-By Warner Todd Huston
See, the thing that makes crazy people, well… crazy, is that they don’t do things like normal people. Laws, rules, even simple human kindness is meaningless to such unbalanced people. The same can be said of criminals. See the thing that makes them criminals is that they don’t obey laws. But the Memphis Commercial Appeal’s Rich Locker seems to think making a law will magically make a wacko suddenly heed reason. On top of that, to illustrate his allusion he conflates the criminal actions of a man in Alabama to laws in Tennessee in order to justify his anti-gun sentiment for Tennesseans. Will these disingenuous Old Media types never learn a love of logic?
The tragic and criminal actions of the nut in Alabama that killed 10 people in a wild traveling rampage served as Locker’s platform to advocate for a Tennessee law that would make illegal the carrying load guns in a vehicle. He seems to insinuate that such a law would have prevented the sicko in Alabama from driving around killing people. Locker neglects to reveal how some words on a piece of paper, though, could prevent a madman from transporting a loaded gun in a car.
The opening paragraph is a perfect example of this conflation in order to draw out an emotional reaction in the reader.
Conflation Junction: Tenn. Columnist Thinks Criminals and Madmen Obey Laws”
On Saturday afternoon, in the midst of Chicago’s famous St. Patrick’s Day celebration with its tradition of turning of the Chicago River green, a cadre of concerned Republicans met to plan a way to capture the Congressional seat of Chicago’s 5th District, the one being vacated by Obama Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel. 
This is not a story of bias in the media. It is a story, rather, that affects both the Old Media of newspapers, TV and radio, as well as the New Media of the Internet. Our disagreements with the Old Media aside, we both stand to see trouble if a recent court case in Massachusetts gains momentum or is applied liberally henceforth. 
I have been saying for some time that we will have our recalcitrant Illinois Senator Roland Burris representing himself… er, I mean us… at least until 2010 and quite probably during the upcoming primaries for those seeking a full term afterward, as well. This weekend more proof to that eventual end was arranged by a room full of black ministers from Chicago.
Captain Adam Kinzinger, 30, officer in the Air National Guard, was enjoying a night on the town in Milwaukee in May of 2007 when he saw before him a woman clutching her neck and bleeding profusely, a man with a knife standing behind her. Acting quickly, 
We all saw the rocky performance that Bobby Jindal gave in his response to the president’s not-the-state-of-the-union speech earlier this week. There was a lot of wincing going on during and after his performance. But, let me stress the word “performance,” here. It was NOT the basic theme of the speech that was so bad. It was but how he delivered it.
The ACLU finally gets one right by taking the side of a beleaguered bait shop owner in Clearwater, Florida that is 
Want a gun in Illinois? Fine. Then you’ll be 
Maybe you are a homeowner with substantial acreage in your possession. Maybe you have a nice fence with which you might makes “good” neighbors of those whom you may want to keep off your land. Maybe you then built a small barn or a shed but forgot to mention it to your county appraiser and regulatory offices by applying for a building permit.
On February 13, a popular 
Judge Craig M. Washington was not as reverent of the memorial as everyone else, however, and requested the photo of the fallen officer be removed from his “courtroom.” Judge Washington went to several police officials demanding that the memorial photos be removed. When police officials refused the request, Judge Washington decided to 
Savor that headline, will you? The Democratic stronghold of Oak Park, home of trendy downtown shops and many Obama signs, is working with its lawyers to keep a homeless man off the ballot for the next village election. 
We have for a few years now been chronicling the constant failure of the media to label a criminal or troubled politician with his party affiliation when that politician is a Democrat, we all know. Every couple of days we detail a new “name that party” story where an Old Media outlet reports on a Democrat politician arrested, convicted, or accused of a crime though he seems never to be labeled as such. We’ve also noted many times the opposite tale where a recalcitrant pol that happens to be a Republican finds his party receiving top billing in the Old Media. We have dozens and dozens of examples.
The winter in Alaska has been a particularly harsh one this year. The early winter piled on top of economic hard times has caused some troubles for native people and those that live in remote areas in Alaska. But this is not a new tale of woe, it IS Alaska, after all. While nothing to entirely dismiss, one wonders, why CNN suddenly found this story so compelling? Could it be that they want to portray Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as just as harsh as the winter?
Senator Barbara Boxer (D, CA) wants to speed the process of