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Thursday, May 06, 2004 |
NRDC's Timeline of the Bush Environmental Record. Via Bruce Sterling's Viridian Notes:
2004
April
Bush budget cuts lead poisoning prevention funding (04/11/04)
White House altered scientific findings on mercury threat (04/07/04)
Pentagon again seeking immunity from environmental laws (04/06/04)
Investigator resigns in protest over Interior's cheating Native Americans out of energy royalties (04/06/04)
Mining company gets price break on federal land (04/02/04)
March
Court orders Energy Department to release more Cheney.task force records (03/31/04)
EPA chief Leavitt failing to lay down the law (03/31/04)
Yellowstone bison slaughtered to please ranchers (03/31/04)
EPA letting Clean Water Act violators off the hook (03/30/04)
EPA uses utility company memos to craft controversial mercury policy (03/30/04)
Interior Dept. defends loosening of ESA import ban (03/29/04)
Montreal Protocol shirked for U.S. pesticide interests (03/26/04)
Army Corps bends to pressure on Missouri River (03/26/04)
February
More drilling slated for Padre Island (02/27/04)
DOE holds nuke cleanup funds hostage (02/26/04)
More industry materials borrowed by EPA for its mercury rule (02/26/04)
Missouri River management plan ignores fish protections (02/26/04)
Fish and Wildlife Service gives sucker fish a break (02/25/04)
Bush cuts funding for endangered species (02/25/04)
Federal mining whistleblower silenced, demoted (02/24/04)
Get the lead out: EPA fails to protect D.C. drinking water (02/23/04)
January
EPA's mercury pollution plan mirrors industry's recommendations (01/30/04)
Bush administration leaves nuclear plant safety up to contractors (01/29/04)
Energy Department promoting carbon sequestration (01/27/04)
White House wants to let EPA ignore pesticide consultations (01/27/04)
EPA touts new, cleaner cars (01/26/04)
White House offers small funding boost for Northwest salmon recovery (01/26/04)
Forest Service to boost logging in Appalachian forests (01/23/04)
Forest Service drops "survey and manage" rule for loggers (01/23/04)
2003
December
Federal court blocks EPA plan to cripple Clean Air Act (12/24/03)
Court blocks Bush administration's Clean Air Act changes (12/24/03)
EPA revs up motorcycle pollution plan (12/23/03)
Another senior EPA official resigns in protest to Bush administration policies (12/23/03)
Forest Service clears way for logging in Tongass (12/23/03)
Bush administration streamlining oil and gas permits (12/23/03)
Forest Service opens grizzly bear habitat to snowmobiles (12/22/03)
New EPA mercury rule fails to account for 'lost' emissions (12/19/03)
November
Bush administration finally takes blame for Klamath fish kill (11/18/03)
Judge criticizes White House pro-industry mining rules (11/18/03)
EPA moves to fill landfills with radioactive waste (11/18/03)
Bush administration seeks increase in use of ozone-depleting pesticide (11/14/03)
Park Service workers speak out against Bush policies (11/13/03)
EPA considers exempting small business from toxic release reporting (11/12/03)
Revised Everglades recovery plan not worth the wait (11/04/03)
Superfund cleanups lag for third straight year (11/04/03)
October
White House considers dropping some fish protections to promote logging (10/31/03)
EPA tricks public, treats industry on dangerous pesticide (10/31/03)
Bush administration ignores damming evidence (10/29/03)
EPA refuses to tackle rising mercury pollution in Great Lakes region (10/29/03)
EPA may allow continued phosphate dumping in Gulf of Mexico (10/28/03)
Costly USFS and BLM outsourcing studies prove unhelpful (10/23/03)
EPA changes rule to exempt hazardous waste requirements (10/23/03)
EPA developing ways around the Clean Water Act (10/22/03)
September
EPA to issue daily air quality alerts (09/30/03)
White House study: benefits of environmental regulation far outweigh costs (09/29/03)
BLM opens millions of acres of wilderness to energy development (09/29/03)
EPA strikes deal with polluting factory farms (09/25/03)
White House recommendations could shut the public out of environmental review (09/24/03)
