You may have seen recent news that Russian communists complained about the most recent Indiana Jones movie. In contrast, I'm unaware of any Nazis who complained about previous Indiana Jones movies.  Nazis are the all-purpose "safe" bad guys for movies and novels.  No one with a full deck defends them.

It seems that, due to the actions of groups such as MADD, drunk drivers have become the Nazis of the road.  No one, except for evidently soulless attorneys, defends them.

But if you take time to look at the statistics, you'll find that driving and being in or near motorized vehicles is inherently a remarkably dangerous activity; more dangerous by itself than drunk driving is, and far more dangerous than we as a society apparently believe.  Consequently, while I am in no way condoning or encouraging drunk driving, the sometimes exaggerated and occasionally cruel way in which we pursue the demonization of drunk drivers is inconsistent with the risk they pose relative to driving generally.

More over the jump.

There was much discussion in another diary yesterday about Oregon's Vote-by-Mail system.  Some people mistakenly believed stamps were required.  They're not if you drop off your ballot at one of many drop off sites.  

Others were concerned that the impending increase in first class postage that starts Monday the 12th might cause problems in getting ballots delivered due to insufficient postage.

That shouldn't be a problem, according to an article in today's Oregonian.

With all the focus on matters such as Iraq, health care, and change (however one defines it) I’ve been left wondering where the three Democratic front-runners sit with respect to environmental matters.  I’ve spent a few minutes reading over their websites (focusing on the issues section) and have come away a little mystified and a little disappointed.

My youngest son turned 17 last spring and has been getting approximately monthly calls from Army recruiters.  

Some I happen to answer and when the person on the other line asks for my son, I in turn ask who is calling. The recruiter will say "this is sergeant 'so-and-so',"  and I'll politely mention that my son has communicated to me that he is not interested in participating in the military, especially under this administration, and has directed me to request you no longer call.  So far, that has worked just fine.  The recruiter will part with some nicety and be on his way.  

He doesn't waste my time and I don't waste his.

Last night I got home from a short business trip and my son mentioned the recruiter called again.  This call was a little different.

This is a brief diary.

I had an old friend over tonight, and after our second bottle of Willamette Valley Pinot Noir I bade his wife and him a good evening (they took a taxi).

I didn't take a taxi.

I was home.

After we cleaned up, my wife sat down to Desperate Housewives (Hmmmmm???) and I went to my computer.

Impaired as I was, I typed in: dailykoscom rather than dailykos.com.

What came up?

Freerepublic - that's what.

They're watching us.

They're watching you.

They're watching me.

They're scared.

I like it.

As if you didn't have enough to love them for, yesterday Wal Mart informed the SEC that it is under investigation by the United States Attorney's Office in Los Angeles for alleged criminal violations of hazardous waste regulations under RCRA - the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act.

A team of several researchers from Louisiana State University and from private consulting firms have published a paper in Environmental Science and Technology (ES&T), which is a leading environmental journal published by the American Chemical Society.  The paper, which can be downloaded as a pdf file here, presents findings that generally are consistent with the findings of EPA.

The short summary: the floodwater in the areas tested had low to non-detectable concentrations of most hazardous substances, which is welcome news.  The water was, however, high in fecal coliform bacteria (as is most storm water).

Ha!  Not really!

Ok - Kinda.

Here's the deal - this will likely disappear rapidly when the Europeans and East Coasters wake up in a few hours and start posting like laboratory rats with keyboards hooked up to their pleasure centers...

But in the meantime - my question is after the jump.

Portland, Oregon geared up last week to accept up to 2,000 evacuees from the Gulf Coast area, laying out cots and laying in provisions at a local closed school and actively searching for additional sites for more living space.  Then word started filtering in that maybe it would be fewer.  More definite word came that it would be few if any.  Then, the official word from FEMA came that FEMA would be transporting none.

Yet some came.  

On their own.

Brought here by family.

Brought here by churches.

This is an update of one family, the LaBrosse family of St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana, drawn from a couple of excellent columns by S. Renee Mitchell in the Portland Oregonian.

This diary will pollute your mind.

Don't read it if you want to remain ignorant of how the other side thinks.

If you want to see just what separates "them" from "us," then read on.

A U.S. District judge in Portland, Oregon ruled yesterday that Brandon Mayfield's challenge to the USA PATRIOT Act can proceed.  Could this be the beginning of the end of the act?

The New York Times published an extended article on Tuesday about the ongoing Rocky Flats Cleanup.  The article is generally favorable, focusing on some of the innovative approaches used to tackle particularly difficult cleanup challenges.  It does mention some of the controversy about the site, but that certainly is not the focus of the article.

More after the jump

Major Bob Bateman has another entry in today's Eric Alterman's Altercation.

I'll provide an excerpt after the jump to give you a flavor, but please go read it.  You can contact the author at: bateman_maj@hotmail.com.

So here I was during my morning commute today, listening to the BBC world news on my local community college radio station.

The report that made me shake my head in disbelief was one in which a leading Iranian judge criticized the Iranian government for its interrogation practices, saying they were as bad as what the U.S.A. had done at Abu Ghraib.

Alleged transgressions include holding prisoners under pressure, running a system of interrogation centers outside of judicial oversight, threatening family members of prisoners, and placing bags over the heads of prisoners during interrogation.

Secret home searches.

Electronic surveillance.

Surreptitious digital photographs of private documents inside the suspect's home.

Copies of hard drives from private home computers.

DNA samples from toothbrushes and cigarette butts.

Safe deposit box searches.

...Plot elements from the next Tom Cruise blockbuster?

Nope - real-life events courtesy of the FBI right here in the good ol' U.S.A.

Read about it below

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Interrupting your ongoing political discourse, this just in...

I think most of us have heard of the ridiculous attempt to prevent Iraqi farmers from saving seed between growing seasons, in direct conflict with traditional practices present since the earliest days of agriculture in human history.

Now, somewhat closer to home (at least for us in the Pacific Northwest) comes this little gem from the Associated Press after the jump:

This diary was written partially in response to Tom Kertes diary  Damning NYT article: Ranks revolt, draft possible, war a mess |+| War is moral choice, and also to spread these data to the general group of dKos readers while I try to figure out how to condense this into a letter to the editor in fewer than 150 words.

More below...