The West Lafayette voted unanimously to draft a resolution banning pit bulls from the city:

The action came after several recent incidents within Coshocton County involving pit bulls or pit bull breeds, including at least three in West Lafayette this summer.

Not only would the ordinance keep the dogs from living within the village, it would ban dog owners from outside the village from bringing such dogs into the village to walk them. The ordinance will cover dogs with more than 1 percent pit bull bloodline.

Breed specific legislation does not work. Note the arbitrary criteria (more than one percent?). Additionally:

County Commissioner Kathy Thompson attended the meeting and provided council with her take on pit bulls.

“The pit bull situation is really bad,” Thompson said. “Nobody is following the rules that are in place and there are a lot more dog bites. Unfortunately, it takes some sort of incident before anything can be done. It’s definitely a problem and I don’t see it going away.”

And you think that someone disinclined to follow existing rules will follow the new rules? Try prosecuting people who violate existing dog laws.

Yeah, what he said.

No, really:

The closest observed asteroid yet to skim past the Earth without hitting the atmosphere, was reported by astronomers on Sunday.

The previously unknown object, spanning five to 10 metres across, has been named 2004 FU162. It streaked across the sky just 6500 kilometres – roughly the radius of the Earth – above the ground on 31 March, although details have only now emerged.

they keep scoring direct hits:

And questions keep coming. For example, Kerry received a Purple Heart for wounds suffered on December 2nd, 1968. But an entry in Kerry’s own journal written nine days later, he writes that, quote, he and his crew hadn’t been shot at yet, unquote. Kerry’s campaign has said it is possible his first Purple Heart was awarded for an unintentionally self-inflicted wound.

Kerry needs to start explaining some things.

The plan for Knoxville’s downtown library is done for now:

A new downtown library is history for now, with Knox County commissioners opting instead to designate planned borrowed funds for unspecified school projects.

In a 12-6 vote Monday, commissioners approved a recommendation by Commissioner John Griess that the library be shelved.

In the approved action, those long-term funds would be used for school projects, including a possible new West Knox County high school.

Money for schools? In Knoxville? Almost unheard of.

The Christian Science Monitor:

Starting Sept. 14, our law-enforcement officers and the general public will face a more dangerous environment in our communities. It appears that President Bush and Congress are going let the federal Assault Weapons Ban expire. This makes no sense.

On September 14, I’d bet dollars to donuts there will not be an increase in violent crime and I doubt our communities will be a more dangerous environment. Two government studies by he CDC and NIJ have concluded the ban has had no effect on violent crime.

The ban was passed for very practical reasons. Prior to 1994, criminals were armed with enough firepower to outgun the police, making them nearly impossible to subdue, and allowing them to wreak terrible havoc in public places. The ban kept military-style assault weapons out of the hands of criminals. Since the passage of the ban, federal crime statistics show a dramatic 66 percent drop in the incidence of assault weapons traced to crimes. Given that, I can’t think of a rational reason not to renew this law.

Actually, the ban was passed as a symbolic gesture for gun control. The ban does not ban weapons with enough firepower to outgun the police. It bans features weapons can have. An AR15 assault weapon is functionally identical to a Ruger Mini 14. And the 66% number means nothing. The CDC and NIJ (as mentioned above) have concluded there has been no effect on violent crime attributable to the ban. These weapons were used in less than one percent of crimes any way. 66% of an insignificant number is an insignificant number. Also, if these weapons were banned, wouldn’t that number be 100% if it actually did what people say it did?

The rest of the screed is essentially tying the weapons to terror in that they will detract officers from dealing with homeland security.

On assault weapons:

But should the good guys have them? You bet.

State Rep. Candidate Jeff Crites, R — Lafayette, Indiana

No, not a Jessica Cutler joke. Those are here.

Thibodeaux mentioned Butt Paste a while back. Now, the news is talking about it:

Retired Louisiana pharmacist George Boudreaux hasn’t needed Madison Avenue pitchmen to get the word out about his concoction to treat diaper rash. He just lets the name do it for him: Boudreaux’s Butt Paste. “Would you be talking to me if it was called George’s Diaper Cream?” Boudreaux recently asked a reporter.

Superb marketing.

Go read and laugh. You will, honest.

I have seen countless articles on the new overtime changes. What is missing from most of them is what the new changes actually do. Also, it seems our politicos who are making allegations about the rules don’t have much of an understanding of the new rules. The new rules weigh in at a massive 500 pages.

So, if I understand it correctly, the sky is falling but no one knows why.

