January 2010 – Page 4 – Shall Not Be Questioned

Rodentgate Continues

For those that don’t follow the gory details (and gory is highly appropriate in this case) of Pennsylvania Capitol happenings, it looks like the Capitol Cafeteria has failed yet another health inspection. It was originally closed back in December due to numerous rodent droppings, among other things. The Capitol was re-opened by none other than our own governor, who wanted to show the people of the Commonwealth that rodent crap never killed anyone.

Capitol Ideas asks why Aramark still has the contract. That’s a good question. Just remember folks, these are the same types of people who want to make health care decisions for all of us too.

UPDATE: Now this explains why the Aramark Contract wasn’t cancelled:

But to Rendell, who broughtÂ Philadelphia-based Aramark in as the food vendor six years ago, this visit was his way of giving an all-clear to the thousands in theÂ Capitol workforce that theÂ once-popular restaurant is clean and safe again. “I haveÂ 100 percent confidence that this is as clean a restaurant now as any facility in the state, and I have no problem eating here,” Rendell said as heÂ dug in, joined by Cathleen McCormick, hisÂ top capital projects aide.

Aramark is a big Philadelphia based employer. Patronage is a bitch. This is what you get, people of Pennsylvania, for electing a Philadelphia Mayor as Governor. Never again. Thankfully Ed is one rat who’s droppings we won’t have see around Harrisburg after this year.

Soda More Expensive than Beer

It will be cheaper to have a cold beer than a cold soda if New York’s governor has his way. It may not be a good beer, but beer nonetheless.

â€œA six-pack of soda is going to cost you approximately $4.99â€ if the penny-an-ounce tax goes through, Mr. Eusebio said, â€œwhere you can pick up beer from $2.99 to $3.99.â€

Off to the neighborhood supermarket, where it turned out that Mr. Eusebioâ€™s math was not far off. With the tax, a six-pack of Coca-Cola or Pepsi would cost 2 cents more than a six-pack of the cheapest beer in the store.

It’s a crusade for cash to bridge the gap due to too much spending, and it’s been framed as a health initiative to tax people away from unhealthy beverages. It’s unclear what the next taxes on beer will be when there’s a upward spike in alcoholism.

A Tired Internet Meme, but Still Funny

Hitler finds out how much the new Bushmaster ACR will cost:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BB0Pu-rvFjs[/youtube]

Washingtonians Show Up

Looks like Washingtonians showed up in large numbers to oppose the proposed “assault weapons” ban in their state. This is over a bill that didn’t have much of a chance of getting out of committee. When are the anti-gun people going to face the fact that this issue is not a winning one for them? Back in 2004, the Bradys promised we’d see a half dozen or so states pass their own ban if the federal ban were allowed to expire. They’ve passed exactly zero. In a decade, there has been absolutely no traction on this issue anywhere — even if their safe states. It’s time to admit defeat and move on.

O’Conner Not Liking Citizens United Ruling

I thought that McConnell v. FEC was one of the most disappointing O’Conner decisions over her career. It doesn’t seem her opinion on the matter has mellowed:

â€œGosh,â€ she said, â€œI step away for a couple of years and thereâ€™s no telling whatâ€™s going to happen.â€

Justice Oâ€™Connor criticized the recent decision,Â Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, only obliquely, reminding the audience that she had been among the authors ofMcConnell v. Federal Election Commission, the 2003 decision that was overruled in large part on Thursday.

â€œIf you want my legal opinionâ€ about Citizens United, Justice Oâ€™Connor said, â€œyou can go readâ€ McConnell.

As it is, I agree with O’Conner on the problems of an elected judiciary, which she goes on to discuss in the article, and I am a great admirer of O’Conner’s principled stances on federalism (she was one of the three justice minority in Raich). But I think on this issue, she is very wrong.

What’s That Spinning Sound I Hear?

Oh, I think it’s just Tom Jefferson increasing his subterranean angular momentum a bit after hearing about this. Hopefully just the fact they were sued will give the park service some pause next time some folks decide to engage in some non-disruptive expression. You never know when they might have access to well-respected civil rights attorneys.

