Red Cross warns blood donors of possible ID thefts in Midwest:

About 1 million blood donors in the Missouri-Illinois Blood Services Region of the American Red Cross were warned last week that personal information about them could have been stolen earlier this year by a former employee and might have been used in identity thefts.

The former worker had access to 8,000 blood donors in a database she used in her job, all of whom were notified by mail of possible identity theft problems on March 17, according to the agency. But after the original warning letters went out, the Red Cross decided to expand the identity theft warnings to all 1 million donors in the Missouri-Illinois region because of concerns that she may have accidentally accessed other records in the larger group.

They don’t need your Social Security Number to take your blood. But by asking for it and putting it in their computers, they made it available to someone with less than honest intentions who would work for them for minimum wage.

Remember, just say no to SSN, boys and girls.

Star Trek blade seized:

THIS five-foot martial arts sword capable of beheading a man was recovered by shocked cops in a house raid.

The terrifying Batleth weapon is identical to one wielded by Klingon aliens in the Star Trek sci-fi films.

Officers seized the three-handled sword — which has huge pointed blades at either end — at a home in Gloucester.

It would be funny if, deep down, I wasn’t afraid that these brilliant ideas–seizing all knives and knife turn-in amnesty programs and the eventual outlawing of the fetal position as a defense because it offends those who’ve had abortions–were impossible here.

You know that extra room in your house? The city of Chesterfield, Missouri, has taken control of it, or at least who can room in it: Council approves ban on renters in houses:

Although they added an exception for foreign exchange students, Chesterfield lawmakers approved legislation that prevents homeowners from renting rooms in their houses.

City officials – and some residents – have insisted the practice can lead to excessive crowding, parking difficulties, more transients, and other neighborhood nuisances.

Other residents, who spoke to the City Council on May 15, protested that renting rooms can be a valuable aid to young students and elderly homeowners.

Besides, the single occupant isn’t high enough density. If you’ve got a spare room in your house, the city of Chesterfield will put a retail outlet of some sort in it, since that’s the best use of your downstairs bedroom from their perspective. And they’ll stick you with the bill to make your walk-out basement ADA-compatible.

In a shocking turn of events, the prosecutors are eager to begin:

Those who violate the law will be subject to a fine of up to $1,000 or jail time of up to three months.

Tim Engelmeyer, the city’s prosecuting attorney, favored the bill and recently told city officials in an E-mail that the law would “protect the integrity of our neighborhoods.”

As a bonus to eroding property rights, it will also generate revenue! What’s not to like about it?

Other than the erosion and generation parts to the benefit of a government, I wholeheartedly support bending the dangerous individual to the will of the community.

Time to dump some textbooks into the Milwaukee River, what with unelected representatives levying their own taxes:

A budget endorsed Tuesday by the Milwaukee Area Technical College Board would increase the school’s tax levy 5% in the coming fiscal year, outpacing inflation and contradicting the growing anti-tax sentiment in the state.

After breathing a sigh of relief that the Legislature had failed to pass constitutional tax and spending limits earlier this month, the board backed a budget that would increase spending about 6.3%, based on current projections.

The $309 million MATC has budgeted for 2006-’07 represents a 32.4% increase from its spending at the start of the decade and tops the rate of inflation for that period by roughly 14 percentage points.

Contradicting the anti-tax sentiment? I’d say not; these bureaucrats are actually acting on it and feathering their nests while they can, because taxpayer relief of some sort will pass in Wisconsin, accidentally, one of these days, and the tax districts want to make sure that they get as much loot as they can before they’re leashed. And if it never comes to pass, well, it’s even better, as it’s a precedent for ever-inflating percentages into perpetuity.

Over at Boots and Sabers, Owen thinks it’s wonderful. He’s being sarcastic.

This kid has skills:

A Boston defense attorney was nearly strangled to death in a courtroom yesterday by his shackled client – an accused killer whose case he had unsuccessfully sought to drop.

That’s the sort of talent one can leverage into a long NBA career.

Bonus flashback: My 1997 riff on Sprewell: The Cynic Express(d) 1.11: Barbarians at the Gates.

(Link seen on Wizbang!)

In Illinois, Rod Blagojevich wants to privatize the lottery:

Gov. Rod Blagojevich on Tuesday proposed selling or leasing the state lottery to raise $10 billion as part of a plan to reform Illinois schools.

His proposal includes $1.5 billion for school construction, performance pay for teachers and the consolidation of school districts.

