Go For Papa Palpatine

From CNN:

WASHINGTON (CNN) — Even Vice President Dick Cheney is dressing up for Halloween — according to President Bush.

Speaking before a Grocery Manufacturers Association gathering Wednesday, Bush suggested his No. 2 is going as "Star Wars" nemesis Darth Vader this year — even though he's not wearing a costume.

"This morning I was with the vice president," Bush joked. "I was asking him what costume he was planning. He said, 'Well I'm already wearing it,' and then he mumbled something about the dark side of the force."

Okay, Darth Vader is just fucked. I'm sorry, but that's the dumbest possible Cheney reference I can think of. Let me make it clear to these numbskulls: Cheney is not Vader. He is PALPATINE.
Think about it. Palpatine was a senator who ended up taking power after the previous leader was deemed incompetent. Then, through pawns who blindly obey his bidding, he exerted control over the entire empire with an iron fist.

Bush as an incompetent leader. If anything happens to him, Cheney takes power. We privatize the military (Halliburton Army, Ray Ban Air Force, Speedo Marine Corps, etc.), Cheney declares war on Iran, Russia gets involved, and we start off this century like we did the last. Good times.

Happy Halloween, y'all. I know I'm scared.

Orange County Sheriff Mike Carona Indicted for Accepting Bribes, Pressuring Witness to Lie

One MORE thing to smile about.

Mad, mad props to R. Scott Moxley at the OC Weekly and his tireless, endless, constant coverage of the Sheriff's indiscretions (for which Orange County is truly a target-rich environment). Even the New York Times has to feed off his crumbs this time.

Hot off the ASSOCIATED PRESS, included in its entirety with no snide commentary because the story is hysterical all in itself.

Sheriff Charged With Accepting Bribes

By GILLIAN FLACCUS – 2 hours ago

SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) — Orange County's sheriff has been charged with accepting bribes in exchange for political favors and pressing a witness to lie as authorities investigated whether he used his office to enrich himself.

The case against Michael S. Carona purportedly involves more than $350,000 in cash and gifts, as well as a "get out of jail free card" for a wealthy appointee whose son was arrested twice, according to a federal indictment unsealed Tuesday. Also named in the indictment were Carona's wife and a woman identified as his longtime mistress.

Carona rejected the allegations Tuesday and said he would not step down from the nation's fifth-largest sheriff's department.

"I have never misused the office of the sheriff of Orange County for financial gain," Carona said in a prepared statement. "Any fair review of the evidence can only lead to that conclusion.

"And I am offended that similar accusations have been made about my wife, which are also patently false," he said.

The indictment alleges that the crimes began during the 1998 campaign, in which Carona was first elected to lead the force in this Southern California county of about 3 million people.

Carona gained national attention during an investigation into the 2002 kidnapping and killing of 5-year-old Samantha Runnion, and a year later had been mentioned as a possible Republican candidate for lieutenant governor.

Carona, 52, was expected to surrender to federal authorities Wednesday in Santa Ana, said U.S. attorney's spokesman Thom Mrozek. Also expected to surrender were his wife, Deborah, and attorney Debra Victoria Hoffman, who was identified in court papers as his mistress.

"There is no merit to this indictment, and the government's strategy of using me as leverage against my husband will not succeed," Deborah Carona said in a separate prepared statement.

During a five-minute interview with The Associated Press, the couple would not respond to most questions — including those about Carona's alleged infidelity — on the advice of his attorneys, who were present.

Hoffman does not have an attorney yet, Mrozek said. A call to her law office after business hours was not immediately returned.

Two former assistant sheriffs, Donald Haidl and George Jaramillo, previously pleaded guilty to related charges as part of a deal with prosecutors. Jaramillo, who is serving a 12-month term on state charges, cooperated with federal investigators to bring the case against Carona, his attorney said.

The indictment unsealed Tuesday charges the sheriff, his wife and Hoffman with conspiracy to accept bribes in exchange for political favors. Sheriff Carona also is charged with mail fraud and witness tampering, and Hoffman is charged with mail fraud and bankruptcy fraud.

The scheme allegedly began in 1998, when Haidl solicited donations to Carona's election campaign and then reimbursed donors to hide the money trail, according to the indictment.

