43. A Chesapeake, Virginia man is charged with first-degree murder in the shooting death of a police officer, after his home was raided on a tip that he was growing a large amount of marijuana. Ryan Frederick claims to have fired in self-defense, not knowing the intruder was a cop. And while police found only a small amount of marijuana (enough to charge Frederick with misdemeanor possession), they did find a number of young Japanese maples, whose leaves look similar to those of cannabis plants. Sound familiar?
44. Aurora, Colorado police are enforcing the state “puffer” law, which makes it illegal to leave a running car unattended. (Courtesy of Severin at LP Colorado Blog.)
45. It’s so stupid, it’s funny: the RIAA now wants each song on a compilation CD to be counted as a separate copyright violation if the CD is copied, which could result in a $1.5 million fine for a ten-song album. The fact that copyright holders become more desperate each year to protect their business model is proof the model doesn’t just need reform, it’s broken beyond repair.
46. Congress approves a two-week extension to the Protect America Act to allow time for further debate, mainly on whether to grant immunity to telecom providers who assisted the NSA in illegal wiretap activities. Jacob Sullum has more here. David Friedman on the accountability of leaders. The Cato Institute’s Roger Pilon proceeds to lose his freaking mind.
47. When you can’t find terrorists to fight, just create new ones.
48. A police officer in Hamilton City, Calif. tases a bicyclist who tried to run from a stop for a lighting equipment infraction.
49. First it’s Ice Breakers; next thing you know kids will mistake crystal meth for Pop Rocks. Shame on Hershey for caving into the cops on this one.
50. Beware of unmarked police cars attempting to stop you on deserted rural roads–they could be a criminal impersonator. Or maybe some other type of criminal.
51. A Boston lawyer faces criminal charges for using his mobile phone to record police making a drug-related arrest.
52. Whatever is not mandatory is forbidden, but you still have to pay taxes on it: New York Governor Eliot Spitzer seeks a tax on illegal drugs, which 29 other states have already adopted.
53. Police in Lewsville, Texas arrested a middle-school student last October and charged him with delinquency for sniffing a teacher’s hand sanitizer. County prosecutors have since dropped the charges, although the teen had to serve an in-school suspension.
55. New York City police seek a law requiring anyone wishing to use an air-quality monitor or other equipment to detect biological, chemical and radiological weapons to get a permit from them first. More here from Radley Balko.
56. Why Internet porn is such a good deal: the FCC proposes that ABC pay a $1.43 million indecency fine for showing some ass during an episode of NYPD Blue in 2003.
57. “Papers, please” for real: starting today, anyone wishing to enter the U. S. will be required to show proof of citizenship. Russ Nelson has more.
58. The U. S. Patent and Trademark Office issues a patent on a “mobile entertainment and communication device”–a smartphone, in other words–and the patent holder promptly sues every mobile phone manufacturer on the planet.
how can you tax an illegal operation? you seize all the profits for the government anyway – how can you tax that?
crazy bastards.