You Missed It: Phone tap edition

Jitterbugs are among the most hackable cell phones.
Jitterbugs are among the most hackable cell phones.

Some people look forward to business trips. They get to go out, see a new city, get some business done, then go party. I went to Las Vegas for work this week, and unfortunately I barely had time to feed myself, much less enjoy myself. Regardless, the city cool factor wore off for me pretty quickly. It’s cool for a bit, but everything’s new and over-the-top. It’s like Walt Disney World for adults. If you were busy picking the horse meat out of your lasagna this week, odds are you missed it.

Apparently they do use technology
This week, a member of the Bush family’s email got hacked. Yes, that Bush family. The Secret Service is now investigating. Private emails between George H.W. and family members, include George W., were posted online. Some of the emails contained private phone numbers, the security code for one of the family homes, and even photos of George the elder during his recent hospital stay. Let me tell you, once you see those nude photos, you’ll never think of the term “executive branch” the same way again.

Nemo finds you
Right now, a blizzard is bearing down on the Northeast, with some predictions calling for three feet of snow before it’s all over. The Weather Channel, which for some reason took to naming winter storms, has named this one Nemo. Everyone laughed at me when after Iago I said that they were naming these things after Disney characters. Who’s laughing now? If they run out of names in alphabetical order, I hear they’re going to start listing off the seven dwarfs.

Retract of the drones
Sen. Rufus King, I-Maine, is calling for judicial oversight over the Obama administration’s targeted drone strikes. It may not be the best idea to challenge the authority of a guy who has command over fleets of flying killer robots.

An eye-popping trial

A Pennsylvania man lost his eye in an assault back in 2011. That’s the sad part, so get over it now and you’ll enjoy the rest.

Ready?

The victim, John Huttick, was testifying about losing his eye in the attack and the lasting effect it had on him. A mistrial had to be declared when he began crying on the stand and his glass eye popped out, scaring the jurors.

But the best part? The judge, declaring a mistrial, said it was an “unfortunate, unforeseen incident.”

Iranian president to be President of Space?

Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad wants to be the very first human astronaut for the country. Senator John McCain isn’t as up on the idea as Ahmadinejad might be.

That said, if you’re “willing to sacrifice [your] life for Iran’s space program,” we wouldn’t have a lot of faith in a program that makes you willing to sacrifice your life.

What will it take to please Catholic bishops? … Oh.

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops maintains that the only acceptable, fool-proof form of contraception is their Drew Carey glasses.
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops maintains that the only acceptable, fool-proof form of contraception is their Drew Carey glasses.

Seeking a compromise with Catholic leaders who object to providing insurance that covers birth control, President Barack Obama proposed an exemption for religious institutions. Instead of requiring religious-affiliated employers to pay for the same insurance coverage that every other employer has to, a third-party provider will cover the birth control costs.

Sounds reasonable, right? Of course not, if you’re a Catholic bishop.

The bishops wrote back on Thursday to say that the compromise does not go far enough, in that it does not “force sluts to pay for their whore pills.” The compromise also fails, in their opinion, to address the concerns of religious — yet not religiously-affiliated — employers like Hobby Lobby, whose CEO prefers to only provide the health coverage that he wants to his employees.

In other news: some guy quit his job — again — because the number 666 appeared on his W-2. And this is we don’t let religion determine U.S. policy.