This one is a dumb move by the government

According to an article in the washington post, the Pentagon and CIA have asked the White House to come up with a long term plan for detainees that they don't expect to take to trial due to lack of evidence and that they don't want to return to the countries. The really scary part is that they are apparently considering lifetime detentions. Awesome! Lifetime detentions without a trial, what the hell? When did we become Stalinist Russia, China or Iraq under Hussein. I understand the risk of letting someone out who we might have to fight again, but on the other hand, this move (if it happens as they are discussing), just makes us look worse to the rest of the world when we need to look like we are taking the high road. Locking someone up for the rest of their life without due process sounds like something that would happen in China or North Korea, smells like political prisoners to me. You can read the article here from the Washington Post and also on Yahoo:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A41475-2005Jan1.html
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=1802&ncid=716&e=20&u=/washpost/20050102/ts_washpost/a41475_2005jan1

Interesting highway plan in Texas

Here is an interesting idea from Rick Perry, the governor in Texas, is pushing for privately funded superhighways in his state. This idea has been proposed before, I remember a Kansas City to Chicago proposal that was not too hot of an idea, but this one just might be different. Texas has some unique transportation problems becuase of trade with Mexico and the immense truck traffic that goes with it. According to the story, the gov't would own the right of way, a private company would build and maintain the roads and also collect the tolls. It will be a mammoth project since it will have a very wide highway, rail for trains, and room for power and gas lines. You can read the article, from the LATimes via Yahoo, if you click the link. I would like to see the actual plans before I myself would make a judgement, but this just might work. As expected, sounds like Republicans are for it but Dems are against it. I know, who would have thought that Dems would be against privatizing something.
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=2026&ncid=716&e=28&u=/latimests/20050104/ts_latimes/texasthinkingbigontransportation

More Mad Cow

Uh oh, another case of Mad Cow disease in Canada. Makes you wonder when they will find another case here. As long as it doesn't reach the food supply. The scary thing is even though they changed the rules for what kind of feed cattle could eat (they changed it in 97), cows that consumed contaminated feed before that could have had it all this time. At least that risk should continue to go down as time goes by, but if it ever got into the food supply, the results would be terrible for the meat industry in this country. Lets hope it never happens.

You can read the story here, from AP via Yahoo:
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&e=4&u=/ap/20050103/ap_on_re_ca/canada_mad_cow

Sometimes life just ain't fair.............

In a shocking development, a federal appeals court overturned the ruling that had awarded Anna Nicole Smith nearly $90 million for the estate of her late hubbie, J. Howard Marshall II. It was a match made in heaven, a fairy tale in real life. Sounding just like a great movie, a twenty something stripper and former Playmate meets almost 90 year old gazillionaire, what else could it have been but true love? Click the link to read the story from AP via Yahoo:
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=503&ncid=786&e=5&u=/ap/20041231/ap_en_bu/playmate_s_battle

Sorry Anna, looks like you have to keep your day job.