freethefly

It borders on not being in the public interest so CPS could have potentially binned the case. There was either more to it or they didn't like the idea of Mrs X lining drug dealers pockets Establishing a system of legal supply would greatly reduce the blackmarket trade and take the money out of the pockets of the drug cartels. It would be in the greater interest of the public to do so and would also free up tax dollars, reduce prison populations, possibly reduce police forces or free up manpower to battle real crimes. A growing number of police officers are in favor of legalization. http://leap.cc/ "...And once you're gone, you can't come back When you're out of the blue and into the black." Neil Young

Methamphetamine is a Schedule II narcotic under the Controlled Substances Act. (A) The drug or other substance has a high potential for abuse. (b) The drug or other substance has a currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States or a currently accepted medical use with severe restrictions. I have never heard one word of Meth having any accepted medical value yet, there it is on the schedule 2 list. On the otherhand mj has been proven to have many medical uses yet, there it is on the schedule 1 list. (C) Abuse of the drug or other substances may lead to severe psychological or physical dependence The evidence is in on medical mj. Just a few examples; Mj has been shown to have the greatest potential for appetite stimulation with no adverse affect. http://repositories.cdlib.org/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1133&context=uclabiolchem/nutritionbytes The greatest potential for alzheimer. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2005/02/050224111638.htm http://www.physorg.com/news80408190.html THC induces apoptosis. http://mcr.aacrjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/4/8/549 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=9771884&dopt=Abstract http://jpet.aspetjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/302/2/451 http://cancerres.aacrjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/66/13/6748 If smoking is a concern then vaporization is the alternative. Denying research does more harm than the drug itself when there is great potential for new and improved drugs that can be derived from the plant. My friend Jacqueline Patterson (http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=12340272) is an MS patient as well as a med-mj patient and medical mj advocate. I tend to believe her when she has shown that mj helps to curb spasticity and other MS related conditions. Montel Williams is also nboard with this knowledge. http://www.pr.com/article/1033 With so much evidence it is unfathomable to imagine why the Federal government continues with its "Reefer Madness, Harry Anslinger" mentality. It is not an evil weed that will destroy a society but a real medicine that can help millions cope while treating serious illness. If the government wants concern for drug abuse then that concern should be directed towards the pharms that are in current use. The Iraq war itself will produce a large number of addicts of narcotic based medications. If mj can produce reasonable effect without the dependentcy related to narcotics then real research should be encouraged and not pushed aside as some sort of hippy pipedream. "...And once you're gone, you can't come back When you're out of the blue and into the black." Neil Young

Yet, federal law recognize a federal right to use potentialy deadly and highly addictive narcotics prescribed by a licensed physician to alleviate excruciating pain and human suffering!!!! Makes no sence to me to outlaw the safest substance known to the humanrace. The DEA schedules mj as a class 1 narcotic when it is, in fact, not a narcotic. Mj is not addictive. Mj has never caused death. It is impossiable to overdose on mj, unlike the many opium based narcotics and synthetic painkillers prescribed. The current list of approved painkillers are extremely addictive and extremely deadly. The safe alternative is mj. It is a proven alternative and has been proven time and time again. George McMahon is one such patient ( http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendID=86758820 ) He will also tell you that the government supplied mj is far below the standard. The mj grown at the Ms. facility is in fact a very low grade that is just a step above ditch weed. What they send to the few patients on the now defunct Compassionate Use Act is ground up leave, stems, seeds and low grade bud. Also, the government freeze the mj which in turn degrades the THC even further. Markharju says that heroin and morphine (basically the same drug, only one is more refined) have legitimate medical use. Hmmm... wow! Two drugs that are extremely addictive and potentially deadly!!! That is insane when there is a drug that has never caused an overdose and is not addictive!!!! The proof is in on mj yet, the federal government refuses to see it. The Feds refuses to release any mj for postive research and will only release mj if the study is to prove that it is the most dangerouse drug known to man. Billions of dollars are wasted each year to combat mj use in the "War on Drugs" yet. there has not been one inch gained in curbing mj use. In fact, each year there are more smokers than the year before. Programs such as D.A.R.E. has a failure rate of more than 80%. Many teenagers have said that their first exposure to mj was through D.A.R.E.. Student drug testing programs that are meant to discourage mj use have pushed students into using more alcohol and harder to detect or not tested for substance. So, this is what the "War on Drugs" has brought us. A government that will use a law that was based on prejudice to deny a proven medicine from those who benefit. A strong arm tactic to force intrusive searches of bodily fluids. I, for one, refuse to piss in a bottle for anyone. I am an AIDS patient and a medical mj patient. I do benefit from it. Marinol was useless and the other "approved" appetite stimulants did nothing at all other than causing nausea. Mj works. I realize that some of you have bought into the governments misinformation propaganda and will never see the benefit of mj untill you yourself or a loved one must endure the fight of staying alive and living without pain or wasting away from illness. Many have changed their tune to medical mj when faced with what I, myself, and others on the same boat must go through on a daily basis. I am not a criminal and neither are the millions of others who use mj whether for medical reasons or recreational reasons. We are no more a criminal than any of you who have driven over the speed limit. It is a shame that our government sees fit to jail someone soley for smoking a joint yet has allowed child molesters to walk with a slap on the hand. The time is quickly coming that all states will allow medical mj. One more such state on the verge of doing so; Why not educate yourself at www.norml.org "...And once you're gone, you can't come back When you're out of the blue and into the black." Neil Young

