Greetings from Wyoming
My trip yesterday was from Albany to Detroit to Denver on Northwest
Airlines, then I rented a car and drove north to Cheyenne,
Wyoming.
On the trip to Detroit, I sat next to a guy who I'd talked with while
checking bags. He was headed for Dubois ("DOO boyce", don't be tempted
with the French pronunciation), which is in the northeast section of
Wyoming, near Jackson Hole. He found on the internet a guy there who
gives fly fishing and guitar lessons. He had two acoustic guitars
packed in boxes as checked luggage. Plans to be there for a week.
On the Denver leg of the trip, I got the first coach seat behind the
first class section. This usually means a bulkhead in your face, but
on this flight there's over 2 feet of legroom between my seat and the
first class seat, and plenty of room underneath that seat for my
computer.
Al-hamdu lillah! I typed this paragraph while sitting there.
There was a freeloader inside my computer, a beautiful little
moth. He's been hanging around on the window beside my seat. I'd take
a picture, but he's too small to show up as much.
I was planning to ask my Dad for one of his wildcat hunting rifles,
namely the 65/06 (six-five ought-six, sp?) that I used as a teenager
to make one-shot kills on a deer, an antelope, an elk, a rock, and a
crow. Sweet gun! The guys at the club can guide me in acquiring
loading equipment and learning to use it. I think you can still
legally carry a rifle in checked baggage on airplanes. I'll likely
find out soon.
I say "was planning" because I discovered that my Dad has a beautiful
double-barrelled shotgun that belonged to his Dad. "L.C.SMITH, #7339,
Hunter Arms Co. Fulton, N.Y." My trap shooting gun! Need to get it
checked out by a gunsmith, to make sure it won't blow up in my face,
but it looks great. Breaks into two pieces which fit snugly in a nice
leather case. I can get the wildcat later.
I'd also like the six-point rack of the elk I killed, but I don't know
where I'll put it. My wife has already said she doesn't want it in the
house.
Bangkok Post (Thailand) - Dealers Don't Deserve Pity - Looks like the war on freedom, er... some drugs, is in full swing in Thailand. The government murders drug dealers there. [drugsense]
Drugs are like a weapon. People who possess drugs are in possession of a lethal weapon. That's why they deserve the death penalty.
People engaged in the drug trade may be likened to the "scum of the earth". They are monsters in the guise of humans, and should be dealt with harshly.
The Week Online with DRCNet - Nixon in China or Wolf in McCaffrey's Clothing? Asa Hutchinson Confirmed as DEA Chief, Calls for "Compassion," Repeal of HEA Drug Provision - The senate approved Isa Hutchinson as the new head of the d.e.a. I wrote him a letter, repeated below. I've printed and signed it and intend to drop it in a mailbox today.
Mr. Asa Hutchinson
5 August, 2001
[address redacted]
Drug Enforcement Administration
2401 Jefferson Davis Highway
Alexandria, VA 22301Mr. Hutchinson:
Congratulations on your new job as Chief Drug Nazi. Like most of the federal behemoth, the DEA is a rogue agency with no constitutional authority to exist. Its mission includes the assault and kidnapping of peaceful American citizens who have not initiated force against anyone. This is a crime. If you continue the DEA's practice of kidnapping and imprisoning peaceful Americans, I will call for your arrest and trial. Kidnapping is a capital offense. Conspiracy to commit mass assault and kidnapping is a crime against humanity. Wouldn't it be a better idea to just shut down the fascist organization you have been chosen to lead? The war on some drugs can only be won by turning America into a police state. Anyone who thinks this is a good idea is stupid, insane, or evil.
The war on some drugs has nothing to do with drugs. It is a war on freedom, a war on the Bill of Rights, a war on America's soul. End it.
Sincerely,
William W. St. Clair, Jr.
I went to see Planet of the Apes last night with my parents. The theater was packed. The apes were loud and brutish. The music was dark and foreboding. The ending was trite. One man changed an entire culture in a few days. Yeah. Right. Still, I was entertained. If you haven't seen it, I recommend waiting for the video.