As a libertarian, I stand in favor of all fornicating, liquoring, and gambling. As a matter of fact, I would do Rod one better: instead of offering a government-sponsored monopoly on number-running, why not let everyone do it?

Sorry, I guess getting the government to give up one of the things it’s seized from the syndicates is a start toward a libertarian paradise.

But that it comes from Illinois, and Blagojevich, irkles me.

FTC sees no illegal gas price manipulation

Because you’re not going to hear that particular rest in the grand anti-free market symphony conducted by our revered leaders in the media and legislatures.

Whereas the Chicago Tribune quotes a helpful, neutral expert (registration required) who suggests improvements for workplace productivity:

“If you’re watching video, you’re probably not working,” said Vimal Solanki, director of product marketing at McAfee Inc., a software vendor whose products to block Web access are selling briskly.

Not to be outdone, the makers of Stadium Pal not that if employees are going to the bathroom, they’re probably not working, either.

(Link seen on this little blog out of Tennessee run by an obscure academic. Click through! He could use 1/10th of my traffic.)

Ginned-up story of the day: Using Internet for drug deals is not unusual, authorities say:

While the wide array of drugs seized from a student’s car this week at Lutheran High School South struck authorities as unusual, the suspicion that a supplier used the Web to get them here was not.

No word on the obvious use of that dangerous technology the automobile in the lead, but there’s that demon Web.

Authorities indicate that with a broad enough band, you can download drugs right into your computer:

Investigators said they have indications that some of the seized drugs were obtained from Bosnia via the Internet.

But thanks to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch for recycling this story from 1995 and reprinting it. One must wonder if a glance through its archives would have found a story a little over a hundred years ago explaining how madams were using stagecoaches to get women to their cathouses.

Some creative pruning of firearms:

He brought a rifle to school Monday. The stalk had been cut off the gun. Benton was arrested.

(Link seen on Ravenwood’s Universe.)

The CEO of Boeing gives a speech at Saint Louis University, sponsored by the Boeing Institute of International Business at SLU’s John Cook Business School. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports Boeing chief skips mention of scandal in speech:

Boeing Co. Chairman Jim McNerney’s first public speech in St. Louis was filled with historical references: Lewis and Clark, the real story behind the invention of the Post-it and why aviation pioneer James S. McDonnell set up shop here nearly 70 years ago.

However, in his speech on Tuesday, McNerney steered clear of a recent development in Boeing’s history: a $615 million settlement with the Justice Department that allows Boeing to avoid admitting wrongdoing and criminal prosecution on corruption charges.

"Reporter" Tim McLaughlin goes on to list a number of scandals and shoddy business practices that preceded the CEO’s assumption of the Chief Executive post. McLaughlin then throws in an aside to why he thinks the CEO should half turned the collegiate appearance into a weepy, mea-culpa Oprahesque piece of failure and redemption at the audience’s pity:

Not mentioning the scandals and the subsequent tentative settlement in the speech was notable, given that McNerney left 3M Co. to rebuild Boeing’s reputation.

That’s nothing but a self-justification for this particular story list of anti-Boeing bullet points.

Meanwhile, we at MfBJN note that McLaughlin didn’t bother to mention the St. Louis Post-Dispatch‘s declining circulation or job cuts in this article. We have to wonder why not?

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch today makes equivalent two statements from two very different men (Guards on border: Bistate leaders splitting on plan).

Missouri Governor Matt Blunt:

“As commander in chief of the Missouri National Guard, I stand ready to assist in the border control efforts the president outlined and know that Missouri’s men and women in uniform are more than prepared for this challenge,” Blunt said.

“Missouri’s National Guard personnel have answered the call of our federal government many times in the past and were among the first in the nation to help the storm-ravaged Gulf Coast last year. It is a high honor for me to be associated with such a committed group of patriots,” he said.

Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich:

But Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich said that after five years during which Bush had largely ignored immigration issues, he should not seek to boost border security in a manner Blagojevich said would be at the expense of homeland security.

He said Bush had already left National Guard units underequipped and stretched too thin, and he expressed concern that the Guard would be weakened further if it were now asked to police the borders, said his deputy press secretary, Abby Ottenhoff. States rely on the National Guard to respond to disasters at home.

The governor called for more answers from Bush about how he plans to protect states if Guard units are diverted to the nation’s borders.

Of course, they have two different biographies.

Matt Blunt:

Matt Blunt, Missouri’s 54th governor was elected on November 2, 2004, carrying 101 of Missouri’s 114 counties.