Your name, no doubt, has just been added to the no fly list. "...And once you're gone, you can't come back When you're out of the blue and into the black." Neil Young

Although I am glad to see that this dirtbag is being put away (hopefully, he'll get death as a bed is way to much to give scum like him), I can't help but to feel that the system has failed in so many ways as to allow a known predator to roam free and do what he did. Had the system not had failed in the beginning, Jessica would be alive and this scumbag would had never been set free. I recieved this from Chris Largen the other day and I am not at the least surprise. It is the attitude of certian politicians that allowed this to happen. If you are not familiar with Chris Largen, he is the founder of Building-Block. A victim and survivor of childhood sex abuse, a nationally known writer, and a champion of childrens rights issues. http://www.building-block.org/ Google his name. He is extremely well known and he makes things happen. He is a great guy and needs everyones support. What follows just blows me away that some politicians would put saving a few dollars before saving the lives and childhoods of children. I am outraged. If you're not, I can only wonder why not. From Chris; While my friend Mark Lunsford attends the trial of his daughter Jessica’s accused murderer (in 2005 she was abducted, repeatedly raped, and BURIED ALIVE in her next door neighbor’s yard, wrapped in trash bags), Texas legislators are busy arguing whether or not there is enough prison beds to lock away convicted child rapists. The Texas legislature has no problem passing expensive (and mandatory) child venereal disease vaccines, intrusive anti-smoking legislation, and pay raises for busybody bureaucrats. They have plenty of criminal justice resources to jail graffiti vandals and nonviolent marijuana offenders. So why are some in the Texas legislature hesitant when it comes to CHILD PREDATORS? They sit up there masturbating in their taxpayer-funded air-conditioned hive units and bemoan the fact that they just don’t have enough prison space to lock away EVERYBODY. This is the kind of news that makes me want to vomit right on the desks of every single legislator who won’t put their money where their balls are and TAKE WHATEVER STEPS are necessary and constitutionally viable to protect the life, liberty and pursuit of happiness of our children. I suppose that when some fully erect psychopath anally rapes a legislator’s child, we can all just be thankful that our oh-so-benevolent dictators prioritized POTHEADS and PILFERERS over PEDOPHILES. If I seem outraged, you can bet I am. Please take a moment to FORWARD THIS OUT, and contact the Texas legislature to let them know the “not enough prison beds” argument WON’T WASH! Let them know that ANY politician opposing Jessica's Law won't make it to the next term! Citizen's Opinion Hotline: 1-800-252-9600 Read it and gag, folks… Critics say predator law cost estimates too low 12:21 AM CST on Monday, March 5, 2007 By EMILY RAMSHAW / The Dallas Morning News eramshaw@dallasnews.com AUSTIN – Under the politically popular sex offender penalties known as "Jessica's Laws," California will spend nearly $130 million next year tracking child predators. Florida will shell out close to $12 million. Louisiana, the first state to sentence a child sex predator to death, will spend $1 million. Jessica Lunsford's death caused Florida to toughen laws. But the version of Jessica's Law up for a vote in the Texas House Monday will cost Texans next to nothing for at least five years, according to financial reports prepared by legislative budget analysts. Critics say that's impossible. Rep. Debbie Riddle's bill – which authorizes the death penalty or life without parole for repeat child sex offenders, increases sentences for certain first-time child sex offenders and prohibits early release from prison or parole for violent child sex offenders – would require more money for prison beds and corrections guards, they argue. And a Dallas Morning News analysis of states with Jessica's Laws similar to those Texas is considering found that almost all of them had to set aside millions of dollars immediately to follow through on their legislation. But proponents of the bill and the fiscal analysts who crafted the estimate note that the statute won't apply to many offenders; it's written to catch "the worst of the worst," and only those inmates will be serving lifetime prison sentences. Plus, a major expansion of global positioning systems, a costly tracking component of most states' Jessica's Laws, isn't included in the current House bill. "All I can tell you is, the fiscal note on this has come back that it basically doesn't have an impact," said Ms. Riddle, R-Tomball, referring to the analysis conducted by the Legislative Budget Board. "At this point I haven't seen any evidence to the contrary." That estimate "is laughable," said Steve Hall, whose StandDown Texas Project advocates a moratorium on the death penalty. "When you look at Texas, with a larger population than most of these states, with severe penalties for sex offenders, it is inconceivable that you're not going to see increased costs in this state," he said. "It certainly makes