MaxRedline

Drunk Driving Now Legal In Oregon

Oregon Supreme Court held today that a man pulled over for erratic driving and subsequently found to have a BAC of 0.15 - nearly twice the legal limit - was illegally denied an opportunity to present "sleep driving" in his defense. He claims that due to being asleep, he did not voluntarily get behind the wheel and was therefore not responsible for driving with a BAC twice the legal limit.

The new standard outlined in Friday's ruling could open the floodgates for new defenses: Some drivers will surely argue that sleep disorders led them to drive while sleeping, like in the case of the Portland man whose case was reviewed by the supreme court. But others could argue that they were so drunk or high that they lost all ability to make conscious decisions -- and they weren't at fault for driving while under the influence.

In all probabiity, he'll end up being re-tried and permitted to present this defense to a jury, despite having twice been convicted of DUII in the past decade. They may even buy it. Of course, this also opens the door to any number of sleep-related offenses; it's entirely possible - even likely - that there'll be a surge in sleep-rape, sleep-shooting, and other crimes for which the perpetrator cannot possibly be held accountable because he was asleep at the time and therefore not responsible for the acts.

This place gets weirder by the week.

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New 'Merika

There's stupid, there's comedically stupid,
and then there's the Obama DOJ:

The area’s top federal prosecutor, Bill Killian, will address a topic that most Americans are likely unfamiliar with, even those well versed on the Constitution; that federal civil rights laws can actually be violated by those who post inflammatory documents aimed at Muslims on social media. “This is an educational effort with civil rights laws as they play into freedom of religion and exercising freedom of religion,” Killian says in the local news story. “This is also to inform the public what federal laws are in effect and what the consequences are.”

Really? Good luck with that, Billy. If you believe that the First Amendment ends if some poor little Islamist's feelings get hurt, you may need to take a little refresher course on the American Constitution and Bill of Rights. It's not like we're sawing their heads off or blowing them up.

Apparently, you believe it's okay for them to refer to us as infidels, but we shouldn't cook bacon because the odor offends them.

The DOJ political appointee adds in the article that the upcoming presentation will also focus on Muslim culture with a special emphasis on the fact that the religion is no different from others, even though some in the faith have committed terrorist acts, Christians have done the same. As an example he offers that the worst terrorist attack in the U.S. prior to 9/11 was committed by American Christians in Oklahoma City.

Few consider McVeigh to have been Christian, Billy, and unlike your muslim friends, McVeigh was widely condemned by Christians and others across the nation. No such outpouring of condemnation has ever been forthcoming from so-called "moderate" muslims in the wake of their repeated atrocities.

And oddly, nobody has called police to prevent muslims in this country from spreading what passes for their gospel, although your pals have done exactly that - and worse - to Christians on public streets in Dearborn, Michigan. It's long past time to stop kowtowing to the poor, misunderstood little victims of Islamophobia and start prosecuting them. It's a concept you don't seem to quite understand; it's known as equality.

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EPA Regulation Kills Patient

Active Diesel Particulate Filter (Photo credit: Massachusetts Dept. of Environmental Protection)

WASHINGTON -

The D.C. fire department is trying to determine why one of its newer diesel ambulances broke down as crews were transporting a patient in cardiac arrest.

It happened on I-295 Wednesday afternoon as Ambulance 19 was taking a shooting victim to the hospital. Then it took several minutes for a second ambulance to arrive.

The driver of Ambulance 19 is telling investigators the indicator lights on the emission control system suddenly and unexpectedly jumped from a warning to shut down in a matter of seconds, and as the engine died, she was able to pull the rig to the side of the road.

It turns out that due to an EPA regulation, active regeneration is required to clear particulate matter from the filter.

Sensors tell the engine when excessive particulate matter has built up in the DPF, and active regeneration mode is triggered. During active regeneration, the engine idle is increased to help heat the DPF, and diesel fuel is injected during the exhaust stroke, allowing fuel to enter the exhaust system and burn in the DPF. The combusition of diesel fuel in the DPF generates the heat necessary to burn off soot within the filter, essentially cleaning it. During active regeneration, the DPF can exceed temperatures of 1,000 degrees F. The main downfall of active regeneration mode is that it dramatically decreases fuel economy.

Another downfall is that if active regeneration doesn't occur (i.e., the engine is not allowed to idle), the engine simply shuts off. In patient care, minutes are important. In this case, the patient had to be transferred into a second ambulance in order to get him to the hospital, where he was determined to be in the process of assuming ambient temperature. But at least the air's cleaner.

