The Decorum Forum

Rapid City Journal posts fake discussion

2012-01-30T10:16:00.003-07:00

At 10 AM today, Holly Meyer at the Rapid City Journal moderated a fake discussion online. The blurb for the "discussion" was:

Join us for a chat about synthetic drugs with Rapid City Police Department Senior Officer Paul Wathen. Wathen, a certified drug recognition expert [licensed to practice voodoo], will field your questions live.

I asked this question three times: "Perhaps if natural cannabis were legal, use of synthetics would diminish?"

Three times it appeared momentarily, then disappeared. That leads me to believe that Ms. Meyer is simply a front for the illegal drug pushers. She certainly didn't want a real discussion.

Update 31 Jan: I emailed the Journal, asking why. According to Justin Breen, Interim Editor, Holly claims she did not delete my question, which means that it was someone else (doubtful) or a cyberconnection mechanical failure (possible). That does not change my opinion of Ms. Meyer's agenda. She constantly fawns over copstuff in the Journal.

DEA deploys terrorism in Montana

2012-01-29T11:36:00.003-07:00

From The Missoulian:

Diane Sands is used to having her name taken in vain.

That's just part of being a liberal from Missoula in the Montana Legislature.

But her name surfaced recently in a way that offended and troubled her at a profound level.

A possible witness in a federal drug investigation was asked whether Sands might be part of a conspiracy to sell medical marijuana. The questions came from Drug Enforcement Administration agents from Billings who were investigating medical marijuana businesses, and Sands learned about the inquiry from the witness' attorney.

"So now, if you're a state legislator who has been working on medical marijuana laws, you are somehow part of a conspiracy," said Sands, who represents House District 95 in Missoula and works as development director for the Historical Museum at Fort Missoula. "It's ridiculous, of course, but it's also threatening to think that the federal government is willing to use its influence and try to chill discussion about this subject."

and

DEA spokesman Mike Turner said the DEA is not in the business of making political statements through name-dropping in its investigations. "We're certainly not out there dropping people's names with the intention of doing them harm," he said. "We're not in the business of scaring people." [Newland says: That's right. They're in the business of supporting commodity prices for the most vicious businessmen on earth.]

Dark-eyed Junco

2012-01-28T10:40:00.005-07:00

I had to go to Custer and Hot Springs yesterday, so I drove 36 to Custer, along which I saw this group of Dark-eyed Juncos feeding at the edge of the road. I didn't know what they were until I found them in my Audubon book and on the internet. They have a variety of shading, from slate-gray to peach-and-brown. Strange. Cute.

Later, in Wind Cave Natl Park, I saw this coyote a couple of hundred yards off the road. If I had remembered to adjust my exposures, I'd have had some really nice shots, but what I have are grossly over-exposed. I managed to manipulate them in PhotoShop until they were at least viewable.

I also overexposed this shot of an eagle looking at the menu. The menu is also considering the eagle. The distance between the two is considerably greater than the foreshortening of the lens implies.

American Kestrel

2012-01-27T17:49:00.002-07:00

From All About Birds: North America’s littlest falcon, the American Kestrel packs a predator’s fierce intensity into its small body. It's one of the most colorful of all raptors: the male’s slate-blue head and wings contrast elegantly with his rusty-red back and tail; the female has the same warm reddish on her wings, back, and tail. Hunting for insects and other small prey in open territory, kestrels perch on wires or poles, or hover facing into the wind, flapping and adjusting their long tails to stay in place. Kestrels are declining in parts of their range; you can help them by putting up nest boxes.

These shots were made about 1pm today about four miles west of Hermosa on Hwy 40.

After the one on the post (above) took off, I shot all of the following images in succession as the kestrel hovered in the wind. Since the background was so great, I had no problem combining seven exposures into two for the following special effects images.

Newland's Reading List

2012-01-26T18:35:00.004-07:00

My favorite books are adventure stories, told well and with humor. Luis Alberto Urrea pretty much monopolizes that field at the moment. The first book he wrote that I read was The Hummingbird's Daughter. (Click images to see more about each book.)

Then I read By the Lake of Sleeping Children.

Then I read The Devil's Highway.

I just started Queen of America, a sequel to Hummingbird's Daughter.

Today, I ordered three more Urrea books. Fiction or non-fiction, he makes life the adventure story it is. Of course, most of his work entails documentation of lives more "interesting" than ours. If you like to read, I don't see how you can't like Urrea.

Flag bill annoys Newland

2012-01-26T16:17:00.003-07:00

HB 1235 (read it here) proposes to ditch the current state flag design and replace it with one by Spearfish artist Dick Termes. (Rapid City Journal story here)

Based on Bob Mercer's blog, it appears that Bernie Hunhoff came into the capitol a few days ago and got co-sponsors to sign the flag bill. And he appears to have cut a wide swath through both chambers in acquiring them.

Introduced by: Representatives Hunhoff (Bernie), Abdallah, Blake, Brunner, Conzet, Cronin, Deelstra, Dennert, Dryden, Elliott, Fargen, Feickert, Feinstein, Gibson, Greenfield, Hansen (Jon), Hawley, Hickey, Hoffman, Iron Cloud III, Jones, Killer, Kirkeby, Kirschman, Kloucek, Kopp, Liss, Lucas, Lust, Magstadt, Miller, Moser, Munsterman, Novstrup (David), Olson (Betty), Perry, Rausch, Romkema, Rozum, Schaefer, Schrempp, Scott, Sigdestad, Sly, Solum, Street, Stricherz, Tornow, Tulson, Turbiville, Van Gerpen, Verchio, White, Wick, Willadsen, and Wismer and Senators Holien, Bradford, Brown, Buhl, Cutler, Frerichs, Fryslie, Gray, Hansen (Tom), Hundstad, Johnston, Juhnke, Kraus, Krebs, Lederman, Maher, Nelson (Tom), Novstrup (Al), Peters, Putnam, Rampelberg, Rave, Schlekeway, Sutton, and Tidemann

This is what annoys me. Hunhoff is known and knows people statewide. He knows there are many talented graphic artists in South Dakota. He is well-acquainted with the common custom of submitting a proposed change to a public icon to a call-for-artists, then submitting the entries to a committee chosen by, say, the governor, and letting the best design win.

I don't think Dick Termes would object to a competition. It could be that his design would win in the end. I think it's worthy, but I haven't seen any other suggestions (except mine, a few posts below).

I just don't get why Bernie would go about trying to change the state flag design the way he did.

House State Affairs will hear testimony on the bill in a couple of days. As of this moment, it has not yet been scheduled.

You've probably seen this...

2012-01-26T11:55:00.000-07:00

...but if you haven't...

What we have to look forward to

2012-01-25T19:36:00.000-07:00

None of us should be surprised by this, the most recent Mitt Romney ad in heavy rotation in Florida.

There are slivers of truth in this ad, but a good deal of it goes WAY over the line of credibility. Check out the ABC News piece from Jonathan Karl's "Spinners and Winners" bit.

If this is the kind of tactic that Mitt Romney (this is Romney, not his Super PAC) a fellow Republican, is willing to place in the media, just imagine what the Democrats will do if Gingrich is the nominee.

Gov. Mitch Daniels (Ind.), in my opinion, should have been the Republican nominee. He chose not to get into this nasty fray. He is calm, smart and articulate. Watch his response to President Obama's State of the Union Address.

Instead, we are about to be treated to a blood-letting, the likes of which Republicans have not seen for some time. Whomever the nominee eventually is, will be a tired and battered foe for a refreshed, heavily armed and wealthy incumbent.

Loggerhead or Northern? Or not a Shrike at all?

2012-01-25T18:59:00.004-07:00

I think this is a Loggerhead Shrike, maybe a Northern Shrike. I shot this with a 28-200 zoom with a doubler, so I had the lens racked out to 400 mm, and you're still seeing less than half of the original image area. That's why its a little soft. It's either lost its tail or it was flicking it and my lens didn't pick it up because of the motion. It only rested on the wire for a moment, but I think I saw a tail when it flew. From tip to tip the bird is about 9 inches. Shot on Battle Creek 5 mi. west of Hermosa.

I didn't know we had Shrikes here until I compared my image with those on bird websites. Here's a description of the bird:

A small gray, black, and white bird of open areas, the Loggerhead Shrike hardly appears to be a predator. But it uses its hooked beak to kill insects, lizards, mice, and birds, and then impales them on thorns to hold them while it rips them apart.

Okay, then.... Nice birdy. Good birdy.

You can't see it in these pictures, but its upper bill (if it's a shrike) has a wicked hook on the end, like an eagle's, but more like a precision needle.

Here's a picture of one of the murderous little bastards with a horned toad. And he's perching ON BARBED WIRE!

More pictures here.

Would Jesus Have Booed Ron Paul's "Golden Rule for Foreign Policy?

2012-01-25T11:58:00.004-07:00

by Jim Babka for the Downsize DC Foundation

Excerpts below (read the whole letter here):

This is an open letter to my fellow Christians. If it moves you, please share it with other believers. It is intended to be a chain letter, to spread and cause discussion.

Here is The Golden Rule as expressed by Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ . . .

"So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you..." And in this instance its "golden" because it "...sums up the Law and the Prophets." [Matthew 7:12 (NIV)]

On Tuesday, January 17, 2012, in the South Carolina Republican debate, candidate Ron Paul said the following...

My point is, if another country does to us what we do others, we're not going to like it very much. So I would say that maybe we ought to consider a golden rule in foreign policy. [loud boos begin to drown out Paul] Don't do to other nations what we don't want to have them do to us. [indecipherable angry shouts can be heard]

Jesus advocated The Golden Rule. Ron Paul advocated applying The Golden Rule. But the Christian crowd booed the words "golden rule."

Consider what some call the hardest verses in the Bible, Matthew 5:38-42. They come from the Sermon on the Mount . . .

"You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.' 39 But I tell you not to resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. 40 If anyone wants to sue you and take away your tunic, let him have your cloak also. 41 And whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two. 42 Give to him who asks you, and from him who wants to borrow from you do not turn away."

And these thoughts are echoed in Romans 12:17-20 (see also Proverbs 25:21-22) . . .

"17 Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. 18 If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. 19 Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: 'It is mine to avenge; I will repay,' says the Lord. 20 On the contrary: If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head."

Is this how we conduct our foreign policy? Is this how we defend ourselves? Or is it possible that Jesus knows more about true security than either our politicians or that Christian crowd in South Carolina?

By now, you know if you want to read Babka's letter further. Here it is.

So, they're thinking of adopting a new state flag...

2012-01-25T09:26:00.006-07:00

Really. They are. Here's the current flag.

Here's what they're suggesting we use instead.

Here's my suggestion for the new SoDak state flag.

I'll post your suggestions if you send 'em to me.

Kurtz proposed the Ba'ath flag. I added something to make it a little more germaine.

When it comes to cynical business names...

2012-01-24T14:53:00.002-07:00

..."Liberty Income Tax Service" probably can't be beat.

Shot 23 January 2012. Could have been any afternoon at St. Pat and St. Joe from Christmas to May.

Well, if you could just go to the store and buy it...

2012-01-23T08:12:00.004-07:00

A crude new method of making methamphetamine poses a risk even to Americans who never get anywhere near the drug: It is filling hospitals with thousands of uninsured burn patients requiring millions of dollars in advanced treatment - a burden so costly that it's contributing to the closure of some burn units.

Also known as the "one-pot" approach, the method is popular because it uses less pseudoephedrine - a common component in some cold and allergy pills. It also yields meth in minutes rather than hours, and it's cheaper and easier to conceal. Meth cooks can carry all the ingredients in a backpack and mix them in a bathroom stall or the seat of a car.

The improvised system first emerged several years ago, partly in response to attempts by many states to limit or forbid over-the-counter access to pseudoephedrine. Since then, the shake-and-bake recipe has spread to become the method of choice.

By 2010, about 80 percent of labs busted by the federal Drug Enforcement Administration were using shake-and-bake recipes, said Pat Johnakin, a DEA agent specializing in meth.

They are all idiots...

2012-01-22T19:10:00.004-07:00

In 1999, Janklow proposed a bill that would make EVERY "drug" violation a felony. This is an account from a guy who was just a messenger; he had no clue -- he even got the topic wrong.

I opposed the bill and further proposed legalization of cannabis.

Buenger, a whore, represented the "courts," with no understanding of the bill or its ramifications. He simply said, "If we are going to support this bill we need more courtrooms." Poor dumb sonofabitch. Much like the hapless Charlie McGuigan, who pimps for the Attorney General's office in committee hearings.

Buenger was just so happy to be recognized by Janklow that he never gave a thought to the evil that the man attempted to perpetrate. Glad he's in Brussels. Hope he likes the beer.

He had no feeling for the fact that cannabis should not be illegal; he had no feeling for the fact that thousands of lives were being destroyed for no reason.

Bill Maher lauds Ron Paul

2012-01-21T17:23:00.004-07:00

One-minute film...

The inconsistency of it all...

2012-01-21T16:25:00.003-07:00

Rep. Don Kopp has had his moments. There was the incomprehensible "Resolution to Force Schools to Balance Their Instruction on 'Global Warming.'"

There was his argument not to allow patients to use cannabis even at their doctor's recommendation, "If, say, my wife was using medical marijuana, and I breathed the air in the room, I could get it in my blood and be charged with DUI."

There have been another couple of memorable incidents, I think. I don't remember any off-hand, but there probably are some.

Then comes along a perfectly reasonable piece of legislation, HB 1015, that gets destroyed in its first committee appearance by people who say they'd be in favor of it if there weren't some folks they don't like who support it. That is just plain chickenshit; there is always a faction of support for any proposal that can be singled out as "annoying," and therefore can serve as a scapegoat when a legislator wants cover for a despicable vote.

One problem with politics is that those who practice it don't seem to subscribe to a general philosophy. Rather, they react intuitively to an apparent affront to "values" they have grown up with. Kopp thinks that a person has the right to carry an instrument of self-defense without begging and bribing the State for the right to do so.

How can he think that a person suffering from a condition alleviated by cannabis (a fact he doesn't deny) can morally be prevented by the State from using it?

There's a hard rain gonna fall...

2012-01-21T15:57:00.006-07:00

...as we begin seeing people come out of prison as fast as they have been going in for 35 years.

Here are two minutes of film that will make you want to see more.

A documentary of America's greatest current shame (amid some serious contenders for that honor), The House I Live In is debuting at Sundance tonight. Probably see it on PBS during the next few months. Probably available on NetFlix within six months.

Recommended Winter TV Show for when you want to see something good: Rent the entire five seasons of The Wire.

Ex-CIA officer endorses Ron Paul

2012-01-21T15:04:00.003-07:00

Republican Presidential Candidate Ron Paul has been endorsed by an outspoken former CIA officer who once headed the Osama Bin Laden unit.

Michael Scheuer pulled no punches in throwing his support behind and encouraging Iowans to vote for Rep. Paul.

Scheuer was a 22-year veteran of the CIA who served as the chief of the Bin Laden unit from 1996 to 1999 and continued to work on counter-terrorism issues until he left the Agency in 2004 shortly after anonymously publishing a book entitled "Imperial Hubris: Why the West is Losing the War on Terror." He continues to write extensively about U.S. foreign policy, critical of what he believes is America's dangerous intervention in the Muslim world and kowtowing to the pro Israeli lobby.

In a lengthy column on his website entitled, "Iowa's Choice: Dr. Paul or U.S. bankruptcy, more wars and many more dead soldiers and Marines," Scheuer touted the Texas Congressman for taking principled stands against foreign intervention.

"Dr. Paul's non-interventionist policy will allow foreigners to work out their political destiny in their own way and at their own pace; prevent unnecessary additions to America's growing list of enemies; and save countless young lives," Scheuer said.

He criticized the other Republican candidates and President Barack Obama for supporting policies that will only "motivate more Muslims" to fight against U.S. interests.

And he said only Rep. Paul could be counted on to develop domestic energy resources to end the dependence on what he called "oil-rich Arab tyrants...that mandates that the U.S. military spends billions each year to defend the Arab Penisula's fundamentally anti-U.S. police states."

Carrying a concealed weapon...

2012-01-20T17:58:00.003-07:00

Rep. Don Kopp introduced HB 1015, which would have allowed people to carry a concealed firearm without asking the State if they could do so, and without paying the State for a license to do so. 1015 went down today, because some legislators, too spineless to say they think people should have a license to defend themselves, copped out and said they didn't like some folks who supported the bill.