you wonder if they were too rushed to do a thorough job or if politics intruded." The original Jessica's Laws – which generally impose 25-year mandatory minimum sentences for child sex predators, require lifetime electronic monitoring and create 2,000-foot safety zones around parks and schools – passed in Florida in 2005 after the sexual assault and slaying of 9-year-old Jessica Lunsford. The man on trial in the case is a convicted sex offender. So far, more than 20 states have implemented versions of the laws, and Florida, Montana, Louisiana, Oklahoma and South Carolina have given prosecutors the go-ahead to seek the death penalty for repeat child sex predators. It's unclear whether the punishment is constitutional; the U.S. Supreme Court has said that only crimes resulting in death can bring execution, though advocates say the court might rule differently in a case where the victim is a child. Legal concerns Last week, Texas lawmakers put the brakes on the fast-moving House bill given emergency priority by Gov. Rick Perry, in part because of those legal concerns. Ms. Riddle said she'll present amendments today to clarify the death penalty provision and create a new offense of "continuous sexual abuse of a child," one that would come with a mandatory 25-year minimum sentence. Officials with the Legislative Budget Board said they couldn't comment on the differences between the estimated cost of Jessica's Law in Texas and its cost in other states. They pointed to the text of their report, which indicates there will be "no significant fiscal implication to the state" for the first five years after the bill's passage. After that, the report says, the law still will not be costly because it will only affect a "small percentage of persons convicted of sexually violent offenses." The provision in Ms. Riddle's bill that increases penalties for first-time child sex offenders will have the greatest effect, the analysts wrote – requiring another 489 prison beds by 2027. Because that's more than five years out, they don't attach a dollar figure to the fiscal note. "We were actually surprised and encouraged it was that low," Jon English, Ms. Riddle's chief of staff, said of the prison bed estimate. The Senate version of the bill, which includes a 25-year minimum sentence for first-time violent child molesters and some expansion of GPS monitoring, hasn't reached the full Senate, so its financial analysis has not yet been released. Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, the chief champion for the Senate version, has estimated that lifetime GPS monitoring would cost about $14 a day – just over $5,000 a year per offender. And Don Forse, chief of staff for Sen. Bob Deuell, the Greenville Republican who filed the Senate bill, said he "wouldn't anticipate it being much different from the House version as far as the fiscal implication goes." In other states with similar Jessica's Laws, however, the cost has been more immediate. California's budget includes close to $130 million next fiscal year to implement Jessica's Law, which includes GPS monitoring. The Florida Legislature has budgeted $11.9 million annually, money to fund additional prison beds, corrections officials and GPS monitoring devices. And corrections officials in Wisconsin determined that their Jessica's Laws – which impose stiff mandatory minimum sentences for violent predators – would require nine new prisons over 25 years, at a cost of more than $400 million. Nonetheless, the bill was approved. A Tennessee version that included the death penalty and failed last year would have cost the state an extra $14 million a year. That bill has been reintroduced this year without a capital punishment provision. Montana, which already has a death penalty provision but is considering longer sentences and GPS tracking, estimates its costs will increase by about $3 million annually. These types of costs are logical, corrections experts say. Longer sentences Longer sentences mean that PRISONS ALREADY JAMPACKED will need more beds and have higher operating costs, and be responsible for medical care for inmates aging in the system. Currently, it costs $14,600 a year to incarcerate an inmate in Texas; a 25-year minimum sentence here would cost close to $365,000. More than 10,000 inmates are now serving sentences for violent sexual assault against a child, and hundreds more have been given probation or deferred adjudication. Texas' prison system is already at capacity, so the state would have to either FREE OTHER OFFENDERS (like those big bad nonviolent marijuana offenders) or build new units. Meanwhile, corrections experts say, the costs of trials and appeals in death sentence and life imprisonment cases are staggering, sometimes reaching $1 million per case. Executions themselves can cost upward of $15,000. "Lawmakers say, 'We're just changing the law – enacting a measure doesn't cost us anything,' " said Tim Bray, a criminologist with the University of Texas at Dallas. "But it's the impact that costs us money. All of the money is tied up in the increased cost of incarceration." Staff writer Amy Rosen contributed to this report. "...And once you're gone, you can't come back When you're out of the blue and into the black." Neil Young

