http://urlet.com/mechanics.compendium 

or:

http://marijuanacannabis.wordpress.com/2008/07/16/top-10-cannabis-movie-quotes/

NAPOLI - Sette persone affiliate alla cosca  della ´ndrangheta Alvaro di Cosoleto ed al clan della camorra Di Lauro sono state arrestate dai carabinieri dei comandi  provinciali di Reggio Calabria e di Napoli, nell´ambito di una  inchiesta su un traffico internazionale di stupefacenti condotta dalla direzione distrettuale antimafia di Reggio Calabria.

Gli arresti sono avvenuti in Calabria, Campania e Liguria. Gli arrestati sono accusati di associazione per delinquere  finalizzata al traffico internazionale di stupefacenti. Le indagini sono partite da Napoli, all´epoca della guerra di camorra tra il clan Di Lauro e quello degli ´scissionisti´, che  insanguinò il quartiere Secondigliano. Gli investigatori hanno scoperto i ´rapporti commerciali´ esistenti sull´asse ´ndrangheta-camorra, finalizzati al traffico internazionale di droga. La sanguinosa faida tra i clan napoletani dei Di Lauro e degli Scissionisti provoco´ un brusco rallentamento dei traffici di droga, tale da indurre la organizzazione criminale calabrese a gestire autonomamente l´importazione di droga dalla Spagna, sfruttando i punti di
riferimento esteri già individuati. Gli esponenti dell´organizzazione - secondo quanto emerso
dalle indagini - agivano tra la Campania, la Calabria, l´Emilia Romagna, la Liguria e la Spagna, ciascuno con compiti specifici in ordine alle diverse fasi dell´importazione e della distribuzione della droga nel territorio nazionale. La cosca  calabrese aveva assegnato ad uno degli arrestati la liquidità necessaria a condurre le trattative per acquistare notevoli  quantitativi con la facoltà di concluderle autonomamente, saldando ogni singola fornitura. Attraverso un trafficante che
agiva in Spagna e in stretto contatto con i fornitori colombiani, la droga veniva importata a Reggio Calabria e conseguentemente inviata in Liguria e nell´Emilia Romagna, dove altri complici provvedevano alla distribuzione. La droga veniva trasportata su autocarri. Il 15 aprile 2006, a S. Bartolomeo a Mare i carabinieri del Nucleo Investigativo di Napoli sequestrarono sette chili di cocaina nascosti in  un´intercapedine di un autoarticolato.

l'Ora on-line

redazione@edizionidelvesuvio.com

If a Woman Chooses to have children the State sometimes deems her "Unfit" because our Elite/Elected Officials decide they don't like the way she raises her children...she's to poor, lacks education, drinks beer, smokes cigarettes and the list goes on and on.

These Elite/Elected Officials decide that in the "Best Interest" of the child we will take her/him away from this "Unfit" Mom.

The Elite/Elected Officials then give this woman's child to someone else. They like to call this little scheme Foster Care...where all the Elite/Elected Officials make money.

"Tuesday, the Madison County Sheriff's Office received a call about possible child abuse. Their investigation revealed the child had a broken right arm, an adult bite mark or marks on his right arm near his shoulder and a bruise on his right leg, according to the release.

The 21-month-old is a foster child and was in the care of Damien Walker on Monday, the release said.

Woolfork declined to provide additional information about the case because a child is involved.

A call to the Department of Children's Services was not immediately returned."

http://www.jacksonsun.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080718/NEWS01/807180310/1002

Protecting Habeas Corpus PDF Print E-mail

Human Rights USA has taken the lead role in challenging “habeas stripping” in several refugee and terrorism cases. Thus far, the courts have exhibited considerable reluctance to reach the core issue: whether aliens’, refugees’, or terror suspects’ fundamental rights to habeas review protected under the Suspension Clause have been violated. The courts instead try to avoid dealing directly with challenges to the constitutionality of habeas-stripping provisions contained in legislation passed by Congress, preferring instead to consider “alternative mechanisms” for judicial review. Unfortunately, the courts’ hesitance to deal fully with the issues raised by “habeas stripping” has contributed to the prolonged and arbitrary detention of hundreds awaiting habeas review. The government's strategy of forestalling considerations of the substantial merits of the claims raised in the terrorism cases -- by forcing the detainees and the courts to deal with procedural and jurisdictional issues -- has enjoyed considerable success, at the expense of affording proper legal remedies to those detained individuals.

