laws | Ain't Complicated

Nuke Woodburn?

The first comment on the following story says so:

Woodburn police say more than a dozen people, some of them gang members, got into a street fight late Thursday, sending one person to the hospital for stab wounds.

Source: Woodburn Police Respond to Large Street Brawl

Weird 🙄

(We used to live in Woodburn. We still do lots of business there. We like Woodburn.)

Anyway, here’s some Oregon news causing less of a flap:

In thousands of Oregon neighborhoods and condo buildings, covenants and other rules ban clotheslines, even from private backyards. Homeowners using clotheslines face threatening letters from their homeowners’ associations and potential fines — not to mention simmering tension with neighbors who consider hanging clothes an eyesore or an emblem of poverty.

[…]

A bill that may soon become law would prohibit homeowner associations and condo associations from banning clotheslines in areas maintained by individual homeowners. House Bill 3090 cleared the Oregon House and could soon reach the Senate floor.

The effort joins others from Hawaii to Connecticut, where state lawmakers are caught in clothesline politics.

Source: Oregon legislation puts backyard laundry on the line

I’m all for clotheslines. In fact, we used them extensively in the past. I’ve even posted about them previously:

(Over) Collection Agency?

In yesterday’s news from the New York Times…

Officials Say U.S. Wiretaps Exceeded Law

The National Security Agency intercepted private e-mail messages and phone calls of Americans in recent months on a scale that went beyond the broad legal limits established by Congress last year, government officials said in recent interviews.

Several intelligence officials, as well as lawyers briefed about the matter, said the N.S.A. had been engaged in “overcollection” of domestic communications of Americans. They described the practice as significant and systemic, although one official said it was believed to have been unintentional.

But despite my repeated warnings on this blog, you continue to discuss all manner of stuff via email and phone. Don’t you?! Yeah, I thought so.

I, too.

“I don’t have anything to hide,” is such a lame defense or explanation or boast or whatever it is.

If you have nothing to hide, you shouldn’t mind telling me anything and everything about yourself. 😆

Is Texas Too Big to Fail?

Drudge is reporting:

Gov. Rick Perry joined state Rep. Brandon Creighton and sponsors of House Concurrent Resolution HCR 50 in support of states’ rights under the 10th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

:I believe that our federal government has become oppressive in its size, its intrusion into the lives of our citizens, and its interference with the affairs of our state,” Gov. Perry said. “That is why I am here today to express my unwavering support for efforts all across our country to reaffirm the states’ rights affirmed by the Tenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. I believe that returning to the letter and spirit of the U.S. Constitution and its essential 10th Amendment will free our state from undue regulations, and ultimately strengthen our Union.”

Perry continued: “Millions of Texans are tired of Washington, DC trying to come down here to tell us how to run Texas.”

A number of recent federal proposals are not within the scope of the federal government’s constitutionally designated powers and impede the states’ right to govern themselves. HCR 50 affirms that Texas claims sovereignty under the 10th Amendment over all powers not otherwise granted to the federal government.

It also designates that all compulsory federal legislation that requires states to comply under threat of civil or criminal penalties, or that requires states to pass legislation or lose federal funding, be prohibited or repealed.

Well, what does the 10th Amendment say?

The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.

SEND: Don’t Be Dumb

Please, please!

Don’t Be Dumb!

Cell phone or email or blog or Facebook or MySpace or Twitter or whatever: Beware the Send Button!

“The moment you push ‘send,’
the damage is done.”

The link will take you to the tragic story about Jessica Logan, who took a non-clothes cell photo of herself and sent it to her boyfriend. In a terrible cascade of forwards and resends, hundreds (if not thousands) of people received it. And Jessica was verbally pummeled face-to-face as well as via phone, text, email, Facebook, MySpace, and who knows what other medium.

Things like this make me mad. And sad.

Our technology allows us to do so much dumb (and worse) stuff on a whim. And regret later.

She did something very foolish in taking that photo of herself. She compounded her error by texting that photo to someone else. At that point, a character flaw or a bad attitude or a wrongly-entered recipient or a wrong key pressed or another foolish choice — and the original recipient sent it on.

And the process was repeated. And repeated. And repeated.

Have you learned the lesson now?

Message to Albert and Cynthia Logan: May you find comforting grace in Jesus Christ. As a dad, father-in-law, and grandpa, my heart aches for your daughter…and for you. I’m sorry. 😥

Am I Guilty?

Last fall (is that when it was?) when Congress rushed some multi-billion “package” through and President Bush signed it, I wondered how they could put their signatures and votes to something they had not read carefully and studied thoroughly.

I marveled at such reckless irresponsibility.

Now I see that such an approach must be the norm.

Yet voters continue to send them back to keep doing such things.

Amazing.

I guess.

But do I do the same type thing as the politicians do? Perhaps more than I realize.

But before further introspection, the “news”: Read it all

Quiz With a Point

OK, here are portions of two paragraphs from the story:

…the ___ ambassador to ___, says his country wants the ___ government to fully enforce ___ laws, crack down on….

“If Mexico and the United States are going to be successful, we are going to have to tango together,” ___ said.

What’s the subject: drugs, guns, immigration?

Read it all

Who Wants Children?

34th child abandoned under Neb.’s safe-haven law

A 5-year-old boy has been dropped off at an Omaha, Neb., hospital only a day before the state Legislature begins a meeting to change the state’s safe-haven law.

[…]

Nebraska’s safe-haven law was intended to protect unwanted newborns from being abandoned, but unlike similar laws in other states, Nebraska’s doesn’t include an age limit.

The Legislature opens a rare special session Friday afternoon to change the law and add an age limit.

As of Friday, 34 children have been abandoned under the law. Five have been from out of state.

Free birth control.

Easy abortions.

Safe dumping.

Abuse. Neglect. Unkindness.

Yup. Who wants children?

“Without natural affection,” the Bible says.