Max, it has been declared that the problem is wide spread. I do realized that WRAMC is army and not a V.A. center. However, many leaving WRAMC will ultimately have to deal with a V.A. center the same as you will. I am wishing you the best when having to deal with red tape at whichever center you go to. I hope that this case spurs all center administrators into action to identify and remedy any and all problems. "...And once you're gone, you can't come back When you're out of the blue and into the black." Neil Young

Never said that he didn't know. I am more than happy that things are going good for him and they should be. Tell me, Mike, why is it do you suppose that so many are coming forward and testifying that it is other than satisfactory. Across the country V.A. centers have gone far to long without proper maintenance and management. It is pure BULLSHIT that vets should go without nothing but the finest that this country has to offer. And I completely disagree with GQ's Is this to say that military personnel should just buck up and shut up and take what they get? That is pure bullshit! It is completely understandable that these kind of conditions might be tolerated in Iraq or Afghanistan but, NOT HERE!!! Not in a country that boast to have nothing but the finest. From GQ's post I take it that he believes that crappy living conditions is just the military way. Well it is not. I grew up in a military family. My father was hardcore Navy. He never accepted filth. The bases we lived on were shipshape and squared away. I did boot at San Diego RTC on Rosecran 27 years ago. Those buildings were WW2 era yet, they were kept in shape and clean. My ship was clean. Our berthing was clean. When I spent a month in Balboa Naval Hospital, it was clean. I was disgusted at the condition and treatment that I found at John Cochran V.A. center in St. Louis. Completely unacceptable. And I made a point of it to complain everytime I went there. Near everytime I was there in the waiting room there was talk amongst the vets about what a shithole it was. I am happy to see it is being turned around. Vets shouldn't have to complain. We should expect nothing but the best. GQ, if the conditions you live in are filthy, I reccommend you grab a bucket and swab and change the condition. I was a 2nd class HT in charge of the shipfitter shop. Our work was filthy but, our shop fucking shined like polished chrome. Each and every piece of copper and brass, you could see your face. You could eat off of the deck. If a shop that dealt in repairing the hull of a ship could be so clean then a V.A. center that deals with repairing humans should be 100 times cleaner. "...And once you're gone, you can't come back When you're out of the blue and into the black." Neil Young

I hear that brother. I'm a Cards fan but, Cubs are always second on my list

Just an example that some V.A. centers are trying to do there best to provide the best while other centers fall far below the standard. Just in the last couple of days it has been reported that what is going on at WRAMC is far spread. John Cochran in St. Louis at one time was a place that you would not take a mongrel dog to. The place was filthy. You were treated has if you were just another one of the roaches in the place. I myself have filed a good number of complaints on the staff. I'm a vet, my taxes pay for my treatment. I expect nothing but the best and nothing less. Anyone who goes to the V.A. should demand nothing but the best and complain when they see our money being wasted. Your reply; To Zippo's; I merely showed an example of what is right when the right people are in charge and in this case it is civilians in charge not some asshat general who only cares about how shiney his stars are. Just as I sit here the news is showing patients at WRAMC as they testify to what a crappy place WRAMC actually is yet, you want us to believe that it is a shiny beacon of just how great the V.A. is. I tend to believe the many who are standing up and speaking up and not giving a damn about how it makes the military bigwigs look. And why should they care? Screw those asshat generals. It is their health that is most important. Not the career of some commissioned fucknuts who tried to roll the shit down hill and put the blame on the enlisted men. Warms my heart to see the shit roll up the hill. My opinion is that all V.A. centers should be ran by civilians and not by the military. The military couldn't wipe its own ass without a thousand carbon copies of tp and then screw the job up anyways. "...And once you're gone, you can't come back When you're out of the blue and into the black." Neil Young

The Cubs have won two World Series. 1907 and 1908. The world actually ended in 1908 but most of us refuse to recognize it and go about our lives as if nothing happened. "...And once you're gone, you can't come back When you're out of the blue and into the black." Neil Young

