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Man, for a moment I was worried about the availability of spearmint oil but, fortunately, the Spearmint Oil Administrative Committee (Committee) is on the job.

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Agricultural Marketing Service

7 CFR Part 985

[Docket No. FV04-985-2 IFR]

Marketing Order Regulating the Handling of Spearmint Oil Produced in the Far West; Revision of the Salable Quantity and Allotment Percentage for Class 3 (Native) Spearmint Oil for the 2004-2005 Marketing Year

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA.

ACTION: Interim final rule with request for comments.

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SUMMARY: This rule revises the quantity of Class 3 (Native) spearmint oil produced in the Far West that handlers may purchase from, or handle for, producers during the 2004-2005 marketing year by increasing the salable quantity from 773,474 pounds to 1,095,689 pounds, and the allotment percentage from 36 percent to 51 percent. The Spearmint Oil Administrative Committee (Committee), the agency responsible for local administration of the marketing order for spearmint oil produced in the Far West, unanimously recommended this rule to avoid extreme fluctuations in supplies and prices and to help maintain stability in the Far West spearmint oil market.

DATES: Effective June 1, 2004, through May 31, 2005; comments received by December 20, 2004 will be considered prior to issuance of a final rule.

The Chicago Tribune has a story about incompetence in crimes labs across the nation. The following is an excerpt.

SCANDAL TOUCHES EVEN ELITE LABS
Flawed work, resistance to scrutiny seen across U.S.

By Maurice Possley, Steve Mills and Flynn McRoberts
Tribune staff reporters
Published October 21, 2004

A decade ago, as Earl Washington Jr. neared his execution date, a leading DNA expert first suggested an analyst in the vaunted Virginia state crime lab might have erred in the case.

The lab's director, Paul Ferrara, rejected the criticism as unfounded.

In April, when a second expert hired by Washington's lawyers questioned another round of tests, Ferrara dismissed him as a "hired gun" and rebuffed calls for an outside review.

Several months later, three other experts--this time not paid by the defense --reached the same conclusion. The lab's analyst, they said, had misinterpreted the evidence, but Ferrara again balked at an outside review.

"I'm not going to admit error when there is none," Ferrara said in a recent interview at the highly regarded Richmond facility, the first state lab to build a database linking evidence from unsolved crimes to suspects through their genetic profiles.

Within days of that statement, the lab experienced another first. On Sept. 30, the governor of Virginia ordered an audit of the lab's work on the Washington case.

That it took a governor's edict to force one of the nation's most-respected labs to allow such a review illustrates the broader problems undermining confidence in the nation's crime labs.

Revelations of shoddy work and poorly run facilities have shaken the criminal justice system like never before, raising doubts about the reputation of labs as unbiased advocates for scientific truth.

The far-reaching crime lab scandals roiling the courts are unlike other flaws in the criminal justice system--the rogue prosecutor, the incompetent defense attorney, the unscrupulous cop--because for years the reputation of the labs had been unquestioned.

But the consequence of lab errors, whether due to incompetence, imprecision or fraud, is frequently the same--an innocent person behind bars.

A Tribune examination of the 200 DNA and Death Row exoneration cases since 1986--including scores of interviews and a review of court transcripts and appellate opinions--found that more than a quarter involved faulty crime lab work or testimony.

In recent years, evidence of problems ranging from negligence to outright deception has been uncovered at crime labs in at least 17 states. Among the failures were faulty blood analysis, fingerprinting errors, flawed hair comparisons and the contamination of evidence used in DNA testing.

Scandal also has hit the FBI crime lab, long considered the nation's top forensic facility.

Well, slap my belly and pick the pigs' pickled feet. It looks like most everything needs an outside auditor.

My favorite breed of dog is as follows in that order. What's yours? I've owned all four - plus halfbreeds. My favorite type of halfbreeds are a mix of collie and German shepard. I like halfbreeds the best.

1. Collie
2. Dachshund
3. German shepherd
4. Borzoi

For more info about various breeds of dogs, visit the American Kennel Club.

A story in the Washington Post highlights the poverty and broken lies and incompetence of the Bureau of Indian affairs that has gone on way too long. The following is an excerpt.

But skepticism of campaign pledges runs deep in Indian country, given the government's history of broken promises. The federal government has acknowledged that it has grossly mishandled money it began collecting in the late 1880s, when it leased reservation land to oil, mining and timber interests and held the proceeds in trust for Indians.

The government owes Native Americans billions, but a class-action lawsuit filed eight years ago on behalf of nearly 500,000 Indians is still unresolved.

Meanwhile, on Pine Ridge, three and four families live in single-family houses, eight to nine out of 10 people are out of work, and more than half the population, helpless against disconnect notices, has no phone in any given month.

