LYNNWOOD, Wash. (AP) - Lynnwood Police Chief Steven Jensen said he has fired Deputy Chief Paul C. Watkins, who recently pleaded guilty to stealing money from the department's evidence room.

In a statement, Jensen said the 50-year-old Watkins' termination stemmed from the theft of money seized by Lynnwood police officers from 2001 through 2005. Federal prosecutors say Watkins stole between $70,000 and $120,000.

From www.komotv.com or for the rest of the story

I really can't imagine what the guy was thinking. Drunk on power maybe, or desperate after a major spending problem. Either way he's going to be a cop in prison for up to 10 years.

This is one of my favorite alternative fuels.  Look at all the scrap biomass lying around. This has some interesting possibilities.  I am going to order a biomass camp stove.

In the CrimeThinc book "An Anarchist's Cookbook" there are plans for a "Rocket Stove"  that uses the biomass energy principle.

I turn 35 tomorrow when everyone else is either eating turkey or tofurkey. It happens every six years or so. That means I can avoid the Thanksgiving B'day for about five years straight, but I can never avoid the "We Remember JFK" B'day.

If I were President: The Turkey would never be pardoned.

I understand why people want to keep their threads on topic...especially when posts tend to be shut down at 100 comments, nobody would want to post something and have all the comment space wasted with unrelated nonsense. But this is an Open Thread (For the benefit of all the Newbies: that means any topic goes.)

Just no Dancing Monkeys, m'Kay?

Okay, I'll entertain gun porn and conversations here. In fact I would enjoy hearing from anyone here who is anti-gun or desires to restrict arms in the hands of citizens. Below is an image of a female soldier in Isreal. Common citizens as citizen-soldiers! Government issue battle rifles for the masses! Oh horrors. Isreal knows what happens when citizens are disarmed. Switzerland has not had to fight a war in hundreds of years.

‘‘Laws that forbid the carrying of arms... disarm only those who are neither inclined nor determined to commit crimes... Such laws make things worse for the assaulted and better for the assailants; they serve rather to encourage than to prevent homicides, for an unarmed man may be attacked with greater confidence than an armed man.’’

Here is a sample of what local bloggers are blogging for Thanksgiving. Feel free to add links to your own Thanksgiving themed blog posts here in comments. I hope we all enjoy a relaxed, happy holiday.

and I almost forgot to mention one of the news stories that perked my interest lately.

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The U.S. Supreme Court agreed Tuesday to decide whether the District of Columbia's sweeping ban on handgun ownership violates the Constitution's fundamental right to "keep and bear arms."

The justices accepted the case for review, with oral arguments likely next February or March. A ruling could come by late June, smack in the middle of the 2008 presidential election campaign.

At issue is one that has polarized judges and politicians for decades: Do the Second Amendment's 27 words bestow gun ownership as an individual right, or do they bestow a collective one -- aimed at the civic responsibilities of state militias -- making it therefore subject to strict government regulation.

Story is linked above if you'd like to read the rest. Story is from www.cnn.com

Next spring is either going to be a very happy, or very sad day for Norm. You may just see me at a protest! *gasp*

From 6:30 - 8pm this evening I will be acting MC for Olympia Poetry Network's November reading at Traditions Cafe and I am very happy to present Jennifer Borges Foster to Olympia.

Jennifer curated ACT's The Roethke Readings this past August, served as Festival Programming Director for the 2007 Seattle Poetry Festival, was recently dubbed a Stranger Genius and just returned from a writer's residency in the Azores. She also writes a mean poem.

The event is open to the public and I encourage anyone interested in the modern Pacific Northwest poetic to attend if able. As usual the first 40 minutes of the evening are dedicated to a community open mic.