An Ohio man decides he’s had enough of high taxes on Tobacco. So he’s growing his own. No doubt anti-smoking activists will work furiously to close this “loophole.”
Category: Civil Liberties
Some in Congress Standing up for Folding Knives
Late news yesterday afternoon that a pair of Congressmen have decided to apply the nuclear option – restrictive amendments to their budgets, to let the Department of Homeland Security know they don’t like the proposed Customs and Border Patrol measure designed to change the definition of a switchblade knife. The new CBP definition, if adopted, would basically cut the modern knife industry to the quick as approximately eighty percent of knives currently in production would fall into the definition of switchblade because of their assisted-opening feature.
Representatives Bob Latta (R-Ohio) and Walt Minnick (D-Idaho) have co-sponsored an amendment to the Department of Homeland Security appropriations bill to restrict funds to the proposed CBP rule on switchblades.
Good for Reps. Latta and Minnick. Hopefully we can get some more legislators on this bandwagon. Write your legislators today and ask them if they’ll join their two colleagues.
Bob Barr on Pocket Knife Ban
Because It’s Worked So Well
Tom Coburn, who is a smart enough man to realize the futility of gun control, doesn’t seem to think you or I should be able to light up. Just what we need! Another drug to have a war on. Because, you know, it’s worked out so well for all the other ones.
Note to Senator Coburn: this kind of crap is why Republicans lose.
SCCC Speech Banned at Allegheny Community College
Eugene Volokh discusses a case where Students for Concealed Carry on Campus was hushed by campus officials of Allegheny County Community College (the county in Pennsylvania which contains Pittsburgh), which is dubiously constitutional.
UPDATE: SayUncle also has it.
More Smoking Bans
Looks like Wisconsin is the latest state to jump on the smoking ban bandwagon. Pennsylvania has one now too, but at least there’s exceptions for bars, and other places people can expect people would be smoking, like Cigar shops.
Wisconsin’s bill is a lot worse, but it does exempt Indian reservations, so take your wampum to your local Indian Casino and smoke all you want while you gamble. I knew this issue was pretty much lost when North Carolina passed a smoking ban. North Carolina!?!? Hello!
Good News for Gun Clubs
Some politicians in Pennsylvania are looking to exempt non-profit food preparation from our state’s onerous health laws:
A law that has been on the books in Pennsylvania since 1945 says food that is sold at fish fries, spaghetti dinners, bake sales or any other church or community organization fundraiser, has to be made in a commercial kitchen that passes federal inspection. None of the food for sale can be made in parishioners’ homes. According to Sen. Rich Kasunic, the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture never enforced the rule until recently.
Being able to serve food is an important part of running a successful match. Competitors are there all day, and it’s good to be able to feed them. This is something clubs, and I would argue even NRA, should consider getting behind. Especially to make sure shooting clubs are exempted as well as churches. Many clubs in our state are taking a chance serving food to members. We shouldn’t have to worry about that.
Home Improvement: You’re Going to Jail
All of you who have given us advice or thoughts on lighting – yeah, pack your bags and open your wallets. In many states, you could risk jailtime or fines for taking on the task of interior design without state certification.
It was a trap, and you all fell for it!
Kidding, of course. I just saw this video while composing my last lighting post yesterday and thought I would share. It’s absurd. Good for Reason for highlighting this crap.
What Lengths They Will Go To
It’s amazing what lengths the elite in Philadelphia will go through in order to justify turning the city into a low level prison for everyone, rather than identifying and locking up the people causing the trouble. Hell, not even identifying. We know who they are. It’s just a matter of having the will to put them in prison and keep them there.
Banning certain types of alcohol sales has been a pet project of a lot of politicians in the City of Philadelphia for a while now. In fact, back when I first got started, I pissed of City Councilmember Jim Kenney by accusing him of soft racism in trying to ban malt liquor ads from SEPTA buses. Now I guess they will have an academic paper to back up the assertion that certain types of people just can’t handle alcohol, and have to have it taken away from them.
Losing the Internet Generation
Texas Republicans need to stop this crap:
“While the Internet has generated many positive changes in the way we communicate and do business, its limitless nature offers anonymity that has opened the door to criminals looking to harm innocent children,” U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, a Texas Republican, said at a press conference on Thursday. “Keeping our children safe requires cooperation on the local, state, federal, and family level.”
Joining Cornyn was Texas Rep. Lamar Smith, the senior Republican on the House Judiciary Committee, and Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott, who said such a measure would let “law enforcement stay ahead of the criminals.”
Two bills have been introduced so far–S.436 in the Senate and H.R.1076 in the House. Each of the companion bills is titled “Internet Stopping Adults Facilitating the Exploitation of Today’s Youth Act,” or Internet Safety Act.
Each contains the same language: “A provider of an electronic communication service or remote computing service shall retain for a period of at least two years all records or other information pertaining to the identity of a user of a temporarily assigned network address the service assigns to that user.”
Technologically, that’s next to impossible to enforce, since user information is not currently built into any of the technologies. It would require businesses and providers to add an extra layer of authentication onto their networks. In other words, this is an IT nightmare of epic proportions, not even mentioning the civil liberties implications. Republicans have been driving educated voters from their party in hoards, and it’s especially true in the Philadelphia Suburbs, which even a decade ago was considered a Republican stronghold. Measures like this is part of the reason why. I believe the Texas delegation ought to seriously rethink the implications of this bill on the party as a whole.
Kiddie Porn is becoming the new drug war. There’s no civil liberty or aspect of commerce that where federal meddling can’t be justified in order to stamp it out. Next time Steele comes soliciting for funds, I might have to send a copy of this bill back in the envelope with “no thanks” written on it.
Hat Tip to War on Guns for the link.