Once again, another hat tip to Radley Balko.
More info on the Corey Maye case HERE , HERE and HERE.

This pretty much speaks for itself, so I'll refrain from further commentary for the moment-
except to say that the more I learn about this case, the more it pisses me off.
Enough is enough.  It's way past time to end this fucked up Drug War.
                                                          --- Burrow Owl

In response to the proposed warrantless door to door searchs for firearms in DC, ACLU, Flex Your Rights, and ACORN volunteers go door-to-door in Southeast DC educating residents about their 4th Amendment right to refuse warrantless police searches. 

I just found this in my inbox:
------------------------------------------------

Defend Science Letter to Signatories

We just received the following mail from Kathy Savage from Florida Citizens for Science. She is also a signatory of the Defend Science statement.  

We have also found this background summary of this bill which is helpful.
http://www.flascience.org/afbills_summary.pdf

This bill if passed would be a major attack on science education in Florida with potential national impact.  We ask Defend Science signatories to watch this situation closely and to respond to Kathy\'s request.

Kathy\'s letter follows.

--Defend Science
http://www.defendscience.org
email: mail@defendscience.org

Hello,

My name is Kathy Savage and I am a board member of the Florida Citizens for
Science <http://www.flascience.org/> . In case you are not aware, the
Florida State Board of Education recently adopted new science standards
<http://www.fldoestem.org/page231.aspx>  that, for the first time in Florida
history, include the teaching of evolution. Our joy in that was, however,
relatively short-lived as a couple of our state legislators and senators
introduced an
<http://www.flsenate.gov/session/index.cfm?BI_Mode=ViewBillInfo&Mode=Bills&S
ubMenu=1&Year=2008&billnum=2692> \"Academic Freedom\" bill that passed through
the preK-12 Committee on Wednesday, March 26th. We have several huge and
financially well-equipped organizations working against us, The
<http://www.floridafamilyaction.org/home/about.cfm>  Florida Family Action
and the Florida Baptists, along with the infamous Discovery Institute.
<http://www.discovery.org/a/4510>  They have been very successful in getting
letter-writing campaigns, phone calls and speakers for this bill in huge
numbers.much more so than we have been able to organize. The previously
mentioned groups have already treated our legislators to a private screening
of the upcoming movie, Expelled <http://www.expelledthemovie.com/> . No
media, scientists, or teachers were allowed. Ben Stein himself actually
spoke at a press conference to our legislators.

Would any member of your group be willing to write a letter on behalf of
your group against the dangers of the bill SB2692, warning our state of the
possibilities of lawsuits, etc. We would like to collect as many letters of
support as we can and organize them to distribute to our legislators and
senators. 

If there are any suggestions you have to offer us in fighting this bill,
please feel free to give them. This is important, not only at our state
level, but nationally. What happens in Florida will have a domino effect
throughout our country.

--------------------------

Toddler died after failed 'faith healing'
Associated Press

Prosecutors are reviewing the death of a 15-month-old girl a medical examiner says could have been saved if she had been treated with antibiotics.

The Oregonian newspaper quoted Dr. Christopher Young, a deputy state medical examiner, as saying that Ava Worthington died March 2 at home from bacterial bronchial pneumonia and infection.

He said both conditions could have been prevented or treated with antibiotics, and the child's breathing was further compromised by a benign cyst that had never been medically addressed and could have been removed from her neck, The Oregonian reported Saturday.

If prosecuted, the paper said, Ava Worthington's parents would be the first members of Oregon City's Followers of Christ, a fundamentalist Christian denomination, to face charges for failing to seek medical treatment for a gravely ill child.

"We are reviewing the case, and our investigation is progressing," said Greg Horner, Clackamas County chief deputy district attorney. He did not release the parents' names.

When The Associated Press called the number listed for the church Saturday, the person who answered hung up.

Child-abuse detectives recently referred investigative findings to the prosecutors, who are evaluating the case in light of a law passed in 1999 after several faith-healing deaths of children.

"This is the first time that they could be taking a shot at interpreting the law," said state Senate President Peter Courtney, who supported the bill.

It eliminated Oregon's "spiritual-healing defense" in cases of second-degree manslaughter, first- and second-degree criminal mistreatment and nonpayment of child support.

The Legislature passed the bill after months of debate over religious freedom, parental rights and the state's responsibility to protect children.

The Followers of Christ Church came to Oregon early in the 20th century. According to church tradition, when members become ill, fellow worshippers pray and anoint them with oil. Former members say those who seek modern medical remedies are ostracized.

Couldn't have happened to a better bunch... (Ohh..and did I detect a freudian slip in the last sentence of the article?)