GAO finds that energy production pollutes wildlife refuges (09/24/03)
Corps of Engineers violates judge's ruling, won't lower Missouri River flows for wildlife (09/24/03)
Forest Service to sell Tongass timber at a loss (09/23/03)
August
EPA passes the buck on regulating global warming pollution from cars (08/28/03)
EPA on global warming gases: Bring 'em on! (08/28/03)
EPA officially rolls back Clean Air Act protections (08/27/03)
New EPA rules ignore mercury pollution from chlorine plants (08/27/03)
Corporations shaped Bush energy policy, GAO says (08/25/03)
Park Service spending less than promised (08/21/03)
Oily deal on offshore drilling rights (08/21/03)
President making empty promises on parks funding, critics say (08/15/03)
July
EPA hides research on Senate clean air plan (07/30/03)
Bush administration taking on illegal logging abroad (07/29/03)
U.S. Forest Service exempts some logging projects from environmental review (07/29/03)
Forest Service rewriting Yellowstone plans with a grizzly ending (07/26/03)
Out with outsourcing, Bush administration decides (07/25/03)
EPA reconsidering proposal to weaken Clean Air Act rule (07/25/03)
Criticism forces NPS not to raid Mount Rainier repair funds (07/24/03)
Bush climate plan all study, no action (07/24/03)
June
EPA rejects temporary ozone waiver for power plants (06/26/03)
Bush administration calls for more gas drilling on public lands (06/24/03)
White House whitewashes EPA environment report (06/23/03)
Fish and Wildlife Service reduces protected habitat for threatened mouse by half (06/23/03)
EPA concerned about Yellowstone snowmobiles (06/21/03)
DOD reneges on plan to test for perchlorate pollution at U.S. bases (06/20/03)
BLM vows to fix maligned land appraisal process (06/19/03)
Bush administration undermines critical habitat designations (06/18/03)
May
White House buries mountaintop mining regulation (05/30/03)
White House forest-fire plan axes environmental protections (05/30/03)
Park Service opens Maryland seashore to Jet Skis (05/30/03)
Interior giving up on endangered species protection (05/29/03)
EPA failing to keep track of water quality (05/27/03)
BLM opens fragile dunes ecosystem to off-road recreation (05/23/03)
BLM vows to fix flawed land-exchange program (05/23/03)
Bush administration cuts wildlife protection,boosts logging in Northwest forests (05/23/03)
April
EPA reports record drop in fuel economy (04/30/03)
BLM approves Powder River Basin development (04/30/03)
White House bans EPA from discussing perchlorate pollution (04/28/03)
EPA Administrator Whitman misusing agency investigators (04/26/03)
White House says "ready, aim, shoot" on wilderness (04/25/03)
Fish and Wildlife Service holds the line on habitat protection plans for imperiled wildlife in California (04/24/03)
White House unveils its pro-industry chemical security bill (04/24/03)
Forest Service permits grazing in violation of federal law, says judge (04/24/03)
March
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposesstream protection in Alabama (03/28/03)
Whitman changes her tune on Pentagon environmental exemptions (03/26/03)
Interior Department favors boosting offshore drilling by reducing corporate costs (03/26/03)
National Park Service officially adopts snowmobile plan (03/25/03)
EPA backtracks on pledge to close loophole for California air polluters (03/25/03)
EPA cooks fish data to allow more pollution (03/21/03)
GAO slams Bush administration for stalling on chemical security (03/18/03)
Interior ordered to continue protecting manatees (03/18/03)
February
Interior officials escalate rhetoric over Arctic Refuge (02/28/03)
Bush administration rejects wilderness protection in Alaska's Tongass (02/28/03)
Department of Transportation to expedite more environmentally harmful road projects (02/27/03)
Bush administration to build world's first emission-free power plant (((Wow!))) (02/27/03)
U.S. EPA seeks to weaken endangered-species protections (02/27/03)
Bush air pollution plan weakens current law, threatens public health (02/27/03)
Bush administration flunking on salmon recovery (02/26/03)
