FBI lied for spy powers, court says
Secretive Espionage Court Rejected Some Ashcroft Wiretap Rules
A special court that oversees sensitive law enforcement surveillance forced Attorney General John Ashcroft to change his guidelines for FBI terrorism searches and wiretaps, according to documents released Thursday. The U.S. Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, which has not publicly disclosed any of its rulings in nearly two decades, rejected some of the Ashcroft guidelines in May as "not reasonably designed" to safeguard the privacy of Americans. The Justice Department quickly amended its guidelines and won the court's approval.
http://ap.tbo.com/ap/breaking/MGA5SEJ975D.html
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A51220-2002Aug22.html
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A50967-2002Aug22.html
http://www.dailynews.com/news/articles/0802/23/new09.asp
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,61112,00.html
TX: Raid at hot dog joint preceded Kmart bust
Houston police Capt. Mark Aguirre, the man who ordered the arrests of 278 people at a westside Kmart last weekend, prodded a local restaurant to allow his officers to conduct a similar raid of its parking lot Saturday in a sting that netted 25 arrests.
http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/story.hts/front/1544301
REPARATIONS: ENDING THE GUILT TRIP
... This country has never stopped trying to level the playing field. But we have failed. Why is that? Probably because we have a simplistic solution to a complex problem: We throw money at it. White liberals can have the credit for that. It's a guilt thing. Writing the check makes them feel justified in their own status. ...
http://www.philly.com/mld/dailynews/news/opinion/3913830.htm
Report: Insurance Industry Fine After 9/11
The dire projections concerning the insurance industry after Sept. 11 have turned out to be a lot of hype, according to a report released Thursday that suggests the government should not bail out of the insurance industry if future terror attacks occur.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,61080,00.html
ACLU loses 10 Commandment fight Kentucky judge rules Decalogue OK when posted with other documents
A federal court in Lexington, Ky., has ruled that the Ten Commandments can remain on display in the Mercer County courthouse, rejecting an attempt by the American Civil Liberties Union to have them removed.
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=28701
OH: Cents of balance, or penny-ante rule?
Tiny shortfall postpones payments of child support
When a Monroe construction company sent in a $5,178.35 check two weeks ago to the state for families owed child support, it was two cents short. State workers promptly paid 83 cents in postage to send it back. In the eantime, nearly 60 families spent 10 days waiting for their cash while the problem was sorted out.
http://enquirer.com/editions/2002/08/22/loc_cents_of_balance_or.html
Bill O'Rielly: Money makes the world go 'round
One of the great mysteries of modern America is why there has not been a taxpayer revolt. So much money is wasted by the federal government that the General Accounting Office cannot even estimate the damage. The litany of wasteful spending has been documented time and time again, but there is on situation that is worth re-stating. Much of America's foreign spending is in the form of bribes to corrupt dictators - bribes the president and Congress are well aware of.
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=28694
Sustainable development: Erosion of freedom
... People are to be squeezed into "sustainable communities," that are defined extensively in "Agenda 21," and other sustainable development documents. Urban boundaries will prevent people from living in the suburbs. Single-family houses are "unsustainable," according to Maurice Strong, secretary general of the 1992 U.N. Conference on Environment and Development - as are air conditioning, automobiles and convenience foods. ...
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=28704
Revenge of the Tweezer People
Call it the revenge of the tweezer people. The backlash against senseless -- and useless -- airport security rules is building up into something nasty. How nasty? Enough that some people are leading airport revolts against dumb security delays, while a popular Web site catering to frequent flyers is distributing "Impeach Norman Mineta" bumperstickers. ... Many business travelers have raised their driving-time thresholds. "I have established my cutoff at five to six hours," says consultant Bill Teater of Mount Vernon, Ohio. "I can not only avoid the (airport) security charade protecting me, but I can get to my destination sooner." Three out of four corporate travel managers say they are seeing some employees substitute driving for flying. About 15 percent say the crossover has been substantial, the Business Travel Coalition found in a survey last spring. ... As one Israeli security expert said, America doesn't have a system for air security, it has a system for bothering people. Given the recently disclosed problems with the supposedly elite Air Marshal program, that sounds about right. ... P.T. Barnum supposedly remarked that no one ever went broke by underestimating the intelligence of the American public. The airlines -- with a lot of help from Norm Mineta -- may be about to prove Barnum wrong.
http://foxnews.com/story/0,2933,61008,00.html
W. VA: Ruling breaks ground
OxyContin's maker not liable for abuse of drug, judge says
In the first ruling of its kind, a Greenbrier circuit judge said the manufacturers of the powerful painkiller OxyContin are not legally responsible for deaths that occur when their drug is abused. Circuit Judge James J. Rowe decided that the death of a 41-year-old Fairlea woman who crushed and injected OxyContin was caused by her own misconduct and not by any fault of the drug's manufacturer Purdue Pharma.
http://www.dailymail.com/news/News/2002082250/
CT: AG Power Grab
Out of control in Connecticut.
By John R. Lott Jr.
The last decade has seen state attorney generals use the power of the courts to shape public policy in unprecedented ways. Among the most aggressive in litigation ranging from tobacco to guns has been Connecticut's Richard Blumenthal, though for Blumenthal this was just the warm up. Eve if the ideas that he is now advancing fail in Connecticut, they provide a dire warning of what other state attorneys general may soon start trying. ... On August 9, the Connecticut supreme court checked Blumenthal for overstepping his authority. The court unanimously ruled that Blumenthal's jurisdiction is largely limited by state statute to representing state agencies and officials in lawsuits brought by or against them, although the attorney general had claimed broader powers. ...
http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/comment-lott082202.asp
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Johann Opitz <johannp@earthlink.net> RKBA!