John Mayer is destine to go down as one of the all time guitar greats. Next to "No Such Thing", "Gravity" has become one of my favorites. Hey, why not check out my homeboys 360smile at http://www.threesixtysmile.com/ Roll on over to their Myspace page at www.myspace.com/threesixtysmile They are in fact the best band to come out of the Midwest in a long time. I might be abit partial as I am a personal friend to the band. Been trying to get them to do a tandem. I don't think my niece will allow Josh, the singer/guitarist and her boyfriend, to do one but, Joey Natas, the drummer, is up on the idea. Told Natas the other day that I'll get him out to Quantum Leap and hook him up to my bro for a tandem and I'll do the video for free. Go by their Myspace site and checkout some free tunes!!! Their national debut album "Addiction" will be out later this summer sometime during the tour. Gotta luv "Gravity" by John Mayer Gravity is working against me And gravity wants to bring me down Oh I'll never know what makes this man With all the love that his heart can stand Dream of ways to throw it all away Oh Gravity is working against me And gravity wants to bring me down Oh twice as much aint twice as good And can't sustain like one half could It's wanting more That's gonna send me to my knees (repeat) Oh gravity, stay the hell away from me Oh gravity has taken better men than me you see now how can that be? Just keep me where the light is Just keep me where the light is Keep you me where the light is Just keep me where the light is Ohh… where the light is! "...And once you're gone, you can't come back When you're out of the blue and into the black." Neil Young

You may also find a lower crime rate in a more healthy and educated community. A plus in savings for the taxpayers as less police would be needed. Use of the health system goes down when people have a healthier community to live in. Revitalized ghetto communities by way of TIF funds have realized this. Community oriented developers have latched on to modernizing slum areas and allowing the residents to buy into ownership. Gone are the slumlords, the crack gangs and prostitutes. Healthy urban developement leads to healthy living. Conservetives do not want to believe this and want to push it off as some sort of hippy liberal pipe dream but, the numbers are in the bag. Washington Square in St. Louis is just one of those places that benefited from TIF funding. Unfortunately TIF funds have all to often been hijacked by upperclass developers and upperclass communities to add on to upscale shopping malls and neighborhoods. Would you rather spend a little more now and revitalize a ravaged community or would you rather keep throwing a fortune into a burning barrel by funding an ever increasing police force that has not put the smallest dent into the problem? Healthy people feel better about themselves and their communities. To continue to keep people poor and in poor health only adds onto a sense of ill will towards thriving communities. In turn it adds on to increased crimminal activities which all taxpayers must pay for in terms of police, prosecution and incarceration and eventually healthcare for prisoners. Give the people healthcare, education and a healthy community now and the outcome will be less of the more unfortunate outcomes by denying it. "...And once you're gone, you can't come back When you're out of the blue and into the black." Neil Young

