PerlStalker's Ramblings

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Seeing Stars: Super Tuesday and Popcorn

Did you all enjoy Super Tuesday? The results are in for most of the states. As I write this, Mitt Romney is edging out Rick Santorum in Ohio by about half a percent. You can find all of the results on Google's election results page.

Mitt has an good sized lead in delegates and with what he picked yesterday, it may have pushed him over the hump into inevitable. Newt won his home state of Georgia but made almost no noise anywhere else. My guess is that he'll drop out within a week or two. That may let Santorum build the not-Romney votes but I'm skeptical.

On to the links.

Colorado

Higher ed in Colorado is looking at another $29 million in cuts. I wonder if it's getting on to time to cut CU and CSU loose and privatize them.
Democrat big spender Pat Stryker has a history of ripping off the Federal government.
Congrats to the various Colorado bloggers who have been digging up all sorts of nastiness surrounding Abound Solar and helping that story go national.

Everywhere else

Suing over high popcorn prices at the movies? Really? What a waste of time and money.
The South Carolina GOP does the right thing and rejects a "purity pledge" for candidates.
Obama wants to bail out housing speculators? No, you shouldn't get bailed out because you gambled and lost.
Step 1) Get huge loans backed by the government. 2) Pay yourself huge bonuses. 3) Cash out while the company goes bankrupt.
If Greece goes under, it's going to take all of Europe with it.

Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Despite Cost "Drugged-Driving" Bill is a Good Idea

Colorado lawmakers ran into an obvious but contentious stumbling block while considering a bill to set legal levels for "driving while drugged."

But SB 117 carries with it some weighty baggage: The state Public Defender's Office estimates the bill will cost the office nearly $600,000 more per year to defend drugged-driving cases.

"The increased workload on my agency," Douglas Wilson, the state public defender, testified before a legislative committee debating the bill last month, "will be significant, and it will be costly."

That's right, the cost. If you're going to charge a person with "drugged-driving", you're going to have to pay someone to do it. This would be a wonderful use for drug taxes (such as those on medical marijuana). Despite the cost, this is an important first step if you want to legalize drug use.

Like alcohol, drugs screw with a person's perception of things. I have no problem if a person wants to fly at home but as soon as they get on the road, they become everyone else's problem. This law and ones like it provide suitable punishments if a user proves to be a menace to someone else on the road. We do exactly the same thing with alcohol.

The problem, currently, is that there are no legal standards for determining when a person is impaired due to drug use. If the state can't prove that a user meets a defined level, then any conviction is based solely on subjective evidence instead of facts. This law attempts to set that defined level.

Keep in mind, if a person is weaving all over the road, that person is going to be pulled over. It doesn't matter if the person is high or not. All this law does is ensure that that person faces additional penalties if provably.

Seeing Stars: Guns and Bias

Media bias and guns showed up all over the place yesterday. Enjoy.

Colorado

Let me get this straight. Instructors don't want a gun bill to pass because then the class that they get paid to teach would no longer be required. No bias there. Nope none at all.
Speaking of bias, The Colorado Observer has an interesting discussion of media bias from "Media Fairness and the 2012 Campaign".
The Colorado Supreme Court ruled unanimously that the state's concealed carry law applies to the University of Colorado therefore CU cannot ban the concealed carry of weapons on campus.
Online schools have been gaining popularity ... among bill topics. I love online schools but the teacher's unions have been working hard to destroy them.
"This year we did something a little bit out of the norm," said Alamosa School District Superintendent Rob Alejo. "I met with the administrators and asked them for ideas." Really? That's out of the norm?
A Democrat Senate committee shot down two gun bills.

Everywhere else

The House and Senate are in for a busy week.
SEIU is using front groups to "hide" their involvement in anti-capitalist rallies.
The conservative blacklist is alive and well in Hollywood.
There's a double standard on the Left about how comments about women are treated? You don't say.
No, Maryland, citizens don't need a "good reason" to be armed.

Monday, March 5, 2012

Seeing Stars: Happy Monday

I hope you're all rested up and ready for another fun filled week of backstabbing and intrigue and that's just in the Republican presidential primary.

On to the links.