Bush administration sets sights on drilling in Western Arctic Reserve (02/26/03)
January
New EPA air rules for ocean vessels too weak (01/31/03)
GAO faults EPA oversight on factory farms (01/31/03)
Bush administration seeks waiver on ozone-destroying pesticide (01/30/03)
BLM putting grazing restrictions out to pasture (01/30/03)
Bush snowmobile decision defies logic, not to mention scientific findings (01/30/03)
Polluting industries getting off easier under Bush administration (01/29/03)
Sierra Nevada forest protections under fire by Bush administration (01/29/03)
Bush administration wins court victory on mountaintop removal mining (01/29/03)
2002
December
EPA exempts oil and gas industry from stormwater pollution rules (12/30/02)
Bush administration backtracking on policy of 'no net loss" of wetlands (12/26/02)
Judge deals setback to Bush oil drilling plans in Utah (12/23/02)
Bush administration weakens federal program for cleaning up dirty waters (12/21/02)
Judge slaps restraining order on plan to dredge Snake River (12/20/02)
BLM denies drilling access in Colorado wildlife range (12/20/02)
Judge gives Department of Interior extension on manatee plan (12/19/02)
White House begins process of relaxing government regulations for industry (12/19/02)
November
Forest Service rewriting rules to increase logging, remove wildlife safeguards (11/26/02)
Bush administration wants to expedite logging at expense of fish in Northwest forests (11/25/02)
EPA proposes weakening of Clean Air Act (11/22/02)
Bush administration opens national park to drilling (11/22/02)
Interior plans to limit environmental reviews for grazing (11/18/02)
EPA agrees to clean up smog pollution (11/14/02)
Bush administration outlines steps for nuclear security (11/14/02)
Bush administration reverses snowmobile ban for national parks (11/12/02)
October
EPA halts funding at several Superfund sites (10/31/02)
Bush administration doles out political treats on Halloween (10/31/02)
EPA set to launch new study on causes of asthma (10/31/02)
Interior Department finally designates manatee-protection zones (10/31/02)
Interior Department joining fight for Nevada cat litter mine (10/31/02)
Energy Task Force: Tsk, Tsk, Tsk (10/30/02)
Interior Department to oppose commercial whaling (10/30/02)
EPA approves Louisiana's controversial pollution-trading program (10/29/02)
September
New EPA water quality report shows U.S. waters are getting dirtier (09/30/02)
Bush administration rewriting rules to boost logging in Northwest (09/30/02)
Bush administration relinquishing federal water rights (09/30/02)
Bush administration revives controversial California gold mine (09/27/02)
Bush administration plans to lift federal protection on wolves (09/25/02)
Bush administration to reconsider Clean Water Act protections (09/19/02)
Forest Service smoothing the rails for Bush's logging proposals (09/19/02)
Bush orders agencies to streamline environmental review of transportation projects (09/18/02)
August
Bush's new wildfire expert no friend of forests (08/30/02)
Interior Dept. approves water storage under Mojave Desert (08/29/02)
U.S. undermines renewable energy proposal at World Summit (08/27/02)
White House Utah drilling plans under fire from local businesses (08/26/02)
Bush administration abandons California water plan (08/23/02)
Bush calls for increased logging in the name of fire prevention (08/22/02)
Interior Department allows more air pollution at national park (08/22/02)
Bush administration weakens whale protections that hindered oil and gas industry (08/22/02)
July
Bush administration supports protecting endangered foreign fish (07/31/02)
EPA seeks cleaner motorbikes, boats (07/29/02)
Bush uses national security to gain corporate secrecy and immunity (07/26/02)
Another EPA official resigns in protest over Bush policies (07/25/02)
Bush administration plans to give away oil and coal holdings in Utah (07/25/02)
Fish and Wildlife Service reneges on manatee protection plan (07/24/02)
Bush's revised Everglades plan falls short of restoration goals (07/23/02)
EPA restores some Superfund monies (07/21/02)
June
Bush slashing EPA funding for toxic cleanups (06/30/02)