Nearly as polarizing as the question of abortion, there are really only two positions available on personal ownership of firearms:

1. Anyone not specifically prohibited (by arbitrary prohibition standards set by the State) may possess any firearm.

or

2. Anyone not specifically authorized to do so (by arbitrary prohibition standards set by the State) may not possess any firearm.

Concealed Carry is an offshoot of the argument. Permits for CC serve no purpose, unless it's part of an illegal effort to catalog gun owners. Those who intend to use a gun illegally don't worry about the permit.

REPUBLICAN RACE TODAY

2012-01-19T16:37:00.000-07:00

Texas Governor Rick Perry has suspended his campaign for the Republican presidential nomination. This is a good thing for the Republican party and the nation.

Perry brought little to the debate and was as embarrassing to the party as Michelle Bachman with an intellect that appeared to be right up there with Dan Quayle's.

His endorsement of Newt Gingrich, in South Carolina at least is probably meaningless.

In the meantime, it turns out that Rick Santorum actually won the Iowa vote, through some hocus-pocus with some votes not being counted or turned in on time.

Newt Gingrich's ex-wife tried to put a bullet in his campaign by declaring that Newt wanted an "open marriage" with her, and his current wife Calista. The interview aired on ABC News in spite of the fact that ex-wife made the declaration in the press more than a year ago and was disappointed that nobody noticed and nobody cared, and probably nobody believed her.

Bad news for some apparently over-zealous Ron Paul supporter, who uploaded a very nasty ad against Jon Huntsman. Some are speculating that Huntsman's supporters did the video and posted it in an effort to make Paul look bad. Won't work. Paul is suing the anonymous person who posted the video.

From the Hollywood Reporter (always a pillar of journalism excellence): "The video in question purported to come from New Hampshire supporters of Paul and suggested that Huntsman, a former U.S. ambassador to China, was a "Manchurian Candidate." Paul is suing for defamation, false advertising and false designation of origin in violation of the Lanham Act in what could be an interesting lawsuit to follow."

And finally, it is apparently not just speculation that Mitt Romney has so much dough that he ran out of banks in the US and shipped some of his cash off to the Cayman Islands. Hmmm. Perfectly legal thing to do. But how will voters feel about tax-free wealth building off-shore, when they are scratching to make their tax payments which are sure to exceed Romney's self-reported 15% rate?

Ron Paul on Foreign Policy

2012-01-18T14:47:00.000-07:00

Mr. Newland has said in a different thread that he thinks its a shame so many people don't understand Paul's foreign policy.

Here it is, copied and pasted from Paul's own website:

A PRO-AMERICA FOREIGN POLICY

As an Air Force veteran, Ron Paul believes national defense is the single most important responsibility the Constitution entrusts to the federal government.

In Congress, Ron Paul voted to authorize military force to hunt down Osama bin Laden and authored legislation to specifically target terrorist leaders and bring them to justice.

Today, however, hundreds of thousands of our fighting men and women have been stretched thin all across the globe in over 135 countries – often without a clear mission, any sense of what defines victory, or the knowledge of when they’ll be permanently reunited with their families.

Acting as the world’s policeman and nation-building weakens our country, puts our troops in harm’s way, and sends precious resources to other nations in the midst of an historic economic crisis.

Taxpayers are forced to spend billions of dollars each year to protect the borders of other countries, while Washington refuses to deal with our own border security needs.

Congress has been rendered virtually irrelevant in foreign policy decisions and regularly cedes authority to an executive branch that refuses to be held accountable for its actions.

Far from defeating the enemy, our current policies provide incentive for more to take up arms against us.

That’s why, as Commander-in-Chief, Dr. Paul will lead the fight to:

* Make securing our borders the top national security priority.

* Avoid long and expensive land wars that bankrupt our country by using constitutional means to capture or kill terrorist leaders who helped attack the U.S. and continue to plot further attacks.

* Guarantee our intelligence community’s efforts are directed toward legitimate threats and not spying on innocent Americans through unconstitutional power grabs like the Patriot Act.

* End the nation-building that is draining troop morale, increasing our debt, and sacrificing lives with no end in sight.

* Follow the Constitution by asking Congress to declare war before one is waged.

* Only send our military into conflict with a clear mission and all the tools they need to complete the job – and then bring them home.

* Ensure our veterans receive the care, benefits, and honors they have earned when they return.

* Revitalize the military for the 21^st century by eliminating waste in a trillion-dollar military budget.

* Prevent the TSA from forcing Americans to either be groped or ogled just to travel on an airplane and ultimately abolish the unconstitutional agency.

* Stop taking money from the middle class and the poor to give to rich dictators through foreign aid.

As President, Ron Paul’s national defense policy will ensure that the greatest nation in human history is strong, secure, and respected.

I'll venture a guess...

2012-01-18T13:54:00.001-07:00

LOS ANGELES -- Investigators planned to search the brush Wednesday near a popular Hollywood hiking trail where a human head in a plastic bag was found by dog walkers.

There was no immediate word on the cause of death.

It was Gingrich's night at SC Debate

2012-01-17T11:10:00.000-07:00

You don't see standing ovations at debates very often. The exchange here won Gingrich a standing ovation (which was edited from this).

I watched the debate from start to finish, the first I've watched from beginning to end (mostly because I considered Michelle Bachman to be insufferable) and I believed it was Newt's night.

I doubt Gingrich was able to close the gap between him and Mitt Romney by enough to win the nomination or even South Carolina. But, certainly his voice was heard, and it was his best performance in the campaign so far.

He capitalized on Ron Paul's extraordinary weak answers on foreign policy. He spanked Santorum on the economy, Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid.

Surprises came from Rick Perry, who made no egregious errors and was another crowd favorite with a couple of quick-witted swipes at Romney, Santorum and Paul. He also got crowd approval from his promise to secure the Mexican border within a year of taking office.

Romney's performance was second to Gingrich's in my opinion. But his answers about his experience in the private sector and the release of his tax returns were evasive and inadequate. His foreign policy answers were spot on. He appeared more presidential than he has throughout the process.

I believe that Santorum and Paul had the worst performances. Paul stumbled and stuttered through his answers on foreign policy, some of which were answered by boos from the audience. Santorum was on a milktoast attack and his targets were Gingrich and Romney. Too much time was spent on what was wrong with Gingrich and Romney and not enough on what was right with Santorum...probably because there isn't much right with Santorum.

Based on audience response in Myrtle Beach last night, Gingrich would win the South Carolina primary if the vote was taken today, with Romney a close second. I doubt that will be the actual case. Romney will win the primary. Gingrich will likely come in second. But, I do believe that the field will be significantly changed after the South Carolina vote. I think it will be time for Santorum and Perry to go home. Paul should have left after Iowa and New Hampshire.

That will leave a field of candidates that won't be the best of the best. Huntsman's lack of money and organization probably took the best guy out of the race. However, I believe that either Romney or Gingrich could beat Obama. Gingrich's ideas are bolder than Romney's. Romney wins the character battle with Obama. Paul doesn't have a prayer.

South Carolina is an important primary. It really sets the tone for the rest of the race.

MLK

2012-01-16T16:58:00.000-07:00

Above: 1954

Above: 2011

It appears we've learned very little.

Cop Flips Out

2012-01-14T17:50:00.001-07:00

An entertaining minute and a half...

What should I do with a set of cordless phones?

2012-01-14T11:12:00.003-07:00

I have a four-handset group of Panasonic KX-TG5634 cordless phones. The base unit and all the charging stands are present. The handset screen from which one knows what's happening is blank on most of the handsets.

You can receive calls on these phones; you can make a call if you can count beeps and trust your ability to punch out a number with no confirmation on the screen.

I'm just trying to avoid making landfill out of this set while someone might be able to use them. Is there a better way to discard them than the city landfill?

They're yours if you want them. I can deliver locally (Rapid City, Hermosa) or mail them anywhere for the price of the shipping.

Reply in the comments section or email me directly by clicking my name in the "Moderators" block at right.

And getting on with life...

2012-01-13T10:56:00.001-07:00

Government is probably the better choice. They don't go to jail as often, and there comes a time when you get retirement benefits.

On Bill Janklow

2012-01-12T18:58:00.000-07:00

Like many journalists, and former journalists, I have to admit I have mixed feelings about the passing of former governor and Representative Bill Janklow.

I have several friends who were very close to Janklow. One has been in the "inner circle" of the Janklow family for many, many years. Another was a friend and associate for about the same amount of time. They grieve.

I do not mourn Bill Janklow's death, neither do I celebrate it.

There is no question that Janklow was a unique individual, who was able to accomplish many of his goals in life. But he was mean.

I'm somewhat surprised to see journalists commenting on their fondness for Janklow, mostly because I don't believe them. Mr. Janklow had a deep and abiding loathing for reporters. Nobody in my recollection was ever able to control the press as well as Janklow did. And he reveled in that control.

I know several people who were on the receiving end of one of his tirades after reporting something of which he did not approve. I got a couple of those calls myself. And, I can tell you that those tirades were vicious, angry and unprofessional.

He was cruel, belittling and often threatening. There wasn't a journalist in the state who did not believe he would follow through with his threats. Some of the best journalists I've known in this state were driven from their jobs by an angry egomaniac who in at least a couple of cases wasn't happy with threatening their bosses to the point of getting them fired, he would find out where they went and get them fired from the next job. It seems cruelty oozed from his pores.

He was a lawyer who believed the law did not apply to him. No amount of power seemed to satisfy him.

So tonight I am confused by the journalists who are now candy-coating their real feelings about the former governor.

I did not like Bill Janklow. I recognize his contribution to this state and I respect it. My thoughts and prayers are with his family and those who loved him, for their loss.

While I certainly would not wish upon anyone the manner of his death, I also cannot mourn the fact that he died. We all die.

Epitaph

2012-01-12T17:49:00.012-07:00

I started writing this on Thursday, then decided to let it sit so I could read it and edit it again before it saw daylight. It appears as being posted at the time I first saved a draft. Meantime, Sanborn posted his thoughts, which appeared before this post appeared. We have many of the same observations.

Website statistics are difficult to analyze precisely without spending quite a little more time than I feel like doing (and even then, the best you can do is make slightly more precise observations than in a cursory look). It looks to me as if the Decorum Forum has a base visitor group of around 50-80 people, and the past four days have seen a doubling of our normal "unique visits" and page loads.

I mention that because I have been listening to elegies for Bill Janklow much of today. A large number of people have and will give public testimonies as to how compassionate, loyal, effective and [insert any complimentary term] Bill Janklow was. Everyone is different things to different people. The political class has a wider range of people to be different things to than do most.

A lot of people in South Dakota will be privy to broadcasts for a few days reprising Janklow's life and broadcasters and print reporters will try to "balance" the praise with several versions of "he was stubborn," or "I often disagreed with him, but you knew where he stood." It's a great opportunity for SDPB to attempt to mitigate the damage the legislature would have done if it were to tell the truth about the man.

What I say here will most likely see a smaller audience. That's probably as it should be. At least it's how it is.

Thursday on SDPB, former State Budget Director Curt Everson said, "There is law and order in this world, but I think Bill Janklow wanted law and justice."

If "justice" means...

1. Fairness.
2. a. The principle of moral rightness; equity.
b. Conformity to moral rightness in action or attitude; righteousness.
3. The upholding of what is just, especially fair treatment and due reward in accordance with honor, standards, or law.
4. Conformity to truth, fact, or sound reason.

...then, regardless of whatever he was to any number of people, he was a sociopathic maniac on the subject of justice for people using non-approved methods to feel better.

I was the Libertarian nominee for governor in 1998. Janklow was incumbent, running for his final term. Bernie Hunhoff was the Democrat. All three of us were invited to address the South Dakota Water Users Association (I'm sorry, that's not the name, but it was a water users group) early in the campaign, the first time we were all three together as gubernatorial candidates. They gave Hunhoff 20 mnutes, me 5 minutes, and Janklow always talked three times as long as he should have.

My five minutes were a brief outline of the consequences of prohibition, including the fact that it had created an open, unregulated market with access to illegal drugs available to anyone of any age. I concluded with the statement that my first act as governor would be to pardon every So. Dak. conviction for possession or sale by adults to adults of cannabis. Hunhoff pretended I wasn't there during his 20 minutes (the same treatment the Democrats in So. Dak. have given the greatest public policy disaster since slavery all along).

Janklow talked for nearly an hour with no mention of either of us, then at the end pointed at me and said, "Anyone who wants to give drugs to kids is absolutely nuts." He continued, "We may be losing the war on drugs, but even if everyone else gives up I'll still be here fighting, like the Lone Ranger on a hilltop."

The reporters there, Terry Woster, Chet Brokaw and a local paper all agreed with Janklow's interpretation of my words, and failed to report any of the crazy stuff Janklow said. I saw this repeated in several newspaper accounts of Janklow statements when I had heard what he actually said.

I and a lot of other people have knowledge of some really ugly Janklow incidents, most of which if published would dim his star considerably. But his own words on the day last fall when he announced his imminent death illustrate his own delusions:

"I gave a damn about what I did. I wouldn't change a thing, except I would have stopped at a stopsign."

That amounts to a verbal toss-off of the incident in which he killed a man who never knew what hit him. It implies a resentment that Randy Scott didn't stay the hell out of his way.

Here are some vile things he did to South Dakotans who, mostly, had no idea who he was.

For a while in the 1970s, possession of a small amount of cannabis was treated as a petty offense, punished by a small fine. As Attorney General, Janklow got the spineless, useless legislature to make possession of eight ounces or less a misdemeanor (jail and a larger fine), and more than half a pound as a felony.

In 1996, in a fit of pique ("These people are laughing at us. They know exactly how much is a felony and they carry just under it with them.") he asked the spineless, useless legislature to up the penalties and lower the dividing line between misdemeanor and felony to two ounces.

These two changes in law have resulted thousands and thousands of lives damaged to varying degrees, with no benefit to anyone unless you count dog trainers and handlers.

In 1999, Janklow introduced and promoted a bill that would have made ANY drug crime (including possession of rolling papers) a felony with a mandatory 30 days in prison. This made it through three of the four steps necessary for the legislature to sign off on it. At the final step, the floor vote in the House, even the spineless, useless legislature decided it didn't have the stomach to quadruple the number of felons in South Dakota in one year.

During his testimony to the House committee in favor of his bill in 1999, Janklow said,

"I don't have many moral principles. I don't. But I do know what drugs do to young girls."

I would like to see those three sentences inscribed on his gravestone. The reporters in the room didn't think them worthy of repeating.

Janklow passes

2012-01-12T10:45:00.000-07:00

I have it on relatively good authority that former Gov. Bill Janklow has died. Like him or hate him, it is hard to argue that he was among the most dynamic individuals to serve in public office in South Dakota's history.

Mr. Janklow and I did not particularly get along well. But his contribution to bringing broadband internet capability to rural South Dakota alone, is a tribute to his service.

And Sam Kooiker says...

2012-01-12T10:43:00.004-07:00

But first, in a thread below moderator Sanborn predicted: "Kooiker's not likely to chime in on this or any other blog." Well he did chime in, on Blogmore, of which you are probably already aware, but I will post his entire comment and Woster's add-on right here, right now.

Sam Kooiker Says:  January 12th, 2012 at 6:53 am

Kevin,

Greetings and Happy New Year.

Andrea’s recent articles and your Blogmore post implies that I am some sort of a mastermind who was, as 1 member of a 10 member council, able to: control a human resources department and a police department, a city council (6 of whom voted to censor me), a previous mayor (who was my opponent on four ballots – 2 general elections and 2 runoffs), multiple grand juries, a state’s attorney, DCI and the Attorney General.

So let’s do a brief recap. On 12/22/2009, The PW Director (Robert Ellis), City Attorney (Jason Green) and Mayor (Alan Hanks) held a press conference announcing the revocation of Fish Garbage’s license. I was not present at the press conference nor was I invited to attend. As you may be aware, the previous mayor was not one of my biggest fans. The previous administration signed off on Meidinger’s dismissal from employment. My predecessor’s sudden amnesia in the recent RC Journal article is fun to read about, but perplexing.