After Carona was elected, Haidl, a wealthy businessman, paid for a Lake Tahoe vacation for Carona, Jaramillo, himself and their spouses, officials said. He also gave Carona a boat in 2001 and the personal use of his yacht and private plane, the indictment alleges.

Haidl allegedly continued to pay Carona $1,000 a month in cash for "full access to sheriff's department resources" and a "get out of jail free card" for friends and family members, according to the indictment.

Haidl also appointed Carona and Jaramillo to the board of directors of a company owned by Haidl's uncle.

In return, Carona allegedly appointed Haidl to the position of assistant sheriff for reserves in 1999 and made Haidl's family, friends and business associates reserve deputies.

When Haidl's teenage son, Gregory, was arrested in connection with a 2002 gang rape, Carona is accused of asking Jaramillo to lobby the county district attorney to charge the teen as a juvenile instead of as an adult.

When Gregory Haidl was arrested on a drug charge a year later, he received "preferential treatment" from the sheriff's department with Carona's consent, the indictment said.

The indictment also alleges that Carona asked Haidl as recently as August to lie to a federal grand jury about the alleged crimes.

Carona is accused of accepting gifts from unnamed Orange County businessmen, including ringside tickets to an Oscar De La Hoya and Felix Trinidad boxing match in Las Vegas; Mont Blanc pens; and luxury box seats to see the Angels in the World Series playoffs. His wife allegedly accepted designer suits and a Cartier watch valued at about $15,000.

Carona also appointed his wife to the Orange County Fair board of directors. He appointed Hoffman to a state advisory group on juvenile delinquency and the California Council on Criminal Justice, both of which he chaired.

The Samantha Runnion case greatly raised Carona's profile. CNN's Larry King called him "America's Sheriff," a nickname that still appears on Carona's official biography.

Even before the charges, Carona's star had faded in recent years. The Los Angeles Times reported in 2005 that he had issued badges and concealed-weapons permits to campaign contributors without proper training or background checks.

Two things to smile about

So you know that joke about the worst part of raping a 4-year-old is getting the blood off your clown suit?

What's the worst part about raping the Constitution?

Getting the blood out of the Oval Office carpet.

Tee hee. Also, this from an article on a judge saying Cal (boo) can boot the Berkeley Tree sitters.

UC officials can remove all the
tree-sitters at Memorial Stadium, even if police can't identify the
protesters by name, a judge ruled Monday.

"This ruling means it's all but impossible for reasonable people to
see this protest as something benign," said UC Berkeley spokesman Dan
Mogulof. "It's an illegal and dangerous occupation of university
property."

UC officials are "evaluating" how to proceed, Mogulof said.
Tree-sitters and their supporters could not be reached for comment on
the ruling.

Alameda County Superior Court Judge Richard Keller's ruling amends his
order a month ago that gave UC police the authority to remove only
tree-sitters who were identified by name.

At the time, UC officials could identify only one of the protesters,
David Galloway, 36, because the other dozen sitters wear masks and
would not give their real names. Campus officials asked the judge to
broaden the ruling to include unnamed protesters.

"The court finds that the ends of justice would be served by modifying
the order ... to insert the phrase, 'and all other persons acting in
concert or participating with them,' " Keller wrote in his new ruling,
referring to the tree-sitters.

So what about all that crap is funny to me, you ask?

Tree sitters and their supporters could not be reached for comments.




Hee hee.

Halloween Poetics over on StephenColbert08.com

Okay, so I've been too busy to blog anything anywhere. But I threw this crap up on StephenColbert08.com which is a site you should all check out. On the daily.

All righty, Colbertians (colh-BEAR-ee-uhns), Halloween is almost upon us. No doubt this weekend you were already beseiged by ghouls, goblins, and oh-so-clever kids dressed up as democratic lobbyists. As if it wasn’t creepy enough to be without our beloved Report for what was truly a dark, dark week. A week so dark … that it has inspired an evil, darkling Hallowe’en poem! A poem so evil, so terrifying that we could not in good conscience omit the apostrophe from between the two e’s, there to indicate the absent ‘v’ from the once-conjunctual ‘evening’, as in “All-Hallow Even”! If you don’t enjoy the poem, at least enjoy the holiday. I myself will be roaming the Nixon Library in Yorba Linda, desperate for a little piece of that liminal action - you know, the limited time when spirits can make contact with the mortal realm?

