Magnifisyncopathological

...and the annoying limits of modern wire journalism!

The AP via MyWay: Pot-Growing Takes Root in the Suburbs

In Coldwater Creek, a middle-class housing development outside Atlanta, the neighbors mind their own business and respect each other's privacy - ideal conditions, it turns out, for growing marijuana in the suburbs.

Police this month raided an utterly ordinary-looking red-brick house on the block and broke up a pot-growing operation with 680 plants arrayed under bright lights.

"You'd never know from the outside. I guess that's the idea," said Doug Augis, who lives with his pregnant wife and a toddler in Coldwater Creek. "That doesn't give you a really good feeling."

Copyright 2007 Associated Press. All right reserved.

This is a fascinating subject to me. I wish Errin Haines had published more of what he said or pushed a little harder for his reasoning behind it. I know it's nice to have Concerned Neighbor make an appearance in War on Drugs stories, but this guy is hinting at things with significance greater than or equal to the relentless state life-grinding machine.

Why, Mr. Augis? Why does that bother you?

Is it a wish to have an accurate picture of the people who live around your family? It's better to be told the truth than to be deceived by lies, I have no doubt about that.

Is it simply an emotional reaction to seeing a drug bust in your neighborhood? A group of men armed with paramilitary training and the ample will to use their firearms raided a home within shooting distance of yours. It was possible the growers were armed as well and they could have decided to fight it out.

Is it a reaction to knowing Drug People lived near you? I know that decades of government propaganda and media fear-mongering can take a heavy toll on one's objectivity. While I'm comfortable around many recreational drugs and drug users, there are instances where the distance between me and them isn't enough. Some people just don't know when to quit.

Is it your desire to know what others are doing inside their homes? I have neighbors whose public lifestyle and house exterior arouse great curiosity about the activities inside. Their lawn is fed a steady diet of beaten up trucks, empty bags of chips, and discarded cases of beer. My only face-to-face interaction was with a middle-aged Hispanic man wearing pants that had seen many construction projects who, in terrible English, eventually explained he wanted to borrow my phone to call his boss to pick him up the next morning.

Is it a subtle comment about the bizarre economic situations those in the recreational drug market face every day? Drug prohibition has driven billions of dollars and thousands of people underground to conduct their business. They want their production to be kept quiet and unknown, the opposite of a healthy market. I feel a sense of dread as I see people twist their legitimate lives into pretzels to avoid government attention and wonder what it holds for us in the future.

Or is it really a matter of wanting safety and security for you and yours at all costs, resulting, in practical reality, in the removal or elimination of anything that upsets you? What upsets you, in the case, is the "crime" of growing marijuana for profit and the attendant black market elements that are often involved with it. Well, we can safely say those black markets and the frequently dishonorable people who operate within in wouldn't exist if pot wasn't outlawed. There wouldn't be an artificial price premium attached to it and wouldn't nearly attract the current degree of organized crime's attention.

I'm sure there are other layers of possible explanation for your unpleasant feeling, Mr. Augis. If you ever run across this web page, feel free to e-mail me to give your side of the story.

Posted by drizzten at 09:00 AM | Permalink

The AP via Breitbart.com: Iran Says It Will Release Female Sailor

In Tehran, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini said the Britons were being treated well.

"They are in completely good health. Rest assured that they have been treated with humanitarian and moral behavior," Hosseini told the AP.

They've been kidnapped and are being held prisoner, man. That precludes the ability of your government to treat them morally.

Posted by drizzten at 01:40 PM | Permalink

Where is it? I want to see this society where private property owners are let free to do as they wish with what they own. Reveal the people who are free to charge as they wish for the goods and services they provide. Show me this land of zero taxation, zero regulation, and zero collective control over the market. Point me in the direction of the culture Bill Keegan speaks of so harshly.

When ya find it, lemme know. I'll be the guy standing alone over here, in the certainly-unfree United States of America, not holding his breath.

Posted by drizzten at 07:18 PM | Permalink

I would just like to mention that the Chick-fil-A Chicken, Egg & Cheese on Sunflower Multigrain Bagel is fucking delicious and it saved me from a morning of almost certain gastrointestinal loneliness.

Mmm-mmm!

I recommend getting it with a fruit cup as I did - if for nothing else than to feel better about the 20 grams of fat, 290mg of cholesterol, and 49 grams of carbs in that sucker.

Posted by drizzten at 10:44 AM | Permalink

The AP via News8Austin: House approves home protection bill

The House tentatively approved a bill Monday that would give Texans more legal ground to use force in defending their homes against intruders.

