Why does gov't law enforcement have to be secret?

In this Wired article, we are reminded that one of the neat things the FBI has been involved in has been the abuse of National Security Letters:

A national security letter is an informal administrative letter the FBI can use to secretly demand customer records from ISPs, financial institutions, libraries, insurance companies, travel agencies, stockbrokers, car dealerships and others. NSLs have been used since the 1980s, but the Patriot Act, passed after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, and a subsequent revision in 2003 expanded the kinds of records that could be obtained with an NSL.

There are a couple of really fun parts to this story. First, it took six years for the courts to decide to lift part of the "no telling anyone" ban, EVEN THOUGH the FBI dropped it's demand for some of the information.

Seriously, go read the article and find out what kind of crap our government is allowed to pull on us mere citizens.

And that's the way it is...

Off the grid

First, The News: I've suffered multiple catastrophic hardware failures, and am uncertain when I will be able to resume quasi-regular posting. I hope it'll be in a week or so when a friend is able to let me borrow an (old, antique) laptop, but no promises express or implied.

Since my last post, however, I've had the adventure of making one of my infrequent (and very reluctant) forays into Wal*Mars. While there, I was tooling down one of the aisles when a couple of standard hippo-hipped Wal*Martians pulled out in front of me and opted to simply STOP in the aisle so they could exchange weight-gaining tips. I, trying to be polite, said "Excuse me...", only to be ignored. A second, louder, attempt got one of them to turn her head and suggest "Why don't you just go around?"

Annoyed, I responded with "Going around that ass of yours would put me in a different time zone, and it's too much trouble to adjust my watch..."

That earned me a Hateful Look (hurt my feelings terribly), and an outraged snort (I swear I could feel the air move) before the two of them lumbered down a sub-aisle. As I went by, one of them muttered something about rude assholes. Must've been talking to herself, I guess....

"Healthcare Max"

For those that didn't see it the other night, it seems that our esteemed Max Baucus played a significant role in the Obama administrations healthcare reform plan.

Not all of it was necessarily beneficial, however: there's reason to believe that Max was instrumental in killing the nomination of Tom Daschle, among other things.

For anyone interested in what the hell happened that got us the "reform" plan is encouraged to go have a look at it yourself (it's viewable online), and see what transpired. It'll take less than an hour of your time, and you'll see how our government really "works".

Bringin' home da pork

Seems our esteemed Denny Rehburg is tops (in a way) of "bringing home the bacon" to Montana.

According to this CNN Politics news story, Denny is Number 1 in the number of pork-barrel projects he directs back to Montana - at 88 of them.

Way to go, Denny! Woo-hoo!

If you're interested to see the full details of the "Pig Book" that reports on pork-barrel projects, you can find them HERE. I promise, you'll never look at a pig the same again...

UPDATE:
The site has a nifty "search by" feature that lets you hunt down what projects a Congressrodent has earmarked. Denny? Here's what he was involved in:

--->88 record(s) for a total of $100,514,200 ID State Cost Description Status Appropriation Fiscal Year Party House Senate 10198 * $650,000 Greater Yellowstone Interagency Brucellosis Committee, MT, ID, WY (Animal Plant Health Inspection Service: Salaries and Expenses) AG 10 M Rehberg; Simpson Barrasso; Baucus; Crapo; Enzi; Risch; Tester 10420 MT $3,654,000 Animal Bioscience Facility, Bozeman (Agricultural Research Service: Buildings and Facilities) AG 10 D Rehberg Baucus; Tester 10421 MT $682,000 Sustainable Beef Supply (National Institute of Food and Agriculture: Special Research Grants) AG 10 D Rehberg Baucus 10422 MT $270,000 Invasive Plant Management (National Institute of Food and Agriculture: Special Research Grants) AG 10 D Rehberg Baucus; Tester 10423 MT $305,000 Brucellosis Vaccine (National Institute of Food and Agriculture: Special Research Grants) AG 10 D Rehberg Baucus; Tester 11410 MT $100,000 Montana State University Billings, Billings, Academic & Workforce Development Program at the Montana Women’s Prison (Byrne Discretionary Grants) COM 10 M Rehberg Tester; Baucus 11411 MT $600,000 Montana Youth and District Court Services Bureau, Helena, MT MONTS-Juvenile Justice System (Juvenile Justice) COM 10 R Rehberg 11415 MT $250,000 City of Kalispell, Public Safety Building Modernization (Byrne Discretionary Grants) COM 10 M Rehberg Tester 11417 MT $147,000 Yellowstone County Sheriff’s Office, Billings, Yellowstone County Mobile Digital Video Camera (COPS - Law Enforcement Technology) COM 10 R Rehberg 11418 MT $185,000 Gallatin County, Bozeman, Gallatin County Treatment Court (Byrne Discretionary Grants) COM 10 M Rehberg Tester; Baucus 11419 MT $400,000 Missoula County, Missoula, Missoula Public Safety Operations & Training Center (COPS - Law Enforcement Technology) COM 10 M Rehberg Tester; Baucus 11420 MT $250,000 Billings Clinic, Billings Clinic Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (Byrne Discretionary Grants) COM 10 M Rehberg Tester; Baucus 11422 MT $60,000 East Helena Police Department, East Helena, East Helena Community Policing Hiring Effort (Byrne Discretionary Grants) COM 10 R Rehberg 11427 MT $250,000 University of Montana, Missoula, Montana Safe Schools (Juvenile Justice) COM 10 M Rehberg Tester; Baucus 11428 MT $500,000 Montana Meth Project, Missoula, Montana Meth Project (COPS - Methamphetamine) COM 10 M Rehberg Tester; Baucus 11429 MT $500,000 Watson Children’s Shelter, Missoula, Western Montana Children’s Safety Initiative (Juvenile Justice) COM 10 R Rehberg 11431 MT $300,000 Montana Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association, Helena, Montana Offender Notification and Tracking System—Juvenile Justice System (MONTS-JJS) (Byrne Discretionary Grants) COM 10 M Rehberg Tester; Baucus 12356 $4,800,000 Titanium Extraction, Mining and Process Engineering Research (Research, Development, Test and Evaluation - Army) DEF 10 D Rehberg Baucus; Tester 12383 $4,000,000 SOVAS-Hand Held Imager / Long Range (Procurement - Defense Wide) DEF 10 D Rehberg Baucus; Kerry; Kirk; Tester 12494 $2,400,000 NAVAIR High Fidelity Oceanographic Library (Research, Development, Test and Evaluation - Navy) DEF 10 R Rehberg 12584 * $800,000 Compliance Tools Development for Metals in Antifouling Paints (MT, NY) (Research, Development, Test and Evaluation - Navy) DEF 10 M Bishop (UT); Rehberg Tester 13241 MT $2,000,000 Defense-Critical Languages and Cultures Program (Operation and Maintenance - Defense Wide) DEF 10 D Rehberg Baucus; Tester 13243 MT $2,400,000 Materials Technology for LED Lighting Applications (Research, Development, Test and Evaluation - Army) DEF 10 M Rehberg Tester 13244 MT $2,400,000 Marine Expeditionary Rifle Squad Reconfigurable Vehicle Simulator (Research, Development, Test and Evaluation - Navy) DEF 10 D Rehberg Baucus; Tester 13245 MT $6,400,000 Cryofracture / Plasma Arc Demilitarization Program (Research, Development, Test and Evaluation - Army) DEF 10 D Rehberg Baucus; Tester 13246 MT $1,600,000 Next Generation Simulation Training for Pararescue Forces (Research, Development, Test and Evaluation - Air Force) DEF 10 D Rehberg Baucus; Tester 13247 MT $2,800,000 Adelos Program: Nuclear Security Sensor System (Research, Development, Test and Evaluation - Navy) DEF 10 D Rehberg Baucus; Tester 13248 MT $3,200,000 Low Acoustic and Thermal Signature Battlefield Power Source (Research, Development, Test and Evaluation - Navy) DEF 10 D Rehberg Baucus; Tester 13249 MT $7,600,000 Mariah Hypersonic Wind Tunnel Development Program (Research, Development, Test and Evaluation - Army) DEF 10 D Rehberg Baucus; Tester 13250 MT $1,600,000 Watchkeeper (Research, Development, Test and Evaluation - Air Force) DEF 10 R Rehberg 13251 MT $3,200,000 Adaptive Lightweight