That’s what the weekend was. Friday, went out for happy hour and dinner and didn’t get home until well after I should have. Made up for the fun, frivolity and expense (there was plenty of each) by not leaving the house on either Saturday or Sunday. Just hung at home, watched some tube, and slept a lot. The big excitement was Steph stopping by on Saturday morning to pick up some of the food she’s keeping in my freezer while her kitchen’s torn up. Well, unless you count the time spent looking through over a thousand spams that had come in during the week, just to make sure there wasn’t a legitimate email in there (not this week). That’s pretty darned exciting too, right?
Tomorrow, it’s back to the regular grind. My attitude was a lot better by the time I left on Friday, and I just hope it’ll last. I also have a little bit of work to do for my business one of these evenings (plus year-end is coming, and I need to get the books in order for the accountant). Two more weeks to get to the holiday break, and then I’ll have a week off (with plenty of holiday stuff to fill the time). I’m looking forward to it already.
- Update: Cory Maye’s Prosecutor Responds, saying Balko didn’t have all the facts in the case. Well, he’s digging into the records, and we’ll see what happens. He also has some follow-up Questions for Prosecutor McDonald, Prosecutor McDonald’s Answers to My Questions, some comments on Maye’s Representation and some observations on Maye, Self-Defense, and Paramilitary Drug Raids. One thing that’s abundantly clear is that the police will not be sanctioned for taking part in one of these high-risk raids, and are granted every bit of leeway possible, while the homeowner who’s raided is supposed to remain calm through the disorienting explosions of flash-bang grenades, the screaming of ninja-clad maniacs storming into his castle, and somehow discern that these are police officers and not some barbarian horde. [instapundit]
- There’s also an update on John Gilmore’s Appeals Court hearing on airline ID requirement. The good news is that the judges seemed inclined to rule on this case (probably in couple months). But
And a bit I wasn’t aware of:The bad news is that it seems that the judges just don’t get it on two points that are key to the case: First, the judges seemed to have no recognition of air travel or travel in general as an act of assembly, an activity protected under the First Amendment, or a right protected by Federal law… Second, none of the judges seemed to recognize the distinction between ‘asking for ID’ and ‘requiring the showing of ID’
So Gilmore v. Gonzales actually turns on an illegal search, rather than any sort of privacy right. I did not know that, and I think it makes Gilmore’s case stronger than I had thought before. Cool. [kirsten]The issue in this case is specifically about the legality of the search embodied in the demand for tangible evidence of identity, and the lack of due process embodied in the secrecy of the ‘rule’ requiring production of ID credentials (whose existence, even today, government counsel would ‘neither confirm nor deny’) and the lack of any publicly-disclosed criteria as to what evidence of identity is sufficient, or how its sufficiency is to be determined.
- Dan has a fine Windows rant. At my new job, I find myself using Windows on a daily basis, and it’s not much fun. Not as many problems as Dan sees, but I’d much rather I didn’t have to deal with Windows. [flutterby]
- Growing demand for biodiesel, fostered in part by misguided people who think it helps the environment, and in part by government policies in the EU is encouraging the most destructive crop on earth. [flutterby]