Annoying but good because, in reality, the moral right to do so was always there.

The bill would create a legal presumption that an intruder is there to cause death or great bodily harm and that victims have the right to use deadly force. Supporters of the bill, which has already passed the Senate, have said current law imposes a duty to retreat before using potentially deadly force on an intruder.

Copyright 2007 Associated Press, All rights reserved.

Meh, I'm not so hot on the first part up there. To begin with, it certainly isn't a given that all who invade your home are there to physically harm you. I think it hardly takes a leap of imagination to picture intruders chickening out and bolting the moment they see a resident walking in from the bedroom to investigate the noise he or she just heard. Similarly, while a percentage will decide to remain, another chunk will abandon their plans if the homeowner shows fearless offense at the invasion or a weapon. Most criminals want easy crimes and I'd bet a nontrivial percentage of them (assuming this is a solo break and enter) will have their willpower collapse the moment they figure out they may have to fight it out.

All that said, it doesn't mean a whit to the homeowner waking up to the sound of breaking glass in the living room. There's a stranger in your house and your stress levels skyrocket. Probably not thinking too hard about a study done in 2005 that estimates how many bad guys panicked and bugged out.

A second point is this legal necessity business of only being allowed to use "deadly force" in response to aggravated kidnapping, murder, sexual assault, aggravated sexual assault, robbery, or aggravated robbery. This troubling because it lays out the principle of the state assuming the authority to modify the boundaries of this class of human action as it desires. Current Texas law basically puts a legal burden on the victim of an invasion to refrain from deadly force unless a "reasonable person" would or could not have retreated and unless the invasion was in the home. Simply put, Texans have a "duty to retreat" from attack and only a sympathetic jury will save you from criminal repercussions if you stand your ground.

So what does House Bill 284 actually do? According to the House committee bill analysis:

To address these issues, C.S.H.B. 284 establishes the presumption that a criminal who unlawfully and forcefully enters or intrudes into a home, vehicle, place of business, or place of employment is there to cause death or great bodily harm, and a person may therefore use any manner of force, including deadly force, against that criminal. Said use of force is presumed to be both reasonable and necessary in these cases.

Again, this right never went away. The state's just been tampering with it. The explicit justification is weak, but these days it's hard enough to find a positive legislative outcome at all, let alone one that makes sense from bottom to top.

C.S.H.B. 284 explicitly states in law that a person has no duty to retreat if the person is attacked in a place where he has a right to be present,

Of course, there are two ways to interpret this. One is my way, which says the right to be present somewhere is not only limited to the somewhere you own, but also the somewhere owned by another who is allowing you to be there. The latter would be an extension of limited license to be present on property not owned by yourself, exactly what happens when you visit a friend or family member's home.

The other way is through some government-asserted "right," typically mentioned in the context of open public places such as parks and streets as well as the more insidious classification of businesses and workplaces as "public areas." I'm curious to see if anyone attempts that kind of argument in court if this law is passed.

...if he has not provoked the attacker,

Provoked is not defined in the Penal Code and I couldn't find an Attorney General Opinion on it either. In my opinion, "provoke" can mean a wide variety of things. It covers something as innocent as a badly-told joke all the way to repeated attempts to piss someone off. It doesn't imply causality, because individuals remain responsible for their actions. This wording is in the books now, so the potential for abuse is already out there. It would be a real bitch to have a mild verbal altercation get counted as a provocation under this statute and thereby have your "right" revoked if you defended yourself after the other person attacked you.

...and if the person using force is not engaged in criminal activity at the time the force is used.

Ha! I wonder what kind of time frame this is supposed to represent. Probably not merely the very second you engage in self-defense, but the preceding few minutes as well. This may actually be a rather big deal if you think about it.

A burglar breaks into your home. Better not be smoking pot!
A carjacker attacks as you get in your car. Better not have a license plate bracket installed!
A robbery begins at your bar. Better not snub the smoking ban!

Because you'll magically have that "duty to retreat" albatross hanging over your neck during the court proceedings. Of course, my damned literalism is in effect here when reading "criminal activity" and it may only count for big felonies...but I ain't holding my breath.

Finally, C.S.H.B. 284 creates a civil immunity to a civil action brought by an injured or killed criminal attacker or his family to apply to any force or deadly force conduct justified by any portion of Chapter 9 of the Penal Code.

Definitely a good thing because the criminal prick (or his/her bereaved) in the civil courts can cause plenty of damage on their own.

Representatives Joe Driver, Phil King, Robert Talton, Patrick Rose, and Debbie Riddle have, on balance, done a Good Thing here. While I think there are more pressing issues on which the state needs to act, this is a step in the right direction. Seems like a good reason to practice with my new .38 Taurus and think about a proper Shit Hits The Fan rifle for self-defense.