Human Rights USA continues pushing the courts to issue clearer guidance on “habeas stripping” and has filed briefs in a number of cases pending at all levels of the federal court system. For example:

* We challenged (and are still in the process of challenging) the placing of restrictions on access to habeas corpus proceedings in terrorism cases.
* Our organization challenged the use of special military tribunals (as opposed to regular criminal courts) to prosecute alleged terrorists, particularly in cases like Al-Marri (543 U.S. 809 (2004)) which involve U.S. residents.

The Military Commissions Act of 2006 was passed by Congress in response to the Supreme Court's landmark ruling in Hamdan v. Rumsfeld, which held that President Bush could neither detain terror suspects without providing some level of due process, nor detain terror suspects without Congressional authorization. The MCA, in addition to authorizing the detention of terror suspects, also purports to eliminate access to habeas corpus for Guantanamo detainees. The MCA further restricts judicial review in terrorism cases by:

* Granting immunity from lawsuits to CIA agents and U.S. officials carrying out renditions to torture and other abuses against terrorists; and
* Making Geneva Convention protections unenforceable in U.S. courts.

Human Rights USA has filed a complaint with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, challenging these policies as violations of international law. We have also encouraged criminal prosecutions, in the U.S. and abroad, of high-level U.S. officials implicated in torture abuses.

See below for documents related to our challenges to restrictions on habeas corpus:

Al Odah:

* Our amicus brief filed in support of Khaled Al Odah, raising the arguments that the Geneva Conventions apply to all detainees and are judicially enforceable in habeas proceedings, and that the Legislative Branch's Authorization of the Use of Military Force (AUMF) does not authorize the government to violate international law.
* Our subsequent amicus brief in support of Al Odah, after the passage of the Detainee Treatment Act of 2005 (DTA), arguing that all detainees have access to habeas corpus to challenge their detention, notwithstanding the "habeas-stripping" provisions of the DTA.
* Our additional amicus brief , arguing against the retroactive application of the DTA to detainee cases in which habeas petitions had already been filed, and also charging that the revocation of access to habeas corpus constitutes a violation of the Suspension Clause, because the DTA does not provide an adequate and effective alternative to habeas corpus.

Criminal Complaints:

* Human Rights USA's Criminal Complaint filed with Attorney General John Ashcroft in 2004, requesting the investigation and prosecution of U.S. officials implicated in the torture of detainees.
* Our Letter and Memorandum to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales in 2006, urging for the appointment of independent counsel to investigate and prosecute crimes associated with "extraordinary renditions."
* Formal request for a hearing before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights of the Organization of American States, filed in 2007, to investigate whether the Military Commissions Act of 2006 violates international law, treaties, and human rights standards.

World Organization for Human Rights USA - Protecting Habeas Corpus.

Seattle police seize marijuana patient files

Seattle police seized files on nearly 600 medical marijuana patients when officers searched the headquarters of a patient support group, activists said Wednesday.

By GENE JOHNSON

AP Legal Affairs Writer

The search occurred Tuesday after a nearby police bicycle officer reported the smell of marijuana. Martin Martinez, who runs the Lifevine cooperative as well as Cascadia NORML, the local chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, said no one was arrested but officers seized about 12 ounces of marijuana in addition to the patient files and a computer.

There were no marijuana plants growing there, Martinez said. He is a longtime advocate of legalizing the medical use of marijuana, following a severe motorcycle crash that left him with nerve damage in 1986. Three other patients authorized to use pot under Washington's medical marijuana law were also present when officers arrived at the office, which does not dispense marijuana, he said.

more:  http://urlet.com/dictates.jump

Después de mantener el caso en secreto durante más de un año, la fiscalía federal de Miami llegó a un acuerdo con los abogados de uno de los empresarios más cercanos al presidente venezolano Hugo Chávez sobre un avión ejecutivo confiscado en mayo de 2007 por la Dirección Antinarcóticos (DEA).

Según el acuerdo, la empresa American Food Grain (AFG), cuyo propietario es Ricardo Fernández Barruecos, tendrá que pagar al gobierno federal $1.1 millones como multa parcial y se compromete a poner en venta la aeronave, evaluada en más de $5 millones.

El acuerdo estipula reiteradamente que el avión, con matrícula N700SA, fue decomisado a AFG solamente por el tipo de matrícula con que lo registraron en Estados Unidos.

La aclaración se debe a que en un informe preliminar la DEA planteó que la utilización de la matrícula "N' es un recurso usado con frecuencia por narcotraficantes y lavadores de dinero para evitar inspecciones en los aeropuertos internacionales.