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Chicago Irony

Head Of Chicago Anti-Violence Group Arrested For Allegedly Hitting Wife

Domestic abuse? Tsk, tsk. Turns out he got busted in '99 for the same thing. Apparently, learning doesn't come naturally to him. But then, he's a Democratic.

Gaming the system, however, does come naturally to him; it's how he makes a living:

Hardiman’s Cease Fire organization works to intervene between rival gang members to prevent gun violence in the city’s most dangerous neighborhoods.

The group receives state funding to conduct its work, according to Hardiman’s bio on the Cease Fire website. It also received a $1 million grant from the City of Chicago last year.

In his defense, he doesn't use guns on his girlfriends or wife, he uses only his manly fists. He's a Hardi-man.

 

Great Headline

Washington Post: The Justice Department has allowed us to say AG Holder supports press freedom

Although many organizations refused to attend Holder's "off the record" parody of transparency, the WaPo was among the handful who dropped in for a pat on the head and a nice Beggin' Strips™ treat. Barky's in kind of a bind, here: any other president would have fired Holder after he dropped the New Black Panther case, to say nothing of the gun-running cases and the various other illegal activities perpetrated by the little racist. But Barky and Holder are "friends" (meaning Holder's got some deep dirt on Barky), and besides, he's providing a lot of distraction. And the guy heading up the Most Transparent Administration in the History of the Country is really big on distraction.

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Sweetness

Re-evaluation of Aspartame: State of Play [PUBLIC HEARING] (Photo credit: ALDEADLE Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for EU)

Artificial sweeteners were developed primarily for dieters and diabetics, and they've always been kind of problematic. They often taste nothing like sugar, and it seems there's always some biological issue. Aspartame, for example, was good for you until it caused cancer and was bad for you but is now good for you again, saccharine had similar ups and downs, sodium cyclamate turned out to be so bad that it's actually banned, and now the latest entry, Splenda, was good for you but now may be bad for you.

At least, if you have diabetes, it's not looking good - the stuff, it turns out, isn't biologically inert, after all: it significantly elevates insulin levels.

Professor Yanina explained that they do not fully understand the implications that these rises could have.

She said: 'The elevated insulin response could be a good thing because it shows the person is able to make enough insulin to deal with spiking glucose levels. 

'But it also might be bad because when people routinely secrete more insulin, they can become resistant to its effects, a path that leads to type 2 diabetes.'

So what they know, at this point, is simply that, as has been the case with every artificial sweetener developed to date, it's doing something in addition to making foods and beverages taste sweeter - and thus, more palatable.

But hey - there's good news: High-Fructose Corn Syrup (HFSC) is found in all kinds of stuff, from bread to soda pop, but you can't buy it anywhere. However, in this artisanal new age, it's now possible for you to make your very own:

Mix 10 cups of Yellow Dent #2 corn extract with one drop sulfuric acid, one teaspoon Alpha-Amylase, one teaspoon Glucose-Amylase, and one teaspoon Xylose, strain through a cheesecloth, and heat. Then, once the slurry has reached 140 degrees, add Glucose Isomerase, bring to a boil, let cool, and enjoy!

Kind of reminds you of the old chemistry sets from back when you were a kid, doesn't it?

 

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Router Issues?

Our plants seem to do just fine in the main system room, but then, they were well established before being moved in. Seedlings may not do as well, at least according to this:

 

The students placed six trays filled with Lepidium sativum, a type of garden cress into a room without radiation, and six trays of the seeds into another room next to two routers that according to the girls calculations, emitted about the same type of radiation as an ordinary cellphone.

 

Over the next 12 days, the girls observed, measured, weighed and photographed their results. Although by the end of the experiment the results were blatantly obvious — the cress seeds placed near the router had not grown. Many of them were completely dead. While the cress seeds planted in the other room, away from the routers, thrived.

hmm. And our router's only three feet away. Time to fabricate and don the tin-foil hat! 

 

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Zombie Hotel

Nighttime panorama of the Oregon Convention center 

And once again, it rises from the dead: Metro, the out-of-control "regional government" received voter approval to build the Oregon Convention Center; the voters having been assured by the various "planners" and "visioners" infesting the former Sears store (now reinvented as Metro HQ) that it'd bring in bundles of cash, "spur" jobs and development, and yadda yadda. Of course, none of that happened. As is the case with virtually everything government types touch, it all turned to crap. 