Today, George W. Bush expressed regret for signing The Incumbent Protection Act err Campaign Finance Reform into law. No, I kid. He actually denounced the Swift Boat Vets’ ad. No, I kid. What he actually did was point out that Kerry should be proud of his Vietnam service and then he railed against political advertisements paid for and aired by outside groups.

Both candidates have now called for the cessation of third party political ads. Free speech for me but not for thee.

My ass. The NRA runs down his gun record. No surprises.

Sad news:

Fourteen search and rescue dogs who dug through the rubble of the World Trade Center have since died.

Eight of the dogs died from cancer.

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine said they don’t believe there is a connection between the deaths and the chemicals the dogs were exposed to.

But the New York Daily News said some dog owners blame the mix of chemicals their dogs were exposed to during the hunt for survivors and remains after the attack on Sept. 11, 2001.

Update: Here’s a tribute to the SAR Dogs of 9/11.

I think this borders on dog abuse.

Heh.

Via XRLQ, the latest FL voting nonsense (this time it involves another state).

In the ever-growing list of weekly blog memes, Jed offers the Weekly Fusillade, which is another round up of gun stuff. Never a shortage of it, which is a good thing.

Janet Jackson claims (per Drudge, so take it for what it’s worth) that the Bush administration used her boob to distract Americans from Iraq.

Meanwhile, SayUncle claims Janet Jackson used her boob to distract her from the fact her career was in the shitter. But what do I know?

Seriously, Jackson’s boobs gaining that much coverage was the result of our media pandering to the lowest common denominator.

Taking a cue from the Kerry Campaign, a restaurant is suing a newspaper whose food critic gave the joint four out of five stars.

Another unsigned editorial:

THE senseless shooting that cut short the life of 6-year-old Bryesha Limbrick focuses attention on firearm legislation. The youngster was shot in the head July 18 while eating ice cream outside an El Monte convenience store. Police Chief Ken Weldon said he is sure the assailants used an assault rifle.

He is sure? Is there any doubt? Of course there is. The criteria defining guns as assault rifles is arbitrary and based on cosmetic features. I doubt that whether or not this weapon had those features is of consequence to the child.

The ban of such weapons didn’t save Bryesha, but failure to re- enact the 1994 prohibition against assault rifles by the Sept. 13 deadline could very well flood the market with the weapons.

The ban didn’t save her nor has it saved anyone else. These weapons have never been common violent crime.

In the Bryesha murder, witnesses said the shooters sprayed the area with bullets. All fully automatic weapons are currently illegal, but semi-automatic assault weapons are easily converted.

And converting those weapons is already illegal. All semi-automatic guns can be converted to full auto-fire. It’s not easier just because the same weapon has a flash suppressor or a pistol grip. In fact, civilian AR15s manufactured in this country are intentionally made harder to convert by not having the holes for M16 parts cut in them.

And, my favorite, is this ridiculous paragraph:

Only the most narrow interpretation of the Second Amendment is consonant with freedom not only to bear arms, but to produce, buy and own weaponry engineered specifically as weapons of war.

Weapons of war are machine guns. The ban does not affect machine guns. And possession of rifles is not a narrow interpretation of the Second Amendment, it’s the correct one.

The article then likens the correct interpretation of the Second Amendment to hate speech. Further, it repeats the tired argument that assault weapons serve no recreational purpose. I suggest the visit the local range or the national matches at Camp Perry.

There is a call for a ban in Indiana since a gunmen went on a rampage last week:

Many Indiana lawmakers say they wouldn’t ban assault weapons, despite last week’s shooting rampage that left one Indianapolis policeman dead and four wounded.

But calls last week to more than half of the state’s 150 legislators found much more interest in finding ways to keep guns out of the hands of people such as Kenneth C. Anderson, a schizophrenic who used an SKS military-style rifle to kill Patrolman Timothy “Jake” Laird during 16 terror-filled minutes early Wednesday morning.

The man was insane (which excludes him from legally owning a gun) and the gun (an SKS) is not covered by the Assault Weapons Ban. Indiana lawmakers aren’t taking the bait:

One big question, many said, was whether a state government can do anything without trampling on the constitutional right to bear arms. It’s a right that many of the lawmakers exercise themselves — about six out of 10 of those contacted by The Indianapolis Star said they own guns.

“Banning guns would not solve the problem,” said Rep. John Frenz, a Vincennes Democrat. “Would it have been better if (Anderson) had killed his mother with an ax and gone after the police with an ax?”

Lawmakers considering the rights of people? An excellent idea. Good for Indiana.

An update on the Americana at Brand case in California states that:

The owner of land where the proposed Americana at Brand shopping center project would be built does not expect to appeal a federal judge’s decision to dismiss a lawsuit claiming the city did not have the authority to take the land by eminent domain.

