In the People's Republic of Illinois, an elderly couple converted their Volkswagen to run on vegetable oil. Apparently, that requires a license and payment of a fuel tax at either the gas or diesel rate:

The agents informed the Wetzels that they were interested in their car, a 1986 Volkswagen Golf, that David Wetzel converted to run primarily from vegetable oil but also partly on diesel.

Wetzel uses recycled vegetable oil, which he picks up weekly from an organization that uses it for frying food at its dining facility.

"They told me I am required to have a license and am obligated to pay a motor fuel tax," David Wetzel recalled. "Mr. May also told me the tax would be retroactive."

Since the initial visit by the agents on Jan. 4, the Wetzels have been involved in a struggle with the Illinois Department of Revenue. The couple, who live on a fixed budget, have been asked to post a $2,500 bond and threatened with felony charges.

I told you guys I liked Paul Hackett:

An Iraq war veteran who drew national attention when he ran for Congress criticizing the president chased three men who had crashed into a fence outside his home, then guarded them with an assault rifle until police arrived, according to police reports.

...

According to a police report, officers were called to Hackett's home on Nov. 19 after a car crashed into a fence and sped away. The officers arrived to find three men lying face down near their car and Hackett with an assault rifle slung over his shoulder.

"He said he had done this about 200 times in Iraq, but this time there was not a translation problem," the police report said.

Hackett told police later that he was carrying a civilian model of an AR-15 and that one round was in the chamber but the safety was on. He said he never aimed the weapon at the men or put his finger on the trigger.

I'm so ronery.

You Are 24% Republican

You're a bit Republican, and probably more conservative than you realize. If you're still voting Democrat, maybe it's time that you stop.

You Are 24% Democrat

You're a bit Democrat, and probably more liberal than you realize. If you're still voting Republican, maybe it's time that you stop.

Via HL.

Update: Hats off to Comp USA who recovered all the images (and some more from ages back) from a Mini SD card.

==============

Last night, the desktop computer crashed hard. We're pretty good about backing up stuff but we haven't done a back up since last week. So, all of our Christmas photos were on there, including my boy's first Christmas. We want the pictures back.

After it crashed, I kept trying to reboot and googled up the error message. The solution from Microsoft was the same as it always is and they said to reinstall windows. I did. However, in the reinstall, it kept getting to a point where it said something like unable to create file system32 and it kicked out of reinstall. I went to Comp USA and grabbed a USB external HD case. Put the hard drive in it to see if it could be read and it could. However, all that is there is the Windows directory. It's all gone.

So, first, when did reinstalling windows format a hard drive? Second, can I get my stuff back?

Update: Also, the data was on our flash card but was deleted. Is that a better route?

Since everyone is copying and pasting emails as blog entries today, does anyone want to be introduced to my Nigerian general friend? Apparently, if I send him a few thousand bucks, he'll send me a few million.

Not sure how to reach you, but Gamo has recalled some air rifles. Not sure if it affects you but forewarned and all.

Roger continues his Conservative Persons and Accomplishments Appreciation Week with The War On Terror. Funny, biting stuff. Past issues:

Federal spending

Schiavo

The Internet Gambling Law.

Beer.

Guess who:

What the Congressional Republicans need is for someone to throw a wrench into their well-oiled money machine. Harold Ford Jr. is the tool you need.

I was shocked.

The Nietzsche Family Circus

The United States Postal Service has instructions on how to ship a hippopotamus.

indeed.

MKS reports the committee has determined term limits apply to Knoxville.

Knoxnews:

Term limits stand as they were passed in 1994, and they apply to all elected officials with the exception of judges.

That’s the conclusion today of a committee established to fix deficiencies that a Knox County chancellor found in the county charter.

After a three-hour meeting, the committee voted to adhere to the term limits provision passed overwhelmingly by voters in 1994.

Giggle. Bad week for incumbents.

I've covered the Tennessee tax stamp on illegal drugs for a while. Via the five people who emailed this to me this morning, comes the Tennessean:

A Tennessee judge has ruled that a state law requiring drug dealers to pay taxes on their cocaine, marijuana and other illicit drugs is unconstitutional.

The ruling by Davidson County Chancellor Richard Dinkins bars the state from collecting $1.1 million from Jeremy Robbins, an East Tennessee man who was arrested on federal drug conspiracy charges and ordered to pay taxes on marijuana he is accused of illegally possessing.

But it could potentially cost the state much more if the decision is upheld by higher courts and interpreted as applying to the entire state.

Good. It was a stupid idea and now it's just stupider. The purpose of the tax was to provide a means for law enforcement to enhance its coffers and this law allowed that by making it a tax issue. It also had the added benefit of completely disregarding due process of law before seizing assets. Sadly:

Last night, state officials said they would continue to enforce the tax, which has brought more than $2.7 million into state coffers since it went into effect in January 2005.

