brainrow

A Connecticut woman tried a unique court-packing scheme:

Cookies mailed to the U.S. Supreme Court last year contained enough rat poison to kill all nine justices, retired member Sandra Day O’Connor said at a conference last week.

Barbara Joan March, a 60-year-old Connecticut woman, was sentenced last month to 15 years in prison. She sent 14 threatening letters in April 2005 — each with a baked good or piece of candy laced with rat poison — to a variety of federal officials: the nine Supreme Court justices; FBI Director Robert Mueller; his deputy; the chief of naval operations; the Air Force chief of staff and the chief of staff of the Army.

Any justice who had succumbed to March’s poisoned treats would have been replaced by a nominee picked by George W. Bush.

The letters did not seem to pose much of a real danger since the threatening note told the recipients the food was poisoned. In court papers submitted with the plea agreement, prosecutors said each of the envelopes contained a one-page typewritten letter stating either “I am” or “We are” followed by “going to kill you. This is poisoned.”

And nobody took even one little bite? But it looked so irresistable!

You know, something about Ms. March’s plan sounds awfully familiar. I can’t quite put my finger…

Quick! Call the FBI! We need to find out whether Don Rumsfeld helped plan this.

I’m not a football fan, but I feel as if I live right in the heart of darkness, just about a mile from the Ohio State University’s famed horseshoe-shaped football stadium.

Whenever there’s a home football game, the whole neighborhood goes into lockdown. Fans from all over take every single parking space for miles around the stadium and litter our yards with their cans and bottles. On nights before a really big game, it’s difficult to get any sleep. The revelers arrive early and make a lot of noise, blaring marching band fight songs and shouting “O-H! I-O!” all night long.

The biggest game of the year is always the Ohio State – Michigan game, a classic rivalry dating back to the early years of the 20th century. This year the game is bigger than ever, because both teams are undefeated, and polls rank Ohio State as #1 in the nation, and Michigan as #2. I just went out to get some lunch, and already High Street is at a virtual standstill.

The Ohio State – Michigan rivalry is often represented as a face-to-face showdown between Woody Hayes and Bo Schembechler, even though it’s been many years since either man coached. While I was out getting lunch, I picked up a copy of a free local paper called Columbus Alive. Right about now, I’ll bet they’re wishing they could take back this cover.

Bo Schembechler died today while taping a TV show about tomorrow’s game.