"Quisimos que en la estipulación, y el gobierno aceptó, quedase bien claro que no hubo ninguna actividad ilegal relacionada con el narcotráfico, que no hay cargos criminales, sino un problema con el registro del avión, que él [Fernández] ha reconocido', dijo el abogado de Fernández, Joseph DeMaría, del bufete Tew Cárdenas de Miami.

DeMaría afirmó que su firma investigó en toda América Latina y que no encontró "absolutamente nada' que indicara que el avión se haya usado para alguna actividad ilegal.

Las empresas de Fernández han sido los principales proveedores de alimentos del programa Mercal del gobierno de Venezuela. Fernández, de 43 años, es considerado uno de los pocos empresarios de confianza de la familia Chávez. Se ganó esta posición tras su cooperación con el gobierno en el abastecimiento de la población durante el paro patronal de 2002.

A raíz de los contratos oficiales, su empresa matriz de alimentos, Proarepa, multiplicó sus ingresos, lo que permitió a Fernández y a su familia vincularse a grandes proyectos de inversión en astilleros y embarcaciones de pesca en Panamá y Ecuador.

En virtud del acuerdo, AFG a debe entregar el avión a una firma intermediaria para que lo ponga en venta. El producto de la venta será para la empresa, previo pago al gobierno de la suma acordada. La AFG se compromete además a no formular ninguna denuncia contra los funcionarios que participaron en la confiscación.

Según la ley, para comprar una aeronave y mantenerla con matrícula de Estados Unidos el comprador debe ser ciudadano estadounidense o pertenecer a una empresa en la que dos terceras partes de los propietarios sean ciudadanos de este país.
La AFG es una sociedad registrada en Delaware y en cuya junta figuran como directores Fernández, Arturo Minarro, y como secretario Wladimir Abad (quien registró una dirección de Miami). Ninguno es ciudadano estadounidense.

Sin embargo, el avión, un Raytheon Hawker 800 modelo 1981, obtuvo la matrícula N. El 17 de mayo la aeronave fue confiscada en Fort Lauderdale.

DeMaría explicó a El Nuevo Herald que Minarro "actuó incorrectamente' y registró la aeronave en este país "sin el consentimiento' de los propietarios.

Cuando Fernández se enteró de la confiscación del avión, agregó DeMaría, "fue el primer asombrado pues siempre ha cumplido la ley'.

El informe premliminar de confiscación de la DEA no se incluyó en el expediente del caso. Cuando la fiscalía federal conoció en diciembre pasado que un reportero de este diario publicó una información basándose en dicho documento, uno de los fiscales adjuntos exigió al periodista la devolución de la copia y el retiro de la noticia de la página internet del periódico, argumentando que esa información estaba bajo reserva de sumario.

El documento fue obtenido por el reportero en la secretaría del tribunal.

El Nuevo Herald cumplió la primera solicitud de la fiscalía pero no retiró la información de su página de internet, que ya se había publicado en el periódico impreso.

En el expediente se radicó un nuevo reporte de confiscación en que el gobierno insiste que el avión fue decomisado exclusivamente por el problema de la matrícula y no menciona ninguna relación con el narcotráfico ni el lavado de dinero.

Fuente: GERARDO REYES, El Nuevo Herald

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A baby's smile does more than warm a mother's heart -- it also lights up the reward centers of her brain, according to the results of a brain imaging study.

The finding, investigators say, could go a long way in helping researchers dissect the unique bond between mother and infant and how it sometimes goes wrong.

"The relationship between mothers and infants is critical for child development," Dr. Lane Strathearn, of the Human Neuroimaging Laboratory at Baylor College of Medicine, Houston noted in a statement.

"For whatever reason, in some cases, that relationship doesn't develop normally. Neglect and abuse can result, with devastating effects on a child's development," Strathearn explained.

Strathearn and colleagues used magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to scan the brains of 28 first-time mothers of 5- to 10-month-old infants while they looked at photos of their own babies and other infants.

In some of the photos babies were smiling or happy. In others, the infants were sad and in some they had neutral expressions.

The investigators found that when the mothers saw their own infants' faces, key areas of the brain associated with reward lit up during the scans, suggesting increased blood flow to that area.

The areas stimulated by the sight of their own babies were those involved in thinking, movement, behavior and emotion. "These are areas that have been activated in other experiments associated with drug addiction," said Strathearn.

