Denver Pitbull Ban Draws Dog Lovers' Ire

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2005/07/06/denver_pit_bull_ban_draws_dog_lovers_ire/

DENVER -- Within the last month, more than 200 pit bulls have been plucked from the municipal animal shelter and euthanized as the city cracks down on the sometimes-dangerous breed. That has sparked a petition drive to overturn the pit bull ban and fueled a sort of canine underground railroad in which dog lovers secretly ferry the outlawed animals out of town...

What an outrage! How dare a city think it has the right to tell people that they have to give up their dogs. Yes I know pits can be viscious, but many of these dogs have done no wrong. This legislation bans an entire breed, regardless of the animal's individual behavior or history.

Also the way it's enforced is akin to naziism. The animal control agents are like the gestapo, climbing into peoples backyards while they're at work and the dog is in the backyard. The dog is taken and many never see their pet again. I hope dog owners and lovers everywhere flood the city council with angry phone calls and hate mail. I hope there are protests or even riots in Downtown Denver. Make those city councilmen afraid to sleep at night.

NY to Search Subway Riders

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-ny22jul22,1,5653623.story?coll=la-headlines-world

NEW YORK — New York City officials announced Thursday that police would begin randomly inspecting backpacks and other packages today on its subway system.

The searches will rotate through the 468 stations of the system, which carries more than 4.5 million passengers on an average weekday.

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"We just live in a world where, sadly, these kinds of security measures are necessary," Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg said at a news conference with Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly.

Bloomberg said there was no "credible intelligence" of a specific threat.

Kelly said officers would inspect bags either before passengers go through turnstiles or after they have entered the subway platform. If passengers refuse to submit to such searches, he added, they will be asked to leave the station.

Kelly acknowledged the checks could focus on only a small percentage of people using the system. Police are still developing the new security plan, and the searches might be extended to buses, he said.

Nice to know we live in a police state where we'll be searched and hassled on plane, train and bus alike now. The environmentalists want people to use public transportation to save gas, but if using this transportation involves daily searches and patdowns I don't think most people will go for it. No, people will begin using their cars more and more since that seems to be the only way to travel without getting a patdown courtesy of Big Brother.

Consumer group calls for warning labels on pop

http://www.cbc.ca/story/science/national/2005/07/13/pop-labels050713.html

Pop cans should carry warnings to alert people that drinking too much can make them fat, a U.S. consumer group said Wednesday.

The Center for Science in the Public Interest called for warnings like those on cigarettes, saying overindulging in non-diet soft drinks can lead to obesity, diabetes and tooth decay...

What's next? Age restrictions preventing those under 16 or even 18 from getting pop? Banning pop from being sold at movie theaters and fast food restaurants? Where does this shit end and good sense begin?

Pot ID Program Shelved

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/state/la-me-pot9jul09,1,5339588.story?coll=la-news-state

# Verification system for medicinal users is put on hold after U.S. Supreme Court ruling creates concerns about possible prosecutions.

By Rong-Gong Lin II, Times Staff Writer

California health officials Friday suspended a pilot program that issues photo identification to medical marijuana users out of concern that a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling could make the state and ID holders targets for federal prosecution.

The action comes a month after the nation's high court ruled that the federal government could seize and destroy marijuana being used as medicine, regardless of state laws such as California's Proposition 215 that allow the drug's use by patients who have received a doctor's permission...

I think it's ashame that they're stopping the program. If they cave in, that means the federal bullies win and the people lose. The people of the state voted to legalize marijuana for medicinal use and the federal government has shown nothing but contempt for that decision. Does the rule of the people no longer govern? Has it been replaced by absolutism?

Painkiller Warnings Rekindle Debate Over Medical Marijuana

http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=14066875

The months of recalls and warnings surrounding popular prescription painkillers have done more than frighten consumers, batter drug makers' bottom lines and raise questions about the procedures and criteria by which the Food and Drug Administration approves medications.

The fact that so many legal drugs pose serious health risks is also reigniting a debate over the medicinal value of other substances — illegal drugs, particularly marijuana — and what critics believe is the government's continuing resistance to studying their possible benefits...

Great article on how the pharmaceutical industry is paying the government to suppress research on the benefits of medical MJ.

Whom to Contact About Freeing Katie Wernecke

President George W. Bush
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500

The Honorable Solomon P. Ortiz
U. S. House of Representatives
2470 Rayburn Bldg.
Washington, DC 20515

Governor Rick Perry
Office of the Governor
P O Box 12428
Austin, TX 78711-2428

Senator John Cornyn
U. S. Senate
517 Hart Senate Bldg.
Washington, DC 20510

Senator Kay Hutchison
U. S. Senate
284 Senate Russell Bldg.
Washington, DC 20510

President of Senate
& Lt Governor David Dewhurst
Capitol Station
P O Box 12068
Austin, TX 78711

Senator John Whitmire
Dean of Senate
Capitol Office
P O Box 12068
Austin, TX 78711

State Speaker of House
The Honorable Tom Craddick
Texas House of Representatives
P O Box 2910
Austin, TX 78768

Gregg Abbott, Attorney Gerneral
Office of the Attorney General
PO Box 12548
Austin, TX 78711-2548

Call the office of the Texas Attorney General and ask to speak to Gregg Abbott at: (512) 463-2100. Email Greg Abbott at greg.abbott@oag.state.tx.us and let him know how sick you are of the injustice that Katie and her family are suffering.

As Smoking Bans Grow, Some Say, 'Butt Out'

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/US/story?id=887492&page=1

Business Owners Say Sales Suffer From Ever-Tighter New Restrictions
Smoking Ban

Smoking bans are catching on across the country, but not without some resistance from business owners. (AP Graphics)
By ADRIENNE MAND LEWIN

July 1, 2005 — It was a cleanup day at a park in San Francisco's Pacific Heights that prompted Michela Alioto-Pier to seek the nation's most expansive smoking ban to date.

Alioto-Pier, a supervisor for the city and county of San Francisco, saw "cigarette butts all over the place" and decided to look at the issue of outdoor smoking more closely.

Great article on business owners' crusade against smoking bans, which are popping up nationwide (even in Michigan!).