One Halloween night, my Colbertian posse,

I sat in my room with eyes bloodshot and glossy

On such an occasion I’ve nothing to fear

For I live Halloween every day of the year

Chalk Up Another Notch For Sulfuric Acid

In the most horrific story I read all week, a man was discovered (by his father, no less) drowned in a vat of a sulfuric acid solution with roughly the same level of acidity as stomach acid.

Here are the relevant bits of the story, the ones which leave many questions unanswered and demonstrate the total failure of mainstream journalism to actually investigate and not just report.

An 18-year-old man found dead in a vat of acidic solution at the Redwood City factory where he worked died of accidental drowning, the San Mateo County coroner said today.
Fernando Jimenez Gonzalez drowned in a vat of a "low-concentration sulfuric acid solution," Deputy Coroner Michelle Rippy said. Toxicology tests showed no drugs or alcohol in his system.

So we have a young man who works in this facility who fails to come home from work. His dad goes out to find him and eventually checks the workplace, as they both work there. He finds his son drowned and probably beginning to digest inside a vat. How did he get there, one wonders? He could have stumbled in, but why wouldn't he just climb back out? Or tread acid?

The solution in which Gonzalez drowned was 93 percent water and 7 percent sulfuric acid, according to the coroner's office. Its acidity was roughly the same as stomach acid. The solution is used during the production of circuit boards.

Police suspect Gonzalez fell into the waist-high vat of sulfuric acid after being overcome by chemical fumes. A spokesman for the company said the solution does not produce noxious fumes.

So the police suspect that the victim was overcome by fumes that don't exist, causing him to fall into the vat. Way to go, cops. I hear they have their top imaginary friends investigating the case, and plans are underway to utilize all best intentions available to the Department.


"Hey, whiny punk-ass," you might be tempted to ask, "if you're going to bitch about public servants who put their lives on the line to protect you while you sleep, why don't YOU investigate this? If you've somehow deemed it worthy of taxpayer's money and police time, then why not check it out yourself? Look into Gonzales's past, talk to the father, find out who works at and runs Coastal Circuits, talk to Gonzales's friends, and see if anyone could have been in the area around the time of the drowning?"

Because I have studying to do, that's why. T'ain't my problem. My name's Paul and this is betwixt y'all. Besides, the San Mateo County Coroner already ruled that poor Fernando died of accidental causes. And I'm sorry, but Fuck You, The Chronicle - your article was almost identical to the original coverage of the story. At least the Mercury-News included new information. All you did was tag on the coroner bit.

Whenever I encounter bad reporting I consider myself lucky to be able to recognize it. I am immensely grateful for the time I spent at the OC Weekly working with the finest reporter I've ever met - R. Scott Moxley. The man taught me to look past the headlines and home in on everything the newspapers neglect to tell you.

I emailed Scott the story along with cheeky commentary. Scott emailed back, "Mob?" I said no; more likely it's elderly cannibals. You know, people who need their meat a bit pre-digested.

Easier to gum down, easier to pass out.

Now to my legal studies. This should be interesting - CHAPTER 4: The Determination of Unreasonableness. My life may never be the same.

Rest in Peace, Fernando

This Post Is Ill

And so am I

My lymph nodes are enormous. They want cheetos, beer and the remote for the television. Just when the week of nausea leaves, the head cold sets in. I'm leaking fluids like the Exxon Valdez. My throat feels like I've been going down on concertina wire. My mind feels like coming up with over-the-top similes. I must be ill.

"Liar - you've got antifreeze!" - Withnail & I

So all nine of you regulars must be getting all lonesome without any post, so here's something to chew on:

Producer McG was affiliated w/ The OC and now is working on Chuck. The OC was basically geek escapism in high school; Chuck is full-on geek escapism in the workplace. After the El Ciudad episode, featuring a hot fraulein fighting the hot package-delivery girl atop a hot-dog restaurant, I think we all see what we're in for.

