You might not have seen this article - it was on the obituary page of our paper. A Charlotte, NC man is fined $1000 for using veggie oil in his car. He is theatened with further federal fines and told to get a permit to use biofuel he has to put up a $2500 bond. OK - so our laws have not kept up with the times once again. And while I agree that if we're going to fund our roads with fuel taxes then everyone needs to contribute their share - I think the state needs to back off and stop harassing these people until they get the system figured out and let everyone know what the rules are. News and Observer article HERE (obsolete link) and an interesting Slashdot discussion HERE.
I was moved to tears this morning hearing Ramsey Clark on NPR saying "if one wrong justifies another there will be no end to wrongs" in answer to criticism of his potentially defending Saddam Hussein in court. I wish our president and our new secretary of state believed this.
A very powerful statement against the incitement of mob violence that is going on by so called "political leaders". Watch the video but if you can't there's also a text version: Countdown With Keith Olbermann
The words politician and criminal have been long been synonymous but since the days of Tricky Dick many Americans have fought hard for open records laws and more transparent government. Great progress has been made and the Freedom of Information Act was a huge milestone. But politicians are constantly fighting back so keep their actions secret and ground is being lost again.
