Category Archives: Political Animals

A Specter is Haunting the NFL

Posted on May 14, 2008 | Comments Off on A Specter is Haunting the NFL

Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA) wants the federal government to open an investigation of the NFL’s Spygate scandal.

For those not in the know, the New England Patriots are accused of taping other teams’ signals from the bench. That is against league rules.

We are fighting two wars. Economic growth is slowing down. Entitlement programs like Social Security and Medicare are headed for financial meltdowns.

Sen. Specter’s solution? Involve the federal government in a sports league’s internal affairs.

Priorities please, Senator.

On the other hand, any time the Senate spends bungling this issue is time they can’t spend bungling more important matters. Maybe there’s a silver lining to this political grandstanding, after all.

Comments Off on A Specter is Haunting the NFL

Posted in Political Animals, Sports

TruckNutz Update

Posted on May 2, 2008 | 1 comment

Remember the kerfuffle in Florida over, of all things, fake testicles on the back of pickup trucks?

Via Fark, the situation has resolved itself. As expected, the TruckNutz ban did not pass. Kudos to Florida Senator Carey Baker for making the attempt, though. All the time that the legislature wasted debating his ban was time not spent hurting the state’s economy.

I love it when legislatures waste their time on silliness. More, please.

1 Comment

Posted in Political Animals, regulation

Sometimes Bad Legislation Is Good

Posted on April 25, 2008 | Comments Off on Sometimes Bad Legislation Is Good

Florida’s legislature sure gets a lot done. This is especially impressive since they’re a part-time legislature, in session for only 60 days each year.

Last month they moved to regulate toilet paper quantities in restaurants.

Now they’re trying to solve the most pressing, urgent problem facing their fine state: fake testicles on the back of trucks.

Some people think this a waste of time. They’re right. But I think legislators aren’t being wasteful enough. Any time they spend on inanities like TruckNutz is time not spent strangling the state’s education and health care systems.

As a bonus, the bill’s own sponsor doubts his ban will become law. But he still tied up the Senate by having them vote on it. Since it passed, now the Assembly will have to waste time voting on it.

Kudos, I say.

Comments Off on Sometimes Bad Legislation Is Good

Posted in Economics, Political Animals, Public Choice

Orwell Returns to Arlington

Posted on April 18, 2008 | Comments Off on Orwell Returns to Arlington

Arlington County’s red light cameras are coming back this summer.

The ostensible reason is safety. OK, fair enough. But statistics show that accident rates actually tend to go up at intersections that have cameras installed. How does that happen?

Yellow light times are often shortened. That way the cameras nab more drivers running reds and can issue more tickets. That means more revenue for local governments. It also means more accidents for drivers.

This pattern has played itself out everywhere from Colorado to Texas to DC. At least one politician has publicly acknowledged that his city has the cameras for revenue-generating purposes. The safety angle? That’s just PR.

Now the cameras are coming back here.

Thanks, Arlington.

Comments Off on Orwell Returns to Arlington

Posted in Political Animals, Security Theater

Whoever Wins, We Lose

Posted on April 17, 2008 | Comments Off on Whoever Wins, We Lose

Last night witnessed the 21st(!) Clinton vs. Obama debate.

The general consensus seems to be that Obama gives a better stump speech, but Clinton does better in debates.

It’d be nice if one or the other actually had something to do with competence in performing the President’s duties.

Such is the political process.

So it goes.

Comments Off on Whoever Wins, We Lose

Posted in Political Animals

Bush Shifts Stance on Climate Change

Posted on April 16, 2008 | Comments Off on Bush Shifts Stance on Climate Change

The President is announcing today a new intiative on climate change.

Politically, this is great news for Democrats. If passed, the President’s proposals would slow down the economy. They would also do little to reduce CO2 emissions.

When this becomes apparent, Democrats can blame Republicans for enacting failed policies. This despite the fact that many of those policies originated with Democrats.

Politics is a dirty business, isn’t it?

Comments Off on Bush Shifts Stance on Climate Change

Posted in Political Animals, The New Religion

Voting vs. Not Voting: The Debate Continues

Posted on April 9, 2008 | Comments Off on Voting vs. Not Voting: The Debate Continues

One of the reasons I don’t vote is because my vote is unlikely to ever change the outcome of an election. Not even if I had lived in Florida in 2000, would my one vote have tipped the scales.

Well, it turns out one-vote elections do actually happen. This week there was one in the county I grew up in, of all places.

After a recount, Jim Kaplan won the Racine County 4th District Supervisor position. By one vote.

He’s also an alderman, and plans to hold both positions going forward. Not sure how I feel about that.

There’s one reason to reconsider my non-voting stance.

Comments Off on Voting vs. Not Voting: The Debate Continues

Posted in Elections

Cult of the Presidency

Posted on April 9, 2008 | Comments Off on Cult of the Presidency

Gene Healy, a former colleague, is back from a blogging hiatus.

He has a new book coming out, The Cult of the Presidency: America’s Dangerous Devotion to Presidential Power. The gist of it is that a lot of people think of the President as some kind of national savior and spiritual protector. Think an amalgam of Superman, Jesus Christ, and Santa Claus. Gene thinks those expectations are bit much. He sees a more modest role for the executive branch.

Looks like a good book. It’s certainly timely. All three remaining candidates share grandiose, outsized conceptions of the Presidency.

Comments Off on Cult of the Presidency

Posted in Elections, Executive Power, Political Animals

Legislative Hubris

Posted on April 1, 2008 | Comments Off on Legislative Hubris

“Usually a custom refuses to be changed by a law.”

-Will and Ariel Durant, The Age of Voltaire, p.351.

Comments Off on Legislative Hubris

Posted in Great Thinkers, Pith, Political Animals

I Don’t See This Working Very Well

Posted on March 28, 2008 | Comments Off on I Don’t See This Working Very Well

Congress is working on a housing assistance package to help bail out the 2% of homeowners under threat of foreclosure.

Presumably the other 98% will pay for it, with help from non-homeowners.

I don’t see this ending well. Lenders made some risky loans they shouldn’t have. They should pay the price for their mistakes.

Bailouts take away incentives to moderate risk-taking. That means risky, failure-prone mortgage loans will continue just as before. Absent better incentives, I see more bailouts happening in the future.

Comments Off on I Don’t See This Working Very Well

Posted in Bailouts, Economics, Political Animals