159. Puppycide in Buffalo during a police raid that fails to turn up any drugs or make any arrests.

160. Maricopa County (Ariz.) Sheriff Joe Arpaio, no friend of fugitives, illegal immigrants or civil rights, spends an unknown amount of taxpayers’ money on production costs for a Fox reality show.  Then his boys arrest some people applauding a speech critical of Arpaio during a county supervisors meeting.  And Phoenix police raid the home of a blogger who’s been criticizing them.

161. I’m from the government, and I’m here to check out that funny noise under the hood: President Obama can’t save the banks or balance the budget, but he’s now backing your transmission.  More details about the warranty from those helpful folks at reason:

162. “One of liberty’s great benefactors”, Burt Blumert, chairman of the Mises Institute and a champion of many libertarian causes, passes away at the age of 80.

163. After a student is kicked in the groin, a Connecticut school bans all physical contact.  Because today’s hug could be tomorrow’s headlock.

164. Michigan woman charged for her son’s stay in juvie hall, then is sent to jail herself after she’s unable to pay.

165. More than half of California’s service stations face hefty fines or even closure for failing to install expensive vapor recovery nozzles on their pumps.  The CARB-mandated systems run about $11,000 per pump.

166. Congress seeks to give the FDA the power to regulate tobacco, while also limiting safer choices for people looking to cut back or quit.

167. Speaking of tobacco, remember Obama’s promise not to raise taxes on people making less than $250,000?  Well, he lied, unless you think only rich people smoke.  They don’t, at least not as much as the poor do, making the new cigarette tax increase highly regressive.

104. Hey you damn kids, get off my monument: a group of libertarians observe Thomas Jefferson’s birthday by heading down to his D. C. memorial for a midnight dance (to music played through iPods).  The National Park Police take exception to such a brazen display of revelry and break up the fun, arresting one of the participants in the process.

105. The Supreme Court heard arguments this week on whether Louisiana can put child rapists to death in a case that could have wide-ranging implications for other states looking to expand the death penalty to crimes other than capital murder.

106. Sheriff José, er Joe Arpaio uses Maricopa County tax dollars and funds from RICO seizures to provide training and equipment to Honduras police, although they’re tightlipped on why they’re doing it or how taxpayers in Arizona might benefit.  Cheaper bananas, maybe?

107. But at least Arizona is cracking down hard on working mothers for driving under the influence, even when they’ve had hardly anything to drink.

108. Other things you can no longer do in motorized vehicles: stay in one spot for longer than an hour in a taco truck in Los Angeles (see #91, below), or smoke in the car when kids are present in Maine.

109. In the hallowed halls of public education:

• A philosophy professor at a Long Island community college demands that his students acknowledge that their religious beliefs may be in error in order to participate in his class.  The American Center for Law and Justice is on the case.
• A high school student in Texas is suspended after receiving a phone call during class from his father, who is stationed in Iraq.

110. Apparently it’s a no-no in New Mexico to decline someone’s business on the basis of one’s religious beliefs.  Remember, the First Amendment is just printed on a goddamned piece of paper.

93. First Amendment follies:

• A Santeria priest sues a Texas town over their prohibition against animal sacrifice.
• An Illinois delegate for Barack Obama resigned after she used the word “monkeys” to refer to black kids playing in a tree. The real insult, however, is that she was issued a $75 citation for disorderly conduct.
• A professor at Lake Superior State University faces a formal reprimand for offensive material posted on his office door. The university claims the cartoons and other material create a “hostile environment”; the professor says he’s being singled out for his conservative political views.

94. Now go away, or we shall punish you a second time: an Orange County, CA man was wrongly convicted for carjacking and spent 16 months in prison before he was freed. Now the state says it has no obligation to compensate him for the wrongful imprisonment because he implicated himself by accepting a plea deal on the original charge.

95. Infamous until proven innocent: police in Arizona are posting mug shots of accused shoplifters online as a “deterrent”. Hell, what are they waiting for? Just lop off their right hand when they arrest ‘em!

96. Our incorruptible public servants:

• So if you’re convicted of accepting bribes, you lose your job, right? Not necessarily, if you’re a public school teacher.
• Don’t worry, Daddy will take care of it: Federal employees have been racking up personal charges on government credit cards to the tune of $2 million.