If this was the Sacramento PD's strategy, then that might be a good rationalization for it. But Officer Michelle clearly states that their policy is to notify the registered owner upon recovery before the vehicle is towed and impounded. Based upon my experience and that of others, this would appear to be in direct conflict with reality. One might counter that we are not talking about a large sample of vehicle theft victims - that the numbers accounted for by me and the others who have commented here do not represent a large enough percentage to draw that conclusion. But when looked at from the other side, isn't it telling that not one story of a successful vehicle recovery sans impounding has been told? Not one. Curious, no?

This is not about casting judgement on either the student or the school (administration), it's about the difference between argumentation (a major component of any critical thinking curriculum) and force. In the big picture, the details of this whole affair do not amount to much, but it is a microcosm of any number of situations that do amount to much. Regardless of the student's intent or attitude, there was an opportunity for the school administration to take the intellectual high road and actually show this student how discourse in civilized society is supposed to work. The suspension could have been imposed anywhere within the interaction, but there was only one place to show this student the fallacy contained within his question. And that opportunity is now lost.

I'm aware of this case. It points out quite clearly that the First Amendment protection we enjoy while in a public space is not extended in its entirety to the schools. I'd say that this case would constitute a gray area, as evidenced by some schools allowing the slogan while others do not. But that is not what this column is about anyway.

I have never heard of a stolen vehicle recovery in which the registered owner was contacted prior to the vehicle being towed. But I know more than a handful of people who have told the same story that "tistay" wrote about. And it's not just the Sacramento PD... it happened to me in Reno. The police recovered my stolen truck and, after holding it for evidence for several days, would not release it to me until I payed the tow company that they had bring it to them.

I went as a fan and only a fan this time. I didn't even bring my camera.

I became a fan of the Scorpions after the release of the Lovedrive album (1979) and I have been a fan ever since. I saw them perform in large venues (including the 1983 US Festival) and every time they were tight, professional and delivered - which is something I can't say about the 1983 US headliner, Van Halen. The only disappointment was that they could not possibly play everything I have come to know and love over their long career. RATT, on the other hand, should go back to the cellar. Pearcy's voice barely made it through a relatively short set and by the time they played their their signature song, Round and Round, he was all but done for. Some old rock and roll bands need to just quietly fade away...

Indeed.

If what you say is true, then we should have seen Props 16 and 17 both pass - they did not. Enough voters saw through the corporate manipulation of the initiative process (which is the exact opposite of its original intent) to reject these measure designed to benefit specific interests but disguised as measures to "give power to the people." Although it is true that the gazillionaires won their respective races in the Republican primary, they are now in a precarious position of trying to justify their personal expenditures to the entire state in the general election - an historically untenable position in California. Because political advertising is largely reliant on 30-second advertisments, arguments are most effectively made with an appeal to pathos, although they are usually portrayed as logical appeals and made by those who exploit their (presummed) credibilty. But even the most uninformed voter who is truly undecided grows weary of the relentless attacks and can't help but notice that something is just not right. PG&E outspent opponents to Prop 16 by at least two orders of magnitude - the measure ran virtually unopposed, yet it still went down in defeat. Those voters must have received their cues from somewhere - perhaps they came from PG&E itself.

I'm not so sure a Hagar/Wilsons duet (triet?) is such a great idea. Although Hagar and the Wilson sisters hail from basically the same era, they do so with a decidedly different focus musically. The pairing of the two bands is genius (I saw the Outlaws open for Iron Maiden once - bad idea), but there are vast stylistic differences between the two that I think are best left alone. Having said that, I certainly wouldn't head for the restrooms if they were to take the the stage together. Regarding Heart's guitar player, yes he was good, but so have the other five or six lead guitars that have played for the Wilson sisters over the years. Every member of Heart has changed over many times except Ann and Nancy Wilson - they are the heart of Heart. I mentioned the keyboardist only because she was one of the three band members that performed that particular rendition of "Alone," one without an electric guitar, bass or drums - it was stirring to say the least, which is saying something considering "Alone" is not exactly my favorite Heart song. You might have noticed that I didn't mention Sammy Hagar's band members either. When I saw him in 1980, Bill Church ("The electric Church") was on bass, Gary Pihl was lead guitar and Denny Carmassi was on drums. For many years that concert was the benchmark by which all others were measured - in some respects it still is. But even with that talent sharing the stage with him, Hagar was the show. Sunday night, this much had not changed. @ Casey - Thanks, it was good to see you there. All of you over at Sac Press are doing a great job.

Josh, May I call you Josh? Great. I took the liberty to go back over your comment history and it appears as though you have never posted a positive comment. It begs the question, why do you waste your time reading what you have variously termed, "retarded," "horribly written" and "boring" (twice) stories? Surely you have something better to do with your time. Coming in at a little less than 800 words, it should take the average reader no more than a few minutes to read this story and, like any good news story, the gist of the event can be found within the first two or three sentences. Those who are interested, i.e. those who are into motorcycles, interested in civic events or are looking for economic indicators, might find themselves compelled to read further. I am flattered, however, that you took the time to read my “too long” and “really boring” story - even more so that you bothered to comment on it. Those precious few minutes of your time are now forever mine. Thank you, Michael Althouse