"They're just turning a blind eye and a deaf ear to the opinion," said James A. H. Bell, one of the Knoxville lawyers who brought the case on behalf of Robbins. He described the state's attitude as "cavalier."

The chancellor's decision, handed down Monday, applies only to Robbins and, in any case, the state plans to appeal, said Sharon Curtis-Flair, spokeswoman for the state attorney general's office.

If it's unconstitutional, why does it apply only in one case? And this bit is scary:

Since 2005, state Department of Revenue officials have assessed $51 million in drug taxes owed, with the vast majority of the money going uncollected.

Very few people have actually bought the stamps. During the law's first year, taxpayers spent $1,492 in stamps for illegal drugs.

That's a lot of money. And people didn't buy the stamps because 1) it's stupid and 2) the state made it unnecessarily difficult to do.

The court agreed with SayUncle's due process findings:

"The court concludes that the manner in which the tax is assessed deprives taxpayers of due process and, to that extent, the statute is unconstitutional on its face," the chancellor wrote.

He also found that levying the tax and charging someone with a crime was equivalent to double jeopardy because it punished the dealer twice for the same crime.

"(The) statute violates the double jeopardy provisions of the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution and … the Tennessee Constitution to the extent it may be employed against a dealer otherwise subject to state prosecution relating to the unauthorized substances subject to the tax proceeding."

SayUncle: Like the courts, only faster.

ETA: Edited to take out the bad words. Knoxviews is a family show.

Via Bob, comes Knoxville 520, which (per Bob) featur(es) assorted and sundry entertainment options in mighty KnoxVegas.

Remember, the blogger shoot (details here) is Sunday.

Who: Invitation is open to all. Bloggers, readers, lurkers, reporters, gun nuts, hoplophobes, or anybody else.

What: Spring Time Blogger Shoot. We will have the entire indoor range to ourselves.

When: Sunday, April 23, 2006. Arrive at about 4:45p.m(ish) and we will begin shooting at 5:00 and last at least until 6:00

Where: Coal Creek Armory, you can find a map and directions here

What you need to know: The four rules of firearms safety:

1. All guns are always loaded

2. Never let the muzzle cover anything you are not willing to destroy

3. Keep your finger off the trigger until you’re ready to fire

4. Be sure of your target and what’s behind it

Cost is $10.

WATE:

A bill that puts a liquor by the drink vote on the table in Townsend soared through the state legislature Tuesday.

The bill is now waiting on Gov. Bredesen's signature.

If Bredesen signs it, residents of Townsend can vote on the issue in the November election.

In 2005, a similar measure was taken to allow a liquor by the drink vote but the paperwork was not filed on time.

So, why exactly does the state have any say in a city matter?

Update: A reader at my place says:

I don’t know the reasoning or origins, but the state of TN regulates liquor sales and local governments regulate beer (and other low alcohol drinks) sales.

That answers that.

I have finalized plans for the Blogger Shoot, which, contrary to what some think, does not involve shooting at bloggers. Everyone is invited and here are the details:

The Tennessean notes a bill to allow the FBI to conduct NICS in Tennessee instead of having the state bureau of investigation do it:

Background checks on firearm purchases in Tennessee would be performed by the FBI instead of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation under legislation headed for a vote in the state Senate.

Currently, the TBI charges gun dealers a $10 fee to do a background check on customers, while the FBI does it for free through the National Instant Background Check System, or NICS.

That $10, of course, has always been passed on to the buyer. I'd like to see it pass.

This looks promising:

It might be the most popular idea in the Tennessee General Assembly this session.

Lawmakers from both parties have introduced a flurry of bills to restrict government from using eminent domain to seize property and turn it over to private developers.

There have been 59 bills filed to limit the use of eminent domain - dozens each in the House and the Senate, submitted by both Democrats and Republicans.

Lawmakers say the issue is one of the first things their constituents want to talk about, and there's broad support for the idea across parties and interest groups.

Good to see pressure put on them.

Tennesee bloggers: Michael Silence is giving you a chance to pimp your blog:

I am regularly asked by elected officials about blogs, where they are going and what kind of impact they are having. I usually tell them ignore them at your own peril. I would like to do a reader-driven post, or posts, on what blogs TN officials should keep up with, and why. I'd prefer to focus on TN-related blogs but that's not a requirement. Post your thoughts in comments or e-mail me at silence(at)knews.com.

Seen at Leanleft:

Some guys lament that Valentine’s Day is all about women and the burden lies on the men to make it special — but they won’t necessarily see the lovey-dovey gestures returned. “All the responsibility for Valentine’s Day falls on the guy,” the Connecticut husband said. “If the guy and the girl both agree to do nothing, and the guy doesn’t come up with at least a flower and the girl doesn’t do anything, it doesn’t hold the same value. “There’s no reciprocated holiday for the guy. Like how about a steak and porn night? Would that be so awful?”

