Saturday, 14 February 2009

In Passing

Why people hate lawyers, episode mmlxvii


Portsmouth (NH) Herald:

The controversy began on the morning of Nov. 4, when [Eric] Rieseberg was in his yard removing political signs that were planted there without his permission, according to documents filed by Rieseberg’s attorney, Stephen Jeffco.  While Rieseberg pulled the signs, Jeffco reported to the court, [attorney Ryan] Russman walked past with his leashed dog and began yelling, “What are you doing?  You can’t do that.  Who do you think you are?”

Rieseberg responded by asking, “Who the (F-) are you?” according to Jeffco.

At that point, Jeffco wrote, Russman “forced his business card onto” Rieseberg, “who was taken [a]back, believing Russman was attempting to solicit him as a client”.  After reading the card, Rieseberg said, “Ryan Russman, you are a (F-ing expletive),” according to Jeffco.

Police reports indicate Russman immediately phoned police to say he felt threatened.
Wherewith, instead of telling Russman to MYOB, the cops charged Rieseberg with disorderly conduct and “criminal threatening.”

Jules Crittenden:
A lot of us mind other people’s business for a living.  Lawyers, politicians, newspapermen, etc.  In this case, however, the professional busybody appears to have made a legal determination (“You can’t do that”) in advance of amassing all relevant facts (“Who do you think you are?”) when in fact he had no jurisdiction (political signs on someone else’s property).  A key question unanswered here is whether the lawyer had a political motivation … Obamism, Democratic leanings, etc. … which would turn this apparent trespass and invasion of the property owner’s privacy into a hate crime.
Oh Jules, you wag you!

The Herald writer wants to frame the case as hinging on whether “F—” qualifies as protected speech under the 1st Amendment.  Seems to me the more important question is whether a citizen, if disturbed by some random attorney while engaged in his own business on his own property, retains the right to tell said attorney off.  Using the F-word, or not.

But then, I’m not a lawyer.


Elsewhere:

Via:  Blair

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Friday, 13 February 2009

In Passing

Supporting your local community?


Frank James grumbles about absentees:

When I was young when a new industry moved into the area, everyone involved with it; workers, sales staff and white collar management; moved into the community with it.  They assumed positions of responsibility both within their industry and company as well as within the community. You could find these people on church boards, school boards and involved with summer activities that benefited a whole range of people.  That is no longer true.

Now, if a new business moves into a rural community, ...the educated staff or those with sought after skills only come into the local community during working hours.  And by that I mean the scientists operating any research lab, the white collar management personnel and/or the people who actually own the business.  When working hours are over, they escape to the larger communities some distance away simply because our small local communities are not good enough for their wives.
...
...Many within our community bust their butts to get new employment into the community and when they succeed our schools deteriorate because the overall student initiative plunges, instead of improves.  We don’t get the kids from the more educated families, instead we get the “transits,”...members of families that move from place to place following whatever low wage work they can find...
Be careful what you wish for.  Times have changed, but the people have changed, too.  Nowadays it’s likely that an incoming company’s “educated staff” and “white collar management personnel” will be Yumpies, bringing along all the social burdens that Yumpies create.  

They won’t be found on the church board, because most don’t attend church; their Sunday mornings are reserved for reading the New York Times at the nearest Starbucks.  Their interest in the local schools is to agitate for “environmental studies” courses (because farmers don’t know anything about the environment!) or perhaps to abolish the Boy Scouts (for being “discriminatory”) or R.O.T.C. (for â€œteaching children to kill people”).  Summer activities?  They’ll be backpacking in Europe, thanks.  And prepare for draconian zoning and land-use regulations (heaven help you if you want to raise hogs or chickens), mandatory recycling programs, and higher taxes.

Ask the native Coloradans, or long-time residents of Texas’s Travis County, what it’s like to have their local culture turned upside down by a bunch of incoming arrogant know-it-alls.

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Thursday, 12 February 2009

In Passing

Wells Fargo Phishery?


Ace:

Since I’m traveling, I wanted to call my bank and let them know I’d be out of the country so that my card would be allowed to work.