Materials Technology for Missile Defense (Research, Development, Test and Evaluation - Army) DEF 10 D Rehberg Baucus; Tester 13252 MT $1,600,000 US Army Vascular Graft Research Project (Research, Development, Test and Evaluation - Army) DEF 10 D Rehberg Baucus; Tester 13253 MT $1,600,000 MilTech Expansion Program (Research, Development, Test and Evaluation - Defense Wide) DEF 10 D Rehberg Baucus; Tester 13254 MT $800,000 Advanced Helicopter Landing Aid (Research, Development, Test and Evaluation - Navy) DEF 10 M Rehberg Tester 13941 $491,000 Geothermal development in Hot Springs Valley (Department of Energy: Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy) ENERGY 10 R Rehberg 13966 $3,000,000 Center for Zero Emissions Reseach and Technology (Department of Energy: Fossil Energy R&D) ENERGY 10 D Rehberg Baucus; Tester 13986 $500,000 Synthesis of renewable biofuels from biomass (Department of Energy: Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy) ENERGY 10 M Rehberg Tester 14439 MT $4,844,000 Rural Montana (Corps of Engineers: Construction) ENERGY 10 M Rehberg Tester; Baucus 14440 MT $500,000 Montana algal biodiesel initiative (Department of Energy: Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy) ENERGY 10 D Rehberg Baucus; Tester 14444 MT $1,000,000 Wind turbine development (Department of Energy: Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy) ENERGY 10 D Rehberg Baucus; Tester 14950 MT $137,500 Great Falls Development Authority, to support the administrative costs of the Central Montana Growth Fund, Great Falls (Small Business Administration) FINSER 10 D Rehberg Baucus; Tester 14952 MT $134,000 Montana World Trade Center, Missoula, for Montana Growth Through Trade (Small Business Administration) FINSER 10 R Rehberg 14953 MT $137,500 Montana Technology Venture Center, Bozeman, for expansion and operations of the TechRanch next step program (Small Business Administration) FINSER 10 D Rehberg Baucus; Tester 14954 MT $133,000 Montana State University, Bozeman, HTAP: High-Technology Assistance Program (Small Business Administration) FINSER 10 D Rehberg Baucus; Tester 15177 MT $800,000 Emergency Operations Center, Butte-Silver Bow (FEMA: State and Local Programs) HS 10 M Dennis Rehberg Jon Tester 15360 CO $1,700,000 Water Research Foundation (EPA - Science & Technology) INT 10 M Kissell; Rehberg; Moran (VA) Kennedy; Kerry; Reid 15400 GA $1,000,000 Consortium for Plant Biotechnology Research (EPA - Science & Technology) INT 10 M Towns; Rogers (MI); Rehberg; Stupak; Conyers; Price (NC); Abercrombie; Lewis (GA); Rogers (KY) Hagan; Levin; McConnell; Murray; Stabenow 15540 MT $1,500,000 Lewis and Clark National Forest (US Forest Service - Land Acquisition) INT 10 M Rehberg Tester, Baucus 15541 MT $200,000 City of Missoula for wastewater facility improvements (EPA - State and Tribal Assistance Grants - Water and Wastewater Infrastructure) INT 10 M Rehberg Tester 15543 MT $150,000 City of Bozeman Main Street Historic District Restoration (National Park Service - Save America's Treasures) INT 10 R Rehberg 15544 MT $500,000 Butte-Silver Bow Consolidated Government for drinking water improvements for the City of Butte (EPA - State and Tribal Assistance Grants - Water and Wastewater Infrastructure) INT 10 D Rehberg Baucus; Tester 15545 MT $290,600 Em-Kayan County Water and Sewer District for infrastructure improvements (EPA - State and Tribal Assistance Grants - Water and Wastewater Infrastructure) INT 10 R Rehberg 15546 MT $500,000 City of Bozeman for water treatment facility improvements (EPA - State and Tribal Assistance Grants - Water and Wastewater Infrastructure) INT 10 D Rehberg Baucus; Tester 16784 MT $250,000 Billings Clinic, Billings, MT for a rural health outreach program, including facilities and equipment (HHS - HRSA Health Facilities and Services) LABHHS 10 D Rehberg Baucus; Tester 16785 MT $400,000 Daniels Memorial Hospital Association, Scobey, MT for facilities and equipment (HHS - HRSA Health Facilities and Services) LABHHS 10 R Rehberg 16786 MT $200,000 University of Montana—Mike & Maureen Mansfield Center, Missoula, MT, to establish the Institute for Leadership and Public Service to fulfill the purposes of the Mansfield Center, including the creation of an endowment (Education: Higher Education) LABHHS 10 M Rehberg Tester 16787 MT $500,000 Community Medical Center, Missoula, MT for facilities and equipment (HHS - HRSA Health Facilities and Services) LABHHS 10 D Rehberg Baucus; Tester 16788 MT $550,000 CARD Clinic, Libby, MT, for facilities and equipment related to an asbestos surveillance initiative (HHS - HRSA Health Facilities and Services) LABHHS 10 D Rehberg Baucus; Tester 16789 MT $500,000 Benefis Health System, Great Falls, MT for facilities and