Category: Uncategorized

On February 19, the Indiana Election Commission voted 2-2 that Republican U.S. Senate candidate Todd Young, a sitting member of the U.S. House, should be on the Republican primary ballot. See this story. It is possible a lawsuit will be filed to reverse the decision. Challengers to Young’s petition argue that he doesn’t have enough valid signatures in the First U.S. House district. Indiana primary petitions for statewide office need 500 signatures in each U.S. House district. …read more

Solar CITIES open-source design for a remarkable system that turns all food waste into natural gas and liquid fertilizer. According to the tutorial, you’ll never have to buy fertilizer again. The gas is piped to a stove for cooking.
The system is a form of biomimicry, essentially recreating an animal’s digestive system. The “stomach” is a 1,000 liter plastic international bulk container (IBC), with three pipes inserted into the top—one for feeding, one for gas outlet and one for liquid effluence.
Every time you add material into the “plug-flow digestor design,” which optimizes hydraulic retention time (the amount of time things are …read more

New York, NY – A group of scientists who worked at a crime lab for the New York State police are now suing the department, claiming that the agency encouraged them to overlook false test results so they could get more prosecutions. The three scientists who filed the lawsuit said that they attempted to correct some of the errors that were taking place in the crime lab, and they were silenced and retaliated against because the errors were working out in the department’s favor, and ensuring them more prosecutions.
Scientists Shannon Morris, Melissa Lee and Kevin Rafferty are seeking monetary damages …read more

(WTF NEWS) – Denver’s 2016 Cannabis Cup is in trouble after a local Colorado county denied a necessary permit to the event’s organizers, High Times magazine.
The Cannabis Cup is a multi-day festival featuring a trade show for businesses and an international celebration of cannabis held yearly on 4/20 in cannabis-friendly areas, finding consistent support in Denver in recent years.
Tuesday, commissioners of Adams County denied the event permit for a popular facility called Denver Merchandise Mart, which is not in Denver city limits but is part of the Denver metro area. Denver Mart has been the most ideal location for the …read more

Livingston County, MI — In June of last year, Tim Panagis, 26, of Ann Arbor, Michigan, was on a bike ride with friends when he was unlawfully stopped, harassed and ticketed by a would-be tyrant with the Michigan State Police.
The Trooper, who remains unnamed, apparently had nothing better to do that day than to harass an innocent biker. The entire interaction was caught on the officer’s dashcam.
As the dashcam video begins, we see the trooper following behind four bikers as the ride down the road.
The irate trooper then pulls over Panagis for allegedly impeding traffic. Upon exiting his patrol car, …read more

On February 17, the Georgia House Interstate Cooperation Committee unanimously passed HB 929, the National Popular Vote Plan bill. There is an NPV bill in the State Senate as well, SB 376, but it hasn’t made progress yet. HB 929 has six co-sponsors, including members of both major parties. …read more

According to this story, Democratic congressional candidate Gary Wegman’s spot on the Pennsylvania Democratic ballot for U.S. House, 16th story, was rejected because he accidentally submitted a photocopy of his signed declaration of candidacy, instead of the original sheet. He hopes that a state court will reverse the decision and put him on the ballot. …read more

As noted earlier, the Peace & Freedom Party of California asked the California Secretary of State to list Jill Stein on its presidential primary ballot, but the Secretary of State refused. A request was made for any writing that might have explained the Secretary of State’s decision. But that office has replied that such writings will not be made public, because they are “notes, drafts or memoranda that are not retained in the ordinary course of business and are exempt under the deliberative process privilege.”
Before 2012, the California Secretary of State had always printed the names of presidential …read more

Meriden, CT — Responding to reports of an intoxicated man asleep in the middle of the road, a Meriden, Connecticut police officer said, flatly, “I think we oughta just f***ing pop him.”
If by now you still have any lingering doubts about the widening disconnect between police and civilians — or the culture of violence and contempt rampant in police culture — this footage could tip your opinion. Though the incident was captured on video by dash camera and audio by body cam, it was only released on Thursday following a Freedom of Information Act request by the Record-Journal.
Officer John …read more