"It may be that seeing your own baby's smiling face is like a 'natural high,'" the investigator added.

The strength of mom's reaction depended on her baby's facial expression. "The strongest activation was with smiling faces," Strathearn said. There was less effect from pictures of their babies with sad or neutral expressions.

"We were expecting a different reaction with sad faces," the researcher explained. In fact, the team found little difference in the reaction of the mothers' brains to their own babies' crying face compared to that of an unknown child.

Overall, the mothers responded much more strongly to their own infants' faces than to those of an unknown baby.

"Understanding how a mother responds uniquely to her own infant, when smiling or crying," Strathearn said, may be the first step in understanding the neural basis of mother-infant attachment.

SOURCE: Pediatrics, July 2008.

Source

“Information from intelligence and investigations on narcoterrorism that we have carried out identifies ties between Mexican narcotics traffickers, [and] those of the Philippines and Colombia, with elements belonging to foreign organizations designated as terrorists by the [U.S.] Department of State,” the NDIC document indicates. Based on information from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), and Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), the NDIC document emphasized: “The results of 74 investigations of narcoterrorism that have been carried out by the Special Operations Division of the DEA document that Islamic groups present on the common border of Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay launder money, sell arms and traffic drugs of the main Mexican criminal organizations. “

The document indicates that the majority of the Islamic groups represented in South America are tied to the Palestinians, and that they use their earnings gained from relationship with narcotics traffickers from Mexico and the rest of Latin America to finance their causes.

It identifies the groups Hezbollah, Hamas, the Palestine Liberation Front, the Palestine Liberation Organization, and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine as the Arab associates of narcotrafficking cartels from Mexico.

No relationship with Chávez for example?

Technorati Tags: Mexico, drug+traffickers, Mexican+drug+cartels, terrorism, DEA, Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, South+America, Palestine, Hezbullah, Hamas, Palestine+Liberation+Front, Popular+Front+for+the+Liberation+of+Palestine

Marijuana Policy Project. Posted July 14, 2008.

http://urlet.com/flexibility.trumps

"The DEA is accustomed to seizing the ill-gotten gains of alleged drug dealers: Rolexes, assault rifles, the occasional Mercedes-Benz. But when a federal jury indicted Tennessee physician Rosaire "Ross" DuBrule last year and charged him with violating controlled-substances laws, the DEA seized $4 million worth of his personal property stored in a series of safe-deposit boxes.

They include a 1909 card of St. Louis Cardinal Bill O'Hara (T-206 Polar Bear Cigarettes) worth $6,000, a 1912 card of Detroit Tiger Ty Cobb (3, Series of Champions T227) worth $15,000, and a 1952 card of New York Giant Willie Mays (Topps 261) worth $3,000."

Does John make flights to other countries to bring drugs back to the US? He says he does...he says it's for the "DEA"...Does the DEA know you make flights to smuggle illegal drugs for them? I'll bet that would come as a surprise to them! LOL!

See you there!

http://catharsis.scriptmania.com/

State erroneously sent database of patients to Big Island newspaperBy Derrick DePledge
Advertiser Government Writer

Angry telephone calls started coming in to the state Department of Public Safety almost as soon as the June 27 issue of the Hawai'i Tribune-Herald hit the streets.

A front-page article on medical marijuana mentioned that the department had provided a database with patient names and addresses, the locations of their plants, their certificate numbers, and their prescribing doctors.
....{snip}....

On Monday, Clayton Frank, the department's director, sent letters of apology to the 4,200 medical marijuana patients statewide, informing many who had not read the article that their confidential information had been compromised.

....{snip}....

The privacy breach is another wound for activists who watched as a proposal at the state Legislature to expand the program was reduced to a task force and then vetoed by Gov. Linda Lingle on Tuesday. The state Senate voted in a one-day special session to override the veto, but the state House did not take up the bill, so the veto stands.

State Rep. Joe Bertram III, D-11th (Makena, Wailea, Kihei), wanted to create a secure growing facility on Maui and expand the amount of marijuana patients can legally possess but settled for a task force at the University of Hawai'i that would study cultivation and other issues surrounding the law.

Gov. Linda Lingle, in her veto message, said the bill was "objectionable because it is an exercise aimed at finding ways to circumvent federal law. The use of marijuana, even medical marijuana, is illegal under federal law."

Bertram said the privacy breach, combined with the veto of the bill and the lack of a House override, shows a disregard for patients.

