Kudos to Colorado Saddlery.

In a program that works for both the company and prison inmates, inmates are at work creating custom-crafted riding saddles and earning $5.25 an hour instead of the 60 cents an hour the prison pays inmates. That means money to pay restitution to victims and child support, as well as money for a better start when they leave prison and return to society.

Saturday will be the final send-off for Hunter Thompson. 350 of his closest friends will be on hand at his Woody Creek, Colorado home outside of Aspen to witness his ashes being shot from a 153 foot tower. More details are available here.

Here are some additional news articles about the event, including details of the construction of the tower, the hefty security that will be on hand and the sentiment behind it:

• Hunter's Ashes Arriving in Armored Truck
• Hunter's Widow Talks About Send-Off

I'm sure one topic that will be discussed at the event on Saturday will be the outcome of the Lisl Auman case.

by TChris

Our Justice Department at work: When a federal judge rules against the government, don’t bother to comply with the judge’s rulings. Just look for another judge.

Nine years ago, native Americans sued the Interior Department, alleging that the department had mismanaged royalties from their lands for a century. Their complaints are bolstered by congressional findings that the department had failed to make an adequate accounting of 260,000 Indian trust accounts containing $400 million, and by Sen. John McCain, who says the government “never really even made any serious attempt at keeping track of the revenues” it owed to native Americans.

District Judge Royce Lamberth, presiding over the ligitation, has been critical of the Interior Department’s failure to account for the money it owes to tribes. The Justice Department faults Judge Lamberth for holding Interior Secretary Gale Norton in contempt of court and for reminding the government that it has a shameful history of swindling native Americans.

The surest way to tell a politician is in trouble is when all of a sudden he or she jumps on the "get tough on criminals" bandwagon. They see it as a magic carpet ride to re-election. The latest pol to use the ruse: California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. His approval ratings are dropping. His fix: Pander to the public with Tougher sex offender laws.

Tens of thousands of California sex offenders would be forced to wear electronic tracking devices for the rest of their lives under two new bills backed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

The bills, which also would boost punishment for a wide range of sex offenses, "will give California the strictest laws and the toughest penalties for the worst crimes,'' he said Tuesday....The governor plans a full-court press to garner support for the bill.

If the legislature won't pass the bills, Gov. Arnold says, he'll take it to the voters. Why bother to have a legislature at all then?

Just another reason, besides those pesky FBI background checks, never to run for office: Even your underwear, including dubious allegations about your purchases, is not off limits.

Page Six reports on Jeanine Pirro's purchases of expensive underwear from Victoria's Secret, based upon information offered by the manager of one of its stores in Rye, New York.

I really doubt Jeanine Pirro frequently buys "expensive" lingerie at Victoria's Secret. The store doesn't even have real designer brands. Check out Neiman Marcus, Saks, Bergdorf's and Bare Necessities if you want to know what brands women with money (over the age of 30) buy: It's Wolford, Wacaol, Donna Karan Intimates, La Perla, Dolce and Gabbana, Hanro, Le Mystere, Cosabella and the like.

I certainly don't want Jeanine Pirro to be elected Senator, but I think Page Six got taken on this one. Jeanine is one of the best-dressed women on tv. Whether she selects her own clothes, or more likely, whether her personal assistant brings her things for her approval, Victoria's Secret is unlikely to be a place she drops $600 every few months. As for returning items without a receipt, provided the sales tag is still on it and it hasn't been worn, Neimans and Saks allow it all the time - even months later. They would rather keep a frequent well-paying customer than haggle over the cost of a bra. Victoria's Secret ought to get with the program if it wants to play in the big leagues.

Lance Cpl. Edward Schroeder II is one of the 16 Marines from Ohio killed two weeks ago in Iraq. His funeral was yesterday. Today, his parents were interviewed and had some comments for President Bush.

The day after burying their son, parents of a fallen Marine urged President Bush to either send more reinforcements to Iraq or withdraw U.S. troops altogether. ''We feel you either have to fight this war right or get out,'' Rosemary Palmer, mother of Lance Cpl. Edward Schroeder II, said Tuesday.

...The soldier's father said his son and other Marines were being misused as a stabilizing force in Iraq.''Our comments are not just those of grieving parents,'' Paul Schroeder said in front of the couple's home. ''They are based on anger, Mr. President, not grief. Anger is an honest emotion when someone's family has been violated.''

The fallen marine's parents laud Cindy Sheehan, calling her the "Rosa Parks" of the new anti-war movement. They also asked Americans to speak out against the war.

''We want to point out that 30 people have died since our son. Are people listening?'' Palmer asked.