FWS flip-flops on trout protection (06/26/02)
EPA stymied investigation of Yucca Mountain radiation standards (06/25/02)
Snowmobiles to be restricted, not banned in parks (06/25/02)
Bush administration blames wildfires on environmentalists (06/25/02)
EPA backs off mandatory plan to clean up stormwater pollution (06/24/02)
Bush administration backtracks on land preservation (06/19/02)
Judge rejects Corps request to lift ban on mining pollution (06/17/02)
May
Bush blocks Florida Gulf, Glades drilling (05/29/02)
Bush administration lets construction companies off the hook for protecting environment (05/24/02)
Bush-Putin Summit Produces Deeply Flawed Nuclear Arms Treaty (05/24/02)
Bush administration rolls back air conditioner energy efficiency standards (05/23/02)
Army Corps of Engineers' flip-flops on project reviews further damage its credibility (05/23/02)
Bush administration sends conflicting signal on Clean Air Act enforcement (05/21/02)
Bush administration lifts ban on mining in Oregon national forest (05/21/02)
Federal scientists say Columbia dredging won't hurt salmon (05/20/02)
April
Powder River drilling leases ruled illegal (04/30/02)
Huge win in the battle over snowmobiles in national parks (04/30/02)
NRDC issues subpoena to former head of White House energy task force (04/29/02)
White House rejected more stringent EPA air-pollution proposal before issuing so-called "Clear Skies" plan (04/28/02)
Bush administration debates management of monuments (04/24/02)
Administration establishes habitat protections for endangered kangaroo rat (04/23/02)
Norton vows to limit Florida oil drilling (04/23/02)
EPA watchdog resigns in protest over Bush policies (04/22/02)
March
BLM proposal could doom California dunes (03/29/02)
Forest Service reverses mine approval (03/29/02)
Pentagon seeks exemption from environmental laws (03/29/02)
Bush administration revisiting Rocky Mountain Front protections (03/28/02)
BLM sets sights on drilling Powder River basin (03/27/02)
Energy Department papers show industry is the real author of administration's energy policy (03/27/02)
White House misuses clean energy funds to print dirty energy plan (03/25/02)
Endangered species habitat under attack (03/19/02)
February
Energy Dept. ordered to release task force records to NRDC (02/27/02)
Top EPA official resigns in protest of Bush's pro-polluter policies (02/27/02)
Bureau of Reclamation Klamath plan endangers fish (02/27/02)
EPA official admits that Bush clean air plan is weak (02/26/02)
Bush administration intends to shift Superfund cleanup from polluters to taxpayers (02/23/02)
BLM rule could block federal land protection (02/22/02)
Corps doesn't give a dam for Snake River salmon (02/21/02)
Snowmobile ban dealt another blow (02/19/02)
January
Court asked to force immediate release of secret energy task force details (01/30/02)
Bush administration refusing to release energy task force records (01/28/02)
Agency pushes oil exploration near Utah park (01/24/02)
New NRDC report documents sweeping rollback of environmental protections by federal agencies (01/23/02)
Forest Service appeals salvage logging legal decision (01/22/02)
BLM backs gas drilling in national monument (01/21/02)
Interior proposes spending boost for refuges (01/21/02)
Coming Soon: More logging in the Pacific Northwest (01/18/02)
2001
December
Sierra Nevada plan limits logging, grazing activities in California national forests (12/27/01)
Forest Service won't allow drilling in New York's Finger Lakes (12/18/01)
EPA enlists National Academy of Sciences on issue of human pesticide studies (12/15/01)
USFS guts protections for undeveloped forest lands (12/14/01)
DOE weakens standards for Yucca nuclear storage (12/14/01)
NRDC sues Department of Energy to expose Cheney energy task force secrets (12/11/01)
Interior calls for fiscal reform of mining law (12/10/01)
Snowmobile ban unlikely to be implemented in Yellowstone and Grand Teton (12/10/01)
November
Voyageurs National Park reopening areas to snowmobiles (11/29/01)
EPA may lift ban on human testing of pesticides (11/28/01)
