It took me off guard this morning, and I’m a little frazzled…but I’ll get used to it.

See for yourself.

It’s an incredibly simple idea, but makes for a good laugh. See 24 more hilariously defaced bills here.

It reminds me of the time police authorities in India threatened to throw me in prison for having a little too much fun with a rupee note while I was bored waiting in an airport. When I asked if I could play with American money, they said they would call the US embassy and have me hauled away. I was almost tempted to challenge them to see if they would actually go through with it.

Ah, adventures in the East…

Yeah, you read that right.

In the old days, if a journalist misquoted someone, or just downright lied in a report, a retraction was issued and there was a genuine feeling that the news outlet regretted making the error.

Not so for CNN and Rick Sanchez. He recently ran what he claimed was a quote from Rush Limbaugh, the text of which read that Limbaugh found that slavery had its “merits.” The intention was a hit piece on the radio host, who, at the time, was looking into owning an NFL team.

Well, it turned out the “quote” wasn’t true. So to make up for it, Sanchez pulled out his iPhone and typed this little ditty on Twitter:

i’ve know rush. in person,i like him. his rhetoric,however is inexcusably divisive. he’s right tho. we didn’t confirm quote. our bad.

Is that what passes for a retraction these days? Really, that’s it? Sanchez leveled a very serious accusation at Limbaugh, using the platform of a major news outlet that reaches millions of people. This should bother you.

UPDATE: DWH comments: “Yes, this bothers me and is inexcusable, but the lies of Rush bother me even more.”

Agreed, but I really hold CNN to a much higher standard. As much as certain comments from AM radio are troublesome, the bar isn’t nearly as high. I guess I just have high hopes for legitimate news agencies. I don’t want to see them sink to that level.

Everyone in Washington, on the left and the right, woke up this morning and after the ritual Blackberry check sprung out of bed going, “Say what?”

I just hope he’ll live up to it.

UPDATE: As is the nature of this kind of thing, there are jokes flying around all over the place. But I’ll stand with Tim Pawlenty on this one, and say the most appropriate response is to say “Congratulations.”

Also, kudos to Think Progress’ Amanda Terkel for pointing this out. Pawlenty is  someone she probably doesn’t agree with very much, and she didn’t neglect to mention his positive comments.  In a town like Washington, that’s a harder task than you might think.

UPDATE II:  Case in point: In reaction to the Nobel news, the RNC puts out a press release full of snarky comments.  Then the DNC accuses the Republicans of siding with terrorists. That’s Washington. It’s icky, I know.

Doug Mataconis explains the huge difference between free enterprise and government-supported capitalism:

There’s a distinct difference between the free market and the state-aided corporate capitalism that we live with today. When businessmen use the state to protect themselves from competition, or from their own wrongdoing, that’s not free market capitalism. When they pay lobbyists to get the Federal Government to subsidize them, whether directly or indirectly, that’s not free-market captialism. When they help write the laws that they then use to hamper competition, that’s not free-market capitalism.

Many on the right make the mistake of thinking that believing in capitalism means that you’re obligated to defend the actions of the capitalists, but when those actions involve using the state to evade the discipline of the market, you’re no longer defending the market, you’re helping to destroy it.

He’s exactly right. There is a vital difference between a government that acts as a referee to ensure rights are preserved so that everyone can compete, and a gang of bureaucrats who prop up well-connected citizens so that they can unfairly compete with everyone else. It’s very easy to beat out the competition when you have the backing of a well- armed institution with virtually unlimited resources.

Anger over corporate welfare is an issue that many socialists also get angry about, and rightly so. But what I don’t understand is why, in the face  government influence that keep the upper class rich and the lower class poor, socialists prescribe more government intervention to “fix the broken system.” Kind of sounds like pouring gasoline on the fire to me.

Instead, we should follow the roadmap that was agreed upon more than 200 years ago and strike down laws that allow well-healed citizens the ability to use government force to gain advantages over others through in the marketplace. More government will not hold these people accountable. It will only make it worse. What we need is a government that does its job and offers due process to everyone, not just the ones who can afford a lobbyist in Washington.

A new survey from Travel and Leisure measures the nation’s cities that have the most attractive people and the smartest.

San Diego, my hometown, has the second hottest populace, and Washington DC, my current home, has the 6th smartest people.

Put those together, and I think you have a pretty good combination.

According to the survey, Minneapolis/St. Paul is the most intelligent city, while Miami is the sexiest.

In a series of videos, Mark Steyn and Ezra Levant testify against Canada’s “human rights” laws. (Read: Laws that allow the government to ban expression of certain thoughts.)

Watch these videos.

“The direct use of physical force is so poor a solution to the problem of limited resources that it is commonly employed only by small children and great nations.” — David Friedman

Just Googled my name (oh, come on, you know you do it too) and found this site is No. 2.

I’m coming for you DJ Chris Moody!

Of course, if you look for Christopher Moody, you’ll read all about one of the most brutal American pirate of all time.  I have chosen to pretend he’s my namesake because A) I’m the first Christopher in the immediate family and B) well, 18th century pirates are so à la mode these days.

He even had his own flag.

It’s a weight scale app. You stand on your iPhone, and if it breaks, you’re too fat.

I’ll be here all week.