There is a reciprocal holiday on March 14.

Been doing my taxes. I hate it. Going on three hours now. Then it occurred to me. Since the .gov has such broad authority despite my right to abortion err privacy to poke around willy nilly in my financial dealings, my various financial institutions are obligated by law to report when I do something out of the ordinary, and all my wage info is sent automatically to the .gov via payroll providers, why don't they just go ahead and do my taxes for me?

Seriously. Hell, if my privacy can be violated like that, why not get some benefit from it?

In political posturing at its finest, Ivan Harmon is trying to put a resolution before the Knox County Commission urging all American citizens to proclaim to every level of government its responsibility to publicly recognize God as the Foundation of our National Heritage.

First amendment?  Never heard of it.

The local war on porn (covered before here) has had its first terrorist attack:

A man armed with a rifle and gasoline set fire to an adult novelty store early this morning, authorities said.

Shortly after 4 a.m. the man walked into the 24-hour Town and Country Book Den, 7011 Clinton Hwy. and began pouring out gasoline and setting fires, according to the store clerk.

Idiot.

Via Michael, comes this bit from Newsweek on the Meth Epidemic:

Law-enforcement officials in Tennessee have a new approach to fighting meth: naming names. Now the public can search an online database for the name, alias and birth date of anyone convicted of manufacturing the drug since last March. It's the first compilation of its kind nationwide, an attempt to curb meth production in a state that last year ranked third in seizures of labs, waste and equipment. Makeshift meth labs—easily set up in a kitchen or garage—are prone to explosions and fires, and leave behind harmful chemicals.

BB&T, a bank that operates locally, says:

BB&T Corporation today said it will not lend to commercial developers that plan to build condominiums, shopping malls and other private projects on land taken from private citizens by government entities using eminent domain.

The commercial lending policy change comes in the wake of Kelo v. City of New London, a controversial Supreme Court decision in June that said governments can seize personal property to make room for private development projects.

The court’s ruling cleared the way for an expansion of eminent domain authority historically used primarily for utilities, rights of way and other public facilities.

“The idea that a citizen’s property can be taken by the government solely for private use is extremely misguided, in fact it’s just plain wrong,” said BB&T Chairman and Chief Executive Officer John Allison.

“One of the most basic rights of every citizen is to keep what they own. As an institution dedicated to helping our clients achieve economic success and financial security, we won’t help any entity or company that would undermine that mission and threaten the hard-earned American dream of property ownership.”

Reward good behavior. Seriously. I may just have to switch my banking needs to BB&T. That is awesome. Hats off to them.

BTW, if R. Neal can add a Property Rights Issue, that'd be great.

Michael Silence notes:

Tennessee’s tax on unauthorized substances such as cocaine and marijuana and some alcoholic beverages brought in more than $1.7 million in its first year, according to revenue officials.

The tax, which is modeled after a 13-year-old North Carolina tax aimed at fighting illegal drugs, has resulted in $1,714,565 in collections and nearly $32 million in assessments.

"Our effective implementation of this tax aids in fulfilling the law’s primary purpose to channel funds collected into local law enforcement agencies to help combat, prevent and reduce drug crimes in Tennessee,” said Tennessee Department of Revenue Commissioner Loren L. Chumley.

Boy, is my face red. See, I predicted the tax would make no money. More:

With the tax, people in possession of illegal drugs must purchase stamps marked with a number to be affixed to packages containing the drugs.

When drugs without the stamp are found, the Tennessee Department of Revenue taxes the alleged drug possessor and gives them an opportunity to pay the tax. If it is not paid, agents may seize and auction anything of value the person owns.

No criminal conviction is needed for the state to enforce the tax, and information obtained from the sale of the drug stamps cannot be used in criminal prosecutions, according to the Revenue Department. At the same time, buying drug stamps does not provide immunity from criminal prosecution.

Oh, never mind. My face isn't red at all. The purpose of the law was to get rid of due process in drug cases and it did just that, like I said.

Via Adam Groves, we learn there is a push for the restaurant carry bill again:

Tennessee gun rights advocates will continue to push legislation allowing gun permit holders to carry firearms into restaurants that serve alcohol, said James Folkner, founder of the new Chattanooga chapter for the Tennessee Firearms Association.

Under the current law, gun owners can enter an eatery and break the law without knowing the restaurant serves alcohol, he said. The bill’s intent is to keep gun owners "from becoming criminals just when we go out to eat," said Mr. Folkner, a 21-year-old University of Tennessee at Chattanooga senior.

As Neal Knox opined about a similar bill in Arizona (paraphrased): the anti-gunners call it the guns in bars bill and the pro-gunners call it the breakfast at Denny’s bill.