Radley has yet another great article on the continuing insanity known as the
War On Drugs:

"The sad thing is, our scorched earth drug policy in Latin America is a big reason why the entire continent hates us, and has turned to electing hostile political leaders like Chavez and Morales."

Full article here

Radley Balko has another great piece on the Ryan Frederick fiasco over at Reason:

"Imagine you're home alone.

It's 8 p.m. You work an early shift and need to be out the door before sunrise, so you're already in bed. Your nerves are a bit frazzled, because earlier in the week someone broke into your home. Oddly, they didn't take anything; they just rifled through your belongings.

But the violation weighs on your mind. At about the time you drift off, you're awakened by fierce barking from your two large dogs. You hear someone crashing into your front door, as if he's trying to separate it from its hinges. You grab the gun you keep for home defense and leave your room to investigate."

Read the full article here

By Blake Nicholson, Associated Press
posted: 18 March 2008 10:25 am ET (via LiveScience)

" BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) – Using tiny brushes and chisels, workers picking at a big greenish-black rock in the basement of North Dakota's state museum are meticulously uncovering something amazing: a nearly complete dinosaur, skin and all."

The guys responsible for the HBO series  The Wire have a great article up over at the TIME magazine website:

"What the drugs themselves have not destroyed, the warfare against them has. And what once began, perhaps, as a battle against dangerous substances long ago transformed itself into a venal war on our underclass. Since declaring war on drugs nearly 40 years ago, we've been demonizing our most desperate citizens, isolating and incarcerating them and otherwise denying them a role in the American collective. All to no purpose. The prison population doubles and doubles again; the drugs remain. "

Read the entire article here

"High on Mount Sinai, Moses was on psychedelic drugs when he heard God deliver the Ten Commandments, an Israeli ...   more »

U.S. incarcerates more than any other nation: report

By James Vicini

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States incarcerates more people than any other country in the world and for the first time in the nation's history, more than one in every 100 American adults is confined in a prison or jail, according to a report released on Thursday.

The report by the Pew Center on the States said the American penal system held more than 2.3 million adults at the start of the year.

The far more populous nation of China ranked second with 1.5 million behind bars, with Russia a distant third with 890,000 inmates.

"Beyond the sheer number of inmates, America also is the global leader in the rate at which it incarcerates its citizenry, outpacing nations like South Africa and Iran," according to the report.

OK, a fun post for a change:
This is one of my latest gunstock projects:
A left-handed benchrest stock for my original T/C Contender.
The blank:    Royal Jacaranda Laminate from Boyds Gunstocks
The Finish:  3 coats Varathane Sanding Sealer  #224741, followed by
14 coats Tru-oil.
Misc.: I'm not a big fan of the original philips head fore-end screws, so I replaced them with stainless allen head cap screws and bored the forend for a snug fit with custom stainless flat washers (epoxied in place) for consistant torque when changing barrels.
The butt cap is generic UHMW  (ugly but *extremely* tough)
The barrel shown in the photo is a 14" .30-30 win. built by Fred Smith & co. at Bullberry Barrel Works.

(Does anyone seriously believe that they ever stopped spying?)

White House says phone wiretaps back on "for now"

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Bush administration said on Saturday U.S. telecommunications companies have agreed to cooperate "for the time being" with spy agencies' wiretaps, despite an ongoing battle between the White House and Congress over new terrorism surveillance legislation.

The Justice Department and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence issued a joint statement saying wiretaps will resume under the current law "at least for now."

"Although our private partners are cooperating for the time being, they have expressed understandable misgivings about doing so in light of the ongoing uncertainty and have indicated they may well discontinue cooperation if the uncertainty persists," the statement said.

On Friday U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey and Director of National Intelligence Michael McConnell said telecommunications firms have been reluctant to cooperate with new wiretaps since six-month temporary legislation expired last weekend. As a result, they told Congress, spy agencies have missed intelligence.

Democrats accused the Bush administration of fear-mongering and blamed it for any gaps.

President George W. Bush has said he would not compromise with the Democratic-led Congress on his demand that phone companies be shielded from lawsuits for taking part in his warrantless domestic spying program.

The measure passed by the Senate would provide retroactive lawsuit immunity to firms which cooperated with warrantless wiretaps that Bush authorized after the September 11 attacks. But the House of Representatives has opposed it, and Democratic leaders of both chambers said they would try to find a compromise.

Democratic leaders of congressional intelligence and judiciary committees issued a statement on Friday saying they were committed to passing new legislation and urged Bush to support an extension of the temporary law. Bush has said he would hold out for a permanent overhaul of the 1978 surveillance law.