Governor Blunt was born November 20, 1970 in Springfield, Missouri. He attended public schools in Strafford, and graduated from Jefferson City High School prior to entering the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland.

Prior to his election as governor, Matt Blunt served as an active duty Naval Officer, as a member of the Missouri General Assembly (District 139) and as Missouri’s 37th Secretary of State.

Governor Blunt graduated from the Naval Academy in May 1993 with a bachelor of science degree in history. He went on to serve as an Engineering Officer aboard the USS JACK WILLIAMS (FFG-24) and as the Navigator and Administrative Officer on the USS PETERSON (DD-969).

Governor Blunt’s active duty service included participation in Operation Support Democracy, involving the United Nations blockade of Haiti, missions to interdict drug traffic off the South American coast, and on duties involved in the interdiction of Cuban migrants in 1994.

During his Naval career, Governor Blunt received numerous commendations, including four Navy and Marine Corps Achievement medals.

Governor Blunt is the only statewide official in Missouri history called to active military duty in wartime, serving for six months in Operation Enduring Freedom, America’s response to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. He is currently serving as a Lieutenant Commander in the Naval Reserves.

Rod Blagojevich:

Rod R. Blagojevich was sworn in as the 40th Governor of Illinois on January 13, 2003.

As Illinois’ chief executive officer, Gov. Blagojevich is working aggressively to create jobs, build stronger communities, provide Illinois families the tools they need to improve their lives, and restore the people’s confidence in state government.

Gov. Blagojevich’s top priority is ensuring access to quality health care for every child in Illinois. Nearly 250,000 children in Illinois are uninsured and many come from working and middle class families who earn too much to qualify for programs like KidCare, but not enough to afford private health insurance. That is why Gov. Blagojevich proposed and signed legislation creating the All Kids program. All Kids makes Illinois the first state in the nation to make sure every child has access to comprehensive and affordable health care coverage. Illinois’ uninsured children will now have access to doctor’s visits, hospital stays, prescription drugs, vision care, dental care and medical devices like eyeglasses and asthma inhalers. Parents will pay monthly premiums for the coverage, but rates for middle-income families will be significantly lower than they are on the private market.

Let’s cut through the first three quarters of Blagojevich’s “biography,” since they’re really nothing more than campaign promises. For substantive biographic information, we get:

Prior to his election, Gov. Blagojevich was a Cook County Assistant State’s Attorney. During his tenure, he prosecuted domestic abuse cases and felony weapons charges, which made him a strong advocate for tougher sentencing laws when he was elected to the General Assembly in 1992.

In 1996, he was elected to represent Illinois’ 5th District in the U.S. House of Representatives. While a congressman, he secured funding for after-school tutoring programs and distinguished himself as an advocate for education. He was also a leader in the fight to establish a Patients’ Bill of Rights, to assure prompt access to mammograms, and to require higher safety and care standards at nursing homes.

So one of these governors has served in the military, and one of these governors has served himself in the government employ. Personally, I’d take the insight from the one with actual experience in the field more than the insight from the one whose insight runs to electoral campaigns.

But I’m not a real journalist, so I’m missing the beauty of the direct opposition of their viewpoints and how they build drama and conflict into something that’s much of a story with which to begin.

So the plan is to put 6,000 of our military troops on the border in advisory sorts of roles. Am I the only one who looks at this and sees the possibility for an escalation of sorts?

Because it’s one thing for those reputed Mexican Army incursions to barnstorm across the border and pop off a few rounds at U.S. Border control officials, but it will be another thing entirely to have an exchange with the United States military. As a sometime fiction writer, I can see how easily one or more of these sorts of incidents would lead to a hot pursuit into Mexican territory, and suddenly we have a whole new another Mexican Expedition underway.

It’s easy to forget, with our current public education-enforced historical myopia, just how ultimately unpeaceful our relationship has been with Mexico.

Update: Okay, so I’m not the first to remember Pancho Villa.

Border troops would be temporary, US tells Mexico

Because they’ll only be on the border before the invasion.

CNN tries to gin up the old outrage that Report: Mentally ill troops forced into combat, wherein only troops who aren’t down in the dumps go off to war.

No, CNN, you’re missing the bigger scandal: The American military is violating the Americans with Disabilities Act by sending those troops off to war without their emotional needs dogs.

Look at what can happen when you cannot tell the difference between a compound sentence and a compound predicate:

A man’s sexual fetish crosses the line into the bizarre and is now wanted by police.

The world must be a much more interesting place for the ignorant.