St. Louis V.A. centers, John Cochran and Jefferson Barracks (the first parachute jump from an airplane was done in 1912 by Capt. Albert Berry over Jefferson Barracks) are slated to recieve 100 million dollars this year for rennovations and medical equipment upgrades. John Cochran itself got a new waiting room about 7 years ago. They named it the "Admiral Room". At the time they were adding this huge waiting room, the rest the the center was a mess. Getting to see a doctor was an all day affair. Service was limited to what could be afforded. The place was extremely dirty. It wasn't uncommon to see a cockroach while waiting to see a doctor. John Cochran has also , once, loss its accreditation and was listed as the worst hospital in the nation. Yet, they seem fine to spend millions on a waiting room. I hope things get better there as I plan on returning to the V.A. in St. Louis for medical care. From the St. Louis Business Journal; The local U.S. Veterans Affairs hospital system is planning a more than $100 million makeover that includes moving heart surgery in-house and modernizing services for area veterans. "We have more construction planned in the next year than we have had in the last 10," said Keith Repko, chief engineer for the VA's two local hospitals -- Jefferson Barracks Hospital in south St. Louis County and John Cochran Hospital in Midtown. They have 355 beds total and are known collectively as the St. Louis VA Medical Center. The Jefferson Barracks facility is slated for $70 million to $100 million in construction and upgrades; about $16 million in building projects are planned for the John Cochran site. Federal budget appropriations for the work are pending. About 400 Saint Louis University and Washington University physicians are credentialed to provide services at the St. Louis VA Medical Center. The medical center employs 1,900, including most of its primary care physicians and some of its specialists. Glen Struchtemeyer is its director. The nation's VA hospitals and clinics have gotten high marks in recent years for their efforts to improve care and step up medical technology. Ophthalmologist Dr. Nathan Ravi, chief of staff for the St. Louis VA Medical Center, said its goal is to boost its federal hospital classification by becoming a more comprehensive medical care center to better serve its patients. The federal government currently gives it a "1B" classification based on the number of services it offers, but Ravi said it is striving for "1A," the top VA hospital rating. Toward that end, the John Cochran Hospital opened a new outpatient endocrinology and preventive medicine department three weeks ago, and there are plans to convert existing space at the hospital into a new $1 million cardiothoracic surgery unit. Currently, the St. Louis VA Medical Center can perform other types of general surgery but must farm out cardiothoracic procedures to St. Luke's Hospital, St. John's Mercy Medical Center, Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Saint Louis University Hospital. Ravi said bringing the surgery program in-house should save the VA Medical Center at least $300 to $400 per procedure. The new surgery center also will allow the hospital to perform in-house eye surgeries it currently cannot. "The first year, our target is to handle a total of 100 to 120 cases at the cardiothoracic surgery center," Ravi said. "By the third year, it should be 180 cases a year." Currently, 43 of the nation's 157 VA hospitals perform cardiothoracic surgeries in-house. "Last year there was legislation signed to allow us to more appropriately pay our doctors, to try and compete with the outside," Repko said. "That's one reason we can look at the internal cardiothoracic program." Ravi said the St. Louis VA Medical Center is getting $6 million more per year in physician pay, which will allow it to compete better with private-sector hospitals in recruiting doctors. According to 2005 Department of Veterans Affairs data, Missouri and Illinois have a combined veteran population of about 1.4 million, and those veterans' medical care and related expenses cost the department up to $1.9 billion a year. Care is provided for veterans only. The conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan could increase the pool of U.S. veterans needing care, but their numbers may be offset somewhat by the passing of World War I and II veterans. Still, Ravi said, the St. Louis VA hospitals must anticipate future needs by expanding services and improving facilities. Other VA facilities, including hospitals in Denver, Milwaukee and Pittsburgh, also are awaiting multimillion-dollar congressional appropriations to add space and services. Repko said the $70 million to $100 million in Jefferson Barracks construction will include demolishing some older, underutilized buildings on the campus, an existing gymnasium and pool area, an old central boiler and utility plant and other structures needing costly renovations. The project will add new clinical space and new patient rooms, and Ravi said 30 to 40 doctors, nurses and other medical professionals will be hired to staff the new space. No floor plans have yet been devised. The gymnasium and pool will be rebuilt, an aquatic therapy center will be added and the boiler plant will be replaced by individual heating/cooling systems at each of the campus's buildings. Plans call for a new chapel and hospital supply warehouse to be added as well. Preliminary site designs are being drawn up by the Ellerbe Becket architectural firm, based in Kansas City. Marcina Gunter, a local VA spokeswoman, said the Jefferson Barracks site plan also includes turning over 31 acres at the hospital campus' northeast end to the adjacent Jefferson Barracks Cemetery. Gunter said the cemetery must expand because of the rate at which war veterans are dying of natural causes. At John Cochran Hospital, the VA also is planning a new $15 million parking garage. A developer is being sought for the project; the developer will pay to build the structure, and that company and the hospital both will use it, Repko said. Cochran employees and patients will park in the structure during the day, and the developer can sell parking space there in the evening and on weekends. The VA expects to choose a developer after Feb. 6, when bids for the project are due. The combined Jefferson Barracks and John Cochran hospitals' budget for fiscal 2006 was $250 million, up from $230 million the previous year, according to Kevin Inkley, staff assistant to the director for both medical centers. The building projects have received preliminary authorization but have not yet gotten funding appropriations. "The funding should be a component of the upcoming federal budget package," Inkley said. "Right now, like other federal offices, we're working off a continuing resolution until Congress passes the budget, but we don't know when that will happen or what our 2007 budget will be." jjohnson@bizjournals.com "...And once you're gone, you can't come back When you're out of the blue and into the black." Neil Young

Meth-heads are some crazy mofo's. Seems that the majority of those busted are 50 and older. A few years back the cops busted a 70yo guy in town cooking meth on his stove. He was cooking when they knocked on his door. Freaking crazy. "...And once you're gone, you can't come back When you're out of the blue and into the black." Neil Young

Hey, it's still okay to drive a 427bb Vette on leaded fuel (lead additive, Sunoco or Citgo racing fuel or Avgas). If someone insist on telling you different, put your fingers in your ears and loudly make big block engine sounds as if you are taking it down the street pedal to the metal....Vrooooooooooom, errrrrf (second gear scratch), Vroooooooooooooom, errrrrrf (third gear scratch), Vrooooooooooooooooom, errrrrrf (fourth gear scratch), Vrooooooooooooooom and gone... "...And once you're gone, you can't come back When you're out of the blue and into the black." Neil Young