Now let me be. I have mucus to make.

To The Rescue!

So I'm reading in my legal textbook (which we call "casebooks" because they're full of cases) about negligence. Basically, negligence is a breach of the duty of reasonable care. The basic argument is that, depending on the situation, one is expected to exercise the same degree of care and consideration as would any reasonable, prudent person in a similar situation.

What gets me is this: there's something called the no-duty-to-rescue rule.This means that if you're drowning in a lake and I'm standing not five feet away watching, as long as I didn't push you in or otherwise have anything to do with your current predicament, I have no obligation to help you whatsoever. None. I can literally stand there and recite improvisational haiku inspired by the drowning to which I am witness. I could ask you if you wanted help, and if you screamed, "Yes, by the name of all that's sacred! I can't swim! Help me!" I could smile and say, "I'll bet you do," turn around, and go grab a frappuccino. As long as I don't in any way interfere with or deter other potential rescuers (who might see me reciting poetry or taunting you and believe help has already arrived), I am in no way liable for your predicament; it is not negligent of me to abandon you to a watery grave.

Mwu huh huh ha ha ha!

I'm sitting on the toilet when I hear my phone ringing. Wouldn't it be nice if that was a beautiful girl calling me, I think to myself. After a paragraph or two of Nobodies, I finish up and check my phone. Lo and behold, it WAS a beautiful woman! Not only that but a dear friend as well. So I call her back and the poor thing was in tears. "Are you at home?" I am. "Can I come over?" Of course. "Okay." See you soon. >click< And it was on. Within minutes I had cleared my bed of dirty laundry, made it, cleared off couch-space, reorganized the laundry into a sturdy but non-intimidating pile, and put some water on for tea. I was and am touched that in a time of difficulty and sadness she called me for solace. I've been feeling lots of receptive vibes lately.

Even the new neighbor's dogs love me. It's ridiculous. They have this stumbly, adorable way of nudge-fighting each other for my attention sometimes. It's good for me to have dogs around. They're like an affection-vent. Although the Jack Russell pissed on my fireplace tonight. Dirty little girl.

So as I'm preparing some peppermint-rose tea for my dear friend, it suddenly occurs to me that I really ought not to have hung up. I believe my brain immediately realized the work involved in preparing my room for a serious consoling session, plus for some reason it seemed like the sooner I hung up, the sooner she would get here. For those of you who aren't regular readers, I'm something of an imbecile sometimes.

As I go to get my phone, it starts to ring. My tone is Fur Elise. It's her. She tells me she's okay, just having a lot of stress at the moment. She tells me she's going to stay at another friend's house that's closer, but she'll be around my area tomorrow and she'll call me. Of course I understand. As long as she's good I'm good, I tell her. No worries; I'll just drink her tea.

Earlier in this blog I believe I described this girl as wonderfully flaky, like a delicious croissant. But I misspoke. This is a much more sophisticated flakiness. I hereby redescribe this girl as flaky like the silver spoon-smashed golden crust of a perfect vanilla-bean creme brule. Which means she doesn't show up when she says she will but who cares because life is short and she kicks ass and because she's my friend it helps me feel like I kick ass as well.

In other news, I won $5 on a crossword scratcher tonight. Actually, I kinda won $8; the first ticket I got won me another free ticket, and the second won me the $5. All told, $3 in, $5 back.

So I won $2. Which is nice.

Oh, right. Rescue. So to Hades with this "no-duty-to-rescue" bullshit. My friend calls up in tears, asks to come over, the way I see it, it's negligence to say no unless I'm busy cramming babies into a meat-grinder or something and don't want to make her party to my baby-sausage scheme. What's with our legal system doing nothing to promote positive behavior? All we do is tell people what NOT to do. Maybe if you COULD get in trouble for watching someone drown without lifting a finger to help, we might live in a different society. A better society.

A society with less drowning.

It's Alive?

Boy, it sure is a good thing there aren't any bullshit issues for Republicans to harp on, ignoring things like genocide in Darfur, deaths in Iraq and the potential invasion of Iran.

But hark; what's that I hear on the wind? Could it be the sound of the Religious Right sharpening their spears?

