Subattical: Update

Where to start? I'm not even sure if anyone reads this anymore... To those faithful, many apologies for the almost-year hiatus. Since the last post, Jim has moved on and is no longer authoring the blog. A big thanks to him for the plethora of information he added and contributed.

If there's anyone out there, comment on this post and let me know what you'd like to see (if different from what we've already done).

If there's no one out there, I will withdraw myself from the blog and leave it as-is. There is still a substantial amount of information available through the 'Search' feature.

Thank you to our 27,000-something people who have read our blog.

Update: Assisted Suicide Law in Washington state, Nine Months Later

SEATTLE - The state of Washington says 63 suicide prescriptions were dispensed during the first nine months of the state's "death with dignity" act to people between the ages of 48 and 95.

The Health Department said Thursday that of the 63 who received lethal doses, 47 are known to have died.

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Anti-Government Groups Show Alarming Increase

LOS ANGELES (March 2) -- The number of American anti-government militia and "patriot" groups, largely dormant since their heyday in the mid-1990s, mushroomed at an "astonishing" rate last year, raising "grave concern" about the potential for future domestic terrorism, according to a new report by the Southern Poverty Law Center.

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Computer Tech Classes Rise in Popularity in Chinese Schools

SAN FRANCISCO - A series of online attacks on Google and dozens of other American corporations have been traced to computers at two educational institutions in China, including one with close ties to the Chinese military, say people involved in the investigation.

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TSA Forces 4 Year Old to Take Off Braces

Ryan was taking his first flight, to Walt Disney World, for his fourth birthday.

The boy is developmentally delayed, one of the effects of being born 16 weeks prematurely. His ankles are malformed and his legs have low muscle tone. In March he was just starting to walk.

Mid-morning on March 19, his parents wheeled his stroller to the TSA security point, a couple of hours before their Southwest Airlines flight was to depart.

The boy's father broke down the stroller and put it on the conveyor belt as Leona Thomas walked Ryan through the metal detector.

The alarm went off.

The screener told them to take off the boy's braces.

The Thomases were dumbfounded. "I told them he can't walk without them on his own," Bob Thomas said.

"He said, 'He'll need to take them off.' "

Ryan's mother offered to walk him through the detector after they removed the braces, which are custom-made of metal and hardened plastic.

No, the screener replied. The boy had to walk on his own.

Leona Thomas said she was calm. Bob Thomas said he was starting to burn.

They complied, and Leona went first, followed by Ryan, followed by Bob, so the boy wouldn't be hurt if he fell. Ryan made it through.

By then, Bob Thomas was furious. He demanded to see a supervisor. The supervisor asked what was wrong.

"I told him, 'This is overkill. He's 4 years old. I don't think he's a terrorist.' "

The supervisor replied, "You know why we're doing this," Thomas said.

Thomas said he told the supervisor he was going to file a report, and at that point the man turned and walked away.

A Philadelphia police officer approached and asked what the problem was. Thomas said he identified himself and said he was a Camden officer. The Philadelphia officer suggested he calm down and enjoy his vacation.

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Dotcommunism In-Action

In an effort to clamp down on news spreading about mass protests that have grown in recent months, the Iranian government has blocked its citizens' access to Web sites, censored local journalists and prevented foreign reporters from entering the country.

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Duck Tales on Inflation