All Quiet on the Western Front

I don’t know if anyone else has noticed, but there’s not a whole lot going on in the gun rights world right now. We don’t really have any major legislation advancing, either pro-or-anti, at least in my areas of focus. The media is too busy talking about other things to editorialize on guns, and I think the Brady folks might be busy polishing up their resumes, after the Obama failing grade story got, as best I can tell, fairly minimal press coverage, and not a peep from the White house. I’ve heard nary a peep out of Brady, despite a few opportunities for them to push their issue. On the pro side, Congress is tied up on other issues, we’re all waiting for the next big things to happen in the McDonald case, and other than that, not much else.

I should be pretty happy it’s quiet, considering I’m busy as hell with work and putting in 70 hour weeks in an attempt to take our company in a new direction, and hopefully give it a new lease on life. But it’s deeply unsatisfying to know that blog quality suffers through lack of things to talk about. Generally speaking, the way I blog is to take stories I get through Google alerts, tips, or through reading other blogs, and aggregate them in open tabs in a browser. I keep them sorted according to how interesting they are. When I have time, bang out a bunch of posts, either published immediately or timed for publishing, depending on the time sensitivity. Often times my second or third tier material is stale by the time I get around to it. Lately, I’ve been going through even those, and still not much else out there. So it’s a good time, if you have anything that might be interesting, to send it along.

Another Schuylkyll River Trail Shooting?

Via MikeB, I hadn’t heard about this one. Apparently a guy took a shot at a dog who was charging him. Interestingly enough that he was following good advice:

Bennett said after he crossed the bridge over Markley Street on the way to the Norristown Transportation Center, he spotted a dog running free that was growling in a threatening manner and headed in his direction. Fearing he would be attacked, he fired at the animal with a Glock brand handgun.

Shooting at a dog or other animals threatening to attack a domestic pet or person is legal in Pennsylvania; however, as a precaution, Brooke took the manâ€™s gun and pepper spray he was carrying.

The guy had his gun and spray returned to him. Pepper spray can be useful in these kinds of situations, but charging, angry dog probably isn’t one of them, if your goal is not to get bitten. Given where he was on the trail, I would be concerned the dog was either feral or dangerous myself. I think he made the right call, and obviously the police didn’t have a problem with it. If he had been bitten, you’d want a corpse they can test for rabies. Absent a corpse you go through a series of costly injections as a prophylactic measure. The only problem is that it’s very hard to hit a charging dog, as this guy found out, and unlike humans, an angry dog doesn’t know he’s supposed to stop when he gets shot. I’ve heard of stories of dogs taking multiple hits and still attacking.

It’s not surprising that people carry on the trail. I carried on the trail myself when I used to bike there. The Norristown through Conshohocken leg isn’t the best of neighborhoods, and attacks have happened. I notice also that they didn’t cite this guy for violating the county rule against weapons on the trail. Maybe they got the message that’s not enforceable.

Problems of Amateur Journalism

Freedom of the press is not absolute. Professional journalists generally know their limits. Apparently the guys behind the ACORN sting operation didn’t, and are now facing felony charges.

The FBI, alleging a plot to wiretap DemocraticÂ Sen. Mary Landrieu’s office in downtown New Orleans,Â arrested four people Monday, including James O’Keefe, a conservative filmmaker whose undercover videos at ACORN field offices severely damaged the advocacy group’s credibility.

FBI Special Agent Steven Rayes alleges that O’Keefe aided and abetted two others, Joseph Basel and Robert Flanagan, who dressed up as employees of a telephone company and attempted to interfere with the office’s telephone system.

A fourth person, Stan Dai, was accused of aiding and abetting Basel and Flanagan. All four were charged with entering fedral property under false pretenses with the intent of committing a felony.

While I’m sure Landrieu has skeletons in her closet she’d not like seeing the light of day, there are good reasons why it’s unlawful to tap a Senator’s phone or bug an office. Senators, particularly those who sit on some key oversight committees, have access to information that’s sensitive for national security purposes. O’Keefe did good work taking down ACORN, but he went too far here. He’ll be lucky if he beats a felony rap on this one.

Banning Books

I’ve heard cases of schools banning books before, but this is probably the first case I’ve ever heard of where a school has tried to ban a dictionary. Hat tip to Marginal Revolution, who adds: “Words fail me and now apparently also the students in Menifee.”