(Editing by Stuart Grudgings)

Three representatives from the Westboro Baptist Cult who showed up to picket the funeral of Brianna Denison here in Reno recieved a chilly reception in more ways than one. Thanks to everyone who, despite the wind and snow, showed up and *completely* overwhelmed the nutjobs from Kansas.

From the Reno Gazette Journal:


A small group from a Kansas-based church that protests at the funerals of U.S. soldiers faced off Saturday night against more than 150 counter-demonstrators outside a memorial service for a Reno woman killed by a serial rapist.

The tense standoff ended peacefully when three female anti-gay protesters associated with the Wesboro Baptist Church of Topeka, Kan., were escorted away from the Reno-Sparks Convention Center in a police van, Reno police Sgt. police Sgt. Chris Lange said.
“There were a couple of eggs thrown at them and that’s about it,” Lange said.
Counter-demonstrators surrounded the three church members after they waved placards reading, “Pray for More Dead Kids,” “Don’t Worship the Dead” and “God Sent the Killer.”
Counter-demonstrators responded by chanting, “Go Back to Kansas” and “Go Home.”

From Vermont Public Radio:

Thursday February 21, 2008

Removing jail penalties for marijuana

Mitch Wertlieb

A plan to reduce the penalties for possessing marijuana easily passed the Vermont Senate last week, and the House will take up the issue soon. The bill removes jail sentences for most people caught with 2 ounces of marijuana, but stops short of fully decriminalizing marijuana. We talk with Senate Judiciary Chairman Dick Sears about his support for the legislation, and Lieutenant Governor Brian Dubie who opposes the idea.

Those demented fuckwits are at it again. Not being satisfied with their failed attempt to disrupt the funeral of a fallen soldier (thanks in large part to the Patriot Guard Riders)
they say they're planning a return visit in order to protest the funeral of Brianna Denison.
Looking over their press release, I get the distinct feeling that the Phelps Brigade didn't really enjoy their last visit to the Biggest Little City. Something tells me that they're going to enjoy this visit even less.

• UCL Anatomy & Developmental Biology
• Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

A team from UCL and Stony Brook University, New York, has discovered a fossil of a giant dinosaur-eating frog in Madagascar, giving weight to the theory that the island off Africa’s east coast was once linked to India and South America.

The 70 million-year-old frog, dubbed Beelzebufo (‘the frog from hell’), is of a kind previously thought only to live in South America. Weighing 4kg and with a body length of up to 40cm, it had a squat body, huge head and wide mouth.

Professor Susan Evans, UCL Anatomy & Developmental Biology, said: “This frog, a relative of today’s Horned toads, would have been the size of a slightly squashed beach-ball, with short legs and a big mouth. If it shared the aggressive temperament and ‘sit-and-wait’ ambush tactics of living Horned toads, it would have been a formidable predator on small animals. Its diet would most likely have consisted of insects and small vertebrates like lizards, but it’s not impossible that Beelzebufo might even have munched on hatchling or juvenile dinosaurs.”

The find is also interesting because it sheds new light on a debate about how the earth’s land masses used to be arranged.  

Professor Evans continued: “Our discovery of a frog strikingly different from today’s Madagascan frogs, and akin to the Horned toads previously considered endemic to South America, lends weight to the controversial paleobiogeographical model suggesting that Madagascar, the Indian subcontinent and South America were linked well into the Late Cretaceous. It also suggests that the initial spread of such beasts began earlier than that proposed by recent estimates.”

The discovery, published in the journal ‘Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences’, adds a new species to Madagascar’s colourful evolutionary history, which includes meat-eating dinosaurs, plant-eating crocodiles and giant snakes.

To find out more, follow the links at the top of this article.

From The Union of Concerned Scientists:

"The pursuit of science in an open society has played a large role in the policies that keep us safe and healthy and protect our environment. In recent years, however, the manipulation, suppression, and distortion of federal government science has misinformed the public and led to poor policy decisions.
On February 14, 2008, a group of prominent scientists called on the U.S. government to establish conditions that would enable federal scientists to produce the scientific knowledge that is needed by a government dedicated to the public good.  In an accompanying report, UCS details specific steps that Congress and the administration can take to restore scientific integrity to federal policy making. The report also explores how science has been misused, with a special focus on systemic changes that hamper federal scientific capacity and make it more difficult for federal agencies like the EPA, FDA, and CDC to fulfill their missions.
The next president and Congress will face increasingly complex scientific and technical challenges. They have an historic opportunity codify the scientific freedoms needed for federal science to flourish. We are working to give them the tools to make this a reality."
_______________________________________________________________________

---

Scientific Freedom and the Public Good
February 14, 2008

Scientific knowledge and its successful applications have played a large role in making the United States of America a powerful nation and its citizens increasingly prosperous and healthy. The challenges that face the United States in the twenty-first century can only be met if this tradition is honored and sustained.