"It's a travesty," he said.

more:

 http://urlet.com/whose.upright

Hope you area all still having fun processing those images from the workshop. I have a new batch up now in my PBase account. Go ahead and check them out when you have a moment at www.pbase.com/dgaar

And keep posting your own work here or elsewhere as I am sure we are all interested to see what everyone is coming up with.

Take care.

David Gaar

Also on the ballot will be the Patients Access to Medical Cannabis Act of 2008. It would eliminate limits on the amount of medical marijuana that could be legally possessed by patients or caregivers, establish peer review for medical marijuana collectives to police themselves and allow medical marijuana dispensaries to locate where permitted without a public hearing. The initiative originally called Measure R in 2004, failed by 191 votes, or less than half a percent of the ballots cast.

An Alameda County Superior Court judge nullified the results due to mishandling of a recount by Alameda County election officials, and ordered the citizen-sponsored medical marijuana initiative back on the ballot for a revote in 2008.

http://www.insidebayarea.com/ci_9833900

"This year has been incredible, between marijuana, heroin and cash seizures," he said.

Shipping companies regularly cooperate with police and allow detectives to pose as their workers, according to news reports.

"We don't tolerate the illegal use of our network," said Matt Ceniceros, a FedEx spokesman. "When it is suspected that our network is abused, we work with the proper authorities to make sure it stops."

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/baltimore_city/bal-te.md.bust05jul05,0,6679255.story

Tim King Salem-News.com

Can an antiquated law from 1937 called the "Marihuana Tax Act" finally be turned around? Those guiding the passage of this new Oregon law will put the credibility and effectiveness of the 1937 legislation to the test.

(SALEM, Ore.) - A proposed law for Oregon would radically alter the availability of marijuana for adults, by allowing the herb to be purchased in liquor stores. The Oregonians For Cannabis Reform 2010, say the Oregonian Cannabis Tax Act would make cannabis products legal and available in a retail environment. Proponents say it will mean millions and millions of dollars for Oregon's state coffers and many predict that the move would literally salvage the state's unstable economy.

http://urlet.com/fabricate.properly

http://www.humboldtgrow.com/

One from the LA Times 
"The United States' so-called war on drugs brings to mind the old saying that if you find yourself trapped in a deep hole, stop digging. Yet, last week, the Senate approved an aid package to combat drug trafficking in Mexico and Central America, with a record $400 million going to Mexico and $65 million to Central America.
The United States has been spending $69 billion a year worldwide for the last 40 years, for a total of $2.5 trillion, on drug prohibition -- with little to show for it. Is anyone actually benefiting from this war? Six groups come to mind."

And One from Matt Hutchens from the MPP
"For almost forty years, America has been engaged in a war which has cost us trillions of dollars and ruined the lives of millions of our citizens. We have been fighting against drugs in a street war across the country. The definition enemy combatant has changed through the course of this conflict, first encompassing only the smugglers and distributors, then growing to include users, and now reaching beyond our borders to the farmers in the developing world who produce the source crops. Today we are told that all these parties are contributing to the forces of Terror, and that the whole chain of enemy forces is complicit in a conspiracy against us. If this were true, though, wouldn't we disarm our enemies by taking control of the economic forces that are the source of their power?"

Prohibition fails. Prohibition puts money in the hands of those who have no disregard for law, order, decency or justice. That money isn't taxed, or accounted for. It's laundered and used to buy guns. It's used to corrupt law enforcement officers. It's used ...more

Peter Kennedy for Salem-News.com

People have CB1 receptors in the brain. The body makes Anandamide to bond at CB1, and if you smoke marijuana that is where the THC likes to go.

(PORTLAND, Ore.) - Everybody needs Cannabinoids to be healthy. When your body does not produce sufficient cannabinoids, you need to supplement with medical marijuana to be healthy. When President Obama stops DEA raids on medical marijuana everything gets better: Health Care Costs, Medicare & Medicaid, PTSD Veterans, Auto Immune, Autism, ADHD & Chronic Pain Conditions. By encouraging scientific research, Obama will allow cannabis nutraceutical products to help everyone (when federal law allows), without the Pharmaceutical Industry or taxes or the VA.

This is ALL True. It is happening right now. Part of the solution to all these issues, exists in medical marijuana states. It is time to connect the dots of medical marijuana and the issues facing America today. We need to live, think & plan sustainably. We must create eco-friendly, economically sustainable solutions because Washington does not have any answers.

more:

http://urlet.com/summing.newhoo

I was the girlfriend for 2 1/2 years of John Talmage, owner of MONTANA DIAMOND AIRE. From the stupid things he said, to the stupid things I believed. The lies he told, and illegal activities he and the vipers participate in. Join me on my stroll through a no holds barred journey full of the unvarnished truth, insight, laughter and tears. As much as I would like it to be, the information and stories contained within my site are not a work of fiction.