White House plans deep cuts in environmental spending (11/28/01)
Forest Service makes hasty salvage logging decision, forces court battle (11/27/01)
Bush administration shutting down Everglades restoration office (11/06/01)
Bush signs Interior bill that boosts spending, but includes harmful riders (11/05/01)
Corps of Engineers ignores "no net loss" wetlands policy (11/02/01)
October
EPA issues an arsenic-in-tap-water standard higher than that recommended by public health advocates (10/31/01)
Norton Guts Tough Mining Protections (10/25/01)
EPA considers standards that could slow cleanup of PCBs in the Hudson River (10/04/01)
Forest chief asks Norton to end Oregon mining ban (10/02/01)
GAO slams Forest Service for poor fiscal management (10/01/01)
September
White House rule change could inflict "paralysis by analysis" on regulatory process (09/24/01)
Corps official uses terrorist attacks as excuse to weaken environmental protection (09/21/01)
USFS to reduce public participation (09/20/01)
DOE to fund biomass research (09/19/01)
Bush administration wants farm policy overhaul (09/19/01)
Bush backing away from pledge to clean up federal facilities (09/07/01)
August
Bush administration considers disposing of radioactive waste in consumer products (08/28/01)
Bush administration seeks to fast-track missile defense program, but coalition sues to force drafting of environmental impact statements (08/28/01)
Norton reneges on agreement to protect endangered desert tortoise (08/27/01)
Forest Service stalls roadless protection, allows logging to continue (08/22/01)
Bush administration appeals federal judge's decision to ban drilling off California's coast (08/17/01)
EPA postpones action on power plants, expected to favor limited approach (08/14/01)
Tongass and other forests open to roadbuilding, logging (08/12/01)
Army Corps of Engineers to weaken wetlands protections (08/08/01)
July
George W. Bush, the "vampire" slayer (07/31/01)
EPA wants to scrap air pollution regulations for power plants (07/26/01)
Bush unlikely to offer alternative global warming plan (07/26/01)
NRDC praises global warming agreement; calls on Bush to reconsider (07/23/01)
Norton balks at defending wildlife in the face of local opposition (07/23/01)
Bush seeking to weaken federal environmental enforcement (07/23/01)
White House favors limiting president's authority to protect federal lands (07/17/01)
Bush outlines an 'all talk, no action' approach to global warming (07/13/01)
June
President Bush's visit to Department of Energy a vain attempt to shore up his energy conservation credentials (06/28/01)
The Bush-Cheney Energy Plan: Players, Profits and Paybacks (06/20/01)
U.S. Department of Energy sued over final rule on air conditioners (06/19/01)
Bush will not change fuel efficiency standards (06/19/01)
NRDC Calls on Bush Administration to Abolish Current U.S. Nuclear War Plan (06/18/01)
BLM upholds "non-controversial" portion of hard rock mining rules (06/15/01)
NRDC to President Bush: Get serious about global warming (06/11/01)
EPA announces final radiation standards for Yucca Mountain waste repository (06/06/01)
May
Bush pledges improvements to maintenance of national parks (05/31/01)
EPA moves ahead with Clinton-era rule that will reduce haze over wildlands (05/29/01)
Bush administration formally suspends arsenic-in-drinking-water protections; NRDC rips decision (05/22/01)
President Bush releases his energy plan; NRDC offers a responsible alternative (05/17/01)
Agriculture secretary undercuts forest management process (05/17/01)
BLM fails to comply with agreement to protect threatened desert tortoises (05/12/01)
Bush administration won't release information on industry participants in Cheney energy task force (05/10/01)
NRDC's John Adams to President Bush: Don't take the teeth out of the Clean Air Act (05/07/01)
April
Cheney sketches out a misguided energy policy (04/30/01)
Bush administration marks 100 days in office (04/29/01)
EPA drops objections to Florida rule that undermines Clean Water Act protections (04/26/01)
Interior will not reintroduce grizzly bears into Idaho, Montana wildlands (04/25/01)