The thing was built, the brain-trust at Metro ran it, and it lost millions. Not to worry; they came back with another plan: "See, here's the problem - it needs to be doubled in size," they said. Then conventions would pour in and the afore-promised jobs and money would drop from the skies like western Oregon rain, and development would be "spurred". They love that term, "spur". But the voters said "Thanks, but no thanks; you blew it."

So the brain-trust at Metro built the expansion anyway. It now loses over ten million dollars a year. Not to worry; they came back with another plan: "See, here's the problem - we need to build a really big Convention Center hotel there." Then conventions would pour in and the afore-promised jobs and money would drop from the skies like western Oregon rain, and development would be "spurred".

We didn't buy it, and the idea languished. Then, promising that no public money would be involved, they searched for ways to resurrect it from the grave. And by golly, they think they have a winner:

Metro officials disclosed this week that they asked lawmakers to provide financial support to construct a 600-room hotel that supporters say is badly needed to bring in more convention and meeting business.

They just want $12 million from the state. You know, to jump-start a "public-private partnership". The success of their convention center is, of course, of paramount importance to folks in Pendleton, Medford, and elsewhere around the state.

The latest effort would result in a privately owned, privately operated hotel. Early pledges that it would not require public financing are quickly evaporating.

Really? Oh, say it isn't so! Leadership: never having to admit one's mistakes.

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Porkland Follies

Former mayor Sam Adams is now head of Porkland City Club, and now seems to believe that the City Club should set statewide tax policy. To wit: since they claim that federal "cutbacks" have left bike programs "underfunded", they think the state should impose a 4% sales tax on every new bicycle purchased in Oregon.

PORTLAND, Ore. – A new report from Portland's City Club suggests a statewide sales tax on new bikes in Oregon as one way to pay for bike programs it says are underfunded.

The study says federal funding cutbacks leave bike programs underfunded. One solution the City Club suggests is a 4 percent sales tax on every new bicycle sold in the state.

Porkland Democratics never have enough money, and throwing a sales tax into the mix has always been a cherished component of their holy grail. This is the nose of their camel, 'cause, well...bikes! They can expand it to other stuff later.

It was during Sammy's time in orifice that PBOT decided that they simply weren't going to pave or maintain city streets for the next five years - Sammy preferred to buy bicycle signs and paint bicycle boxes and buy bicycle counters at $20,000 a pop. Streets, being primarily designed to move cars and freight, are inherently evil, and have therefore always ranked dead last on his priority list.

One of new mayor Charlie Hales' best moves to date occurred before he even officially took office: he told Sammy's best bud, who Sammy had made director of PBOT, to hit the bricks.

And from the Bureau of Catch-22: the City of Porkland owns all of the "street trees", the trees that grow in the area between sidewalk and roadway. You can't prune them, replace them, or modify them in any way absent a permit from the City - which they routinely refuse to issue. At the same time, if something bad happens as a result of the presence of those trees, the entire responsibility for any damages and other expenses rests solely with the homeowner.

Thus it is that when a roughly 100-year-old oak split apart during the recent heavy rains and winds, damaging two homes, the city that owns the tree politely told the homeowners to go pound sand. The $10,000 cleanup fee, as well as associated home repairs, are all on the homeowners. Porkland: The City That Works (you over).

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Pushback

Light rail may be the darling of Porkland politicians and developers, but it doesn't get a lot of love elsewhere in the metropolitan area. Actually, that's an understatement; a majority of Clackamas County residents have expressed their resentment of "Portland Creep", as TriMet proceeds to ram a second unwanted light rail line into the norther part of the county. Over in Vancouver, Washington, residents petitioned for a vote to ban the use of city resources for a light rail line that TriMet wants to extend over the Columbia River and into downtown Vancouver. Even after the petition was ruled legitimate, Vancouver politicians refused to put the measure on the ballot; prompting a lawsuit to force the city to comply.

Back on the Oregon side of the river, citizens in suburban Tigard have filed to petition for a vote aimed at blocking use of that city's resources to fund light rail and other "improvements" to the planned "Southwest Corridor" along Highway 99W without first obtaining approval via a public vote. The Southwest Corridor Plan is another one of those famous Metro/TriMet "partnerships" aimed at installing high-density apartment bunkers and more rail outside Portland.

Increasingly, it appears that people are becoming annoyed with the propensity of politicians and appointed boards to act against what many consider to be in the best interests of the residents.

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