At the 2/1/2010 City Council meeting, Fish declined to attend their public hearing prior to the vote on revocation of their business license. The city attorney and mayor at the time recommended revocation of the license. It was unanimous on the Council as well. I simply had a meeting (at Culver’s) with Warner and Dee Dee Ghere in May 2009, at their request, and asked for their concerns to be looked into. This is now a matter of public record and was reported by the Journal in February 2010. The Gheres said they’d heard I was someone who followed up on things, and I did. I have taken a beating for it, but I don’t regret following my oath of office and bringing forward the concerns. I was first told there wasn’t a problem and accepted what I was told. In late July 2009, I discovered there was a problem (later evidenced by a 2006 memo which you have seen and is public), and in talking to another city council member about it, Ron Weifenbach, he indicated that he had brought the issue to Alan Hanks in 2007.

So Ron and I asked for it to be investigated, and the Journal’s own story from Feb 20, 2009 does a good job of covering this. Did I question Alan Hanks’ handling of this during the election? I sure did. So did Ron and so did many others in the community. Pointing out that there were serious issues in the previous administration is not the same as trying the criminal and civil cases in public.

You’ve seen the emails, and you have known about this since the Censor when the emails were first released (Andrea reported in May of last year that I had sent 5,500 emails on the landfill, but it was only about 20.)

The civil case has recently been expanded (unanimously by the council on 10/3/2011) to address additional information which has been discovered and continues to be discovered.

Regarding the election, I recall you saying you didn’t vote last summer. If that’s the case, I hope you support me twice as much as you did last time if I run for re-election.
And before you come up with another post that beats me up or picks this post apart, at least give me some faint praise in the first and last paragraphs for being willing to engage you in a discussion on Blogmore.

PS. I am still up for a Culver’s lunch (and perhaps a small food fight) whenever you, Severson and Fleming are up to it. Severson can even bring his 6 recruits. You guys have my number. Maybe afterwards you can write a blog post blaming Culver’s for the whole thing because that’s where this all started. Shame on them for having such good burgers.

Sam: Thanks very much for responding. I give you a lot of credit for engaging here. Regarding Alan Hanks, if he’s a candidate for mayor next year, I wouldn’t expect him to attempt to use the Fish issue against you. He certainly wouldn’t have much political standing to do that, as other, fresher candidates might. Looking back, I’m guessing he might regret the way he handled Fish. Others may have regrets as well. I wonder, do they include you? Looking back, do you wish you hadn’t used the word “fraud,” before any allegation had been proven? Do you wish you had looked into the matter more thoroughly to assure government wasn’t unfairly damaging private business and private citizens? Or did you just presume the local government system and its processes, which you seemed to have challenged regularly prior to that, was thorough in its investigation and absolutely right in its allegations? Do you argue that Fish wasn’t prominent in your campaign? It seemed to me that is was. And at this point, could you explain to me what your feelings are about the value of proceeding with the civil suit? I have to respectfully tell you that I’m puzzled by that. I’m always up for lunch. I don’t have a clue what Severson and Fleming are doing these days. But they’re welcome, too, especially if Fleming buys. Again, thanks for engaging here. Not all elected officials are so willing, especially when the issues are touchy. I’ll try to provide further opportunities here for you. K.W.

Speaking of saddle horses...

2012-01-11T19:54:00.001-07:00

Reflections of the old and in the way

2012-01-11T18:14:00.005-07:00

During the past two-and-a-half years I have whittled down the tools of my trade to one semi-serious and several less-serious cameras, a good radio under a roof and on wheels, two laptops (one is a backup on road trips), a desk computer, a semi-serious photo printer and a $50 workhorse Brother laser printer.

The tools of my trade at one time consisted of a couple of dozen saddle horses, a couple of dozen vehicles ranging from dirt bikes to four-wheel-drive eight-bottom-plow pullers, along with semi-serious hand tools, most of which are scattered in northeast Wyoming at sites at which I or family members or our employees worked on something and failed to pick them up. (There is also a hunting knife at every site where I gutted a pronghorn or a deer.)

There came a time, though, when capturing images and reproducing them became my principle income-producing mojo. Tonight, I have had to photograph several screen-shots to aid an internet troubleshooter diagnose my situation.

In 1985, I could have done that, too. If I used, today, the same technology I had at that time for the process of capturing an image and transmitting it to someone else, I could have...

Photographed the screen (which, of course, was not a consumer item in 1985),
Developed the film, assuming black/white was sufficient (1.5 hours),
Chosen and printed three frames (2 hours minimum) on 5x7 paper,
Pack and mail prints to recipient (.5-2 hours),
Waited for recipient to get it (3-7 days),
Talked to recipient on phone after he has seen the prints.
Repeated until I began seriously thinking of running a hose from the tailpipe into the passenger cab.

Now, I have several ways to capture and transmit an image within 15 minutes, in color. The principle improvement, today at least, is that I haven't had to wait as long between steps 1 and 7.

Study finds no lung damage in long-term moderate cannabis use

2012-01-11T11:44:00.002-07:00

From today's New York Times Health Section...

Excerpts:

In something of a twist, the researchers found that compared to nonsmokers, marijuana users performed slightly better on the lung function test, though the improvement was minuscule.

Dr. Tashkin said he and his colleagues had found in their own research — unexpectedly — that even smoking up to three joints a day did not appear to cause a decrease in lung function. “I think that the bottom line is that there does not appear to be any negative impact on lung function of marijuana smoking,” he said, “and that therefore marijuana is not a risk factor for the development of C.O.P.D. Tobacco smoking is the most important risk factor for C.O.P.D.”

Stan Adelstein: TAX EVERYONE!

2012-01-10T12:27:00.000-07:00

Stan Adelstein has been called a RINO by those on the radical religious right. Me too.

Where Stan and I separate is that Stan has been active in proposing tax increases at every opportunity. In this session he has said he will re-introduce his plan to increase the state sales tax during the summer.

I cannot think of another Republican lawmaker who has been less effective. Let's look at his 2011 record of bills he sponsored:

SB 104: Anti-bullying legislation to require school districts to adopt anti-bullying policies. Failed to get out of committee.

SB 105: A bill to require ignition interlock on second-offense DUI convicts' automobiles. Failed to get out of committee.

SB 115: A bill to prohibit the use of cell phones while driving. Failed to get out of committee.

SB 116: A bill to confiscate DUI convicts' license plates. Failed to get out of committee.

SB 117: A bill to prevent minors from using tanning devices. Failed to get out of committee.

SB 118: A bill to expand medicaid eligibility for pregnant women and to provide an appropriation therefor. Failed to get out of committee.

SB 151: Revise the grandfathering provisions and renewal requirements of massage therapy licensure. PASSED with amendments, signed by governor. This was a tax on massage therapy license holders who fail to renew their license 30 days prior to its expiration date.

SB 174: A bill to temporarily increase the state sales tax and use tax to fund the state budget shortfall and to declare an emergency. Failed to get a committee hearing.

SB 175: A bill to provide for the participation of independent voters in primary elections. Failed to get out of committee.

CO SPONSOR OF HOUSE LEGISLATION:

HB 1055: a bill to prohibit employers from restricting employees who are volunteer emergency responders in their response to emergencies during work hours. Failed to get out of committee.

HB 1130: A bill to allow certain adult children of overseas citizens to vote in the state. PASSED with three amendments. Signed by governor.

HB 1159: A bill to create and ombudsman position to assist taxpayers with property tax assessment appeals. Failed to get out of committee.

HB 1205: A bill to provide for the distribution of certain stimulus money to state aid to education. Tabled in committee.

HB 1253: A bill to establish provisions for military and overseas voters. Tabled in committee.

In 2009, Sen. Adelstein was eager to wage war on taxpayers when he sponsored SB 194 which increased fuel excise tax on ethanol blends. Failed to get out of committee.

In 2006 Sen. Adelstein sponsored SB 139, would would have allowed the state to confiscate motor vehicles driven by people who are DUI or who has no drivers license. Failed in committee.

In 2005, He was primary sponsor of a House Bill to increase tax on cigarettes. Failed to get out of committee.

He sponsored an increase the tax on alcoholic beverages, which never got to committee. This was the "per drink" tax that would have created a reporting nightmare for every wholesale and retail liquor distributor in the state.

He was the primary sponsor of a House bill to increase the school term and require taxpayers to provide for the costs associated with doing so. Killed in the education committee.

In 2004, he sponsored a bill to increase the tax on alcoholic beverages and revise the distribution of revenue. Died in committee.

He also sponsored HB 1170 which would have repealed the video lottery and replaced the revenue with increases in sales and use taxes. Tabled in committee.

In 2003, he again introduced HB 1204 the old per drink tax. That year he also introduced HC 101 which honored his son, Jonathan for his appointment to the Federal Communications Commission. (That one passed) He was the primary House Sponsor of SB 147 to increase the states percentage of the video lottery income, and SB 186 to impose additional tax on certain alcoholic beverages. Both died in committee.

He has obviously been an opponent of video lottery for some time and back in 2003, he was House sponsor of SB 191 which prevented people in the video lottery industry from contributing to political candidates. That one died too.

In 2003 he co sponsored a bill to impose a tax on cell phone companies. This was Passed with multiple amendments, vetoed by Gov. Rounds and both the House and Senate successfully voted to override the veto.

Also in 2003, he co-sponsored a bill to increase taxes on cigarettes, which passed.

The guy really hates booze and cigarettes. He introduced tax increases on both in 2001. Both bills failed.

He's also big on confiscating the license plates of people he believes can't afford their cars, having introduced legislation in a number of years to do just that, which has always been a failing effort.

All those years in the legislature and what he has to show for it is a series of efforts to tax individuals, businesses, industry. For many years, I have hated the term RINO. In Stan's case, with his love of every new tax that comes down the pike, RINO just might fit.

Good night, everyone

2012-01-09T20:03:00.002-07:00

Townsend's Solitaire?

2012-01-09T19:52:00.004-07:00

I spotted this bird in a pine along Battle Creek 5 miles west of Hermosa today. I don't recall seeing one like this before, although its call (kind of a single-note bell sound) seemed familiar. If it is a Townsend's Solitaire female (Audubon pix), it is at the eastern edge of its normal range. Anybody disagree with the ident?

Note: The shadow of a branch makes a black bar across the underside of its tail in a few of the pix.

Interview with a shitdrinker

2012-01-09T15:47:00.001-07:00

This guy gets a bunch of his own people shot for no reason, then says its your fault.

Does this demonstrate anything of value in assessing a candidate for president?

2012-01-09T12:21:00.001-07:00

What do foruminants think about this very short clip featuring mostly Mitt Romney?

Fishing for a reason

2012-01-09T10:32:00.004-07:00

The Rapid City Journal has two stories today about the Landfill Inquisition, one about the destruction of the Fish family and one about the destruction of Randy Meidinger.

Nowhere in either story is there a hint that the Journal attempted to interview the folks responsible for destroying these folks' lives. I suppose there is a possibility that it intends to do so, in which case there will be an opportunity for Glenn Brenner to refuse comment or for his troops of crack investigators to explain why they indicted people and brought people to trial without evidence. I am not holding my breath waiting for that story.

I presented the Journal with evidence that Brenner's office routinely extorts money from people simply by charging them with crimes they didn't commit, knowing that it is cheaper to pay a $280 fine than it is to defend oneself. The Journal yawned.

The Rapid City Weekly News did carry the story about Brenner's extortion scheme, and was threatened by Brenner. The Weekly News refused to do a follow-up when the SoDak Bar reprimanded one of Brenner's deputies for her part in the extortion. Reprimanded! (Don't do it again, wink, wink.)

I am aware that Sam Kooiker's insistence led to the "investigation" that resulted in the senseless carnage at the landfill. I assume Sam had what he thought was "probable cause." But that does not excuse what appears to have been a vendetta that resulted in what should have been an extremely embarrassing series of fuck-ups on the parts of the various law enforcement agencies and Brenner's office that resulted in not-guilty verdicts and a trial stopped after Brenner realized he had no evidence.

The Journal reports crime daily based on reports from the copshop and Brenner's office. Andrea Cook and Emilie Rusch gush (unbiasedly, of course) over the hard work of the boys and girls in blue and their blue-suited compatriots in Glenn Brenner's office, never questioning their competence or their intent.

For me, it's been a simple equation. For over forty years I have understood that anyone who creates or enforces a law making it a criminal act to attempt to feel better should not be allowed to hang out in polite society. You can't take a person's opinion or work, in any aspect of life, seriously, if that person thinks people should be punished for attempting to feel better.

The ruination of Randy Meidinger and the Fish family is a logical progression from the whimsical behavior encouraged by our senseless laws prohibiting people from attempting to feel better unless they do it in a manner prescribed by the liquor companies. You give people the legal power to act whimsically to hurt people and they will act whimsically to hurt people.

Gurgling at the drain

2012-01-07T20:19:00.002-07:00

Kurtz mentions Bob Mercer below in allusion to Janklow's imminent threat to leave us. Made me recall back in the days when I thought the truth and evidence thereof might have some sway in changing South Dakota law.

Sometime during Janklow's final months in the governor's office, Bob Mercer accepted the position of press secretary to the governor, probably at double or so what he was making as a reporter. I called him up, since Mercer had been among the more respectful of reporters who had occasionally called me about my lobbying on behalf of sick, disabled and dying people.

I jabbed him a little about working for the most intolerable asshole ever to sit in the South Dakota capitol. "Well, I imagine the money's a little better, anyway," I said.

It's not about the money, Mercer replied. It will give me a chance to steer reporters to the real stories.

A few months later, I saw Mercer at the capitol. I asked him how many real stories he'd sicced reporters onto. He walked away from me. He won't let me post on his blog even today.

Guys (and gals) like this simply don't have the capacity to tell the truth.

2012-01-07T16:34:00.002-07:00

On today's All Things Considered, Guy Raz interviewed Tim Goeglein, W's speechwriter who had to quit when he got caught plagiarizing in a column he wrote for his hometown paper.

While he put on a pretty good show of being contrite about that, his whole life has apparently become a campaign to defend the indefensible. From the transcript:

Goeglein himself believes that faith and government go together, and that the relationship transcends party politics.

"I believe that the conservative movement is stronger and more effective than the Republican Party," he says. The two are often conflated, but whether they're in politics or not, conservative thinkers are very influential. And despite the political rancor of the times, he says, they do want to have a conversation.

"They are people who, I think, are first and foremost interested in a civil dialogue," he says. "But I can tell you that they would disagree strongly with their friends on the left."

Goeglein impales himself on his own sycophancy in this interview. He tries soooooo hard to be nice and generous, but a one-eyed man can see that he's an insufferable little prick.

Just watched this. Pow'rf'l stuff.

2012-01-07T16:08:00.003-07:00

(There are about 30 hyperlinks embedded in this post.)

The Rape of Europa: The Fate of Europe's Treasures in the Third Reich and the Second World War is a book and a subsequent documentary film of somewhat related material.^[1] The book, by Lynn H. Nicholas, explores the Nazi plunder of looted art treasures from occupied countries, and the consequences. It covers a range of associated activities: Nazi appropriation and storage, patriotic concealment and smuggling during World War II, discoveries by the Allies, and the extraordinary tasks of preserving, tracking and returning by the American Monuments officers and their colleagues.^[2] Nicholas was awarded the Légion d'Honneur by France.^[3]

Despite the regular accounts of impending destruction of art works, Nicholas also recounts a veneration for art on the part of people of all sides of the conflict, and what amounts to desperate and sometimes heroic activity. The villains, unsurprisingly, are often the Nazis, particularly Adolf Hitler and Hermann Göring; however, the activities of Western art dealers are often questionable.

The book is chronological starting with scattered events in the decade before World War II. During this time the Nazis used their influence and money to acquire artwork, while dealers and the public at large were anticipating war. Discussion of Nazi occupation starts in the third chapter. The middle of the book discusses Nazi plundering during the war, as well as Soviet efforts to safeguard their treasures. Midway through the book the role of American and Allied organizations are introduced, including the frustratingly tentative planning and lack of resources they faced. The book follows the path of liberation as the Allies push back the Axis, while missing art is searched for, and recovered art conserved. The book concludes with chapters about post war activities: resolving problems of ownership, coordinating the return of stolen art, and attempting to collect what was yet missing. Philosophically intriguing are issues of who ultimately owns works of art. Since this last phase of recovery and restitution is ongoing, this book has a bearing on current activities.