Gale Norton nominates William G. Myers III as solicitor for Department of the Interior (04/24/01)
Yellowstone snowmobile ban goes into effect, but perhaps not for long (04/23/01)
Bush seeks to relax requirements of Endangered Species Act (04/09/01)
Bush supports U.N. treaty on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) (04/09/01)
March
Bush administration suspends the "contractor responsibility rule" (03/30/01)
Bush administration rejects Kyoto Protocol (03/28/01)
Bush administration delays hard-rock mining regulations that protect watersheds (03/21/01)
Bush withdraws new arsenic-in-drinking-water standard (03/20/01)
Bush administration settles pesticides lawsuit brought by NRDC against EPA (03/19/01)
Bush administration seeks to roll back Roadless Area Conservation Plan (03/16/01)
Bush retreats from campaign promise to reduce carbon pollution (03/13/01)
President nominates J. Steven Griles as deputy secretary of Interior (03/09/01)
February
EPA upholds Clinton decision to clean up diesel pollution (02/28/01)
Bush administration to try to adjust the boundaries of 19 new national monuments (02/20/01)
EPA delays, then upholds, new rule protecting wetlands (02/15/01)
Administration seeks to weaken efficiency standards for air conditioners (02/12/01)
January
Bush seeks to open Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil development (01/20/01)
New raw-sewage rules delayed by Bush regulatory freeze (01/20/01)
White House announces regulatory freeze (01/20/01) [Follow Me Here...]
10:55:49 PM Permalink
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Spies like Comcast?. Engadget writes: Could
Comcast use that new combination cable
modem/802.11g wireless access point they’re carrying from Linksys to
snoop around on their subscribers’ home
networks? Om Malik did a bit of poiking around and found that the
Wireless-G Cable Gateway uses something called
the Cablehome 1.0 standard, which sounds innocent enough, except that
it’s basically put into networking gear so that
cable operators can see how many computers are attached to your home
network and what exactly they’re doing. Not a
big deal, since they can already monitor what you’re doing if they want
to, right? Well, the big difference here is
that they can actually take things a step further and disable specific
devices and computers that are connected to
your home network, like a PC that is engaged in illegal file-sharing
or, say, Vonage’s broadband telephone adapter,
which competes with Comcast’s Voice over IP service. A big corporation
spy on its customers? Nah, it’ll never happen.
10:53:01 PM Permalink
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Comcast fires the entire TechTV staff.
The future of TechTV was uncertain, but hopeful. Now it appears that
Comcast may be planning to gut the network, as they've given the entire
staff their mandatory 60-days notice in compliance with the WARN act. [Ars Technica]
Yow! Sorry folks. I know some good people there. Andy Guest, Randy Alfred. What a drag.
8:11:15 PM Permalink
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The wrong Christians. Michael Bérubé asks a good question: where is the Christian Right on Abu Ghraib? They have been loud and strident on 'important' issues like breasts on television, gay marriage, the ten commandments in the courtroom, school prayer, the pledge of allegiance, yadda yadda yadda, but when the troops of Their Boy in the White House fighting in Their Righteous War in the Middle... [Pharyngula]
4:30:53 PM Permalink
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Zionists Ate My Brain. Here's an ugly list of 10 recent Arab-world conspiracy theories about the Jews and the Americans, from the National Review's Steven Stalinsky. [Hit & Run]
This is some very nasty, ugly stuff. The problem with the article is that it doesn't give any sources, there's no indication where any of the 'theories' come from, who might be believing or printing the stories, or how many people believe them. I'm not saying this thinking isn't widespread -- I have no way of knowing, one way or another -- just that this article doesn't bring any clarity.