You see, some funky scientists in San Diego claim to have well, created 'life'.

I HAVE CREATED LIFE, DECLARES US GENE PIONEER - The Guardian

Craig Venter, the controversial DNA researcher involved in the race to decipher the human genetic code, has built a synthetic chromosome out of laboratory chemicals and is poised to announce the creation of the first new artificial life form on Earth.

Mr Venter told the Guardian he thought this landmark would be "a very important philosophical step in the history of our species. We are going from reading our genetic code to the ability to write it. That gives us the hypothetical ability to do things never contemplated before".

Great. Just great. So now our genes are RW? I can only imagine how the body-modification crowd will treat this news. Actually, that's cynical. I mean, the potential is enormous. But then, so is the potential for stem cells. And Christopher Reeve's dead, baby. Superman's dead. Unless Oprah can somehow benefit from artificial genes, we're gonna need us a new hero. But wait; things get much, much creepier.

[The gene] is then transplanted into a living bacterial cell and in the final stage of the process it is expected to take control of the cell and in effect become a new life form. The team of scientists has already successfully transplanted the genome of one type of bacterium into the cell of another, effectively changing the cell's species. Mr Venter said he was "100% confident" the same technique would work for the artificially created chromosome.

So it's less of a brand-new life form - and more of a soul-stealing parasite! I mean, it sounds pretty similar to the manner in which a virus behaves. Great, at least the science will appeal to gamers. I mean, if anything could turn human beings into bloodthirsy infectious zombies, it'd be a particularly virulent and rapidly-replicating artificial genome, able to infest organisms and eventually dominate their host's genetic code. Permission to shiver granted.

Pat Mooney, director of a Canadian bioethics organisation, ETC group, said Mr Venter was creating a "chassis on which you could build almost anything. It could be a contribution to humanity such as new drugs or a huge threat to humanity such as bio-weapons".

Bio-weapons... or zombies. Resident Evil fans, keep your eyes peeled for potential Umbrella Corporations, aim for the head and for the love of mercy, conserve your ammo. Still, there are potential goods that could derive from artificial organisms specifically designed for utilitarian purposes. Many hands make light work, after all.

Bacteria could be created, [Venter] speculates, that could help mop up excessive carbon dioxide, thus contributing to the solution to global warming, or produce fuels such as butane or propane made entirely from sugar.

Great, I'll just start putting sugar in my gas tank now, shall I? Hah - joke's on you. I have no gas tank. But seriously, folks - imagine it: huge floating trays of agar, covering oceans, soaking up chemicals from the atmosphere, digesting toxins and purifying the air. Or imagine synthetic bacteria digesting sand and producing soil, converting deserts into farmland? Imagine bacteria sucking the toxins out of soil, purifying land and groundwater? I love being a crazy idealist with an imagination. If you think these plans are elaborate, you should hear some of my fantasies.

One of those fantasies is that this science will be hailed as revolutionary and not assailed as mad evil scientists playing god. I mean, people protest modified fruit for pity's sake. They're not going to like modified genes at all. But Venter knows this.

"We are not afraid to take on things that are important just because they stimulate thinking," he said. "We are dealing in big ideas. We are trying to create a new value system for life. When dealing at this scale, you can't expect everybody to be happy."

And not everybody will be. But I am. Bring on chicks with fur and cat eyes!

Open Letter to the California Coastal Commission

To whom it may concern;

My name is Alex Brant-Zawadzki. I am a law student, formerly a reporter with OC Weekly, and a long-time follower of the Foothill-South toll road project.

I look forward to the outcome of next week's meeting.

I noticed the following article in a local Orange County newspaper, The Daily Pilot. In it, representatives from Crystal Cove State Park, one of the beneficiaries of the $100 Million offer from the TCA to CA State Parks, want no part of the toll road agency's money. I thought it might be relevant to both the credibility of their offer as well as their credibility overall.

With Respect,
Alex B-Z

THE POLITICAL LANDSCAPE:
Crystal Cove offer unwanted

A $100M offer from agency isn’t tempting alliance even though another $22M is needed for park.