I checked out the link you provided. Will have to give him a call. I've never really been very happy with Dyna on my Harleys and not real happy with it on the Snorton. I need a hotter spark and a longer duration as I am dumping a hell of alot fuel to her. Another option would be the MC3 from MSD. I am aware of what they do at Bonneville. Been out there several times. Once for the Easyriders land speed record attempt. Got my name on the side of the streamliner and the certificates for being part owner of the record. Salt flats are a trip. Freaking hot. I honestly believe that I could set a record on the Snorton if I were to run her on the salt. But, she is a streeter. If I were to race it, it would be at the drags. 1/4mile, of course. "...And once you're gone, you can't come back When you're out of the blue and into the black." Neil Young

Group: Gore a Hypocrite Over Power Bill Feb 27, 9:40 PM (ET) By KRISTIN M. HALL NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Al Gore, a leading voice in the fight against global warming, is being called a hypocrite by a conservative group that claims his Nashville mansion uses too much electricity. A spokeswoman for Gore said the former vice president invests in enough renewable energy to make up for the home's power consumption. Gore's documentary film "An Inconvenient Truth," which chronicled his campaign against global warming, won an Academy Award on Sunday. The next day, the Tennessee Center for Policy Research put out a news release saying Gore was not doing enough to reduce his own consumption of electricity. The group disputes whether global warming is a serious problem. "We wanted to see if he was living by his own recommendations and walking the walk," said Drew Johnson, president of the think tank, which pushes for conservative economic issues. Utility records show the Gore family paid an average monthly electric bill of about $1,200 last year for its 10,000-square-foot home. The Gores used about 191,000 kilowatt hours in 2006, according to bills reviewed by The Associated Press spanning the period from Feb. 3, 2006, to Jan. 5. That is far more than the typical Nashville household, which uses about 15,600 kilowatt-hours per year. His Nashville home is more than four times larger than the average new American home built last year - about 2,400 square feet, according to the National Association of Home Builders. A spokeswoman for Gore said he purchases enough "green power" - renewable energy sources such as solar, wind and methane gas - to balance 100 percent of his electricity costs. "Sometimes when people don't like the message, in this case that global warming is real, it's convenient to attack the messenger," Gore spokeswoman Kalee Kreider said. Gore participates in a utility program that sells blocks of "green power" for an extra $4 a month. Gore purchases 108 such blocks every month, covering 16,200 kilowatt-hours and helping subsidize renewable energy sources. Johnson said it's unclear whether global warming is caused by humans, and he said the threat outlined in Gore's documentary is exaggerated. The think tank said that Gore used nearly 221,000 kilowatt hours last year and that his average monthly electric bill was $1,359. Johnson said his group got its figures from Nashville Electric Service. But electric company spokeswoman Laurie Parker said the utility never got a request from the policy center and never provided them with any information. Parker said Gore has been purchasing the "green power" for $432 a month since November. The Gore home is also under renovation to add solar panels, Kreider said. Gore also owns homes in Carthage, Tenn., and in the Washington area. Gore has said he leads a "carbon-neutral lifestyle." To balance out other carbon emissions, the Gores invest money in projects to reduce energy consumption around the globe, Kreider said. "For every ton of carbon they emit, he offsets that by doing investments in renewable energy sources," Kreider said. Johnson said those efforts were unconvincing. "In general, I applaud his efforts to reduce energy consumption, but if he is going to be a spokesman for global warming, he has to be willing to make the same sacrifices," Johnson said. Johnson said Gore's home has gas lamps lining the driveway, a heated pool and an electric gate, all of which would be easy to do without. Kreider confirmed that Gore's home has a heated pool and an electric gate, but noted that the gate is important for security and that the driveway has only one gas lamp. Focusing on Gore's personal electricity consumption misses the point of "An Inconvenient Truth," Kreider said, which is that governments and the public can work together to reduce emissions. "...And once you're gone, you can't come back When you're out of the blue and into the black." Neil Young

Hey Joe, I do recall the "fuck you mark hamm" comment. I reckon I'll be hearing it quite abit this year. Anyways, the bike will be coming apart again here real soon for welding and paint. I probally won't paint untill I build the garage in the next month or two. Took a loan out on the house to build the garage and will have roughly $7000.00 left over to get my drivers liscence back and to finish building the El Camino. This means new paint on the Elky and the 57 as well as a new 350 block to build another engine. This time around I'll use screw in studs on the heads. Popping a rocker stud does nasty things to an engine. I actually cried when I ventilated my last engine due to skimping on the heads. $2500.00 out the exhaust. Another $1000.00 and I could have had a set of Dart aluminum heads and roughly 700 horses. Instead I took the heads off of my 383 stroker that was in my 57 (I want a 608 on NOS for her) and sold that engine. One month later, I am engineless. Should had kept the stroker. This year is the year and I am back on the road. Fucking A diddybag!!!!! "...And once you're gone, you can't come back When you're out of the blue and into the black." Neil Young

