Song in my head: Blinded by the light....revved up like a deuce....another runner in the night....Manfred Mann

Sorry for the summer break. I am a firm believer in breaks. It seems Americans need to slow down to a 30 hour work week, like the Europeans do. My theory is that we would have a less depressed, stressed society if workers could have a month or two off a year. Anyway, I have been enjoying some fun summer activities so far......

* Waterfront Blues festival in Portland (Paul Delay is bigger than ever). Wheelchair accesible.

* Hiking at Wahclella Falls (a great one mile hike to Heaven, 20 minutes from my house. Not wheelchair accessible, but someone with bum knee or hips can hobble a mile).

* Gorge Games Not alter-abled friendly. Future alter-abled extreme athletes.

* Oregon Country Fair (The best hippie fair, I didnt go, too exhausting). Wheelchair accesible, but expectt dirt, dusty trails. They coined the word alter-abled).

* Watching kiteboarders (the boardheads are in town. Kiting and sailing brings you to great speed and heights). Alter-abled unfriendly.

* Eating watermelon, fresh raspberries, blackberries, corn on the cob.

* Friends dropping by after Dead concert in the gorge.


A bomb has been dropped on the luscious green forests of the Northwest and beyond.......
Screw Reagan's death, the nation should now be in mourning......

Bush plan drops logging ban for national forests Link

Once again the Bush (mis)administrations attacks Oregon's assisted suicide law, which means medical marijuana is next........


Administration again goes after suicide law

Court asked to overturn Oregon Death With Dignity Act

The Bush administration asked a federal appeals court here Monday to reconsider a May decision upholding Oregon's assisted suicide law.

The administration wants the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to set aside its ruling backing the nation's only law allowing doctors to assist in hastening the death of patients. The Justice Department says the case, originally decided by a 2-1 vote, should be reheard with an 11-judge panel. Thirteen of the circuit's 25 full-time judges must agree to a rehearing, and they are rarely granted. {Link}

Want your McBSE with fries?

Statement on Bush administration "broken promises" on mad cow protections Link

The Bush Administration today broke its promise to institute important new protections for animal feed. Instead of regulations, the agency issued a second Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking--a fancy bureaucratic tool for delay--on the critical issue of the safety of animal feed.
Link via FSNet Listserv, by subscription.

And a NYT Editorial pipes in.....

U.S. Moving to New Ban for Mad Cow, Officials Say

Federal health officials said yesterday that in an effort to eradicate mad cow disease, they were moving toward a policy, based on the advice of international experts, to ban the feeding of any farm animal parts to other farm animals.

Current practice allows cattle to be fed chickens, pigs and other species that had been fed rendered cattle whose tissue could theoretically be infected. Such practices are widely said to have caused the epidemic of mad cow disease in Britain 20 years ago and its spread to other countries. Link