equipment (HHS - HRSA Health Facilities and Services) LABHHS 10 D Rehberg Baucus; Tester 16791 MT $500,000 Easter Seals-Goodwill Northern Rocky Mountain, Inc., Great Falls, MT for facilities and equipment (HHS - HRSA Health Facilities and Services) LABHHS 10 R Rehberg 16792 MT $300,000 Northern Rockies Educational Services (NRES), Missoula, MT for the Taking Technology to the Classroom initiative, including purchase of equipment (Education: Elementary and Secondary Education) LABHHS 10 R Rehberg 16793 MT $100,000 Lewis and Clark County, Helena, MT, for facilities and equipment at the City-County Health Department (HHS - HRSA Health Facilities and Services) LABHHS 10 M Rehberg Tester; Baucus 16794 MT $400,000 St. Vincent Healthcare Foundation, Billings, MT for facilities and equipment (HHS - HRSA Health Facilities and Services) LABHHS 10 D Rehberg Baucus; Tester 16795 MT $100,000 Flathead Valley Community College, Kalispell, MT, Career Opportunities through Retraining and Education (Labor - Employment and Training Administration) LABHHS 10 M Rehberg Tester; Baucus 16797 MT $100,000 Youth Dynamics, Inc, Billings, MT, for a training program to help meet the mental health needs of those living in rural or frontier States (HHS - Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration) LABHHS 10 M Rehberg Tester; Baucus 16798 MT $100,000 Youth Dynamics, Inc., Billings, MT for facilities and equipment (HHS - HRSA Health Facilities and Services) LABHHS 10 D Rehberg Baucus; Tester 16800 MT $300,000 Saint Patrick Hospital, Missoula, MT, to implement an electronic health record system (HHS - HRSA Health Facilities and Services) LABHHS 10 D Rehberg Baucus; Tester 16801 MT $100,000 Montana Tech, Butte, MT, to expand health informatics training, including equipment (HHS - HRSA Health Facilities and Services) LABHHS 10 M Rehberg Tester; Baucus 16802 MT $100,000 Montana Wyoming Tribal Leaders Council, Billings, MT for facilities and equipment (HHS - HRSA Health Facilities and Services) LABHHS 10 D Rehberg Baucus 16803 MT $100,000 Montana State University, Billings, MT, for job training (Labor - Employment and Training Administration) LABHHS 10 M Rehberg Tester; Baucus 17688 MT $10,600,000 Malmstrom Air Force Base to upgrade weapons storage area (Air Force) MILCON 10 D Rehberg Baucus; Tester 17689 MT $1,750,000 Fort Harrison to add alter a troop medical facility (Army National Guard) MILCON 10 D Rehberg Baucus; Tester 17778 $200,000 Pantry Partners Food Bank for a building project (Economic Development Initiative) TRANS 10 D Rehberg Baucus 18573 MT $292,200 High Bridge Renovation (Surface Transportation Priorities) TRANS 10 M Rehberg Tester 18574 MT $500,000 Mill Creek Highway, Anaconda- Deer Lodge County (Transportation, Community, and System Preservation) TRANS 10 R Rehberg 18577 MT $487,000 homeWORD, Missoula, for development of rental housing that is affordable to working families (Neighborhood Initiatives) TRANS 10 M Rehberg Tester; Baucus 18579 MT $1,461,000 I-90 Belgrade East Interchange (Interstate Maintenance Discretionary) TRANS 10 M Rehberg Tester; Baucus 18580 MT $300,000 Great Falls Development Authority for Great Falls Industrial Park infrastructure improvements (Economic Development Initiative) TRANS 10 R Rehberg 18581 MT $200,000 City of Shelby for Shelby Downtown District Revitalization Project building renovation (Economic Development Initiative) TRANS 10 R Rehberg 18582 MT $584,400 Livingston Railroad Grade Separation Undercrossing (Surface Transportation Priorities) TRANS 10 D Rehberg Baucus 18583 MT $974,000 Shelby Intermodal Hub (Rail Line Relocation and Improvement Program) TRANS 10 D Rehberg Baucus; Tester 18584 MT $200,000 Rocky Mountain Development Council for Caird Iron Works Redevelopment (Economic Development Initiative) TRANS 10 R Rehberg 18585 MT $450,000 Billings Food Bank for the Billings Food Bank Montana Harvest Kitchens Project building expansion (Economic Development Initiative) TRANS 10 R Rehberg 18586 MT $500,000 Black Eagle Road Reconstruction (Surface Transportation Priorities) TRANS 10 M Rehberg Tester; Baucus 18588 MT $323,000 City of Billings for Business Consortium Project for the Homeless building purchase and renovation (Economic Development Initiative) TRANS 10 R Rehberg 18589 MT $100,000 Yellowstone Boys and Girls for ranch building renovation Ranch (Economic Development Initiative) TRANS 10 R Rehberg 18591 MT $625,000 Western Montana Children’s Safety Initiative for construction of a children's shelter facility (Economic Development Initiative) TRANS 10 M Rehberg Tester; Baucus 19278 * $547,000 Barley for rural development (ID, MT) (National Institute of Food and Agriculture: Special Research Grants) AG 10 M Rehberg; Simpson Baucus; Crapo; Risch; Tester