You were riding a rigid Norton? You don't see many Nortons on hardtails. When I first set out to build myself a new bike, I was looking for a Knuckle basket case. I sold the Sportster that I had. A Chief on ship told me he had a Norton 750 Interstate basket case for $100.00. He got it from a buddy of his who was stationed in Edinburgh. The guy got hit on it and lost his leg. The frame was in pretty bad shape and not worth repairing. I scrapped the frame and sold the rest of the parts to guys in the local USNOA club. I then went looking for a rigid frame at all of the shops in Southern California. No luck. In fact, I got laughed at for the thought of putting a Norton on a rigid. No luck in finding a frame so being a welder/fabricator in the Navy I built my own frame. I was abit off on my calculations for the rake and ended up on the ground so, I had a set of tubes made by Forking by Frank (if you have been riding since the 70's, you most likely had heard of FbF. My forks are classics) . 3" over stock forks put it just right. When I finished this bike, no one was laughing. I should had taken it to L.A. and got her into Iron Horse magazine. "...And once you're gone, you can't come back When you're out of the blue and into the black." Neil Young

Been re-doing my Norton 1000 all winter and just about ready to paint the frame and fenders. Tank has been shot with the first coat of a GM black. Thinking about applying ghost flames to the tank in a black/silver/gold mixture. Sill have a little bit of welding to do on the frame for the exhaust pipes that I have not yet made. I originally built this bike in 1983. I designed and built the frame onboard the ship I was stationed on. It is a one of a kind frame. I have only seen a few Nortons on rigid frames and none of them were even the least bit worthy of sitting next to my sled. My bike is fucking badass. I have no doubt that my Norton is the fastest Norton in the US (if not the world). The engine has been stroked from a 750 to a 1000. The crank was specially milled and is the only one in the world. The cam was also milled specific for this engine. The head was opened up for higher fuel intake from the 2 Amal II 40mm carbs. The bores are 3.250, up from the stock 2.750. Dyna provides the fire. Thinking of changing to Accel. A 1.5 belt primary mats the engine to the tranny which holds Andrews shaved gears. Sucide shifter and foot clutch gets it down the road on a 16" rear. This bike will easily do 150+mph. It is THE Snorton' Norton. "...And once you're gone, you can't come back When you're out of the blue and into the black." Neil Young

https://www.dellbatteryprogram.com/ I have a Dell Inspiron E1505 and just checked my battery pack. Luckily, I am not affected by this. The above link is to the Dell battery recall page and has a list of what is affected. My battery is not listed. Hope that is a good sign that the problem has been corrected. "...And once you're gone, you can't come back When you're out of the blue and into the black." Neil Young

Enlist and volunteer for the most dangerous operations. "...And once you're gone, you can't come back When you're out of the blue and into the black." Neil Young

"I have never asked for any larger plane," Pelosi said. "I have said that I am happy to ride commercial if the plane they have doesn't go coast to coast." Not directed at you, specifically, Gawain. Just clarification as to the speakers view. The real issue, as I see it, is in the White House's decision as to what plane she needs. "...And once you're gone, you can't come back When you're out of the blue and into the black." Neil Young

Best if you sent him a compass, so that he knows which way to face. I made mention of vets when I asked in a poll I started on who should benefit. "Far too many WW2 and Korean vets are being cast aside as if they but bums and not worthy of any help. This seems to be the attitude of many young people towards the old. There will come a day when many Iraq vets will be in the same shoes as the old vets." But, I guess, they are not our responsibility. My opinion is that if you worked and/or served, you deserve any and all help that was promised to you when a time of need arises. It seems that the people who complain the most about someone getting help are those people who have never served. They, also, seem to be the ones most happy about sending people off to war. I wonder, NC, what branch did you serve in? "...And once you're gone, you can't come back When you're out of the blue and into the black." Neil Young

I find it kinda idiotic that skydivers (at least us who actually skydive) would be arguing about fuel waste, considering the vast amount of fuel that is wasted soley to jump out of an airplane when we all can easily become BASE jumpers and save the fuel for better use. If Pelosi actually demanded this plane then I could understand the arguement but, she didn't demand anything so, the arguement is completely meritless. "...And once you're gone, you can't come back When you're out of the blue and into the black." Neil Young