In a case that is gaining national attention, first time offender Kyle W. Sawin, a 17 year old honors student is facing a two year mandatory sentence for distributing six joints. He's being charged under a law that increases penalties for drug offenses near schools. But the nearby schools, four blocks away, were closed for the summer when the offense occurred.

The case proceeded to a jury trial. Two of the students "friends" flipped and testified against him. The jury hung. The prosecutor, David Capeless of Berkshire County, MA, insists on retrying the case, and refuses to drop the school-related portion of the charge.

"The notion that taking kids and putting them behind bars for two years in the name of justice is only going to increase the likelihood of ruining their lives," said Ethan Nadelman, executive director of the New York City-based Drug Policy Alliance. "You're derailing these kids for life. You're eliminating the possibility that they'll become productive adult citizens down the road."

Concerned Citizens for Appropriate Justice has a petition you can sign that will be forwarded to Capeless. It is also working with the Drug Policy Forum of Massachussetts to change the laws.

by TChris

A confidential Army report concludes (or so we’re told) that California’s National Guard “hadn't collected information on American citizens and hadn't designed a little-known intelligence unit to do so,” despite concerns that TalkLeft reported here. Is the report’s conclusion based on an unbiased and thorough probe of the available evidence? We don’t know, because the Army won’t tell us. We don’t even know what conclusions were drawn, because the precise findings of the investigation, like the rest of the report, have been shielded from public view.

Congressional eyebrows have risen in response to the Army’s invitation to “take our word for it”:

“Frankly, as someone who did not start out suspicious, getting the runaround doesn't make you feel any better about it,” said U.S. Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-San Jose. “If the Army wants to be believed, they need to be more open. If there's nothing to hide, why are they hiding?”

"Trust us" isn't a credible response, particularly from this administration. Rep. Lofgren says she'll ask the Army to produce the report. The Army needs to hear that request echoed a thousand times.

Brand new from Murray Waas:

The ranking Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, Congressman John Conyers, of Michigan, and Congressman Maurice Hinchey, of New York, will tomorrow formally request that the Inspector General of the Justice Department, Glenn A. Fine, investigate whether then-Attorney General John D. Ashcroft "violated explicit rules on conflicts of interest when he failed to recuse himself from, and in fact was briefed on, the CIA name leak investigation despite his personal connection to Karl Rove, a person of interest to investigators."

Murray has several quotes from the letter. Background from Murray here and TalkLeft, via Murray, here.

Through a generous offer from a distant relative of the man who fired his shotgun into the air the other day, Camp Casey will be moving to a ranch closer to Bush's, probably in the morning.

“A neighbor of President Bush’s has offered us his land,” the source said. “It’s got plenty of acreage for us, it’s private land, we would have legal permission to be on it, it’s much closer to the ranch — in fact it’s across the street from his (Bush’s) church.” “We have taken him up on his offer,” the source added.

....According to the source, the land offered to Sheehan is owned by Fred Mattlage, who is a distant cousin of Larry Mattlage, a man who fired a shotgun over the weekend in frustration over the commotion caused by the vigil. ‘I support what you all are doing’
The source said Fred Mattlage made the offer saying “I’m a veteran, I support what you all are doing and I want to offer you my land.”

[Hat tip Democratic Daily.]

Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid issued this statement today (received by e-mail) in response to articles suggesting the Dems have already decided not to fight the Supreme Court nomination of Judge John Roberts:

"All this talk about whether Democrats will support the Roberts nomination is laughably premature. The hearings have not even begun. The White House has so far refused to produce relevant documents, and the documents we have seen raise questions about the nominee's commitment to progress on civil rights.

“John Roberts must still persuade the Senate and the American people that he is a worthy replacement for Justice O'Connor and the jury is still out on that."

Via Romanesko, Court TV held a breakfast roundtable today at Michael's in Manhattan, attended by big name journos, including Time's Norman Pearlstein. Floyd Abrams was on hand, as was Court TV's head honcho Henry Schleiff. Moderated by Catherine Crier, the discussion quickly got down to Judith Miller and sources. Interesting read.

Meanwhile, Robert Dole weighs in. In a New York Times op-ed today, he says it will be a shame if only Miller is jailed and it turns out there was no violation of the Intelligence Identities Protection Act. He urges the passage of the journalist's shield law pending in Congress.

Question for Mr. Dole: Will Fitzgerald's investigation or Judith Miller's jailing be a waste if Administration officials are indicted for perjury, false statements and obstruction of justice, but not the Identity Protection Act? Why is the Identity statute the only one of concern to you? [hat tip Patriot Daily.]