I’m forced to take a leave of absence

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I’ve been posting at ilind.net more or less regularly for 26 years, beginning in early 2000, if I recall correctly (although it might have been the following year).

I think this is the first time I’m reluctantly putting it aside for more than a few days.

The greatly edited story is that I watched the weekend’s storm from a 6th floor room at Straub Hospital.

Two attempts to complete an endoscopy failed, and I’m hoping to be admitted to a medical center in San Francisco for further diagnosis and treatment.

I might be moved to grab the keyboard now and then, but I need to avoid that little daily background stress and concentrate on my health.

I know you all understand and I appreciate all of your support.

And don’t forget that this remains a good place to search for interesting tidbits from the past z25 or 26 years.

Subscribers will get a notice when I’m ready to resume.

A second federal judge in Oregon orders limits on use of chemical munitions against protesters in Portland

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In a well-functioning constitutional democratic republic, free speech, courageous newsgathering, and nonviolent protest are all permitted, respected, and even celebrated. In an authoritarian regime, that is not the case. Indeed, a democracy is only as strong as its tolerance for dissent. As Benjamin Franklin wrote:

Freedom of speech is a principal pillar of a free government; when this support is taken away, the constitution of a free society is dissolved, and tyranny is erected on its ruins.

Our nation is now at a crossroads. We have been here before and have previously returned to the right path, notwithstanding an occasional detour. In helping our nation find its constitutional compass, an impartial and independent judiciary, operating under the rule of law, has a responsibility that it may not shirk.

So begins the 34-page decision and order by Judge Michael H. Simon, U.S. District for the district of Oregon, granting a preliminary restraining order restricting the use of chemical weapons against peaceful protesters near the ICE building in Portland, Oregon.

No Enjoined Person may direct or use chemical or projectile munitions, including but not limited to kinetic impact projectiles, pepper ball or paintball guns, tear gas or other chemical irritants, soft nose rounds, 40mm or 37mm launchers, less lethal shotguns, and flashbang, Stinger, or rubber ball grenades, unless the specific target of such a weapon or device poses an imminent threat of physical harm to a law enforcement officer or other person.

No Enjoined Person may fire any munitions or use any weapons described in subsection (a) at the head, neck, or torso of any person, unless the officer is legally justified in using deadly force against that person.

Other restrictions, and conditions under which such munitions can be used, are spelled out in a separate order of preliminary injunction.

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The Portland Chicken in an AP photo included in the original legal complaint.

Plaintiffs in the case include two journalists, a couple in their 80s who were hit by various munitions while peacefully protesting, and the lead named plaintiff, Jack Dickinson, better known as the Portland Chicken. Dickinson’s has appeared at protests outside the ICE facility in a distinctive bright yellow chicken costume to which he owes his chicken identity.

It is the second such opinion in just a few days. On Friday, March 6, another federal judge ordered similar restrictions in a lawsuit brought by residents and owners of a low-income apartment complex across the street from the ICE building.

Did Mike Miske organize a conspiracy to nullify the jury’s forfeiture verdict?

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Don’t miss Madeleine Valera’s story in Civil Beat on the latest twist in the saga of Mike Miske (“Mike Miske Killed Himself To Protect $20 Million Estate, Prosecutors Say“).

Valera does a good job of summarizing the government’s allegation that an ongoing investigation of Miske’s deaths found evidence of a successful conspiracy to smuggle fentynal into Honolulu’s Federal Detention Center. Miske then used the drugs first to inject himself for several days in order to appear to be a regular drug user, and then to administer an overdose he hoped would be determined to be accidental.

The allegations were made in a second amended complaint in the civil forfeiture lawsuit seeking to claim Miske’s properties.

If sustained by the evidence, which has been describe only in general terms, the government argues that the transfer of ownership from Miske to his trust was the product of a conspiracy to obstruct the criminal forfeiture proceeding following the jury’s decision that all of the itemized properties were subject to foreclose.

The government alleges that the plot started with extensive revisions Miske made to his revocable living trust in September 2024, which I described in a later Civil Beat story (“Miske’s Trust: A Look At His Moves To Control His Fortune From The Grave“).

According to the amended complaint:

In early 2025, an inmate incarcerated with MISKE at FDC Honolulu was interviewed by federal investigators about the circumstances surrounding
MISKE’s death. In his interview, the inmate identified MISKE’s source of supply for fentanyl while in custody at FDC Honolulu, identified other inmate(s) who obtained drugs from the same source of supply at the same time, and described his conversations with MISKE, who had expressed a belief and desire that his death by suicide would interfere with the federal government’s criminal forfeiture of the Defendant Properties, based on advice MISKE had received from his attorney(s).

Subsequent interviews with others who had been detained at the facility, as well as other unnamed sources (likely correctional officers or others with knowledge of the situation) identified the same person as Miske’s drug source, prosecutors allege.

Valera’s story fills in the details, with comments from the attorney representing the Miske trust in the forfeiture case.

I would expect federal prosecutors will file a criminal case that would disclose evidence gathered to date.

The section regarding the suicide allegations appeared for the first time in the amended lawsuit filed in Honolulu’s Federal District Court this week.