The book won the National Book Critics Circle Award for general non-fiction in 1994, and it was adapted for a film of the same name released in 2006. It was made for 1.3 million USD, with half underwritten by the National Endowment for the Humanities and the remainder underwritten by the National Endowment for the Arts, several other foundations, and one private investor.^[4] The film was named by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to the shortlist for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.^[5]

Travlog: Part 8--La Paz

2012-01-07T10:24:00.004-07:00

La Paz is a three-hour bus ride north of San Jose del Cabo. We stayed five nights in this sweet little bungalow.
Loy stands in the entrance from the street (below). The yard level is about five feet above street level. Directly across the street 180 degrees from this view was the harbor, and the "Malacon'," a wide sidewalk that runs along the water for a couple of miles within La Paz. People were jogging, walking and walking their dogs at all times of day and night on the Malacon'.

A horse made of palm fronds.

Where there is a woman, there is (are) illusion(s).
...or suicide.

Similar Pharmacys®, "The Same But More Cheap®"

Puffer, a fish out of water

The Hotel Los Arcos may have seen better days.

In Mexico, you see representations of skeletons in folk art everywhere. Until this trip, I thought it was simply to pay deference to the "Day of the Dead" (look it up). I ran across an explanation that added flesh (so to speak) to the representations. In the colonial period, Mexicans often tried to emulate what they thought was haute couture in Europe, overdressing in coats and tails and throwing lavish parties.

In the mid-19th century, satirists began depicting the lavishness using skeletons as the people involved, often dressed in coats and tails. The implication was that many Mexicans were attempting to be something they were not, skeletons in suits, so to speak.

Pristine 1964 'stang.

Cops again do a lot of harm, but accomplish nothing of value.

2012-01-06T08:58:00.001-07:00

Transgender teen killed 3 days after cooperating with police

January 6, 2012 at 7:12 am

By Francis X. Donnelly
The Detroit News

http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20120106/METRO01/201060375/1409/rss36

Detroit-- Three days before a transgender teen died, she made a decision that might have cost her her life.

Shelley Hilliard, 19, was about to be arrested for possession of marijuana Oct. 20 when police offered a way out, according to testimony during a court hearing Thursday. She could set up a drug deal.

With the police listening on speaker phone, Hilliard used her cellphone to call Qasim Raqib, telling him she had someone (an undercover agent) who wanted to buy $335 worth of cocaine and marijuana, according to testimony during Raqib's preliminary examination Thursday in 36th District Court.

When Raqib arrived at the Motel 6 in Madison Heights 20 minutes later, police arrested him.

Raqib, 30, of Detroit, was released several hours later. Three days later, the mutilated body of Hilliard was discovered ablaze in the street on Detroit's east side.

Raqib was charged with the murder. His preliminary exam resumes Jan. 13.

During the hearing, testimony suggested two days after his arrest, Raqib bought a prepaid cellphone that he used to lure Hilliard to her death.

The next day, Hilliard received a call to meet a man at 1 a.m. at 933 Longfellow St.

She was driven to the site by Robert Mullen, a taxi driver who testified during the hearing that he took Hilliard on all her calls.

During the drive, Hilliard told Mullen she was worried about payback by Raqib for turning him in. Mullen arrived at the dark neighborhood to find three people, but couldn't identify them.

Soon after dropping Hilliard off, Mullen got a call from her sounding scared, testified Mullen. The phone then sounded like it fell to the ground and went dead, he said.

He returned to 933 Longfellow but there was no sign of Hilliard or the three other people, he said.

Mullen tried to call Hilliard several times. At first, the calls rang before going to voicemail. They then went directly to voicemail, suggesting the phone had been turned off.

Her burned body was discovered 3½ hours later on a service road along Interstate 94.

Two days later, Mullen and Hilliard's mother, Lyneice Nelson, went to police to fill out a missing person's report.

An impassive Raqib, in cornrows and prison greens, is charged with first-degree murder and mutilation.

Here's another reason some folks are reluctant to be rational: It might save lives.

2012-01-05T18:40:00.000-07:00

Wider Use Of Cannabis Therapy Could Reduce Prescription Pain Drug Deaths

"Physicians who treat neuropathic pain with opioids should evaluate their patients for a trial of cannabis and prescribe it when appropriate prior to using opioids"

Sacramento, CA: Physicians who prescribe opioid drugs to patients with neuropathy (nerve pain) ought to consider recommending cannabis as an alternative therapy, according to a peer-reviewed paper published online this week in the Harm Reduction Journal.

"There is sufficient evidence of safety and efficacy for the use of (cannabis/cannabinoids) in the treatment of nerve pain relative to opioids," the commentary states. "In states where medicinal cannabis is legal, physicians who treat neuropathic pain with opioids should evaluate their patients for a trial of cannabis and prescribe it when appropriate prior to using opioids. ... Prescribing cannabis in place of opioids for neuropathic pain may reduce the morbidity and mortality rates associated with prescription pain medications and may be an effective harm reduction strategy."

The author notes that between the years 1999 and 2006, "approximately 65,000 people died from opioid analgesic overdose." By contrast, he writes "[N]o one has ever died from an overdose of cannabis."

In clinical trials, inhaled cannabis has consistently been shown to reduce neuropathic pain of diverse causes in subjects unresponsive to standard pain therapies.

In November, clinical investigators at the University of California, San Francisco reported that vaporized cannabis augments the analgesic effects of opiates in subjects prescribed morphine or oxycodone. Authors of the study surmised that cannabis-specific interventions "may allow for opioid treatment at lower doses with fewer [patient] side effects."

Neuropathy affects between five percent and 10 percent of the US population. The condition is often unresponsive to conventional analgesic medications such as opiates and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.

For more information, please contact Paul Armentano, NORML Deputy Director, at: paul@norml.org. Full text of the paper, "Prescribing cannabis for harm reduction" is available online at: http://www.harmreductionjournal.com/content/pdf/1477-7517-9-1.pdf.

Don't know how we missed this.

2012-01-05T17:47:00.002-07:00

For more than two years, the Decorum Forum has posted "Blogs We Read" in the right column. I just noticed today that two I read more regularly than most were not there (they are there now). One of the nice things about browsers these days is all you gotta do is type a few letters, like "Mad" to bring up Madville Times Blog. It's often faster than finding the link to click on.

CAHeidelberger, Madville's moderator, has at least some knowledge and quite a little passion about a wide range of stuff going on in nether parts of South Dakota. He and Mrs. CAH graciously put me up one night last spring when I was out doing my corporate narc work. Hey, Cory.

David Newquist, who posts to the Northern Valley Beacon, is the best writer posting regularly to a blog related largely to South Dakota issues. As far as I know. The post at the top of Beacon's home page as I write is pretty damned good.

Small Afternoon

2012-01-05T16:02:00.011-07:00

For the first time, today I went out with the express purpose of birdspotting. Results were less than impressive.

Robin. In January?

Downy Woodpecker, male

This Brook? Rainbow? trout is, I estimate, 13 inches long.

On my walk, I ran into some acquaintances.

Stace Nelson, good side. This is not gratuitous. Nelson has earned this.

Phil Jensen. His proposal to classify abortion providers as small game animals is a classic. Recently, he asked a retired judge if the judge agreed with Jensen that at least 50% of the faculty of state-supported schools should agree with Jensen on certain key political points.

I also saw some wild turkeys, but I thought pictures of them would confuse you if they were in the same post with the previous two pictures.

Censorship

2012-01-05T08:43:00.004-07:00

I posted this at Blogmore and they censored it:

Barack Obama has already gone through what I am about to describe, and we see the results.

Some summer evening in Florida this year the "Republicans" will choose someone to be the lion or the lamb in the titular November "election" for president. At that moment, some guys in banker suits will lead him (not likely to be a "her" this time, praise the lord) into a small room, where they will show him a 15-second film shot in Dallas 50 years ago. Then a guy in a suit will say, "Any questions?"

The nominee will say, "Do I have to clean up my own pee off the floor?"

"No. That's what your veep selection is for. Send her in."

I also posted this, and they censored it:

Ron Paul is the only "Republican" who has not promised to continue to use the power of the federal government to encroach on your personal liberty, or to continue to add to the piles of cash being shipped to the most vicious people on Earth, or to continue to feed the cancer of inflation that destroys your savings, or to continue to support governments who destroy their own people and thus feed the hatred of America.

Yet some of you call Ron Paul "wacky." As my wife said Wednesday morning as we listened to the results of the Iowa beauty contest, "What the **** is the matter with those people?"

Okay. ****'em at Blogmore.

Travlog: Part 7 -- Maybe the last birds

2012-01-04T17:41:00.004-07:00

I mean that I don't think I have any more bird pictures to inflict on you right now.

Western Gull

American Oystercatchers

Cannabis by the numbers

2012-01-03T20:12:00.003-07:00

Tell me one more time why USA law enforcement arrests a person every 40 seconds for a marijuana offense, 88% of the time for simple possession of a small amount. The only harm I see being done associated with cannabis is contained entirely in the preceding sentence.

From the East Bay Express...

$302.81: The average price of an ounce of high-quality weed in California
(PriceofWeed.com, Dec. 21).

$412.15: The average price of an ounce of high-quality weed in New York
(PriceofWeed.com, Dec. 21).

71.5: Percentage of US teens who say cannabis is "fairly/very easy to
obtain" (National Institutes of Health).

67: Percentage of Americans who think the "War on Drugs" has been a failure
(Angus Reid Public Opinion Poll, August).

50: Percentage of Americans supporting marijuana legalization (Gallup).

1,200: Number of local chapters of the NAACP now working to end the Drug
War after the group voted in October to call for the war's end (NAACP).

97: Age of Doritos creator Arch West, who passed away in September.

14.3 percent: Likelihood that a weekly cannabis smoker in the US is obese
(American Journal of Epidemiology, March).

22 percent: Likelihood that a cannabis abstainer in the US is obese
(American Journal of Epidemiology, March).

35,000: Number of doctors represented by the California Medical Association
who, in October, called for legalization of marijuana to increase research
and reduce public harm (CMA).

50-plus: Percentage of patients in a MediCann survey reported they had used
or were using marijuana as a substitute for prescription drugs (RAND).

$3.1 million: Six-month overseas sales of Sativex â€” a marijuana throat
spray in stage-three clinical trials in the US (GW Pharmaceuticals).

131 billion: Base pairs of the cannabis sativa genome sequenced and
published for the first time (Medicinal Genomics).

19: Percentage decrease in the traffic accident fatality rate for 20-29
year-olds associated with medical marijuana legalization (Daniel Rees,
University of Colorado, 2011).

$100: Fine for possession of less than an ounce of marijuana in California,
starting January 1, 2011 (State of California).

35: Number of years it took to get possession downgraded from a misdemeanor
to an infraction in California.

$250: Room-cleaning fee for smoking pot in a San Francisco hotel (field
reports).

6: Number of California city or county voter referendums or initiatives to
regulate dispensaries in 2011 and 2012.

5: Marijuana-related California initiatives seeking a spot on the November
12 statewide ballot.

3: Number of pounds allowable for personal use under the "Repeal Cannabis
Prohibition Act of 2012" currently gathering signatures in California.

504,760: Validated signatures needed to qualify an initiative for
California ballot in November 2012 (Bill Zimmerman).

$1.5 million: Estimated cost to gather required amount of valid signatures
to get on the California ballot (Zimmerman).

$34.4 million: Box office receipts for A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas
(RottenTomatoes.com).

3.3 million: Number of viewers that tuned in to Episode Two of FX's
Wilfred, starring Elijah Wood and a pot-smoking talking dog. Wilfred has
been picked up for a second season.

2: Billboard chart rank for debut of Wiz Khalifa's April release "Rolling
Papers," which went gold. The single "Roll Up" went platinum (Billboard,
RIAA)

4: Number of persons approved by the federal government to use medical
marijuana (US Drug Enforcement Administration).

16: Medical marijuana states (Americans for Safe Access).

750,000: Estimated number of qualified patients in California (NORML, June).

24.8 million: Estimated number of eligible patients under current state
laws (See Change Strategy, March 2011).

$1.7 billion: Estimated size of the annual medical marijuana market in the
United States (See Change Strategy).

$8.9 billion: Forecasted size of the annual US medical marijuana market in
2016 (See Change Strategy). Read more after the jump.

92: Percentage of the national medical cannabis market located in
California and Colorado (See Change Strategy).

$1.3 billion: Size of California medical cannabis market (See Change
Strategy).

$100 million: Amount the California Board of Equalization estimates it
collects annually from the 8.75 percent sales tax levied on medical
marijuana dispensaries (BOE).

$740,000: 2010 Oakland tax revenue from dispensary permits and sales (City
of Oakland).

30,000: Estimated number of attendees at the International Cannabis and
Hemp Expo held for the first time in front of Oakland City Hall.

$2.5 million: Amount Harborside Health Center owes the IRS, because the IRS
says medical cannabis dispensaries can't deduct business expenses
(Harborside).

5,300: Pounds of food Harborside Health Center donated to the Alameda
County Food Bank, earning it the Red Plate Award in May (Harborside).

$18 billion: Estimated size of the annual US marijuana black market (See
Change Strategies).

28 million: Estimated number of consumers of marijuana in the last year (US
Department of Justice).

9,000: Estimated number of full-time equivalent DEA agent positions
budgeted for 2011-12 (White House).

17,000 metric tons : Estimated annual marijuana production in the US
according to the US DOJ.

5,000 metric tons: Estimated annual marijuana production in the US
according to RAND.

1: Percentage of total US electricity generation estimated used by indoor
pot cultivation (Evan Mills, member, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
Change).

On Rick Santorum

2012-01-03T19:17:00.002-07:00

Nobody has said it better than Lewis Black...

Iowa prediction

2012-01-03T17:58:00.001-07:00

Iowans are currently in their Caucus meetings prior to casting their votes to set the tone for a dubious field of nominees. Lots of polls out there have recently shown surges from former Sen. Rich Santorum and Texas Congressman Ron Paul. I don't give polls much weight. And as of Saturday, 41 percent of Iowa Republicans had still not decided who they would choose.

Here is my prediction of how our neighbors to the east will place the candidates:

Ron Paul 1st

Mitt Romney 2nd

Newt Gingrich 3rd

Rick Santorum 4th

Rick Perry 5th

John Huntsman 6th

Michele Bachman 7th

Buddy Roemer 8th

Paul cannot come up with enough money to run an effective national campaign. He won't get the financial support he needs. There is no clear path to the presidency for him. He will not win New Hampshire.

Michele Bachman should leave the race. The best political navigator on earth could not find a course for her to ascend to the presidency either.

Roemer should leave the race as well.

Of those in this field, I believe only Huntsman and Gingrich could defeat Obama.

Two minutes before Caucusing begins.

7:08 pm MST: Roemer, Bachman and Huntsman are there in dead last. Huntsman and Roemer did not campaign. Bachman was never credible. Stick a fork in her, she's done... Early returns suggest that I have Santorum in the wrong place at 4th. It's currently a three-way race between Paul, Romney and Santorum with Gingrich and Perry slugging it out for 4th.

Perry will take a dive in North Carolina and New Hampshire and should get out for the good of the party (and America).

Newland adds: Here's how it actually turned out...

1. Tie for Romney and Santorum

2. Ron Paul

Circling the drain: The rest of them.

Travlog: Part 6 -- More Birds; The Big Week

2012-01-03T17:13:00.009-07:00

If you haven't read The Big Year: A Tale of Man, Nature, and Fowl Obsession
you might like it. There's a movie probably hitting the rental stores by now called The Big Year. The book is about birdwatching. It tells stories of three guys who, in 2002, I think, happened to independently each commit to attempting to observe more varieties of birds while standing on USA soil or floating on USA waters than anyone else. It does it well. The movie, I hear, doesn't do it so well.

I don't consider myself a birder and lord knows a birder wouldn't. I do like to watch them, though, birds, that is. I might do it some more. Until now, I haven't had time to develop that particular obsession. That's one good reason to read The Big Year. Obsessions, that is. It will make you feel good that your obsessions aren't as possessive of your soul as birding is. Another reason to read The Big Year is that it's very readable and you'll learn something.