The Bureau of Indian Affairs has for decades been a bottomless pit of corruption, incompetence, stupidity, and a place to shove government employees who embarassed other government agencies.

Let's abolish the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

Welcome to the psychiatrist/psychologist hotline.

1. If you are obsessive compulsive, press 1 . . . repeatedly.
2. If you are co-dependent, ask someone to press 2 for you.
3. If you have multiple personalities, press 3, 4, 5, and 6.
4. If you are paranoid, we know who you are and we are tracing this call. Please stay on the line.
5. If you are schizophrenic, please wait and a little voice will tell you what to do.
6. If you are manic depressive it doesn't matter what you do, no one cares about you anyway.

Uranium find in Russian dump is the headline of a story in the Times Online. The following is the story.

Washingtonpost.com has a story about how the Democrats and Republican have legions of lawyers ready for battle. This election year has got to be one of the most ridiculous in history. The following are excerpts from the story.

The AntitrustProf Blog, a new blog in town, has a post concerning various bottling laws in a couple of countries in the European Union that seem to be causing problems. The following is an exceprt from the post.

Today's Wall Street Journal reports that the Commission may file a suit against Germany challenging its bottling law, which requires the use of reusable bottles and deposits. The law allegedly limits competition by making it more difficult for foreign competitors to market their bottled beverages in Germany. Part of the problem seems to be lack of harmonization on recycling laws. For example, the article reports that France prohibits the use of reusable bottles for water. Another source of the problem is the practice of some discount retailers to cut back on branded beverages and instead sell their own discount labels, which are easier to return to the discount retailers for reuse. The article states that Nestle has lost about $ 60 million in sales since the law took effect in 1992. The case offers a nice example of the intersection between regulation and competition policy. Although I have not looked at this issue in depth, my sense from the article is that the law is not anti-competitive and the costs described represent the adjustment to new pro-environmental regulation.

There seems to be some more discussion about Oregon's measure 35. The amendment seeks to amend the Oregon Constitution to cap at $500,000 the amount of money a patient may be awarded if the patient wins a lawsuit for negligence or some other factor leading to the patient being hurt.

Ballot Measure 35 would amend the Oregon Constitution to impose a limit on noneconomic damages that may be claimed in certain actions. The measure applies to claims made by injured patients and legal representatives of injured patients, including persons claiming loss of consortium (the loss of the company, affection, assistance and sexual relations of a spouse). The limitation applies only to claims made by such persons against healthcare providers and healthcare entities licensed in Oregon, for injuries incurred while the provider or entity was acting within the scope of the license. The limitation applies to claims based on negligence or recklessness, but does not apply to claims based on intentional injury. Nor does it limit claims for wrongful death.

If a claim is subject to Ballot Measure 35, the measure would impose a limitation of $500,000 (adjusted
annually for inflation) on the amount that can be claimed as noneconomic damages arising from injury to any one
patient that may be recoverable from health care providers or entities.

A lot of healthcare providers seem to like the measure because they, apparently, seem to think this measure would bring down their insurance premiums. There is nothing in the measure that would force insurance companies to give a break to doctors if this measure passes nor is there anything in the measure that would force insurance companies to cap what they can charge doctors.

The HMO's and insurance companies love this measure.

I voted no on this measure for the following reasons.

1. It's a ridiculous reason to amend the constitution.
2. I think a jury should determine the cost of damges if a jury finds that a patient has been harmed. This measure takes away the right of citizens to seek damages that may amount to more. As I say, that's what juries are for.
3. It only benefits one profession. I think it's ridiculous to amend the constitution to benefit health insurance companies.

I live in Oregon House District 28. Last time around I voted for his Republican opponent, Keith Parker. This time around, though, I voted for Jeff Barker. They are both high quality individuals.

I sure wish Keith Parker would run again for something because the guy is pretty smart. Maybe he's too smart to run for political office again because of all the crap one has to put up with.

I have been informed that Keith Parker is running for city council of Beaverton, Oregon. His website is http://www.keithparker.org/.

Jeff Barker's website is here. You know, I'm getting too old for all of these updates. I may have to give up this stupid blog.

I've been reminded that some people have disagreed with some of my choices. One of the members of the Roger Weidner gang reminded me had he had sent the following communication.

2004 13:37:12 EDT
From: Allbefit@aol.com
To: editor
Subject: From Pavel Goberman

I searched my name on the Internet and get your slime web page. What a garbage, what a lie!. Wu, Deckert, Barker, Wyden, Smith are political prostitutes, selling our country and should be in prison for it. And you are promoting them. What a garbage!

There's more of the gang's opinions here.

The following is from The Straits Times.