smart and fabulousDouglas Rushkoff's take on the Florida DNR case:

  Besides all this, Congressional intervention in this case is a violation of separation of powers - all so that Tom Delay can parade one poor victim through the halls of Congress, and get photo ops of his defense of a living soul against the heartless, atheistic rationalism of the left. Here's an opportunity to rescue Laci from Scott Peterson before he yanks the tube!

  You know, I've never really had a problem with Conservative/right wing philosophy per se. It's more the morality of convenience, the switch-and-bait and the faustian bargains that (all politicians, but particularly) Republicans engage in.
  
  As always, the media raises a big stink but misses the point. The controversy has nothing to do with the ethics of euthanasia and everything to do with political grandstanding and CYAing by Dubs and Delay.


• Now that my quarterly political rant is out of the way, Apple releases new song-specific iTunes cards at SXSW. This isn't a bad idea, really. At concerts, these would be a lot easier to hand out than sample CDs or they can use them as magazine inserts. Pretty cool. So the song they gave away at SXSW? "Dirty Harry" from the next Gorillaz album? Weegro, please, I had that song on my computer for like months.
  
  Speaking of SWSW, I did get the hugeass bundle of mp3s downloaded in 2 days. I've barely made a dent - there's over 50 hours of music to sample.


• Finally, a Village Voice piece on Li'l Kim's li'l perjury conviction. Hip hop feuds and legal troubles are so over - it's all about white teen starlets and their crazy and/or creepy parents - but I can't help but feel a li'l sorry for Kim. It's one thing to get locked up for shooting sheeet up. It's whole another to look at up to 20 years for being really really really really stupid.