Apparently everyone in birding knows that "A Big Year" means "[Insert Name] is attempting to observe about 780 species of bird within a 12-month period on USA soil." If someone says, "I'm going to do a Big South Dakota Year," I'll bet you can surmise the frame of reference.

I'm thinking of testing my ability to commit to the obsession in a Custer County Big Summer, or something along that line. Or maybe just a Back Yard Big Week.

In San Jose del Cabo, we walked through an estuary where a creek ran into the ocean. Here are some pictures I grabbed without stepping off the path or slowing down much. A birder would have never made it to the beach.

This Great Blue Heron might very well summer on Battle Creek in Custer County. The swimming birds are mostly pie-billed grebes.

Pie-billed Grebe.

Red-headed Turkey Vultures. The Cabo goes quickly from a tropical seaside environment to cactus desert foothills, rough, dry sandy country, so the vultures are within sight of more typical terrain for them. If I was a real birder, I'd make some guess as to the type of sea gull is in the background. It looks like a Blue Heron on the left side.

Snowy Egret, reminding me of the velociraptors in "Jurassic Park."

My problem with drug dogs

2012-01-03T13:42:00.000-07:00

I've been a dog trainer for many years. I'm pretty good at it. I believe I can train a dog to walk around a vehicle and "alert" without command. I also believe I can train a dog to "alert" on a visual command.

I sincerely believe that a dog can be trained to detect the smell of loosely packaged marijuana. I'm less inclined to believe that a dog can be trained to detect vacume-packaged marijuana or powdered drugs like cocaine and heroin. If air cannot enter the package, odor cannot get out.

I have conducted this experiment: I have a pheasant wing, which I can hide in the bushes and my Golden Retriever will dutifully find the wing. Each year at pheasant hunting time, I collect several pheasant wings, vacume-pack and freeze them for training use in the spring. The dog cannot find the vacume-packed wing.

We never hear about the number of times a dog is used in a search, alerts that the vehicle contains drugs, and no drugs are found. It happens. I know of a T-shirt vendor who was headed to the Sturgis Rally years ago who was stopped on the interstate for "weaving in his lane." A dog was employed to determine if there where drugs aboard the box truck. The dog "alerted" and a search then took place wherein all the vendor's inventory was removed from the panel van, every box was opened and tossed in search of drugs that did not exist. The dog was wrong and falsely signaled that the box contained drugs. The vendor was given a warning for "weaving in his lane" and left to repack his boxes and reload them in his truck with no apology for his inconvenience.

I remain convinced that these incidents are more frequent than any reasonable lawmaker would tolerate.

How many people have been searched because a "drug dog" was mistaken? How many bags of luggage have been searched? And now there is a Florida case where a dog alerted at the front door of a residence.

There are multiple problems with so-called "drug dogs."

1. The public and the court system has been convinced that dogs are infallible. In fact, they are less reliable than polygraph tests, which are not admissible in court.

2. Dogs cannot be cross-examined. This is particularly convenient for the prosecution because generally the only witness who can testify about a dog, is its handler, who has a stake in the case.

3. Defense attorneys do not know about dog training and do not know to ask questions like:

a. Officer, did you train your dog to detect the presence of drugs?
Dogs are rarely trained by the officers who eventually handle them.

b. In the course of your dog's training, was it ever trained to alert when anything other than drugs is detected?
The dog's handler has no way of knowing the answer to this question, unless he personally trained the dog or was present during every stage of the dog's training. If he didn't train the dog, he has no way of knowing and therefore his answer must be: "I don't know." This is significant because some dogs are trained to detect everything from wild game, fruit, money, cadavers and living human beings.

c. Has your dog ever – during its training or since you've been its handler – alerted when no drugs were found?
Dogs learn by trial and error. They are rewarded during training for correctly alerting. They will, during training, alert just to get the reward. If the handler responds that it hasn't, he's lying. Defense attorneys should ask handlers who respond that the dog has never falsely alerted with: "How do you know, were you present during every training session?"

d. Assuming your dog is house trained, tell us how your dog alerts you that it needs to relieve himself?
The alerts for "I'm hungry," "I have to pee," and "I smell drugs" are all likely to be very similar. The defense attorney's question should then be: "So you don't really know whether the dog was telling you it found drugs or had to pee?"

e. What reward does your dog receive when it successfully alerts you that there are drugs present?
In the early stages of training, often a puppy will receive a reward – usually a treat (I use Braunschweiger) – when it successfully completes a task. Later, the dog will complete the task for a scratch behind the ear and a "Good Boy!"

f. What reward did the dog trainer use when training the dog to go outside to relieve himself?
In this case, the reward is almost always praise from the beginning and there is rarely a treat used to reward peeing outside. Sometimes, when caught in the act of peeing inside, the dog is scolded and physically taken to the door. Defense: So, do you think it is likely a dog is more likely to alert if he knows there is a treat or praise?

Finally, retrieving dogs (Labradors, Chesapeake Bay Retrievers and Golden Retrievers) all have the ability to learn body movement signals from their handlers. A handler could easily train a dog to alert simply by giving the dog a body signal, such as folding his arms in front of him. A dishonest handler could train the dog to alert with a voice command such as "Find It."

Until a dog can be trained to honestly answer questions in cross examination, the practice of using dogs to establish probable cause for a search of a vehicle, home or person, should be outlawed.

Thou shalt not commit aggression or fraud.

2012-01-02T20:41:00.002-07:00

The last time a candidate appeared on a ballot in South Dakota as a member of the Socialist Party was in 1932, I've been told. By then, the Democrats and Republicans had co-opted so many of the Socialist positions that there was little left for a Socialist candidate to promise.

Similarly, the political class appears to be co-opting libertarian philosophy by proclaiming its Libertarian "leanings."

According to 1 Corinthians 13:13, "... now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love." I could say I have Christian "leanings" because I have hope.

Libertarians hold a lot of views that intersect with the obvious, such as that taxes do get to a point where they are intolerable, or that it is worse than incompetent to pursue public policies that serve to enrich the most vicious people on Earth, or that professional licensing and other regulations can get to the point of oppression. But, verily, I say:

Thou shalt not endorse the commission of aggression or fraud. Thou shalt not vote for those who do. For indeed no one has the right to inflict aggressive blows upon thy neighbor's head, or thy neighbor's ass. Likewise it is immoral to ram it home to thy neighbor by violating his agreement with you. And whenever thy neighbor has inflicted aggressive blows or is inflicting aggressive blows or when thy neighbor is attempting to ram it home by fraud thou hast the right to resist and to assess him for the damage he has caused, or kick the shit out of him, if that will suffice. And whenever the Legions of Suits in Capitol Buildings cause aggressive blows and rammings-home they shall be subject to my wrath.

Without endorsement of the non-aggression principle, you are simply a person who probably has some opinions that intersect with some opinions of some libertarian somewhere.

The Washington Post, Ron Paul, Strict Libertarianism

2012-01-02T12:37:00.000-07:00

Bill Fleming suggests from a different thread that we discuss Ron Paul, and specifically, a Washington Post column by Michael Gerson, which you can read here.

Michael Gerson is an excellent writer and his analysis of the Ron Paul candidacy is a good one. Of course, as a liberal writer, nothing could make him happier than to have the Republicans cast Paul out in such a manner as to incite him to run as an independent, split the GOP and assure an Obama victory.

Paul's politics resound with the conservative poor. (There's a term you don't often see.) His isolationist mantra makes no more sense than did William Jennings Bryan's.

Isolationism is impractical in the modern world. Jefferson's inaugural address admonition, "peace, commerce, and honest friendship with all nations, entangling alliances with none..." does not work in the 21st Century. James Monroe's Monroe Doctrine: "In the wars of the Europlean powers, n matters relating to themselves, we have never taken part, nor does it comport with our policy, to do so." was fine for 1823. Iran and North Korea didn't have nuclear capability.

We live in a global world. We borrow from our enemies and loan to our friends. The world is a political jumble and simply declaring our neutrality and taking no world responsibility is unrealistic, and often is immoral.

Therein lies the true problem with Ron Paul's candidacy. Most of us can support at least part of his economic policy of discontinuing the wasteful spending we now see. But his isolationism would be the undoing of us. Republicans get that. His candidacy will not be the "undoing" of the GOP, as Gerson suggests.

Gershon's premise that Paul is a racist and his candidacy will taint the GOP as a party of racists won't fly with Republicans, because they are not (for the most part) racists. Paul has economic ideas that appeal to economically distressed white people who do not want government handouts. But that appeal extends to many poor minorities, a fact that is lost on Gershon, or he simply chooses to not mention it.

Now, could the GOP benefit from a more Libertarian view than what is currently represented by the candidates running for the presidential nomination? Sure. But it has to be about building an economy that ensures our right to pursue happiness, no matter who we are.

Travlog: Part 5 -- Pelicans

2012-01-01T11:33:00.004-07:00

Pelicans look a lot like depictions of pterodactyls. I love to watch them fly. They often cruise single-file in groups of three to nine or so, gliding impossible distances with their slightly drooping wingtips just an inch above the water, rising a few inches to flap a few times, then settling to glide again skimming the water. I was unable to get any usable shots of this phenomenon, but I have a few other shots.

I took a camera that is pretty good for still shots, with a built-in zoom of amazing capability. However, it was cheap enough that I chose it for the trip because I wouldn't mind if it was "misplaced." However, its ability to focus and shoot quickly is pretty limited, so I wasn't able to get shots of pelicans fishing. They fly a few feet over the water, then brake, fold their wings and drop bill-first into the water, nearly end-over-end as the water catches the open bill. They then settle on the water and gulp down the fish they catch nearly every time they go through this.

Here's a shot of pelicans stooping to dive for fish. I took this shot from Google images.

As you've probably surmised, I don't have much to say about anything important these days, like which poseur is going to be the Republican nominee for president. I am so baffled by the City of Rapid City's prosecution of the landfill-conspiracy folks that I don't know what to think about that. The city ruined Randy Meidinger's life after an extensive investigation which led to a trial at which Glenn Brenner's crack investigators apparently couldn't produce any evidence. WTF?

Therefore, I propose to post more bird pictures soon.

Travlog: Part 4: San Jose del Cabo

2011-12-31T08:55:00.006-07:00

San Jose is about 15 miles northeastward along the southern end of the Baja from Cabo San Lucas, which envelops the southern tip of the peninsula. It's a much more "Mexican" town than CSL, although it's plenty gringo-ized. Just about everyone who runs a shop or a restaurant speaks English pretty well, and we saw lots of North Americans.

Near our hotel there was a concentration of fine-art shops, which featured a wide variety of excellent paintings, exquisite (and reasonably-priced) locally made jewelry, and the best selection of Mexican pottery from all over the country that I've seen. I don't generally photograph in the shops, because it implies I'm stealing ideas, but you can see Mexican pottery in a variety of sites on the internet if you look. I do recommend you take a look at Paquime and Mata Ortiz pottery.

Here's where we stayed, the Tropicana Hotel.

The San Jose beach is about 3/4 mile south of the Tropicana. You don't swim on the Pacific side of the Cabo (Cabo means "end"); undertows and violent surf. There is some surfing along the Cabo, but it's not recommended for beginners.

View from the beach.

This guy circled the beach for a while, landed and took off.

Yes, you can still get one of these things.

Travlog: Part 3 -- Cactus wren

2011-12-30T19:46:00.005-07:00

This is a cactus wren, the state bird of Arizona. I saw this one in Todos Santos. Its coloration fascinated me (I've never seen one of these birds before). The camouflage, combined with its quickness, made for a kind of surreal observation.

It seemed to look at everything, test about one-third of things with its beak, and moved six or eight inches at a time so quickly it seemed to dissolve and reappear instantaneously. I was about six feet away for most of these shots.

Travelogue: Part 2 -- Todos Santos

2011-12-30T09:16:00.008-07:00

Todos Santos, "El Pueblo Magico", is on the Pacific coast of the Baja, about 50 miles from La Paz. We bussed over there one day.

In 1976, Don Felder, Don Henley, and Glenn Frey penned the song, "Hotel California." It's been said that a hostel of that name in Todos Santos, Baja California Sur, provided the inspiration for the title, at least. One can imagine that after a trip down Mexico's Highway 1 and driving into Todos Santos dog-tired, it could have happened that way. Wikipedia doesn't mention that story.

But just in case, here's a shot of the Hotel California. "Todos Santos" translates to "All Saints," but I'm sure you knew that.

Red Snapper, fresh from the Pacific.

All Saints Pharmacy, "because your economics and well-being is held foremost."

A couple of sculptures of scrap metal.

It's said that Santa Claus refills in Todos Santos.

A Travelogue: Part 1

2011-12-29T18:41:00.007-07:00

Loy and I went to the southern tip of Baja California on Dec. 13 and got back Dec. 25. We flew into Cabo San Lucas and stayed in a hotel in San Jose del Cabo a few days and at a rented cottage in La Paz for a few days.

I've split my photos up into a number of categories, so I'll post some pix and some comments in a series of posts aligned with the categories.

A few days into the trip we left San Jose and bussed to La Paz. There, after a few days, we bussed for the day to a beach called Balandra and spent about six hours on a beautiful lagoon. Later we went to a nearby beach, Tecolote, with a view of the island Espiritu Santu (Holy Spirit).

This is the Gulf of California, the Sea of Cortez. John Steinbeck hung out in these parts. Hemingway wrote The Old Man and the Sea about an incident he witnessed here.

The formation below is the defining feature of Balandra Beach. The beach is bounded on three sides by volcanic cliffs.

The lagoon at Balandra is really sweet. The water doesn't get more than knee-deep for several hundred feet out from the beach. You can see starfish and shrimp as you walk on its nice sandy floor.

At Balandra Beach there was vendor selling pop and fish tacos (pretty good, too). The shots below are from Tecolote, about half a mile away, and with a view of Espiritu Santu. Immeditely below is the facilities, a small hotel, a restaurant and a bar.

Espiritu Santu across the bar.

Espiritu Santu at sunset. We planned to take a snorkeling charter the next day out to Espiritu Santu, where we were guaranteed opportunities to engage with sea lions and whale sharks, with a high possibility of a close encounter with a gray or humpback. The next day was too windy for the charter. We had no other opportunity to do the charter.

Big Cats on Skyline Drive

2011-12-28T16:26:00.000-07:00

Heard a rumor from someone I trust that there have been mountain lion sightings on the west side of Skyline Drive in my neighborhood.

I tried to reach John Canta, the Regional Wildlife Manager for Game Fish and Parks and haven't heard back from him. (In fairness, he hasn't had time to call back).

There are big cats close to town. I'm confident I saw one several years ago as his tail was going over my back fence through the darkness. I'm confident because the dogs were going plumb nuts in the early morning hours when I saw the cat making his escape. Different dogs now, but we've had several nights recently of similar chaos from my own dogs, the two Labs to the north, the Lab to the west and a lab to the east.

Mountain lions are big flashy animals, stunningly beautiful and downright deadly when it comes to your pet.

GF&P has been very good about removing problem cats from inside the city limits. In the meantime, Cat, my Golden Retriever and Maggie, the Lhasa Apso-Shih-tzu mix (yes, it's a LhasaShiht) will be outside only long enough to do their business, lest they become breakfast.

Republicans and social issues

2011-12-28T15:43:00.001-07:00

As we prepare for the upcoming Legislative Session in Pierre, and as we continue to watch the current calamity that is the Republican primary debates, on thing appears clear: The Republicans are once again focusing their efforts on social issues – primarily abortion and same-sex marriage.

I have said on this blog before, and will repeat it here: People who are not in possession of a womb, should have no say about what is contained in those possessed by others. People who do have a womb, should be concerned with what theirs – and only theirs – contains.

Repubicans who spend one moment of their precious time arguing about whether or not homosexuals should be allowed to marry are wasting that time and do so at the peril of this country.

The Obama Administration has about ruined this country. Republicans need to be concerned about the economy, education and war. Continued focus on social issues will assure a Democratic win in November and four more years of economic holocaust.

(I don't usually do this, but comments by Bob Ellis and his ilk will be removed from this thread unless they contain intelligent arguments, rather than name-calling histrionic rants. If you cannot comment and be an adult at the same time, don't come here, Bob.)

Jim Shaw correction

2011-12-20T13:42:00.000-07:00

In Jim Shaw's three-part Rapid City Journal column, (here) he's got some stuff wrong in parts two and three.