I searched on google for the bank, Wells Fargo.  The top result claimed this was Wells Fargo’s official site:

"http://wellsfargo.p.delivery.net/m/p/wls/jmp/jump.asp?page=multiproduct_checking.htm"

After talking to the woman -- and getting a very bad vibe about the questions she was asking -- I decided I might have just gotten phished.
...
I called Wells Fargo. They told me they did not recognize the number I’d called as one of their numbers. And the change I asked to be put through had not been put through.
...
Watch out. Don’t be an idiot like me.

Don’t trust Google’s sponsored links to find phone numbers like this.

Excerpts from the comments, below the break.
more...

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Tuesday, 10 February 2009

In Passing

“Idiots Out Wandering Around”?


Des Moines Register:

The Des Moines police bomb squad determined Sunday that an object that looked like a bomb outside the Iowa Judicial Building was in fact a sump or toilet tank float ball.

The bomb squad was called out shortly before 4 a.m., on Sunday to have a look at the round, black object that was discovered by an Iowa State Patrol trooper.

“They called us and rightly so,” said Police Sgt. Russell Schafnitz.  “I wasn't out there but I understand it had a sinister look about it.  A ball-shaped thing with something sticking out of it.”

Did it have “Acme” written on it, too?

HT:  Tam; post title courtesy of “Anonymous” in the comments.

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In Passing

Difficult to decide


Charles Johnson:

I’m not sure which is more disgusting — this antisemitic rant by a British diplomat, or the fact that in Britain you can be imprisoned for seven years because you said some words.

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Saturday, 07 February 2009

In Passing

Right move, wrong reason


“It’s Vintage, Duh”:

Does it seem to anyone else that quite a few GOP Congressmen/Senators are voting against the spendulus bill because the Dems didn’t let them help draft the disaster?  (As opposed to them voting against it because it’s a bad idea.)
Yep.  Unnamed (’cause I forget who)[1] Congress-critter was on local radio Thursday, carrying on about how “offensive” Obama’s talk of “bipartisanship” was when he appeared before the Republican reps  (as he knew that Peolsi had allowed no Republican input on the House version of the bill).

His talk left me with the strong impression that the stimulus bill might have been acceptable to the Republican caucus if it had included some Republican pork, and that some Republicans had intended to vote for it, but changed their minds when the President failed to give them “proper deference.”[2]  Sad.

-----
[1]  Turns out it was Rep. Steve Buyer (R-IN-5th District).

[2] 17:40. Cleaned up grammar in the second phrase this sentence in the interest of clarity.

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Wednesday, 04 February 2009

In Passing

I hope I’m wrong...


...(seriously, I do), but given the events of the last ten days I wanted to get this out there:



Somebody else is Getting Overwrought Early? Dept:

Hanson link via: LMA

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In Passing

Bounce ’em


Victor Davis Hanson misses the point:

If the liberal Secretary of the Treasury and the even more liberal would-be HHS Secretary did not pay their proper taxes, owed tens of thousands in back taxes, and (apparently) were only willing to address this issue when it was a matter of career advancement in Washington, what does that say about our honor-based tax code?
...
Any more of these stories and we will be on very dangerous ground, since the message is a terrible one to the American people:  You pay your full amount, but our elites not only do not, but won't unless they get caught.

This is all about as good an argument for a flat tax as one can imagine.
And just why should we expect them to pay a flat tax?  These weasels apparently didn’t even attempt to pay what they owed.

The major argument for a flat tax is its simplicity:  Innocent bystanders aren’t as likely to be ensnared by some random complication.

Daschle and Geithner are not a “good argument for a flat tax.”  They’re a good argument for turning the “elites” out of power.


Elsewhere:

Via:  IP

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Tuesday, 03 February 2009

In Passing

Andrea loses her Squeaky



Sometimes all you can do is give ’em love and a warm place, but Andrea, belying her crusty image, did more.   Squeaky’s early history lies hidden in Andrea’s infamous  Disappearing Archives, but some of her backstory can be found here

(Image stolen from this post.)

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In Passing

Reason enough...


Hold it right there!

There’s no reason today why we shouldn’t be using all energy efficient technologies in the home.  The reason we’re not is consumers don’t like this technology.
And in the old days, the answer would be, “Well, fix the technology.”

Today we get mandates from Congress.

Via: IP

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