Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Still Cranky After All This Time
Friday, April 4, 2008
What Makes Me Cranky
As the days and weeks passed, I did return to a normal life, but with some differences. I volunteered more, started to consider new career choices, and the TV in the kitchen was always on and tuned to a 24 hour news station. Subconsciously I think I felt that if craziness could rain down from the sky at any moment, I needed to be vigilant.
People were actually booing the President of the United States when he walked out onto the field at the National’s new stadium to throw out the first pitch on opening day (night). This is bugging me on a couple of levels. First off, I was always taught that even if you didn’t respect the person, you had to respect the position. This meant being civil and saving dissent for appropriate times. I still think that’s a good rule. The world needs a whole lot more civility. Second, the president was there to celebrate our national pastime of baseball and a new stadium for our nation’s capital. Why did people have to mar that moment with their political statement?
The Federal Election Commission is now defunct because 100 politicians refuse to do their job. The FEC is supposed to have a total of six commissioners appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate. Currently there are only two serving commissioners, and these both have expired terms. Because they were previously approved by the Senate, the rules allow them to continue to serve until new commissioners have been appointed and confirmed. Three additional individuals have been appointed (more than two years ago) but are not yet confirmed. These three served as recess appointees for two years, but their terms expired at the end of December. One more resigned in February 2007, and a replacement has not been nominated. That’s a real problem since the commission’s own rules require four members be present at any meeting to establish a quorum.
Since the end of 2007, The FEC has been unable to conduct any official business. On the one hand, I am furious to be paying the salary of a bunch of Senators who are unwilling to sit down in a room and do their job – that is give an up or down vote on these nominees. On the other hand, the primary purpose of the FEC is to regulate the financing of federal election campaigns. Since I view a good part of the regulations (especially McCain/Feingold) as unconstitutional, maybe it is OK that these commissioners have their hands tied.
Friday, February 29, 2008
Mandatory Pet Sterilization in Los Angles
My first thought was, “That can’t be the whole story.” This sounded pretty extreme even for California, a state known for the public’s willingness to cede personal freedom to the government.
Further investigation revealed that the gist of the story is true. According to the Blog of Ed Boks, General Manager LA Dept of Animal Services, the Spay/Neuter Ordinance requires all pet owners to have their cats and dogs spayed or neutered at the age of four months. The only exemptions are for show dogs, rescue and other service dogs, or dogs owned by registered breeders.
The press release issued by the office of Mayor Antonio R. Villaraigosa states that the objective of the ordinance is to “decrease the number of pets abandoned and euthanized each year.” Over population of unwanted dogs and cats is a serious problem in some parts of the country. And sadly, the solution for many municipalities is to euthanize large numbers of animals each year. However, this ordinance seems to be killing the gnat with a sledge hammer, and punishes the innocent into the bargain.
How about a law that targets irresponsible pet owners? Those who allow their unaltered animal to breed and then dump the litters on public and non-profit shelters are the real villains. Stiff fines for these people, combined with availability of low or no cost spay and neuter programs, might be a more effective approach.
If unwanted pets are truly a crisis in this country, why are we allowing street dogs to be sent here for adoption through our shelters? Check out programs like Save a Sato that rescues dogs off the streets of Puerto Rico and ships them to Massachusetts and New Jersey shelters. Soi Dog Rescue is another program rescuing dogs from Thailand. The stories and pictures on these websites tear at your heart, but tell me again why we need to import stray dogs?
Perhaps the most interesting question involves how Los Angeles will enforce this ordinance. The Humane Society of the United States publishes Pet Ownership Statistics claiming that 39% of U.S. households own at least one dog. Are the police really going to knock on doors and stop dog walkers on the street demanding proof of sterility?
The libertarian in me wants to scream in righteous rage every time a bone headed approach to a problem results in loss of freedom for the majority of responsible citizens. But that’s just me. What do you think?