The first part of the column is a discussion of the Iraq war. I have no truck with this portion of the column.

Shaw follows that with his now tiresome idea that I-190 should be aligned with Rapid City's Eighth Street (Mount Rushmore Road). He is startled to learn that nobody on the council has even discussed his idea.

I'm not so startled. Let's take a look at what that might look like. (Clearly, I'm not highway engineer. And this was done in Photoshop, not CAD. Thanks to Google Maps for the screen caps.)

The picture above shows I-190 as it is now.

The picture above shows what a re-route to Mt. Rushmore Road (8th Street) might look like if it were to connect with 8th at Omaha. The picture below shows what it might look like if I-190 were to connect with 8th just south of the Civic Center.

I can't imagine what the Mayor and council might have on their mind that would be more important than rerouting I-190...considering that any such effort would have to include approvals by the Federal Department of Transportation, the South Dakota Department of Transportation and probably a dozen other agencies – all to route traffic two blocks.

I'm trying to see the benefit vs. cost, because the cost would be substantial.

Shaw says "Has a startling insight been revealed into (non?) strategic community thinking by the City Council?"

Well Jim, you were the mayor for a long time. Why didn't you do this when the city apparently had money to burn?

The idea would create more problems than it would solve. During his tenure as mayor, Jim Shaw had a lot of good ideas. This one's a boner.

Finally, Shaw discusses the city's apparent lack of business acumen with regard to the restaurant at Meadowbrook Golf Course. He says socialism doesn't work. I agree. The city had no business taking over that restaurant.

Where Shaw erred in his analysis was when he stated: "Private operators couldn't make the operation work, so city government stepped in and, yep, lost money."

Only half right. The previous operators were doing fine with a bank of loyal customers who came year-round, until the powers that be at the city's Parks and Recreation Department decided they wanted to run the restaurant and did everything they could to drive the lease-holders out, including not allowing delivery vehicles to park in the spot designed for deliveries and demanding free food for themselves and at prices below the cost of the food for golf course staff. They breached their contract by going to outside vendors for tournament catering and did everything in their considerable power to make life miserable enough for the lease holders that they eventually asked the city to buy out the lease.

Jim is right that the city shouldn't be in private business. There are particular problems at the golf course, not the least of which is that it bleeds red ink. It is time for an independent audit of the city's golf program. When I was on mayor Munson's Golf Task Force, we asked for exactly that, and didn't get it. We asked that the city create a Golf Department, and that the department be headed by a PGA professional, trained in running golf courses. That did not happen. Today we have a pro shop vendor who is not sanctioned by the PGA. Back then, we could not get a straight answer as to how many rounds of golf were played at the course annually. Nobody had an answer.

The golf courses are part of an Enterprise Fund, meaning they're supposed to make money. They don't.

Kooiker...so far

2011-12-19T14:12:00.000-07:00

Things have been pretty quiet here on the Forum. I've been out drumming up new business for Sanborn Advertising. And Bob is, well Bob is Bob. He'll be back.

So, let's take a year-end look at how our fair city is doing.

MAYOR SAM KOOIKER

Kooiker took the helm of the Good Ship Rapid City after defeating incumbent mayor Alan Hanks. He was sworn in on July 5, after a contentious race. Hanks had told voters that he had balanced the budget for years without tapping the reserves. It turns out, he'd been tapping reserves for some time.

Kooiker was immediately faced with a budget crisis. And, he and the new council responded admirably.

His next task was to fill a vacancy at the head of the city's public works department. That position was filled with Terry Wolterstorff, a former city engineer in Gillette and Belle Fourche.

In today's Rapid City Journal, there is a story about how the city has reduced the number of executive sessions, but that the city continues to use executive session as an excuse to do the city's business behind closed doors at a higher rate than most South Dakota communities.

It's a start. And, I've no doubt that the mayor intends to make further improvements toward transparancy in government. He has done much to keep city residents informed. The Decorum Forum has been on the City's Press Release mailing list for some time. Somebody in former mayor Jim Shaw's administration took us off. Mayor Hanks' administration sent press releases that were usually designed to enhance Hanks' campaign.

Kooiker's administration has kept us up to date on every city meeting, it's agenda and even last minute changes to those agendas.

Monthly updates on the city's financial condition are designed specifically to keep the city informed.

He also is cutting costs, beginning with his decision to drive his own car. He exchanged Hanks' 2010 Chevy Tahoe for a 2007 Impala, which is used only for official business. The Tahoe was given to the Police Department as a patrol vehicle. He's making a lot of small cuts, that will in the long-term make a difference.

Kooker amended the travel policy to not allow per diem requests unless there was an actual expense. And he reinstated a policy requiring council approval for trips costing more than $5000 per person or department.

He declined a free membership to Arrowhead Country Club, asking that it be given to The United Way. (The country club was insulted and declined to extend the invitation to United Way.)

He instituted extended operation hours for primary city department offices.

He's taken steps to update city employees on business that affects them and has sought to increase employee involvement, while increasing morale.

Kooiker also has established a polling place in Lakota Homes, providing easy access to the polls for previously disenfranchised citizens.

Kooiker was also faced with the loss of two Rapid City police officers and a third who was severely injured. The mayor handled the tragedy with elegance and style.

Kooiker remains committed to increasing the water supply line to the airport and to moving the Jackson Springs and Mountain View water projects along in an effort to assure the city has adequate clean water into the future.

Headin' south for a while

2011-12-11T10:16:00.004-07:00

Tuesday, Loy and I are going to Baja California. I might be able to get a shot somewhat like this while we're there. Probably won't be able to upload images from there, but I might be able to send a few words to the column from La Paz.

Back here on 12/26, if we don't get kidnapped and stuffed in a barrel of acid, thanks to U.S. policies. That might be preferable to having to listen to news reports about Gingrich, though.

Ol' Doug melts down

2011-12-09T12:22:00.006-07:00

A few years ago Doug Hamilton rode to Rapid City from the south side, slowly lookin' all around. He spread his purported wealth around, trying to (and often succeeding) buy politicians and local influence. Then he went broke and kinda faded out, much to the relief of said politicians.

Now, he's back, kinda, and it ain't pretty.

How could you vote for him in light of his record?

2011-12-08T13:11:00.001-07:00

"'Judgment is mine,' saith the Lord." Or so the story goes. But if I were the Lord, here's how I'd feel. I could consider forgiving Franklin D. Roosevelt for allowing his Treasury department to kill the hemp industry in America, 'cuz, hell, a guys gotta watch out for his friends in the fabric and banking industries. (for more on this: http://www.hemphasis.net/Politics/politics.htm)

I could consider forgiving Harry Truman, D. D. Eisenhower, JFK, and even LBJ, for not reversing that course, and for, in fact respectively increasing the strictures on cannabis and penalties for possession thereof. It'd be hard, but I'd consider it.

Now it gets really hard to start considering forgiveness. Nixon? Ford? Carter (well, that's not so hard)? Reagan? Bush? Clinton? Bush 2? In succession, each of these folks except Carter oversaw a progression of injustice in legislation, arrests, and prosecution of people for trying to feel better. If these people begged forgiveness I might forgive them after making 'em spend a few light years in purgatory. They, at least, said they were going to punish people for trying to feel better.

Here's where I might draw the line. Barack Obama is a man who knows cannabis. He should know what devastation its prohibition is causing. He promised to stop prosecuting people for trying to feel better in states where it's legal to try to feel better. His Atty Genl reiterated the promise. They, in fact, increased arrests for simple possession, and unleashed an unprecedented plague of federal prosecutions in states where attempting to feel better is legal. Burning in hell for eternity seems like light punishment to me.

The question is not how I can refuse to vote for him because of that. The question is, "How could you vote for him in spite of that?"

Now here's somebody I can get behind. Thumb in the eye of the man.

2011-12-08T12:11:00.002-07:00

Here's an excerpt from and a link to a recent New Yorker profile of Ai WeiWei, one of the most important figures in the worldwide battle for freedom to criticize.

Before the 2008 Olympic Games began, he disowned the event as a “fake smile” concealing China’s problems. When he is followed by plainclothes state security agents—as happens now and then—he likes to call the cops on them, setting off a Marx Brothers muddle of overlapping police agencies: “an absurdist novel gone bad,” as he puts it.

I'd like to like him, but...

2011-12-07T19:13:00.005-07:00

There are some things about Obama that are improvements over the Texican huckster that preceded him. Obama has, so far, avoided the constant self-promotion ("Mission Accomplished") that characterized the buckbrush cowboy, and has generally comported himself with considerably more dignity.

These attributes, however, are no substitute for substance, of which Obama has shown little. None I can think of, in fact.

His leadership vis-a-vis immigration has been nonexistent. He's letting bureaucrats run the show and they are proving to be brutish, not hesitating to deport people who really should not be deported and often splitting up families in the process.

And after promising to leave cannabis patients alone if they were complying with state laws, his justice department has unleashed a vicious campaign against those people.

I can read the fear in his eyes as I make this promise. I will not vote for him in 2012. None of the dwarves running for the Republican nomination will get it either.

Bloatation device

2011-12-06T11:49:00.002-07:00

From the City of San Antonio's homepage...

by Beto O'Rourke and Susie Byrd

In 1913, El Paso became one of the first cities to ban marijuana. Other communities soon followed suit, and by 1937 the drug was banned by the federal government. The drive to prohibit marijuana was not motivated by efforts to reduce dependence, improve health outcomes or alleviate criminal activity in the general population. Its prohibition has a much more dubious provenance in the fears and prejudices that accompanied growing Mexican migration at the beginning of the 20th century.

That march towards marijuana prohibition has helped create a lucrative marijuana economy. Mexican drug cartels smuggle many things into the US, but marijuana is the most profitable portion of the cartel's portfolio. Marijuana has the larger customer base with the most stable demand and steady prices. And, the Mexican cartels own the value of the marijuana from farm to market.

Nearly 100 years after El Paso enacted its initial ban on marijuana, the city bears daily witness to the violence that the marijuana economy inflicts on Juarez, our neighbor on the U.S./Mexico border. Since 2008, more than 9,000 people have been murdered in Juarez. The violence stems at least in part from a declared war between the two largest cartels for control of the El Paso/Juarez trade corridor.

In a ground-breaking 2010 Associated Press report, Martha Mendoza found that the U.S. has spent over $1 trillion on the drug war since it was first declared in the Nixon administration. And our return on that investment? In 2010, 35 percent of high school seniors reported that they had used marijuana, a number that has been fairly consistent since 1975. In fact, more high school sophomores tried marijuana last year than tobacco.

At some point, sooner rather than later, we must admit that our current course has not worked. It has made things worse for those who are most vulnerable (children and addicts), has led to bloated enforcement budgets at every level of government, has invited contempt for law and justice, has destroyed thousands of lives, and has left us billions of dollars poorer as a result.

At some point, we must challenge our elected leaders to enact laws that reflect reality and not an unattainable ideology. We must come to a reckoning, much the same way we did 80 years ago, and repeal a prohibition that does more harm than good. If Washington won't do anything different, if Mexico City won't do anything different, then it is up to us — the citizens of the border who understand the futility and tragedy of this current policy first hand — to lead the way.

Beto O'Rourke and Susie Byrd co-wrote “Death and Drugs: The Big Business of Dope in the U.S. and Mexico.” O'Rourke is seeking the Democratic nomination to represent El Paso in the U.S. House. Byrd is serving her second term on the El Paso City Council.

Obama plays Herbert Hoover

2011-12-04T09:34:00.002-07:00

By Richard M. Evans/Guest columnist
The MetroWest Daily News

It was a curious coincidence last month, that as PBS was broadcasting the Ken Burns/Lynn Novick documentary, Prohibition, describing the Hoover Justice Department's last-gasp crackdown on alcoholic beverages in the late 1920s, prosecutors in the Obama Justice Department were announcing a crackdown on medical marijuana in California, threatening to confiscate the property of people "involved in drug trafficking activity," which is fedspeak for providing pot for sick people.

After nearly a decade under the Volstead Act, the utter futility of enforcing public abstinence from alcohol was evident to all but prohibition's stakeholders - chiefly police, prosecutors and bootleggers. Despite the draconian penalties imposed by the 1926 Jones Act, which turned Volstead violations into felonies, booze remained generally available. Similarly, despite the draconian penalties of the Nixon-era Controlled Substances Act, and nearly a million arrests annually, marijuana has proven itself ineradicable, and, indeed, has become a part of our culture.

The warnings from U.S. Attorneys in California come on the heels of similar threats from their counterparts in Rhode Island, Vermont, Colorado and other states whose medical marijuana laws authorize secure, large-scale cultivation facilities, such as that contemplated in the anticipated ballot question in Massachusetts. If they make good on those threats, one can only imagine the perp walks outside the federal courthouse: plumbers, equipment suppliers, bookkeepers, state functionaries and investors in suits - all the "conspirators" it takes to bring an agricultural product safely to a large, regulated market of doctor-authorized patients.

This clash does not arise from the disparity between state and federal law. Under basic principles of federalism, both the states and the federal government may prohibit marijuana, but neither is required to. A state is under no legal compulsion to enforce federal law, and is indisputably within its rights to determine who should and should not be arrested for marijuana by state and local police.

Rather, the conflict arises from the disparity between how the two sides view reality. Sixteen states (and a majority of the voters, according to many polls) recognize that marijuana has significant medical value for some patients, and that its benefits outweigh its risks. Federal law, on the other hand, peremptorily rejects such claims as hokum, declaring that marijuana has a high potential for abuse, has no currently accepted medical use in treatment, and cannot be used safely under medical supervision.

That marijuana is dangerous and without medical value is the dogma at the heart of federal prohibition. To admit otherwise would be to confess that arresting nearly 20 million people, and spending $10 billion in the war against pot, has been a mistake of gargantuan proportions. Admitting that mistake is unthinkable. What must not be, cannot be, to paraphrase the familiar German expression.

Compassion for sick people aside, there are two other reasons to take note of medical marijuana: jobs and revenue. When the voters of Montana, population one million, legalized medical marijuana six years ago, some 1,400 new jobs were said to have been created, largely in the building trades, equipment supply and solar installations, until the feds cracked down earlier this year. The New York Times recently reported that in California, more than $100 million in new revenue has been collected from the industry by state and local tax collectors.

Everybody knows what politicians want when it comes to marijuana: to change the subject. Whether a candidate believes that states should be free to enact, implement and enforce their own medical marijuana laws, free of federal interference, would reveal much about his or her view of states' rights generally, and provide useful differentiation from the other candidates.

Not since Prohibition has the federal government been so on the wrong side of history. Now, with the Justice Department crackdown on medical marijuana, presidential candidates and others who purport to be leaders can pick a side and defend it.

Richard M. Evans is an attorney practicing in Northampton.

Merry Christmas

2011-12-03T20:29:00.009-07:00

I see no reason why foruminants should be spared this. If you continue, you'll be looking at the elements of a Christmas card I am sending to selected soon-to-be-delighted recipients of a pint of Bob n Loy's Sweet/Hot Ginger/Black Bean Salsa and a bar of hempseed oil soap, and maybe something else, depending entirely on how worthy they are based on accidents of birth or on how much money I owe them.

Merry Christmas.

Under the rather dubious apprehension that another “Christmas letter” will be of interest, I’ve had a fun year inasmuch as nothing really bad happened and I got to talk to art enthusiasts at three different gallery openings of exhibitions of my work.

By a little luck and a little self-promotion, I interested some folks from San Francisco in my rodeo photos. They liked ‘em and put ’em in a travelling exhibit featuring some 40 artists in all sorts of media. They also invited me to be the opening exhibit of the gallery they built in San Francisco, March through the first week of May. That resulted in an actual review in an actual art magazine. Okay, it was a review about the gallery and its owners, but it mentioned my name.

Locally, the Apex Gallery at SDSMT exhibited 45 of my rodeo prints in August. All this artistic recognition has not significantly increased photo sales. It has, however, given me an excuse to accumulate some large prints and post my walls with the best rodeo action photography available.

Noticing this summer that the Belle Fourche Police Department was using the rodeo photo below on its cruisers, I asked for and was quickly given a license fee. This represents a profit, finally, on a rodeo I shot in 1981.That’s nice.