Colorado

Senator Udall and Congressman Tipton are thrilled that Obama promised not to detain people in terror investigations. Sadly, we have to rely on the promise of a habitual liar to ensure that our rights aren't violated. I'm not hopeful.
Colorado lawmakers have the good sense to laugh at the North Korean government.
With the nearly $53,000 my state rep. made last year, maybe I could afford to win an election.
All things being equal, Colorado should get out of the train business.
The House is one step closer to allowing local government's to invest is riskier investments i.e., the Federal government.

Everywhere else

Rush's choice of words was bad and should be called on it but the Left is lying about the Catholic Church and other's response and few outside of the blogosphere are calling them on it.
Mitt Romney won the Washington caucus with Ron Paul just barely edging out Rick Santorum.
What if the government treated eating the same way it treats sex?
How is this not a racial hate crime? Oh, yeah, because the victim is white.

Saturday, March 3, 2012

Seeing Stars: National Old Stuff Day

Happy National Old Stuff Day. Finally a day to celebrate Ron Paul.

On to the links, my friends.

Colorado

Even more Democrats are caught up in the fund raising scandal.
Are county clerks trying to avoid oversight?
Lawmakers want to ensure that someone is on the board of the new Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission who wants lock up all that land.

Everywhere else

Dems to Lobbyists: If you give to Republicans, we'll tax the snot out of you.
The Chevy Volt, the car that America "had to build", will be stop being built for five weeks.
Ace has a great post about the failing of "solidarity" on the Right. It's well worth the time to read.
Sorry, Nancy. Just because a bunch of people buy something doesn't mean that the government gets to force someone else to pay for them.
The myth of the Pentagon's budget.
The House, in a nearly unanimous vote, has decided to ban protests near Federal officials.
Hey, look. President Obama's tax plan has $2 trillion in tax hikes.
Here's another in a long line of people who abuse copyright laws to get critics to shut up.

"I like nonsense, it wakes up the brain cells. Fantasy is a necessary ingredient in living; it’s a way of looking at life through the wrong end of a telescope. Which is what I do, and that enables you to laugh at life’s realities." -- Theodor Geisel

Friday, March 2, 2012

Seeing Stars: RIP Andrew Breitbart

Andrew Breitbart is dead. His death of natural causes was announced early yesterday morning. Beitbart was an aggressive defender of conservative thought and was determined that the Right not leave themselves defenseless in the political war with the Left. He took the fight to tyrants on the Left and won.

The outpouring of love from his friends and compatriots was a heartfelt as the vile filth spewed by many on the Left who were all but dancing on his grave. Hear ye the words of those who knew him.

On to the links.

Colorado

Celebrating a failing company in an official Congressional mailing not usually a good idea.
How much of an impact do vouchers have on school district budgets?
Senator Brandon Shaffer was more than happy to push his compatriots into voting for the per-diem increase but wasn't in a hurry to vote for it himself.
A bill which changes how PERA employee pensions is calculated cleared a House Committee. It will probably pass the House but will die in the Senate where the Democrat majority kneels at the alter of public unions.
Gov. Hickenlooper calls Lt. Gov. Garcia a "rising sex star". Having met Lt. Gov. Garcia, let me assure you that that phrase does not apply.

Everywhere else

The Senate voted against religious liberty. Ed Morrissey gives a good idea of what's a stake if the Catholic Church closes its hospitals and other agencies because of this rule.
Eight percent inflation? That matches is what I've seen at the stores here.
Once again President Obama ignores the law and fails to present a plan to deal with Medicare's failings.
Sheriff Joe Arpaio has declared Obama's birth certificate a forgery. Behold the wave of birthers crying for joy.
A NASA laptop containing control codes for the International Space Station has been stolen. Note that NASA didn't even take the basic precaution of encrypting the laptop.
RIAA CEO thinks SOPA opposition was a "one-time thing". He is very wrong.
The Michigan GOP decided, after the primary, to award both delegates to Mitt Romney despite the previous rules that would have split them between Romney and Rick Santorum. If that doesn't make the election look fixed, I don't know what does.

Thursday, March 1, 2012

Seeing Stars: Another Solar Company Bites It

Yes, friends, another solar company is going the way of Solyndra. If your company can't survive without the support of the government, you're doing something wrong.

On to the links.