By Alicia Robinson
Reader Feedback - Currently 4 comment(s) Comments

Crystal Cove Alliance founder Laura Davick needs to raise about $22 million to finish restoration of the cottages and historic district at Crystal Cove State Park, but she said Wednesday she’s far from tempted by a $100 million offer for California state parks, some of which would go to improving Crystal Cove.

Her disdain is because of the money’s source. It’s being offered by the Foothill/Eastern Transportation Corridor Agency, and it’s tied to the agency’s plan to extend the 241 toll road through San Onofre State Park in South Orange County.

“As far as we’re concerned, any kind of plan that’s going to compromise a state park is not something we’re going to be part of nor do we support,” said Davick, whose nonprofit group manages and raises money for Crystal Cove’s historic district.

The offer was made Friday and would pay about $70 million to extend the lease for San Onofre State Park, which is federally owned land; provide $10 million for habitat restoration at Crystal Cove; and kick in an estimated $20 million that could go to various projects, including the historic district at Crystal Cove.

Supporters of the proposed toll road extension say it’s needed to relieve traffic congestion. But it has raised some vehement opposition from those who say it will wreck the environment, including popular surf spot Trestles beach, and lead to more urban sprawl.

Davick said she also fears the road extension would set a dangerous precedent for laying pavement through public parks. She fought in 2001 to defeat plans for a $35 million resort where the historic cottages stand.

“I’ve had experience of this first-hand with Crystal Cove with the resort plan,” she said.

If Davick looks to elected officials for support, she’s not likely to find much. Huntington Beach state Sen. Tom Harman has opposed completion of the toll road, but Costa Mesa Assemblyman Van Tran and Newport Beach Assemblyman Chuck DeVore are for it.

What some toll road opponents fail to point out, DeVore said, is the state park land is leased from the U.S. Navy, and Navy officials recently said if the long-planned toll road alignment doesn’t get built, they may take the land back.

“I look at it and I think, what’s the alternative to the toll road,” he said, adding that making the I-5 twice as wide as it is now has been suggested, which would displace people from homes and also take environmentally sensitive land.

DeVore believes opponents are “not seeing practical reality and mischaracterizing a lot of the debate,” he said.

The next battleground for the project will be an Oct. 11 meeting of the California Coastal Commission.

The Upswing (or, Every Dip Has His Day)

Quick little blurb on coming out of depression:

It's literally like coming out of the dark. You've been underground for an awfully long time. The clatter and din of society, the bright light of day which initially drove you down, while now welcome, is unfamiliar; cacophonic; confusing. The trappings and habits of self-destruction still cling to you, seemingly as obvious as lily-white skin, though they wither and atrophy the longer you can stand to be in the light. Still, your flesh is tender and cannot bear much exposure to the sun. Desire as you might to reach out and grab hold of that very sun itself, to kiss it with smoldering lips and fuse into its glow, at first you can barely even gaze upon it.

To paraphrase, I'm trying to lay down an emotional base tan.

p.s. any logical fallacies in the previous post are really tacky to point out

Sick

I am sick. I am thus not blogging.

I do occasionally make the sound 'blog', usually several times in succession.

Wow. There's a connection that never occured me before: the onomatopoeic potential of 'blog' to represent retching! I'm tempted to prattle on about the appropriateness of this but A) I'm worried many other people already have and B) like I said, I'm sick. Or I wouldn't be worried. Because screw other people.

LA Times says NO to the toll road. It's a beautiful day...

Speeding Our Way to San Pedro to See What Happens to Trestles

In case you haven't heard, there's some new news regarding the Toll Road to Trestles. First off, we have a report from staff at the Coastal Commision that isn't all that delighted to see a toll road built through San Onofre State Park...

The proposed Foothill South toll road would likely drive an endangered mouse to extinction, wipe out vital habitat, shatter the peace of a popular campground and even worsen global warming, according to a report by the staff of the California Coastal Commission released today.

And now, we have the San Diego City Council going on record opposing the Toll Road to Trestles. Oh yes, and both of these events occurred just before the Coastal Commission meets next week to determine the fate of Trestles. So apparently, things aren't looking good for TCA's plan to build a toll road to Trestles.