(well, that and the Assault Weapons Ban and Law Enforcement Protection Act of 2007...)

Anyway, this iteration of the Castle Doctrine doesn't address the glaring issue of the state invading your home and "provoking" you to meet them with force, a class of events that probably rank in the top three threats to our private property.

Posted by drizzten at 02:02 PM | Permalink

I attended more South by Southwest-related events this year than any other. This is hardly exhaustive of the music I wanted to hear. However, I'd need to take the week off and pay for the level of access I'd require to get that much out of the festival. In fact, it's a bit of a recurring spring break goal of mine.

Here's the essential breakdown:

On Thursday, Mr. Lewis and the Funeral 5 were set to open at the Longbranch Inn in the early afternoon with a free show. Unfortunately, their bassist didn't present herself. The States went ahead and hopped on stage and their rock/punk did well.


The Meat Puppets played a free show at The Parish Thursday at 4:30. I had little idea what to expect because I've heard perhaps only two of their songs, so my expectations were not broken. On the other hand, I honestly thought they'd be "harder" than the odd alt-country/light grunge/indie pop set they played.


Oliver Future played a set at Freddie's. I was there primarily to meet some people and have dinner, but they did entertain.


Mastodon played a free show at Auditorium Shores Saturday night. Excellent job, boys! Even considering the problems Brett Hinds was having with his vocals.

Posted by drizzten at 11:44 PM | Permalink

Isn't the Net a wonderful thing? I received an e-mail from Gregory Rossi asking me if I'd like to be interviewed for his "pop-oral history project featuring man-on-the-street interviews over a game of Connect Four," as his website puts it. Intrigued, I watched his video interviews on YouTube. Seemed like a fair-minded person, asking broad questions of average folks to get at what they think and what drives them. I agreed and we set a meeting date for 10 o'clock this morning.

From left to right: Jenny, Du (sp?), and Gregory

This was the very first time I've been interviewed and had a pleasant experience. Most of the "Connect" interviews dealt with very personal issues and mine was focused almost entirely on my politics and socio-economic beliefs. Other than a few moments of stumbling over my words, I am actually quite happy with how I did.

We set up in Waterloo Park on one of the elevated wooden platforms. I was worried about the weather because the forecasters were predicting rain today, but the sky remained overcast and the temperature moderate, sprinkling on us only once. I was glad to have the park to ourselves. Aside from a Brackenridge Hospital helicopter taking off and landing and a few ambulances tearing away to some medical emergencies, there weren't any distractions.

Greg and crew want to have their material edited and ready for submission to film festivals by the fall and have distribution by 2008, so hopefully there'll be a nice formal DVD or something to own.

...to see my own name on a screen five feet long and luminous...

I'm looking forward to seeing the final cut.

Me with Bodega Vision

And, damn it, he beat me in both games of Connect Four! I failed to break his Texas winning streak.

Posted by drizzten at 05:10 PM | Permalink

I've been itching to upgrade my DSL service for a while. It's been something like three years since I signed on for their DSL Starter package, which offers up to 384kbs download and 128kbs upload speeds. Fine for a single guy in a one bedroom apartment who does nothing but browse anime forums at night and blogs. Not enough for a three bedroom house with three desktop computers, one wireless laptop, a wirelessly-connected Xbox 360, and several friends who regularly bring their wireless laptops over. My needs have, ah, changed somewhat over time. Until today, the AT&T Account Manager website wouldn't let me upgrade, saying my service was ineligible for it.

I've also really wanted to combine my Cingular bill with my other AT&T/SBC statements. When I bought my house, I originally wanted their satellite TV/DSL/landline/cell phone package deal. Unfortunately, the satellite wouldn't work properly the way my house was positioned and I just got lazy with regards to the other services. When I did shake out of it and start poking around, I found that since I was a former AT&T Wireless customer with an account automatically migrated to Cingular, I couldn't combine my bills. Until today, the AT&T Account Manager website wouldn't let me do it.

However, a call to 1-877-722-3755 (a number they have on their DSL upgrade subsite) got me to probably the single most helpful, informative, and effective customer service representative to which I've ever spoken. I really wish I'd gotten her name because she blitzed through the bullshit. She told me upfront that the website often got the DSL upgrade eligibility wrong and quickly arranged for me to be boosted to their Internet Elite service: up to 6,000kbs download and 768kbs upload speeds...and at the price I was currently paying and with no ancillary equipment or service change charges! That took barely five minutes. My hopes were rising.