To that end, the U.S. government must adhere to high standards of scientific integrity in forming and implementing its policies. Breaches of this principle have damaged the public good and the international leadership of the United States. To meet its obligation to serve the public interest, the government must have reliable scientific work and advice at its disposal, and provide the public with reliable scientific information. This requires the government to provide federal scientists with the resources and the professional environment necessary to carry out their missions effectively and honestly. The government should also draw on the knowledge of federal scientists and of the larger scientific community to formulate public policy in an objective and transparent manner.

Scientists employed by government institutions commit themselves to serve the public good free from undisclosed conflicts of interest and to carry out science that is reliable and useful, while respecting statutory limitations such as national security laws. Therefore, government scientists should, without fear of reprisal or retaliation, have the freedom:

• to conduct their work without political or private-sector interference;
• to candidly communicate their findings to Congress, the public, and their scientific peers;
• to publish their work and to participate fully in the scientific community;
• to disclose misrepresentation, censorship, and other abuses of science; and
• to have their technical work evaluated by scientific peers.

We call on Congress and the executive branch to codify these freedoms, to establish stronger means for gathering scientific advice, and to take concrete steps to enhance transparency, so as to create conditions conducive to a thriving scientific enterprise that will serve our democracy with integrity and bring the full fruits of science to all Americans and to the world.

---

Union of Concerned Scientists web site

Those nutjob disciples of repressed homosexual Fred Phelps over at the Westboro Baptist Cult have announced that they intend to protest at the funerals of the NIU victims.  Life truly is stranger than fiction.

<>

Interesting.
via The Consumerist:

A law professor and associate professor of geography set out to create the most comprehensive ...   more »

Radley posted another Jackboot Roundup this morning. This crap has gotten way out of hand.

One of my favorite bloggers pontificates on one of my favorite subjects. Now, if only I was a hot 20 something lesbian instead of a 40 something male nerd.... I know, it may seem a bit weird for an unrepentant atheist to be plugging a blog written by a self-proclaimed Catholic... ah, hell, just click on the link.

Yet another disturbing tale of jackboooted thuggery.   more »

Saw this a couple of days ago. Having just finished off 2 large bowls of black bean venison chili and a couple of bottles of my favorite brew, I'm in the mood to stir up the doo-doo before this awesome meal begins to wreak havoc on my digestive tract:

NASA to launch Beatles song across the galaxy
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

WASHINGTON — The Beatles are about to become radio stars in a whole new way.

On Monday, NASA will broadcast the Beatles’ song “Across the Universe” across the galaxy to Polaris, the North Star.

This first-ever beaming of a radio song by the space agency directly into deep space is nostalgia-driven. It celebrates the 40th anniversary of the song, the 45th anniversary of NASA’s Deep Space Network, which communicates with its distant probes, and the 50th anniversary of NASA.

“Send my love to the aliens,” Paul McCartney told NASA through a Beatles historian. “All the best, Paul.”

The song, written by McCartney and John Lennon, may have a ticket to ride and will be flying at the speed of light. But it will take 431 years along a long and winding road to reach its final destination. That’s because Polaris is more than four quadrillion kilometres away.

NASA loaded an MP3 of the song, just under four minutes in its original version, and will transmit it digitally at 7 p.m. EST Monday from its giant antenna in Madrid, Spain. But if you wanted to hear it on Polaris, you would need an antenna and a receiver to convert it back to music, the same way people receive satellite television.

The idea came from Martin Lewis, a Los Angeles-based Beatles historian, who then got permission from McCartney, Yoko Ono and the two companies that own the rights to Beatles’ music. One of those companies, Apple, was happy to approve the idea because is “always looking for new markets,” Lewis said.

Perhaps coincidentally, the song’s trip through space begins a day before the release of the DVD of the Julie Taymor movie also named after the same Beatles hit. It’s a romance, featuring songs by the Beatles, set against the social upheaval of the 1960s and the Vietnam War and starring Evan Rachel Wood.

The freakin' Beatles? Ya, I know I'll probably get a bit of hate mail for this one, but seriously: the Beatles?? C'mon, if we really want to 'send a message' to the little gray fellers with the legendary anal probes, why can't we be honest and tell them the truth?

Back to Chesapeake:
(More on the Ryan Frederick case from Radley Balko at The Agitator):

In Election Season, Mum’s the Word about Gun Control
By Don B. Kates Jr.

