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PATH: BS | Legal
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Senator Tries To Sabotage Public Access To Gov. Spending Info
Posted by Pile
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 Senators Tom Coburn and Barak Obama have proposed S.2590, the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act, legislation that would create a single website with access to information on nearly all recipients of federal funding. The bill cannot proceed, however, because one or more Senators placed a "secret hold" on it. Some say this attempt to bury the legislation prior to a vote is unconstitutional, in addition to downright un-American, un-democratic, and stupid.
Regardless of your political affiliation, the idea of a central web site where you can find out how your tax dollars are being spent seems like a good idea... a good idea to everyone except Alaskan Senator Ted "Internet is a series-of-tubes", "bridge to nowhere" Stevens! He seems to think such a resource would be a waste of taxpayer dollars!
Is there anyone in Alaska who isn't ashamed of this sorry excuse for a human being, Ted Stevens?
By the way, Mr. Stevens was also a principal architect of the Telco Act of 1996 which screwed over the public communications systems and paved the way for the consolidation of corporate media. |
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Drug Dealers Reach New Creative Heights
Posted by Pile
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 A California drug operation manufactured marijuana-laced candy and soft drinks that were packaged to resemble popular products like Jolly Ranchers, Milky Way, and Pop Tarts. The pot ring, busted yesterday by Drug Enforcement Administration agents, was headquartered in Oakland.
DEA raids at indoor pot-growing facilities turned up the marijuana-infused products, which carried labels such as Toka-Cola, Pot Tarts, Puff-A-Mint Pattie, Stoney Ranchers, Munchy Way, and Buddahfinger. |
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Prenuptual From Hell
Posted by Pile
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This country, as you know, is filled with the deranged. And then there's Travis Frey, a 33-year-old Iowa man who is facing charges that he tried to kidnap his own wife (not to mention a separate child pornography rap). Frey, prosecutors contend, apparently is a rather demanding guy. In fact, he actually drew up a bizarre four-page marriage document--a "Contract of Wifely Expectations"--that sought to establish guidelines for his spouse in terms of hygiene, clothing, and sexual activities.
In return for fulfilling certain requirements, Frey offered "Good Behavior Days," or GBDs. Each GBD, Frey wrote, could be redeemed by his wife to "get out of doing the things" he requested daily. |
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Bush Pulls All Stops to Block Access to Abu Ghraib Photos
Posted by Pile
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[Military]
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While the rest of the world has known for a long time, the public photos from the abuse at the US-run Abu Ghraib prison are merely the tip of the iceberg. There are lots of credible reports indicating what took place there was far worse than is commonly known: murder, raping of young boys, etc, and the Administrtation is intentionally trying to stall further investigation into the issue by various authorities.On July 22, the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) denounced the latest efforts of the Bush Administration to block the release of the Darby photos and videos depicting torture at Iraq’s Abu Ghraib prison facility. On June 2, 2004, CCR, along with the ACLU, Physicians for Human Rights, Veterans for Common Sense, and Veterans for Peace filed papers with the U.S. District Court, charging the Department of Defense and other government agencies with illegally withholding records concerning the abuse of detainees in American military custody. Since then, the organizations have been repeatedly rebuffed in their efforts to investigate what happened at the prison. |
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Bumper Sticker Store
When Terry Wilson filed for trademark protection for her "Tightpod" laptop protectors, she received a cease-and-desist order. The order from Apple reads in part: "The Tightpod mark will inevitably cause consumer confusion as to the source of the products, and dilute Apple's famous iPod mark."
The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) asked a federal court Wednesday to protect the free speech rights of a website publisher who has suffered years of baseless legal threats over his parody of the Barney and Friends television show.
A woman sued Borders Books after a poorly attached toilet seat shifted, leaving her "permanently disfigured." She claimed that as she was sitting and touched the seat to steady herself, the seat shifted abruptly, causing her to fall on her backside, which resulted in "multiple spine injuries, including the need for multiple neurosurgical spine surgeries."
Three people convicted of looting a liquor store in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina last year were given the harshest sentence possible in a Louisiana court on Wednesday.
In response to a page a user put up covering 
Remember the last election campaign? Remember how it was a bit rough-and-tumble, with all kinds of accusations? Remember those Swift Boat ads that basically stated the opposite of the facts as the US government had recorded them?
The NSA has denied clearance to the DOJ, in an effort to investigate the Bush administration's illegal use of wiretaps. It appears that the NSA now has a sort of pocket veto power when it comes to any investigation involving domestic(or otherwise) spying albeit legal or not.
Obviously when you smile, you think of Wal-Mart...
Maryland representative Herman Taylor has introduced House Bill 1315, which would require the state's Motor Vehicle Administration to issue special license plates to people convicted on at least two DUI offenses. These special "DUI" plates would in effect impose the "scarlet letter" effect upon the vehicles' of owners convincted of drunk driving. No word of anyone else who uses the car might be happy about that.
Trey Parker, one of the creators of Southpark, claims in a GQ interview that they chose to do an episode parodying Scientology in protest of the rumors that Showtime refused to let Penn and Teller do an episode of Bullshit exposing Scientology. Furthermore, the offensive Southpark episode, "Trapped in the Closet" that mocks the controversial church often called a "cult" and ridicules Tom Cruise will not be run in Britain due to threats from the litigious former "Top Gun."
You might have thought that the White House had enough on its plate late last month, what with its search for a new Supreme Court nominee, the continuing war in Iraq and the C.I.A. leak investigation. But it found time to add another item to its agenda - stopping The Onion, the satirical newspaper, from using the presidential seal.
Jose Avila was a little short on cash and had no furniture, so he improvised, equipping much of his house with makeshift furniture fashioned from Federal Express boxes. After he put up a web site showing off his creations, FedX apparently wasn't happy and is threatening legal action using, among other things, the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) as the basis.
I've violated their patent? Hey Microsoft, how about this emoticon: 
!
Crying like a baby (who ran a multinational corporation into the ground and defauded thousands of people and blew billions of dollars), former WorldCom CEO Bernard Ebbers was sentenced to 25 years in prison.
A college student was forced to redesign a Web site satirizing a foundation run by 
A supporter of President Bush is suing the Republican National Committee and one of its suppliers, claiming they stole his design for the ubiquitous "W" bumper sticker logo in the 2004 campaign.