So what can we expect at next week's Coastal Commission hearing? Will this be the final death blow to the toll road?



OK, so now the Coastal Commission Staff Report is recommending that the commission reject TCA's plan for a toll road to Trestles. Why? Why exactly is the Coastal Commission Staff taking such a strong stand against extending the 241 to San Onofre? Perhaps they're actually paying attention to state enivornmental law, as opposed to TCA's complete dismissal of the law.

After all, Section 30231 of Article 5 of the Coastal Act couldn't be any clearer...

The biological productivity and the quality of coastal waters, streams, wetlands, estuaries, and lakes appropriate to maintain optimum populations of marine organisms and for the protection of human health shall be maintained and, where feasible, restored through, among other means, minimizing adverse effects of waste water discharges and entrainment, controlling runoff, preventing depletion of ground water supplies and substantial interference with surface water flow, encouraging waste water reclamation, maintaining natural vegetation buffer areas that protect riparian habitats, and minimizing alteration of natural streams.

So could that possibly be any clearer? If it hurts animal habitats and water quality, then it isn't happening. So how exactly does this apply to the proposed 241 extension through San Onofre? Well, how about those ELEVEN THREATENED OR ENDANGERED SPECIES THAT WOULD LOSE THEIR HABITAT FOREVER IF THE TOLL ROAD IS BUILT THROUGH SAN ONOFRE STATE BEACH? How about San Mateo Creek being named as one of the nation’s most imperiled waterways thanks to the threat of a noisy, dirty toll road running alongside it? This is beautiful coastal wilderness that would be destroyed forever if the toll road were to be placed in San Onofre. And judging by what the Coastal Act says, doing something like this violates California state law.



Oh, and the madness of this toll road to Trestles doesn't stop there! Not only is it illegal, but it's also impractical. After all, extending the 241 to Trestles would absolutely nothing to ease traffic congestion in South County. And if this proposed toll road to Trestles doesn't ease traffic in South County, then why build it?



And if the alignment for this toll road to nowhere is blatantly illegal, and it destroys one of the last great untouched beaches in Southern California, then why build it?



OK, so are yopu feeling outraged now? Angry? Frustrated? And would you like to do something about it?

Great, then we need YOU to attend the next Coastal Commission hearing in San Pedro! This will be our chance to speak out, and to demand that the Coastal Commision follow state law and deny TCA a chance to destroy one of the last great beaches in Southern California. See if you can make it next week, but if not PLEASE check out Save Trestles' page with a link to email the commission about Trestles. Also, go to Save San Onofre for all the latest updates on this effort to save this precious corner of the California coast for future generations to enjoy.

So 21st Century

So I went to the bar tonight. It's been awhile and I've probably spent at least ten if not twelve of the last 48 hours studying law. Considering sleeping, eating, masturbating and showering, that's a pretty healthy shaving off my total time frame. But I manage somehow. Probably because I'm amazing.

So I did all my reading for tomorrow. Go me. I also took a crap-load of online certification tests for Westlaw, our online research program. In the process, I took a Trademark tutorial. At one point it ran me through the process for searching for a trademarked image. The final result was to point me to the page listing all the info for the logo of the Greene Turtle bar - a chain of bars in Maryland that just so happens to be run by my friend's uncle. I've met the man, I've been to a Greene Turtle; all in all it was an astounding coincidence.

So I shouldn't be surprised when I got to talking with a fascinating young woman in the bar and she turns out to be a blogger as well. Not only did it turn out we were both bloggers, but when we went to write down each others' blog information, we both pulled out incarnations of phones with extended keyboards - hers a Sidekick or some simulacrum thereof, mine a Samsung 8525.
Turns out she's one of the top 5 bachelors/bachelorettes on Austin360.com - vote for Rachel! If you can figure out how to vote! Which I couldn't do!

Having had nothing more than a pleasant conversation with the lady in a bar, I must admit I completely understand how she could be among the top singletons in one of the most unbelievably bad-ass towns in America (Austin, TX). I must make a point of checking out www.meanrachel.com more often.

We didn't exchange numbers. We exchanged blogs. The future is now.

If anyone needs me, I'll be at the second star to the right and straight on 'til morning.