Marty Jandreau, Kennebec SD, on Gunville's Bridger, Black Hills Roundup, Belle Fourche 1981

On the outside backflap of this card is “Year of Fear.” That piece sold in a fundraising event at the Dahl Fine Arts Center, representing the first time someone dug into her pocket for a non-photo creation of mine. That money went to The Dahl.

Meanwhile, I’ve been supporting these various habits by “evaluating the customer experience” at various retail outlets for various companies who contract to corporate internal affairs enforcers (Look up “mystery shopper” online). Mostly I find the customer experience to be better if one is being paid to be a customer than if one is voluntarily spending money on stuff one doesn’t need.

The bee pictures are from the flower garden Loy planted when she wasn’t cooking glass and providing us with a pretty good lifestyle. That includes things like going to Baja California to spend 12 days in a beach hut at La Paz, which Loy and I are going to do starting December 13. Margaritavillle. Gray whales, hammerhead sharks, giant squid. Below is an image of what Loy does that makes all this possible.

For more Loy Allen Glass pictures, click here.

For more Bob Newland photos, click here.

Really, Merry Christmas!

Wilt Chamberlain wasn't a friend of mine, but you're no Wilt Chamberlain, Herman.

2011-11-28T18:06:00.003-07:00

Herman Cain said today, "All the people I've met, all the hundreds of thousands of people I know..., a hundred thousand people could come out and say they had affairs or something with me."

Now, Wilt only claimed about 20,000. I've no doubt you were a busy dude, Herm, but a hundred thousand?

The Great Pickup Hunting Adventure

2011-11-28T16:00:00.002-07:00

I have to poke a little good natured fun at Kevin Woster over at the Journal. In his latest column about a Thanksgiving pheasant hunt, he spins a yarn about hunting with his dog in his Miata. Read it here.

He says he was in the Miata because his "troubled, wounded pickup wouldn't start."

He goes on to tell us that it wouldn't start because of some electrical problem, but tells us that the truck was wounded as a result of an encounter between the truck and the working end of his Ruger Red Label 12 gauge shotgun.

Guns don't kill trucks, Kevin. People do. Kevin tells the reader that it's a good story he can't tell because his wife won't let him. He does reveal that whatever happened, it cost $1500 to repair. He declares that his friend who "drove from Murdo with a spare key for the truck" agrees that he shouldn't tell us.

The problem, of course, with not telling us what happened, is that we are all inclined to speculate.

Did Kevin lock his keys in the truck and try to pry the door open with his Ruger Red Label 12 gauge shotgun, accidentally firing it in the process and doing $1500 damage to either the gun or the truck or both?

Did Kevin mistake his pickup for a pheasant and shoot it, then realizing his mistake, bend the key off in the door in a fit of anger?

Did he leave the key in the truck door and then shoot the key AND the door?

Speculate away Forumpians! You have all the clues I have. What $1500 calamity do you think happened that would involve a truck, a shotgun, and a new truck key from Murdo? Why does someone in Murdo have a spare key to Kevin's truck?

Maybe we can get Kevin to actually come over here and fill us in.

When did this become news?

2011-11-27T17:42:00.002-07:00

Semi damaged in collision with cow on South Dakota highway

Do conservatives support or oppose cannabis decriminalization?

2011-11-27T17:20:00.002-07:00

Is there a "conservative position" on cannabis? What is it? Why?

I know what some self-identified "conservatives" say, and it is not consistent from one to the next.

David Simon calls Eric Holder out

2011-11-26T16:17:00.003-07:00

At an event that gave Attorney General Eric Holder an opportunity to pretend he gives a shit about kids being given "drugs," Holder made a request that also shows he doesn't have a clue.

Attorney General Eric Holder demanded yesterday [31 May 2011] that David Simon make another season of The Wire. Holder was on a panel with Wire cast members Jim True-Frost, Wendell Pierce, and Sonja Sohn as part of a campaign to draw attention to "drug endangered children," and they showed clips from the show to illustrate how kids connected to drug trafficking are abused and exploited. "Having looked at those clips again, I'm reminded how great that series was," Holder said. "I want to speak directly to [Ed] Burns and [David] Simon: Do another season of The Wire. That’s actually at a minimum," he joked. "If you don't do a season, do a movie. We've done HBO movies, this is a series that deserves a movie. I want another season or I want a movie. I have a lot of power, Mr. Burns and Mr. Simon." [Washington Examiner, Reuters]

The Wire represents perhaps the best use of television ever. No television series has ever encapsulated the utter impossibility of life for a large segment of Americans better. Over five seasons on HBO it developed characters we cared about and who plausibly cared about each other (or not) while parsing stuff like No Child Left Behind, the sellout of news organizations by their executives, and the "Drug War" ("War? Ain't no war. Wars end." -- from opening scene of Season 1).

You could do worse than give yourself the entire set of five seasons for Christmas. If you have Netflix, you're already set. Any single episode is better than the entire seemingly-interminable run of Law and Order (an example of the worst use of television).

While Holder is no doubt touched by The Wire's representation of a schoolkid whose mother sold his clothes to buy crack, he is, as are most tyrants, entirely oblivious to the fact that it was, in fact, he who went into the kid's closet and stole his clothes. And the fucking moron is requesting further exhibition on international television of the fact that he wears no clothes.

A few days after Holder's request, The Wire's creator, David Simon, replied:

The Attorney-General's kind remarks are noted and appreciated. I've spoken to Ed Burns and we are prepared to go to work on season six of The Wire if the Department of Justice is equally ready to reconsider and address its continuing prosecution of our misguided, destructive and dehumanising drug prohibition.

The exchange has at least clarified one thing: the chances of another season of The Wire are now exactly the same as America having a rational dialogue about drug law reform.

You can't go wrong giving ceramic

2011-11-22T18:54:00.004-07:00

I like to prepare food and cook. I like the elegance of a good knife, the right knife for the task. I've never been very good at sharpening knives, so they have to get pretty dull before my efforts can improve their utility.

Then I bought a ceramic knife. I may never have to sharpen it. So I bought several more, one for each of most types of preparation. You can't imagine how sharp they are, how easily they glide through meat, fruit or vegetables.

If you need a gift idea, buy ceramic knives for people who use knives. They're available in a big variety of styles, from vegetable peelers to paring and steak knives to the preparation types in the picture. Colors range from black or white to charcoal and bright primary colors. Prices start at about $20 for a cook's knife or $35 for a set of four different sizes up to high dollar exquisitely designed tools.

Sure is a good thing there are no stupid laws or regulatory agencies in the USA

2011-11-19T17:33:00.006-07:00

"...had to read this four or five times before I believed it. It is a perfect example of what Brussels does best. Spend three years, with 20 separate pieces of correspondence before summoning 21 professors to Parma where they decide with great solemnity that drinking water cannot be sold as a way to combat dehydration. Then they make this judgment law and make it clear that if anybody dares sell water claiming that it is effective against dehydration they could get into serious legal bother" --European Union critic Paul Nuttall

Newland says: I think this is a legitimate story about a ruling that a European marketer could not say on his bottled water's label that "water is a remedy for dehydration."

Google "bendy banana law" and you will get a lot of hits on stories about the EU's position on water as at least one way to relieve dehydration. You'll also see stories on the 2008 EU ban on bananas with too much curvature.

The title I gave this thread implies..., well, it implies that there are similar regulatory practices in which USA agencies engage. Consider these facts:

1. There is a considerable body of anecdotal (practical) evidence that cannabis has a wide range of therapeutic application in a wide range of patients exhibiting a wide range of symptoms for adverse medical conditions.

2. A significant number of medical associations have endorsed the proposal that accredited medical research facilities be allowed to conduct research in the application of cannabis as therapy in at least some adverse medical conditions.

3. Accredited medical research facilities have applied through federal channels for license to conduct such research.

4. Invariably these applications have been stymied by the "Drug Enforcement Administration," a group of miscreants whose number once included Elvis Presley. The DEA says: There IS no medical application for cannabis. We'd give you a license to conduct research, but even if your research suggests there is medical use for cannabis, there IS no medical use for cannabis, so it would be a waste of everyone's time.

In the light of the preceding few paragraphs, the EU's "dry water" ruling doesn't seem so unreasonable.

ten-point-five inches by 10 am today

2011-11-19T10:08:00.001-07:00

Shot on the deck of my house.

Classic car commercial

2011-11-19T09:18:00.001-07:00

I am told this only ran once. Best commercial ever!

Stripping Newland’s constitutional rights, on a pot bust?

2011-11-16T19:24:00.002-07:00

The title is stolen from Kevin Woster's topic at Mt. Blogmore. You're probably already aware of it, but if you're not...click here.

Is it possible to be honest AND an IRS agent?

2011-11-16T17:44:00.002-07:00

This is a 29-minute video featuring one of my heroes, Larken Rose. He made it this morning, and I just watched it. You might even want to buy a book from him. I recommend "The Most Dangerous Superstition."

"To be blunt, I see MOST of the "freedom movement" doing things which actually STRENGTHEN those in power--the exact opposite of what the activists are trying to accomplish. (How long has "the movement" been petitioning, campaigning, and protesting, and what does it have to show for it?) As long as the superstition plagues even liberty advocates, they will accomplish nothing of any value, but will forever bash their heads against the wall of the state. If you don't think you do this yourself, I dare you to read the book." -- Larken Rose

Newly certified artist displays credentials

2011-11-15T18:16:00.004-07:00

For the record, this piece was completed before Janklow's announcement of terminal cancer, but after news reports of his speeding tickets this summer. "Year of Fear" sold for the astonishing price of $125 at "The Goods," a Dahl Fine Arts Center's annual fundraiser event. The $125 went to The Dahl.

This is the first non-photographic piece I have ever offered for sale, and, to be honest, it would have been hard to sell if it had not been in a fund-raiser show. But, someone did pay money for it. I guess that establishes me as a local artist, right? Really, take a look at the pieces that you could have had for $125.

New look at Rapidcityjournal.com

2011-11-15T16:07:00.000-07:00

The Rapid City Journal's website has a new logo. Why is this significant?

Back in the 1970s when Rusty Swan took the helm at the paper from his father, Joyce, Rusty had the idea that he was to take the Journal into the next century with a new and modern look. He enlisted the help of one Hayward Blake. Hayward was a nice enough guy who had been working as a package designer at one of Chicago's top ad agencies. He had recently opened his own shop when he was given the task of designing Chicago O'Hare's terminal signage.

We have Hayward to thank for those now-universal gender-specific toilet signs. Hayward designed the Journal logo to be an awful pea green with a lower case Universe font nearly replicated here.

People in the newsroom – specifically the page designers on the copy desk – hated the new design (and they should have). Not only was the green putrid, it was just wrong from the staid old newspaper professional's point of view. Hayward didn't just design the logo, he designed the entire newspaper, removing any possibility of creative use of typography in the design of the daily paper. It was six columns wide with three choices of Universe type to be used for headlines. No color, except for the putrid green. The page design was distinguished by it's severe horizontal skeleton. It looked horrible. It was difficult to read, and was a daily disappointment for designers. Sometimes a two-column headline would have the story wrap across six columns with four columns of bare type and trapped white space galore.

The design won every newspaper design award known to the industry. It seemed that everyone in the industry – except the designers who had to execute it – loved it. Oh yeah, the readers hated it too.

I worked at the Journal from 1979 to 1988. Upon my arrival, fresh from KSU with a degree and everything, I took it upon myself to make a copy of Hayward's guidelines and send them to my newspaper design professor, Carol Oukrop. Dr. Oukrop's respect in the newspaper industry far outpaced that of Mr. Blake. She, at no expense to the Journal, sent a detailed critique of Hayward's very restrictive design specifications. It got the attention of then-editor Jim Kuehn and publisher Rusty Swan. When Oukrop called the design "dull dull dull" Swan and Kuehn called Hayward, who immediately came to Rapid City to assuage any fears Journal management might have that his design was dull. He agreed to meet with the copy editors who were charged with designing the daily newspapers.

The result of the meeting was that we would be allowed to experiment with other colors. But he gave us the palate. We could use no color other than those he gave us. One blue, one orange and one red. No new fonts. No ability to grade the news with the use of a more vertical design.

And, it really wasn't until the Journal got a new press, that using color was ever discussed seriously. And, some time after that a new logo was developed.

I do not know if Hayward had anything to do with this design, but I suspect he did, since it uses the square logo he designed and he maintained a tight hold on the rights to mess with it.

The new design can be seen at rapidcityjournal.com. It's a good design. I hope to see it in the dead tree version of the paper soon. It would end decades of a stifling of creativity.

Nekkid and drunk

2011-11-15T12:11:00.003-07:00

STATE OF SOUTH DAKOTA)
) SS.AFFIDAVIT
COUNTY OF HUGHES)

ROBERT G. PHILBRICK, being first duly sworn on his oath, deposes and states as follows:

That during the month of February, 1973, William Janklow, now Republican candidate for Attorney General, was driving down a road near or in Fort Thompson. At the time, I was Tribal Chairman of the Fort Thompson Indian Agency. It was my policy to require the Police Department to give me reports on all arrests made.

This affiant was advised that William Janklow had been arrested for Drunk Driving. This affiant states that I further investigated this matter to find out the true facts about this matter.

This affiant was advised that William Janklow was driving all over the road, and was driving mostly on the wrong side of the road, which caused the police officer to stop the car.

This affiant was then advised that William Janklow had started to fight with the police officer, and William Janklow started to swear and cuss the police officer and stated:

"No son of a bitch Indian can arrest me as no S. O. B. has jurisdiction over me".

Further, this affiant was advised that William Jankow did not have his pants on, and in fact, was nude from the waist down. William Janklow, when asked, where his pants, socks, shoes and underwear were, William Janklow did not know.

Further, William Janklow continued to swear and cuss, continued to fight with the officer, and thus, this officer had to call for help, to get Janklow arrested and placed in the drunk section of the Fort Thompson jail.

Further, this affiant states that William Janklow tried to outrun the police car and drove all over the highway in an attempt to evade arrest.

This affiant was further advised that William Janklow was so drunk that it was difficult for Janklow to walk, or in fact even stand up.

The next morning William Janklow was released from the drunk tank, and someone brought down some shoes, socks, underwear and pants, so he could walk out of jail completely dressed.

This affiant agrees to allow this sworn statement to be used for any press release relating to William Janklow and all these facts are true, as this affiant was Tribal Chairman at Fort Thompson when Janklow was arrested for drunk driving, disorderly conduct, assaulting an officer, and indecent exposure.

Dated this 18th day of October, 1974.

Robert G. Philbrick (signature)

Subscribed and sworn to before me this 18th day of October, 1974.

Seal of Christine Lyons, Notary public South Dakota
Signed by Kristine R. Lyons whose commission expired April 23, 1982.

Punishing people for attempting to feel better is insane

2011-11-14T17:56:00.002-07:00

After about 25 years of public advocacy for a more sane approach to whatever problems are caused by the use of psychotropic substances, and after about 15 years of active lobbying through legislative and ballot initiative approaches, I have some observations. These are prompted somewhat by one of the Forum's more active respondents (see comments on the last few posts).

"Drug" prohibition is just plain insane. That means that the people who support it are insane in at least one area of their lives. That means that in order to try to effect change, one must deal with people who are by definition, insane (in at least one area of their lives). It is human nature to observe evidence of insanity (for example: "I think punishing people for attempting to feel better is okay, if it's done scientifically.") in some area of a given person's politics and to suspect that the insanity extends into other areas.

There are other possibilities; ignorance, stupidity or maliciousness. That's about it.

If anyone is ignorant of the deleterious effects of prohibition of some arbitrary stuff then they are willfully ignorant.

No cure for stupidity, although, theoretically, you have a chance of voting it out of office.

Maliciousness? Just another form of insanity.

The willfully ignorant are the most likely to be the enforcers, I think, along with a healthy helping of the malicious. You either have to be basically mean or willing to abvert what your senses tell you. Or stupid, but stupid people are everywhere, even on my side of this argument.

When a judge says he has no choice but to hear cannabis cases and to pronounce sentences of a certain minimum severity for the crime of attempting to feel better, he has given his judgment and conscience over to someone who is, by definition, crazy, stupid, uninformed or malicious. Given the carnage that has resulted from crazy politicians' pronouncements and eel-spined judges who enforce them, it is not a stretch to compare present circumstances to the enforcement of the Nuremberg Laws, which set the legal platform for the attempted annihilation of a loosely-defined group of people.

