What's up with this? 300 agents in a choreographed simulcast bust the Bandidos in the Western U.S? Why not Osama? Oh, it's the ATF, the folks that brought us Ruby Ridge and Waco. Never mind.

Today more than 300 federal, state and local law enforcement officers have teamed up to execute 21 search warrants and 32 arrest warrants across the Northwest. This investigation centered in Bellingham, Washington, addresses federal firearm and narcotic violations, allegedly committed by members or associates of the Bandidos Outlaw Motorcycle Organization. Additional search and arrest warrants are being executed in the states of Montana & South Dakota.

Say hello to "Draft Edward Prado for Supreme Court Justice." Judge Prado is the only Bush nominee to an appeals court that I have endorsed. He'd make a great Supreme Court Justice.

In 2003, Judge Prado made Sen. Schumer's short list of nominees contained in this letter to President Bush.

In the "you can't make this stuff up" department....A battle is brewing in South Africa over an anti-rape device planned to be sold along side of tampons in supermarkets. It was designed by a woman.

The tampon-like device, invented by a woman, supposedly protects women from rapists by cutting into a man’s p*nis.

Feministing has more.

A former stripper in Nevada has won an election for a municipal court judgeship. Good for her.

Ex-stripper Diana Hampton will soon have something new to wear — judicial robes. Hampton was elected to the Municipal Court in Henderson on Tuesday, defeating Michael Miller in a run-off by 176 votes.

Hampton, 39, had acknowledged during the campaign that she worked at a Las Vegas striptease club to help pay her way through college 14 years ago. She called it "a fact of life" and said she hoped the interest it drew to her candidacy would eventually die down.

Update: And a former dominatrix is pondering a 2006 run for Governor of Nevada.

Unlike Mark Felt, I didn't get a chuckle out of this taped conversation between Felt and then President Nixon over the arrest of the shooting suspect of former Gov. George Wallace:

The May 15, 1972, phone call is believed to be the only tape-recorded conversation between Nixon and Felt, the No. 2 FBI official. Nixon expressed satisfaction when Felt told him the suspect had some cuts and bruises.

"I hope they worked him over a little bit more than that," Nixon said.

"I think they did pretty well," Felt, who now lives in Santa Rosa, responded with a chuckle.

Bump and Update: Senators Richard Durbin (D-IL) and Larry Craig (R-ID)respond to Bush's speech on the Patriot Act (received by e-mail):

We voted for the PATRIOT Act and agree with President Bush that it should be reauthorized. But we must strike a careful balance -- improving our nation’s security while also protecting individual Americans’ liberties.”

“Congress should revise the PATRIOT Act to protect the constitutional rights of American citizens while preserving the powers law enforcement needs to fight terrorism. The Craig-Durbin Security and Freedom Enhancement (SAFE) Act would accomplish this goal. It is a narrowly-tailored bipartisan bill that would revise several provisions of the PATRIOT Act. The SAFE Act would not repeal a single provision of the PATRIOT Act. It would retain all of the additional authorities created by the PATRIOT Act but place important limits on these authorities.”

“We are on opposite sides of the political spectrum, but we have come together to safeguard the civil liberties that every American values. We want to mend the PATRIOT Act, not end it. The great challenge of our age is combating terrorism while remaining true to our Constitution. The SAFE Act will help us to meet that challenge.”

The Senate today confirmed William Pryor as a Judge on the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals. Here's what the Times had to say about him after his 2004 recess appointment. More reasons Pryor was opposed are here.

The Senate will take up William Meyers next, whom I refer to as the "fall guy" in the Senate compromise. He'll probably be confirmed - the compromisers just didn't guarantee it.

If anyone expected Arlen Specter to be a balancing force, see TChris's post here and what Dobson said here.

Bump and Update: 6/9/05: ACLU threatens lawsuit against Hawaii's U.S. Attorney.

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Original Post: 7/7/05

Unbelievable. Hawaii's medical pot program is essentially dead in the wake of yesterday's Supreme Court opinon in Gonzales v. Raich. The U.S. Attorney there announced he won't prosecute users but will go after doctors who authorize residents to get a permit under the state's medical marijuana law.

U.S. Attorney Ed...Kubo said his office would not prosecute the medical marijuana smokers, but cautioned that the doctors could be prosecuted on misdemeanor charges as accomplices to the distribution of the marijuana, which is still illegal under federal law.

"The U.S. Supreme Court decision this morning is the death knell to the medical marijuana issue," he said, a sentiment shared by some medical marijuana advocates. "I would advise all physicians and anyone who is involved in distributing or helping in the distribution of any illegal narcotic to be very, very leery," he said.

Last weekend, I e-mailed my Senators about concerns over the Downing Street Memo, using a form from After Downing Street.org. I haven't heard back from Sen. Ken Salazar, but here is the response I received from Senator Wayne Allard:

Dear Jeralyn:

Thank you for contacting me to express your concerns about our country's leadership. I appreciate you taking the time to write.

I do believe that President Bush has truthfully stated the reasons to go to war in Iraq. In doing so we have maintained a coalition with many other countries throughout the world, including Britain. I do feel that the President has done a good job at trying to rebuild Iraq. It will not be an easy or quickly resolved task, but we will do our best to help Iraq to become a stable and productive country.

Thank you for writing to share your concerns. I look forward to hearing from you again. If you would like more information on issues important to Colorado and the nation, please log on to my website.

Say Hello to Dr. Tom Cruise's Medical Forum. And another open thread.

Eric Boehlert asks what took so long in bringing the Downing Street Memo to the media's attention?

Why did it take more than a month for the U.S. press to report on the serious revelations in the Downing Street memo?

[link via Atrios.]

Update:

Freeway Blogger

Mark Fiore - the Pain Man- great take on the Supreme Court decision on medical marijuana.