3:45:59 PM Permalink
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Sid Blumenthal Gets It. It's about a lot more than a few depraved MPs: This is the new gulag Bush
has created what is in effect a gulag. It stretches from prisons in
Afghanistan to Iraq, from Guantánamo to secret CIA prisons around the
world. There are perhaps 10,000 people being held in Iraq, 1,000 in
Afghanistan and almost 700 in Guantánamo, but no one knows the exact
numbers. The law as it applies to them is whatever the executive deems
necessary.There has been nothing like this system since the fall of
the Soviet Union. The US military embraced the Geneva conventions after
the second world war, because applying them to prisoners of war
protects American soldiers. But the Bush administration, in an internal
fight, trumped its argument by designating those at Guantánamo "enemy
combatants". Rumsfeld extended this system - "a legal black hole",
according to Human Rights Watch - to Afghanistan and then Iraq, openly
rejecting the conventions.
...
Many [Senators], Democratic and
Republican, were infuriated that there was no accountability and no
punishment and demanded a special investigation, but the Republican
leadership quashed it. The senators want Rumsfeld to testify in a
public hearing, but he is resisting and the Republican leaders are
blocking it. The Bush administration was well aware of the Taguba
report, but more concerned about its exposure than its contents.
General Richard Myers, the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, was
dispatched on a mission to CBS news to tell it to suppress its story
and the horrifying pictures. [Whiskey Bar]
3:24:55 PM Permalink
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Tour De Cure
I've been remiss about posting my Tour De Cure the other day. Through
no fault of my own, and not really, it was a discouraging trip.
It was a beautiful day up there. It was getting warm, even at 8:30, and
I was really pumped. I took off, and went about 11.5 miles, going
through the town of St Helena, when I put a big nail through my back
tire. The nail went into the tread, and came out the side. I heard a
pop, then the back tire skidded to a halt when the protruding end of
the nail hit my brake pad.
Of course I didn't have a spare tube, and I've never actually changed
one, leastwise since I was a kid. So I slammed my helmet on the ground
and watched people pass me. Margaret was back at the starting point,
waiting to go on the 25-mile ride, so I called her on my cell. The ride
people have volunteers going along looking for people like me, or those
who got in wrecks, or whatever. Still, it took about an hour for
someone to get to me. We looked at the tire, and the side had a pretty
good tear in it, from when it hit the break. A tube wouldn't do the
entire job, I also needed a tire. So they hauled me back to the
starting point, and I had a new tire put on.
All this cost me about 2 hours, and my good mood.
When I got the tire on, I took off again, on the 10-mile course. That wasn't long enough, so I rode some different paths.
I ended up doing about 31 miles, which wasn't bad, but wasn't what I
wanted to do. I especially didn't want to spend the day standing by the
side of the road watching people go by, and then waiting to get my tire
fixed... But it could have been worse. While riding with my rescuers
back to the starting point, I heard a couple of stories about
people who had already been in wrecks. At least I wasn't hurt, only my
pride, sort of, and as I say, my good mood.
Anyway, I can still take contributions, though I have all my schwag.
But if you want to contribute, go to this page, and fill it in. Many
thanks to those who already have done so, and maybe next year I'll try
to do 100...
3:14:08 PM Permalink
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Moderate an Islamic Website, Go to Jail?. Anita Ramasastry has an excellent new Findlaw column on PATRIOT's "material support for terrorists" provision and the current case in Idaho (PDF) against the moderator of a controversial Islamic web forum.
"The government's case seems to rest not on Hussayan's postings but the messages and postings of others. And it appears that he worked not with a terrorist group, but alone, on a volunteer basis, in the den of his apartment," writes Ramasastry. "Moreover, according to Hussayen's lawyers, these sites also included viewpoints that criticized jihad as well. Thus, they may have been more 'marketplace of ideas' -- the First Amendment's ideal -- than terrorist platform."
This one's a must-read for anyone who wants to understand the threat to (online) expression from one of the key PATRIOT provisions; do check it out. [Deep Links]
3:07:35 PM Permalink
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© Copyright 2004 Steve Michel.
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