I used a considerable amount of personal resources in the course of my advocacy. I raised a considerable amount of money from people who supported the premise that the only right worth protecting is the right to do as you damn well please while understanding that it comes with the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences. (paraphrase of a P. J. O'Rourke quip)

It is not the duty of politicians, judges and cops to create consequences that would not exist but for their fascistic mania that requires them to push people around.

A lot of people who probably voted for the issues I advocated---if they voted---have approached me with various suggestions about how I should have gone about my advocacy. I honestly can't think of anyone who donated to any of various cannabis advocacy campaigns who told me they thought my rhetoric was out of line.

Take your shots, Foruminants.

Kuchen up Trouble in Pierre

2011-11-07T17:05:00.006-07:00

The following editorial appeared in several So. Dak. periodicals and newspapers in the spring of 1999, including the Rapid City Journal, on 13 March, 1999.

All events depicted in this account occurred. Attributed quotations are accurate. It doesn't enlighten us much on why Kevin Woster thinks Janklow is one of the three "greatest" So. Dak. governors.

by Bob Newland

It stormed into town, angry and red-faced. It stomped around the capitol, terrorizing children and the faint of conviction, and coughing up kuchen. A month later, it slunk out, humiliated and red-faced. It was... Senate Bill 210.

Governor Janklow asked the Senate State Affairs (and what at the legislature, pray tell, would NOT be a 'state affair'?) Committee to introduce SB210: "Any person who has been convicted of possession, use, or distribution of a controlled substance or marijuana or who has received a suspended imposition of sentence for such possession, use, or distribution, shall, in addition to any other penalties, serve thirty days in the state penitentiary, no part of which may be waived or suspended."

Thirty days in the Pen for a hempseed in your trunk, presuming the court or jury decided you knew it was there.

Senate State Affairs heard testimony from judges and prosecutors that 210 would clog the system. So Senate State Affairs drafted a kinder, gentler, 210 -- reducing the mandatory minimum from 30 to ten days in the custody of the Department of Corrections (instead of specifically the state penitentiary), and allowing judges to depart from the mandatory ten-day sentence if they filed a written explanation. Apparently for balance, though, it set a $1000 bounty on the heads of misdemeanor drug offenders and an open-ended price on felony offenders, appropriating a million dollars for the snitch fund.

Having undergone group therapy, equipped with an attitude adjustment, 210 went to the Senate floor.

The whole Senate debated SB210, amended it to make the ten days mandatory for a second offense, removed the $1000 bounty, and sent 210 Lite to the House State Affairs Committee with a disclaimer written under the title; "This bill has been extensively amended (hoghoused) and may no longer be consistent with the original intention of the sponsors."

About this time, some good citizens of German extraction from Eureka came to Pierre serving kuchen, in expectation that the legislature would resurrect Eureka from ignominy by declaring kuchen the official State Dessert. Governor Janklow happened by the kuchen table in the capitol rotunda, and sampled. "This is wonderful!" he said. "Let's make Eureka South Dakota's first entirely drug-free town. When the legislature sets up my $1000 bounty, let's make sure the first snitch payment goes to a citizen of Eureka."

The Eurekans looked at each other, then at the floor, and shuffled their feet. The mayor of Eureka offered Janklow another helping of kuchen, having noticed the governor sometimes stopped speaking when his mouth was full.

In anticipation of 210's appearance in House State Affairs, the governor took the House Republicans to the woodshed, threatening dire consequences if they didn't restore the first-offense provision and the bounty. He threatened not to sign the bill in its Senate-amended form. He also threatened to take an active role in defeating Republican defectors in the next election.

The only proponents of 210 to testify were Governor Janklow and his chief-of-staff, Dave Knudson. Janklow said, "I don't have many moral principles, but I get a visceral anger when I think about people giving drugs to young girls and then USING these young girls. That's why we need this bill.

"Now, when I drive over the speed limit, which I do a lot, I take a calculated risk. I know it's gonna cost me $167 if I get caught. I don't mind that. But if I knew I'd go to jail for two days, I wouldn't speed. That's why we need this bill. Everybody knows they've got one free time getting caught with drugs. We've gotta change that."

Knudson said, "We're losing the war on drugs. That's why we need this bill." When asked the goal of the war on drugs, Knudson said, "To eliminate wrecking of lives due to drugs."

First to testify in opposition to 210, I pointed out that no prohibition law has ever worked, and, in fact, has always resulted in an effect exactly opposite the stated goals. Curt Mortenson, the eloquent Stanley County State's Attorney, said, "This bill is the biggest pile of crap I've ever seen." Mike Buenger, speaking for the Unified Judicial System, said, "Enactment of this bill will create a backlog of jury trials which will gridlock the courts."

Tom Barnett, brother of South Dakota Attorney-General Mark Barnett, and lobbyist for the South Dakota State Bar, opposed the bill. Barnett told me, "Alcohol accounts for the vast majority of prematurely-lost virginity in this state, not drugs."

Nick Braune, lobbyist for the South Dakota Peace and Justice Center, opposed the bill, too, as did state senator Frank Kloucek, who, in a moment of weirdness hardly noticed in the context, accused Governor Janklow of making an offensive phone call to Kloucek's daughter last year. Janklow denied the charge.

Janklow then figuratively sank to his knees, "Just give me the bill," he said. "What we're doing isn't working. Just give me the bill. Heck, it won't even go into effect until July 1. You people are all going to be back here in January. You can repeal it then, if you don't like it. Heck, you can even put a sunset on it. Just give me the bill. You can't let these monsters be giving 14-year-old girls drugs and then violating them." He blinked back a tear, staggering a little under the weight of his convictions as he rose.

Representative Dick Brown, member of the State Affairs committee, questioned the governor. "This bill gives judges the option to depart from the minimum sentence as long as they send a note to the clerk, right?" "Yes," said Janklow. "So it really doesn't change anything, right?" continued Brown. "That's right," replied Janklow.

"Look," Janklow said, "it just says we're gonna remand 'em to the custody of the Department of Corrections. They don't have to go to Sioux Falls. They might go to Redfield, or Springfield. They might just clean up the grounds at the State Fair.

"Heck, it won't even cost us much. They're not a threat to escape, so we won't need many more guards. We'll feed 'em a few meals, that's about it. Then we'll send 'em back home with a new, drug-avoiding, outlook."

So what had begun as a get-tough, take no prisoners..., uh..., no, a get-tough, take EVERYBODY prisoner, shock'em straight, no-nonsense thirty days in the Pen was now being touted as a "not really changing anything" bill. And the governor was begging for it.

House State Affairs, swayed by the governor's impeccable logic, and apparently invigorated with new knowledge of their moral righteousness, reinstated the $1000 bounty and the first-offense provision and sent the bill to the House floor.

On Day 37 of the 74th South Dakota Legislature, the House as a whole agreed with Rapid City legislator Mike Wilson that SB210 was ugly, regardless of Dave Knudson's articulate explication of the goal of the war on drugs, and tabled it 40-29, thus killing it. One might extrapolate that dinner in the governor's mansion the evening of March 4, 1999, was punctuated by the sound of plates breaking against the walls.

Oh, the kuchen bill failed also. South Dakota is still without a State Dessert, and Eureka still stands the same chance as it did two months ago of being South Dakota's first drug-free, but snitch-replete, community.

Author's note. I ran into Dick Brown a few months later. He was still picking Janklow's pubic hair out of his teeth.

There were several newspaper reporters in the committee room. None reported Janklow's statements. That's passive fellatio, I guess.

Radials

2011-11-03T22:12:00.001-06:00

Sunset, Lewellen, Nebraska, today.

Too bad I forgot to turn off the time/date.

There is some strange happenings up there at the mall.

2011-11-01T12:16:00.002-06:00

"The victim told police she let Spencer strike her once with the paddle on the buttocks, but he allegedly hit her again without her permission."

Read more.

The victim told police she let Spencer strike her once with the paddle on the buttocks.

?

Delaney speaks at Wing Nuts

2011-11-01T10:57:00.001-06:00

Last Tuesday I went to the Wing Nuts weekly lunch (gavelled by Bill Napoli) at the Eagles club in Rapid City. Recently retired circuit judge Jack Delaney was the speaker. Delaney was the judge who sentenced me to 45 days in the workhouse and zippered my lips for a year with respect to cannabis advocacy.

His talk was humorous as well as contemplative. He elucidated on the typical 3-2 split in the So. Dak. Supreme Court, mentioning that if one of the three had gone the other way, which could easily have happened, on a number of cases, then, for instance, the search and seizure laws in SD would have an entirely different look.

When Delaney entered, the only available seat was next to me, and he was early, so we got to have a little chat. I might mention here that Delaney and I knew each other when he was a Spearfish lawyer and I was, among other things, a cocaine importer, supplying the needs of several folks whose names you would recognize. The first thing he said to me, after we shared a grin over the irony of the situation, was "They ought to fucking legalize marijuana."

That led to my observation that lawyers and judges should stop encouraging the prosecution of such cases and his look of astonishment that such a thing could even be considered. "We don't have any choice; it's the law."

To which I replied, "That reminds me of what the SS sergeant said; 'Personally I like you Jews, but laws is laws.'" Delaney then looked puzzled, as if I had changed the subject.

All of which brings me back to my ongoing observations (see posts going back for a few weeks) about the myth of "authority."

After Delaney's presentation, he fielded questions from the group of some 40 attendees. A woman whose name I don't know asked if there was a way we could prevent the institution of Sharia law in South Dakota. Delaney, stifling a laugh, said he didn't think it was an issue. My thought on that is that most of the people who attend Wing Nuts meetings would be completely comfortable with Sharia law.

Rep. Phil Jensen, who introduced a bill that would have essentially declared open hunting on abortion doctors in the last legislative session, extended his perfect record of stupidity by asking, "Do you think that the faculty at So. Dak. universities should be balanced between conservatives and liberals?" Delaney more or less avoided the question, which was a quite reasonable reaction as far as I am concerned.

Try to imagine the questionnaire that would attempt to differentiate a "conservative" from a "liberal." I envision students being able to choose liberal calculus or conservative calculus.

Beggaring imagination

2011-10-28T17:35:00.002-06:00

Politicians seem to feel no shame or guilt regarding the fact that their "legislation" has resulted in millions of non-violent people being forcibly taken from their friends and families and made to live in cages for years on end -- sometimes for the rest of their lives. When politicians speak of the acts of violence for which they are directly responsible -- and "drug" laws are only one example -- they use terms such as "the law of the land," as if they themselves are mere spectators and "the land" or "the country" or "the people" were the ones who made such violence occur.

Indeed, the politicians' level of psychological detachment from what they have personally and directly caused via their "laws" borders on insanity. They command armies of "tax collectors" to forcibly confiscate the wealth earned by hundreds of millions of people. They enact one intrusive law after another using threats of violence to control every aspect of the lives of millions of people they have never met and know nothing about. And after they have been directly responsible for initiating violence on a regular basis against nearly everyone within hundreds if not thousands of miles of them, they are genuinely shocked and offended if one of their victims threatens to use violence against them.

When young men and women are dying and being disfigured in the tens of thousands yearly in the latest war game staged by politicians, the politicians call it a "sacrifice for freedom" when it is nothing of the sort. They use scenes of soldiers in caskets -- directly attributable to what they did -- as photo opps while declaring their deep sadness. They often launch into a speech about what happened as if they were mere observers, caught up in events bigger than they, just like the rest of us.

From The Most Dangerous Superstition

Catch the Wave

2011-10-22T17:26:00.003-06:00

Butte County Fair, Nisland SD, circa 1982

Remarkable photos of floods in Thailand

2011-10-19T20:07:00.002-06:00

This one is of a lot full of new Hondas at a factory outside the ancient Thai capital of Ayutthaya, north of Bangkok, on October 11, 2011. See more photos here.

Hmmm? I wonder why?

2011-10-19T19:26:00.002-06:00

Reuters
Oct. 19, 2011
More than One in Ten Americans Use Antidepressants

(Reuters) - More than one in 10 Americans over the age of 12 takes an antidepressant, a class of drugs that has become wildly popular in the past several decades, U.S. government researchers said Wednesday.

Antidepressants were the third-most common drug used by Americans of all ages between 2005 and 2008 and they were the most common drug among people aged 18 to 44, according to an analysis by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for
Health Statistics.

The team analyzed data on more than 12,000 Americans who took part in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys between 2005 and 2008.

They found that antidepressant use in the United States jumped nearly 400 percent in the 2005-2008 survey period compared with the 1988-1994 period, with 11 percent of those over age 12 taking the drugs.

The increase followed the U.S. approval in 1987 of Eli Lilly and Co's Prozac or fluoxetine, the first of a newer class of antidepressants known as selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors or SSRIs.

According to the survey, U.S. women are 2-1/2 times more likely than men to take antidepressants, and whites are more likely than blacks to take the drugs.

Once prescribed, many people continue taking antidepressants, with more than 60 percent of Americans who use the drugs report being on them for 2 years or more.

And about 14 percent of Americans taking antidepressant medication have done so for 10 years or longer.

Patients who take the drugs often get them from their regular doctor rather than a so-called mental health professional.

According to the survey, fewer than a third of Americans taking one antidepressant drug and fewer than half of those taking more than one have seen mental health professional in the past year.

Although first introduced for depression, several antidepressants are now used to treat a host of problems, including anxiety disorders, obsessive compulsive disorder, bulimia and even post traumatic stress disorder.

Back atcha, Mr. President

2011-10-19T19:01:00.002-06:00

At "Mt. Blogmore," Kevin Woster is all apologetic for North Carolinians so crass they would flip the bird at the president's caravan as it drives past on the street.

During his campaign for the presidency, Mr. Obama promised to stop prosecuting people for violating federal “marijuana” laws if they were acting legally under the laws of the state in which they lived.

Several months ago Attorney General Eric Holder seemed to be moving to act on that promise, sending a letter to U.S. Attorneys in several states, saying “it’s not a good use of scarce resources to prosecute people acting legally under state law.”

Since then, U.S. Attorneys in California have announced that they will begin stealing (they call it “civil forfeiture” of property that commits a crime but has no defense because it’s a building) the property of people who rent to people acting legally under state law. Banks in Colorado and California have begun refusing to accept the banking business of people operating legally under state law. The IRS has begun denying normal legitimate business deductions to people operating legally under state law. The BATF has moved to deny legal gun ownership to people acting legally under state laws.

I suppose that technically one could say Obama is not violating his promise. The result, however, will be that profits to illegal cannabis sales executives will increase; taxes that were being paid will not be paid, more people who are suddenly stripped of their right to bear arms will do so anyway (causing more danger to everyone, but especially to cops), and people doing cannabis business legally will be forced to have great amounts of cash on hand (tempting to thieves).

Graphically illustrated, the Obama medical cannabis policy looks like a great big mockingbird thrust toward the sick, disabled and dying people who are so impertinent as to choose a non-governmentally-approved course of therapy for their conditions.

Knowing all this, I find the North Carolina digits a little less than shocking. Those birds only registered disaffection. Obama’s impolite gesture is resulting in real–and cruelly unnecessary–damage to tens of thousands of lives of otherwise peaceful, honest people.

Special Privileges for the Disabled

2011-10-19T11:11:00.001-06:00

Mayor Sam Kooiker voted to break a tie on a divided council to approve a measure he recommended which will guarantee people with "substantial" disabilities will get interviews for city jobs as long as they meet the position's minimum requirements. Read Emilie Rusch's Journal story here.

I support the mayor on a lot of things...but not this. The policy is discriminatory. It affords a privilege to one group at the expense of all others. I don't have a problem with a policy that says everyone meeting the minimum requirements of a city job will be interviewed. But that's probably not practical. Search committees are designed to narrow the field.

The standard set here gives people with disabilities advantages not afforded others with equal or better qualifications. This is not as inspired as the Americans with Disabilities Act, which mandates that people with disabilities must have access to government and business. This act is like building a ramp to city employment, while locking doors to others with equal qualifications, who don't have disabilities.

The mayor's own personal experience notwithstanding, I believe his tie-breaking vote should have gone the other way.

Empty Nest

2011-10-16T18:50:00.002-06:00