© Citizens Against Government Waste | 1301 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Suite 1075, Washington, DC 20004 | 1-800-BE-ANGRY

'Nuff Said

Top 10 reasons why Beer is better than Religion...

10. No one will kill you for not drinking Beer.
9. Beer doesn't tell you how to have sex.
8. Beer has never caused a major war.
7. They don't force Beer on minors who can't think for themselves.
6. When you have a Beer, you don't knock on people's doors trying to give it away.
5. Nobody's ever been burned at the stake, hanged, or tortured over his brand of Beer.
4. You don't have to wait 2000+ years for a second Beer.
3. There are laws saying Beer labels can't lie to you.
2. You can prove you have a Beer.
1. If you've devoted your life to Beer, there are groups to help you stop.

Welcome, Aliens!

If, by chance, you're ever the one to come into first contact with space aliens arriving on Earth for the first time, please be prepared to greet them properly by reviewing the following materials.

Make with the clicky to Biggie-size

Reporting from a war zone

You may have heard about the Reuters team that was killed by a gunship in Iraq, and that the video from the helicopter is available. I've got my own opinion about what happened, but for those that want to decide for themselves, here it is.

WARNING: GRAPHIC VIOLENCE

TOP 10 SEXY LINES FROM STAR WARS

10) "Get in there you big furry oaf, I don't care what you smell!"
9) "Luke, at that speed do you think you'll be able to pull out in time?"
8) "Put that thing away before you get us all killed."
7) "You've got something jammed in here real good."
6) "Aren't you a little short for a stormtrooper?"
5) "You came in that thing? You're braver than I thought."
4) "Sorry about the mess..."
3) "Look at the size of that thing!"
2) "Curse my metal body, I wasn't fast enough!"
1) "She may not look like much, but she's got it where it counts, kid."