Instead, the company that owns the land plans to pursue its case in Superior Court.

The attorney for Better Foods Land Investment Company says:

We thought the primary issue is a federal issue about the right to take non-blighted property for what we see as a private use, not a public use.

See other posts here and here.

This American Daily Article writes:

In an unfortunate, but all too foreseeable event, the justices of the Connecticut Supreme Court, those stalwarts of individual liberty, decided that eminent domain should not be limited to merely public use of the land, but should now be expanded to the furtherance of a city’s economic plan.

Sadly, that has become a recent trend in the use (or rather abuse) of eminent domain. The details of the case are:

In Kelo v. City of New London, the plaintiffs were owners of various properties in the city of New London, an area that was targeted to be “revitalized” under a city development plan. 2002 WL 32372999 (Conn.) (soon to be recorded in the Atlantic reporter, second series) In conjunction with a city established development corporation, the plaintiffs were approached to sell their property in furtherance of this goal of rejuvenating the city. This proposal was underway because New London had recently experienced “serious employment declines”, much of which was attributable to the loss of 1900 government sector jobs. Id. at 4.

When the plaintiffs still refused to sell their properties, the government created development corporation, in October 2000, voted to use eminent domain to acquire the property from those refusing to sell. By November 2000, the development corporation began condemnation proceedings on those unwilling sellers.

It should be mentioned that the development corporation will own the area scheduled for development, but lease certain lands to private developers in order to carry out their plans. To add insult to injury, the court records state that one such developer, Corcoran Jennison, is in the midst of negotiations with the city on a ninety-nine year lease on three of the parcels for the staggering amount of $1 per year. Kelo at 3. In turn, the development corporation is forecasting the revitalization plan to create 518-867 construction jobs, 718-1362 direct jobs, and 500-940 indirect jobs, while producing between $680,544 – $1,249,843 in property taxes, all this despite 50% of the land area expected to be tax exempt. Id.

Another case of taking from one private party to give use to another private party.

Patterico nails one noting that the NYT’s ridiculous graph could be applied to, uhm, other connections.

BugMeNot is back.

I mean it hurt me. Junior got her shots today. She was a 9 week old trooper. They stuck the needle in and she didn’t flinch. The nurse pressed the plunger down to inject the medicine, and junior started screaming the worst scream I have ever heard in my life. It was heart wrenching. And, worse, it was followed by two more vaccinations. Pretty traumatic experience for her, me, and mom.

I picked her up after to console her. Then the wife had to get some holding time in. It was awful for us both but the baby seemed to forget it pretty quick. I know that it’s for her own good but that doesn’t make it any easier to watch.

I learned something about me today. If I ever had any doubt about my willingness to do violence to protect her, it’s gone now. If someone caused her that much pain and it wasn’t for her good health, I’d definitely use any means necessary to stop them.

Iran is threatening to preemptively strike US forces to prevent an attack on it’s nuclear facilities. In other news, Iran has nuclear facilities?

Ravenwood reports that the plug was pulled on BugMeNot, who posted passwords to bypass websites ridiculous registration schemes.

Thurlow has announced he will sign the 180. Meanwhile, Kerry still not expected to do a 180. As Patterico says: The ball’s in John Kerry’s court.

Meanwhile, Thurlow is stating that the paperwork the WaPo got hold of (which Thurlow called fraudulent) was based on John Kerry’s report from 35 years ago.

This time, not done by me but by Publicola. Go read.

An update to this post: In LA, city officials have declared a shopping center blighted and are seeking to use eminent domain to take the land. The land will then be used for a residential and retail project. The latest:

A U.S. District Court judge Thursday dismissed a lawsuit that claimed the city of Glendale did not have the authority to acquire land on the proposed Americana at Brand site.

Better Foods Land Investment Company, which owns the property occupied by Rite Aid and Big 5 Sporting Goods on Harvard Street and Central Avenue, argued that the city could not use eminent domain to acquire its land because the land is not blighted. Eminent domain gives cities the authority to seize land for fair market value when it’s deemed in the public’s best interest.

Judge S. James Otero dismissed the lawsuit, saying that the claim can be resolved in a Superior Court through normal eminent domain procedures. If a Superior Court judge grants eminent domain, the court would force the sale of the land for a set price.

Another abuse of the term blighted? No way to tell for certain. However, if it is blighted, shouldn’t the city enforce codes first to get the property in compliance? Also, the fact they plan on taking from one private party to give it to another wreaks of abuse.

Some time this evening or tomorrow, SayUncle will receive it’s 250,000th visit. A quarter of a million served. Cool.