John McCabe at loony.org - Friday, August 3, 2001 - After "talking with a supervisor for nearly an hour, hand delivering a letter and showing two forms of ID", Mr. McCabe convinced his cable company to switch the account he'd been using to his name. This is the discussion he had before speaking with the manager: [loony]
"Sir, your cable is scheduled to be disconnected. Are you saying that you would like to change the order?"
"Yeah, that's what I am saying"
"Unfortunately we cannot move the account into your name, however we can set up a connection order for a new account."
"OK, can you arrange it so I have no interruption of service?"
"No, we cannot actually schedule a connection until the old service has been disconnected."
"OK, just so I have this straight...you are telling me that in order to keep the service I have now, I need to wait for you to come here and disconnect it so I can reconnect it again?"
"Yes, that is what I am saying."
"Do you have any idea how moronic that sounds?"
"I'm sorry sir, that is how we must handle it."
High Times - Long-Term Pot-Use Study: No Ill Health Effects - Told ya. [drugsense]
MISSOULA, MT - In the first study of its kind, four recipients of federally provided medical marijuana were examined for the health effects of their long-term cannabis use-and none showed any serious adverse effects.
The Week Online with DRCNet - Utah Pain Doctor Gets Conviction Overturned, Still Facing Legal Hurdles and Career Ruin - Dr. Robert Weitzel, A Utah psychiatrist who works with elderly patients in pain, was jailed for murder until another doctor made it clear to the court that the deaths of geriatric patients are not unusual. Now Dr. Weitzel is charged with oversubscribing opiates and using them himself, even though he's had eighty negative urine tests. The reality of the situation is that many people in pain need more drugs. Meanwhile, the drug nazis are attempting to deny them what little they now get. Drug warriors: stupid, insane, or evil. And the scale is tipping towards the latter. Dr. Weitzel's web site, which I haven't visited since I'm writing this on an airplane, is www.weitzelcharts.com. [drcnet]
But, [Utah Medical Association spokesmanMark] Fotheringham assured DRCNet, "we have seen no evidence of a chilling effect on physicians. The doctors we've talked to see this case as an aberration."
Weitzel does not agree. "That's ridiculous," he snorted. "When doctors look at actual care I gave, they say it was normal care. I've had doctors telling me I didn't prescribe enough opiates. I've seen one survey in which 20 out of 30 physicians said what happened to me makes them less likely to prescribe opiates. I'm dismayed and somewhat disheartened by the UMA's lameness on this."
He is not alone. The Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS), a 5,000-member organization based in Arizona, has strongly backed Weitzel, and has taken some knocks from the UMA for doing so. "I think we're seeing prosecutors run amok all over the country, and physician groups are telling physicians eveything will be fine," AAPS executive director Jane Orient told DRCNet. "We've heard from many, many doctors in Utah, and they say they will be hesitant to prescribe pain medications. Doctors should be standing up for their colleagues," she said.
...
Professor Libby also sees great danger in the current federal government posture. "Medicine has been criminalized," he told DRCNet. "Any physician can be indicted. Once they get a whistleblower to contact the Justice Department and claim fraud has been committed, they go in with guns and gather the charts, shut down all the computers, stop all activity, and go fishing until they can find something they can use against a physician," he said.
The Week Online with DRCNet - Feds Raid Lakota Hemp Fields Again, Oglala Challenge US Right to Enforce Controlled Substances Act on Reservation - The Oglala Lakota (Sioux) Nation has asserted its right to grow industrial hemp in its sovereign nation in South Dakota. The feds aren't listening. Seems to me that the tribe could use a few thousand semi-automatic rifles and a few million rounds of ammunition with which to defend their land. I'd rejoice at the deaths of a few thousand drug warriors, especially operating where they have no jurisdiction. [drcnet]
"The powers of local self-government enjoyed by the Lakota people existed prior to the United States Constitution. Our local governmental powers were not created by your Constitution," wrote Steele. "Our nation, our culture, and our laws precede your nation, your 'culture,' and your laws. We were and continue to be a sovereign nation.
"I respectfully request that you direct the law enforcement agencies under your authority to refrain from encroachment upon our reservation for the purpose of enforcing your Controlled Substances Act. That Act does not apply to our reservation or our People," [Oglala President] Steele wrote.