So I asked her about the Cingular billing thing.

She needed a little longer to do it, but she combined my land line/DSL bill with my cell phone, and saved me a few bucks off my total bill. All with a friendly and customer-oriented demeanor.

Kudos, folks. I've been with you for years and I certainly won't bail out now. Find more people like this and hire them!

Posted by drizzten at 10:16 AM | Permalink

For Immediate Release - Monday, March 5, 2007

On Monday, March 12, the Secular Coalition for America, a national lobbying group representing Americans who do not hold a god-belief, will make history by announcing the name of the first open nontheist member of Congress.

Elected officials who do not hold a god-belief are a rarity and only a few nontheist politicians have been open about their beliefs. Perhaps the most well-known was Robert G. Ingersoll, called the Great Agnostic. He was a famous orator and gave the nomination speech at the 1884 Republican Presidential Convention for James G. Blaine. Influential Illinois Republicans wanted Ingersoll to run for Governor, but on the condition that he conceal his agnosticism. Ingersoll refused and he never held elected office.

As put forward in law by the U.S. Constitution, "no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States." However, in practice politicians are compelled to expound on their religiosity forcing nontheists to keep quiet about their beliefs or opt out of pursuing public office.

With next Monday's historic announcement, the Secular Coalition for America (www.secular.org) hopes additional elected officials will self-identify as nontheists and establish that a god-belief is not a necessary prerequisite for public service.

For more information contact Lori Lipman Brown, director of the Secular Coalition for America, at http://www.secular.org/contact.html.

Some people are going to be mighty pissed off if they learn after an election that the person for whom they voted isn't a theist and decided to wait a few months after coming to office to not just publicly announce it, but announce it with the SCA.

Then again, something else seems afoot here:

Find an Atheist, Humanist, Freethinker Elected Official Contest

Jan. 17, 2007 update: Due to the large volume of entries received, contest results will be announced in mid to late February.

The Secular Coalition for America will award one thousand dollars ($1,000) to the person who identifies the highest level atheist, humanist, freethinker or other nontheist currently holding elected public office in the United States of America.

So this Congressman or Congresswoman might not be involved in this. If it's an outing then it might be even more interesting...particularly if there's an "R" after this person's name...

Posted by drizzten at 08:26 AM | Permalink

New York Times: What Starbucks Can Learn From the Movie Palace

Metering and charging for a service, of course, is the prerogative of any business owner in a free market.

I wonder how the NYTimes editorial staff let Randall Stross slip that past them. It stands in absolute contradiction to practically every single economic stance the paper has taken and advocates. They call for the interruption of the free market all the time and huge numbers of people generally agree with them.

In fact, one could easily make the case that the whole of most political philosophy these days revolves around finding new ways to deny that prerogative and to expand existing laws that violate it. As a statement of principle, you will find very few people who support a person's right to freely negotiate a sale with another person.

Posted by drizzten at 02:53 PM | Permalink

[Updates below.]

The guys did very well. Applause burst through a few of the several quiet instances they spaced throughout their songs and they were given a standing ovation when they concluded. They were just as shy and quick to enter and exit as they were during their performance at ACL 2006. I have The Earth Is Not A Cold Dead Place and All of A Sudden I Miss Everyone and am excited to see what their other albums have to offer. Given the choice between a seat at Hogg and standing inside at Emo's, I'm quite happy I chose the former. While EITS are very capable and willing to rock out, I think their music is just as suited to a more "formal" venue as a downtown rock joint and am very happy I was able to attend with my good friend.

Eluvium opened. I hadn't heard of him before and while I definitely liked what he played (electric piano and guitar played live and sampled on top of each other without percussion), towards the end I wanted something to emerge from the wall of noise, a melody or a pattern rather than it simply fading away. He's got a start. His piano skills, for example, are perfect for the mood he seems to seek, but I think his production needs direction before it grows into something truly memorable.

UPDATED 3/8/2007 12:04pm
Raoul Hernandez, in an Austin Chronicle blog, divulges the set list on the show Sunday night:

"First Breath After Coma"
"Welcome, Ghosts"
"Yasmin the Light"
"Six Days at the Bottom of the Ocean"
"What Do You Go Home To?"
"Catastrophe and the Cure"
"Your Hand in Mine"
"The Only Moment We Were Alone"

Track 3 was from Those Who Tell the Truth Shall Die, Those Who Tell the Truth Shall Live Forever. The only track they did not play from ...Cold Dead Place was "Memorial." They played four out of the six songs from their newest album.

Posted by drizzten at 01:25 PM | Permalink