They Never Had A Chance

Heart-breaking news from Florida, six adopted siblings and one toddler-age fosterchild are killed when a semi-trailer carrying 40 tons of cargo rearends their car and crushes it into a stopped school bus. Their grandfather later dies of heart-attack probably caused by the horrifying news.
According to accident site reports, there were no signs that the semi-truck driver had attempted to brake before hitting the car at 65 mph, pushing the car and the school bus some 200 feet before coming to a halt. Nine students in the schoolbus were injured, two of them critically. The semi-truck driver, employed by Crete Carrier Corporation, had been cited in 2000 for driving with a suspended license and was twice in the past six years cited for operating a vehicle in unsafe condition.
I have relatives who haul cargo for living, and I know there's a constant shortage of truck drivers. Commercial carriers hire just about anyone, and it's evident every day with tractor-trailers barreling, weaving and tailgating at high speeds through Knoxville. The majority of professional truck drivers are courteous and professional, but it only takes one bad driver to turn a semitruck into a deadly weapon.

Nice Speech, But Where's The Pop-Corn?

Apparently, old warhorse Al Gore is stirring up ruckus against our beloved leader. Fair and balanced newssources have already identified Gore's lengthy blah-blah-blah as "diatribes laden with inaccuracies and anger". Nothing to see here, now bend over, grab your ankles and think happy thoughts!

The Good Fight

For a change, a law that works: The number of children taken into DCS custody because their parents were engaging in methamphetamine use or manufacturing was cut to half last year. This coincides with the 45% drop of meth labs discovered in Tennessee in 2005, due to restrictions put on sales of medicine containing pseudoephedrine, such as Sudafed. The new law makes it possible for law enforcement officials to track down suspected meth makers more easily.

Lock'em Up Young

It's yet another sign that we're f**ked when jail overcrowding problem spreads to juvenile detention. In November, Nashville judge Betty Adams Green ordered a 17-year-old ward of the state accused of armed robbery to be placed in a secure facility. The Department of Children's Services could not comply due to the fact that DCS secure facilities were full, juvenile detention facilities were out of space, and there was no money for additional accommodations. While waiting for a hearing the juvenile escaped from custody and failed to appear in court. Ticked off judge Green then, proclaiming juvenile escapees a persistent problem, threatened the DCS with contempt of court charges. Apparently, the DCS is supposed to magically come up with resources that they have no funds for or face the wrath of the court. For the Tennessee legislature, this is probably a good opportunity to start sending kids to adult prisons.

Habits Meme

Apparently, a "meme" is the blogosphere equivalent of a chain letter, and Doug has just sent me one. This one asks me to divulge five weird habits about myself, and then pester another five hapless bloggers to spill the beans themselves. I'm assuming "weird habits" means eccentric behavior, obsessive compulsiveness or somesuch.
Back when I was in college, I had to take a mandatory speech class. The teacher stressed to us that we were to avoid all kinds of mannerisms. All students' speeches were videotaped and dissected with painful criticism. When it came my turn to give my speech, I concentrated very hard in avoiding any kind of repetitive behavior. As a result, my speech gave the impression I was in the advanced stage of Parkinson's Disease.
Upon self-reflection, and filtering out stuff that might get me arrested or committed, here's a sampler:

1. I go through 2-3 packs of sugar-free chewing gum a day. Can one get addicted to sorbitol?
2. I put a bendable straw into the drink upside down every time, it never fails. They should have instructions printed on the wrapping for us furriners.
3. I arrange preset radio channels in the car stereo from low MHz to high. It drives me nuts if they're not in ascending order. WUOT 91.9 is button #1, dammit!
4. I'm directionally dyslexic. Give me a map, and I'll get there; give me directions and I'll probably take "the other left" along the way.
5. In every photograph ever taken of me with a flash, my eyes are half closed so that I look like I'm blind drunk and about to pass out. Stupid reflexes!

If you were bored enough to read this far, you're probably not too busy, so consider yourself tagged!

Be Outed Or Go To Jail

Daily serving of the 1st Amendment: Last week, Pres. Bush signed a law that makes it a Federal crime to annoy someone online anonymously. As it happens, I'm using my legal name in this blog, so I can continue to piss off whoever I want.

Poster Boy For Immigration Enforcement

Manuel Bartsch, a high-school student in northwest Ohio, has been jailed since Christmas and is awaiting deportation from the United States. Bartsch was born in Germany, moved to the U.S. while he was a minor and believed he was a legal U.S. citizen. However, unbeknownst to him, his U.S. citizen guardian never completed his immigration paperwork, making Bartsch an illegal alien. When the 18-year-old made an inquiry to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to prove his U.S. citizenship, he was promptly detained and thrown to jail to wait for deportation.
Treatment of Manuel Bartsch has caused an outcry of protest in northwest Ohio. Allen County, Ohio, Sheriff Dan Beck claims that when local officials apprehend undocumented aliens that have committed crimes, immigration officials ignore their pleas. Perhaps the "catch and release" policy only applies to "guest workers" that originate from the south of the border?