Are this year’s U.S. presidential candidates avoiding the gun issue?

Last week, San Francisco’s First District Court of Appeal struck down that city’s two-year-old law that confiscated all handguns and rendered all other guns useless by banning ammunition sales. And on March 9 of last year, a federal court of appeals invalidated District of Columbia laws that banned handguns and precluded keeping any gun for defense in the home. That case is now in the Supreme Court, which many expect will hold that such laws violate the Constitution’s guarantee that law-abiding, responsible adults may have guns to defend their homes and families.

Ironically, though these laws represent the ultimate goals of the gun “control” (actually gun ban) movement, they epitomize that movement’s political downfall. For Democratic candidates, an Eleventh Commandment has evolved: “Don’t mention guns”—while formerly anti-gun Republicans Romney and Giuliani now declare themselves faithful advocates of gun rights.

I might be voting for a female candidate in the upcoming presidential election- but  you can be sure of one thing: it sure as hell ain't going to be that phony Clinton bitch that'll be getting my vote. Too bad the American Herd Animal has been so completely brainwashed that they honestly believe that they have no option except to vote for the (perceived) lesser of two evils. There are better options out there, folks- but don't rely on the traditional media to tell you about them. Here's just one example:

The Hopelessly Enslaved - Awake!
by Christine Smith, Jan. 26, 2008

"So many think they are free in midst of a society where the invasive government is becoming more arrogant each day in its alarmingly self-granted authority over the American people. The safeguards of due process have been eroded - but this fact and its repercussions remain unknown/not understood by many. After all, consider how many still get their news and commentary from their TVs and newspapers. Thus, many Americans aren't comprehending that basic Constitutional rights are being discarded though it is they, and those they care for, who will ultimately suffer."

Even through two pregnancies, the (boob) fairy saw fit to pass me by.

A Sheep at the Wheel: "Machine Guns and Jesus Christ"

More absurdity brought to you by the War On (some) Drugs- and the petty little tyrants who benefit from perpetuating it:

(AP via Canoe News)

ELLSWORTH, Maine - A lottery ticket purchased by a U.S. man came up a $1,000 winner. But that doesn't mean he will collect any money.

Police in Ellsworth, Maine, have seized the ticket, saying Michael David purchased it with proceeds from illegal drug deals.

David is in jail in Ellsworth, accused of selling four, 10-milligram methadone pills for $15 each last week.

Police Chief John Deleo says after making the drug sales, he went to a convenience store and bought lottery tickets and other merchandise and went back to his motel room, where he was arrested.

Deleo says it will be up to a judge to decide who keeps the winning ticket, but for now it remains in the hands of police.

David, 46, remained in custody Monday in the Hancock County Jail on drug trafficking charges. An official at the jail said David was not available for comment.

"Rarely do we find men who willingly engage in hard, solid thinking. There is an almost universal quest for easy answers and half-baked solutions. Nothing pains some people more than having to think. "

                                                       -- Martin Luther King, jr.
                                                      ( 'Strength to Love' 1963)

The United States has been listed as a country where prisoners are at risk of torture in a training document produced by the Canadian foreign ministry.

It also classifies some US interrogation techniques as torture.

The manual - part of a training course on torture awareness for diplomats - also includes Israel, China, Iran and Afghanistan on its watch list.

The Salt Lake Tribune

Article Last Updated: 01/14/2008 01:02:02 PM MST

MAGNA - Two armed men wanted to steal some beer early today, but when they heard Jesus was watching they paid for it.
    That from 2News, which says the pair are still in trouble because, technically, they stole the brew.
    Police say the incident took place just after 1 a.m., within the time frame state law prohibits beer sales.
    Salt Lake County sheriff's deputies say the two men walked into the Smith's store at 8055 West 3500, picked up some beer and asked the clerk if they could buy it.
    When the clerk noted the time and said no, the suspects then asked if they could steal the beer instead.
    "Yes, but Jesus is watching," the clerk replied.
    2News says the suspects showed a pistol and took the beer -- but also left $9 on the counter.

Hookers for Jesus face Evil Angel

Spiegler shrugged. "If Jews are really the chosen race, why do they have the only country in the Middle East with no oil?"

Veitch began, "I don't know, but the Bible says..."

WTF? Holding the caucuses (Cauci??) on Saturday seems like a good way to insure the largest voter turnout to me. IMHO, if you're too damned superstitious to show up at the polls on Saturday then you are quite likely too stupid to vote anyway.

<i>LAS VEGAS, Nevada (AFP) - The US election campaign is stirring discontent in Nevada, with religious groups saying they will be excluded from voting because Saturday's presidential caucuses take place on a day of worship.</i>