Does John make flights to other countries to bring drugs back to the US? He says he does...he says it's for the "DEA"...Does the DEA know you make flights to smuggle illegal drugs for them? I'll bet that would come as a surprise to them! LOL!

See you there!

http://catharsis.scriptmania.com/

The comfort and security of affluent areas are selling points for criminals, officials say.

By George Anastasia

Inquirer Staff Writer

They were living the American dream.

A lavish home in the suburbs. Fine clothes and jewelry. Expensive cars. All financed, if federal investigators are correct, with narco dollars.

While the description was applied most recently to the lifestyle of Vicente and Chantal Esteves, a young couple arrested on charges of running an international cocaine distribution network from their home in Monmouth County, it could apply to a number of convicted or suspected drug kingpins whose cases have surfaced in the last two years.

They live in comfortable, upper-middle-class communities where BMWs are commonplace, swimming pools dot many backyards, and the school system is top-notch.

And they accumulate the kind of luxury items - authorities found nearly 100 Rolex watches and 100 pairs of Prada shoes in the Esteves residence - that separate the really wealthy from the merely well-to-do.

"It was an enterprise concealed in suburbia," said DEA Agent Douglas S. Collier, spokesman for the agency's Newark office that worked the Esteves case. "They had so much money they didn't know what to do with it."

Full Article

A flash memory card was discovered on Lieutenant Georges Nava Zurita during his arrest following the bombing of the TV station in Yacuiba. The information on the card, according to the information provided by the government, is of an alleged civil war and contains references to "special groups": of the National Police connected with the US Drug Enforcement Agency(DEA).
The documents are divided into categories called "negotiation" and "action".  The documents under "Negotiation" involve the discussions between the government and the prefects about the Hydrocarbons Tax (HDI), discussions about the autonomy statues, and comments on various events in Bolivia during that time. The "actions" section talks about alleged acts of terrorist organizations working against the government. These actions are designed to build the resouces necessary to equip paramilitary groups within Bolivia. Other actions include road blockades and strikes to be implemented by the opposition. "Actions" for the last quarter of this year include a possible coup and assassination of the president with support from the government opposition. In December, a civil war would be started in the Altiplano. A quote from one file reads "The opposition will create fear, racism and ideological confrontation to make it seem that critical factors converged to trigger a confrontation were people are killed."

99.999% of the time I would say, "NO WAY!" 

Not this time though, this is one I would grab up with absolutely no reservations.  I know it's crazy, and you can't trust anyone...but this card is being sold by none other than the man ON the card, Pro Bowl TE Chris Cooley.

He talks about how he recently got back into collecting (there goes your painting hobby, Chris!) and a ton of other stuff on his blog (an interesting place to visit, where else can you see Mrs. Cooley throwing a jab at the jaw of Clinton Portis?)  Speaking of his painting hobby, the guy isn't half bad!  He is also selling a painting he did of himself on ebay.  This is an ebay account worth keeping an eye on, I hope he keeps this enthusiasm and keeps putting unique memorabilia out there for the fans.

Now - on the complete other side of collecting news...

 Dr. Rosaire "Ross" DuBrule,  Democratic hopeful for the Tennessee House of Representatives,  had a very nice collection of cards, until they were taken from him...by the feds.

Reportedly, a T206 Ty Cobb, a Goudey DiMaggio, a 1964 Topps Killebrew, and many more are currently in the possession of the DEA.  His siezed collection was assesed at over a quarter-million dollars.

Last year, DuBrule was indicted for allegedly selling pain killer perscriptions to undercover agents, and last month led police on a high-speed chase trying to avoid arrest for DUI.  The cards were just part of over $4 million in personal property siezed by the DEA as evidence. 

Now, he has until July 22 to contest the seizure of his cards (among other things), or they will likely be put up for auction by the government. 

The oddest part of this very odd story comes from the federal indictment--

Authorities raided [DuBrule's] Reelfoot Family Medical Center and found preprinted prescriptions, bags full of pills, knives, swords, and guns.  DuBrule was wearing a "bloody lab coat" and carrying a gun in his pants pocket.

Now, that's my kind of doctor!