A while back, I learned that state law in California prohibited laws regarding dogs based on breed specific legislation. I opined that California is not a wholly evil place. Now, I’m not so sure:

Prompted by a series of vicious dog attacks, lawmakers on Wednesday sent the governor a bill that would allow local governments to require spaying and neutering of specific breeds.

The Senate voted 22-15 to approve Assembly amendments to the bill by Sen. Jackie Speier, D-Hillsborough, sending it to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Speier called the proposal a modest bill that would restore powers held by cities and counties 16 years ago. Spaying or neutering would reduce the aggressiveness of the animals and help limit unwanted populations that end up in animal shelters, she said.

Not sure if he’ll sign it, of course, but I’d guess he will. I wonder if this law will also allow other breed specific laws? In other news, arm the pit bulls.

From Michael Silence, we learn that FEMA is useless and has no control in New Orleans; anarchy reigns; people are dying; people are being lied to about help being on the way; they can’t find provisions the federal government sent; looting; death; and all manner of bedlam.

So, what’s the .gov doing? Well, two former presidents are asking people to give money (got that one covered, guys, people are doing it on their own without your involvement) and congress is weighing an emergency session on hurricane aid. Just fucking weighing? Jumpin’ Jesus on a pogo stick. Weighing is what you idiots should have been doing four fucking days ago. Don’t we have money set aside for large scale emergencies, like say a fucking terrorist attack.

And didn’t this government create the largest federal bureaucracy ever in the history of the country to combat terror? Wouldn’t part of the plan for coordinating these agencies to combat terror (and using my tax dollars to do so) involve the capability to deal with, say, a large scale tragedy in which many people are hurt? And wouldn’t this coordination involve getting FEMA access to those resources? I mean, I figure since they were planning on what to do in the event a nuke went off, they might have some sort of reasonably organized plan to get to people who are hard to get to and help them. And wouldn’t that plan have adequate funding already assigned to it.

Even if what the .gov does is a pointless, symbolic gesture (which they’re famous for), it says something. People, who are currently concerned and saddened, are soon going to be enraged by the colossal incompetence in the face of this widespread disaster. Think about it. They knew days in advance this was coming and the response has been inadequate. So, how do you think they’d react to a sudden, no-warning, unexpected massive act of terror?

Are you fucking kidding me?

I want my money back.

Update: Hey, congress has gone from weighing to rushing.

Update 2: Back on my meds. Apologies for the profanity.

The arfcom folks are talking about gun fights breaking out in Baton Rouge. Reportedly, the police and SWAT have the situation contained.

While the blogosphere is abuzz with means of aiding the victims of the hurricane, remember to check locally for other opportunities. My office, for example, will match all employee donations (it’s like giving twice!). Ask your employer if they will do the same. The local news this morning reported that four tractor trailers full of donated bottled water were on their way to New Orleans from Knoxville.

If there’s nothing in your area, go here or here and give to a charity of your choice.

Update: What he said. Where is the .gov and the aid? It’s not arriving according to some. Call your congressperson.

Geez:

The evacuation of the Superdome was suspended Thursday after shots were fired at a military helicopter, an ambulance official overseeing the operation said. No immediate injuries were reported.

“We have suspended operations until they gain control of the Superdome,” said Richard Zeuschlag, head of Acadian Ambulance, which was handling the evacuation of sick and injured people from the Superdome.

He said that military would not fly out of the Superdome either because of the gunfire and that the National Guard told him that it was sending 100 military police officers to gain control.

Meanwhile, The New York Times notes:

Many people with property brought out their own shotguns and sidearms. Many without brought out shopping carts. The two groups have moved warily in and out of each other’s paths for the last three days, and the rising danger has kept even some rescue efforts from proceeding.

Because the New Orleans police were preoccupied with search and rescue missions, sheriff’s deputies and state police from around Louisiana began to patrol the city, some holding rifles as they rolled through the streets in an armored vehicle.

But on Wednesday night, the mayor ordered about 1,500 city police officers, nearly the entire force, back to their traditional roles.

The looters “are starting to get closer to heavily populated areas,” Mayor C. Ray Nagin told The Associated Press, “hotels, hospitals, and we’re going to stop it right now.”

The hurricane was a disaster, must the aftermath be too?

Actual headline:

Metal pistol lands boys in hot water

They make them out of non-metal? What the headline should have read:

Toy pistol lands boys in hot water

We’ve all had it. Just admit it. You’re driving down the road and frustrated because someone who is either an idiot or an inconsiderate prick cuts you off, pulls out in front of you, or just unnecessarily endangers your life for no good reason. Then, you have the fantasy where you can call this person up on the phone and really tell them what an idiot or inconsiderate prick they are. Am I alone?

Well, it happened. The other day, some inconsiderate prick in the left lane realized at the last minute that they needed to make a right turn. They cut over in front of the car in front of me and made a right turn at a place where they shouldn’t be turning right anyway. Much brake slamming and cussing ensued.

Only problem was, it was my wife. So, I called her and gave her an earful. Two earsful, actually. Now, my wife has fulfilled one of my fantasies, only not the one involving the latex-clad midget err little person.

Pete tells us that we have an absolute epidemic coming. If we trust the government’s meth statistics, 2,284,070 high school students will die in the next five years.

If you’re old enough to die for your country, you should be able to buy a damn beer.

SKB, over at Facing South, interviews Tennessee Senatorial candidate Rosalind Kurita.

Challenges to Canada’s politically incorrect dog ban are expected because defining what is and isn’t a pit bull is, well, impossible.

The other night, the Mrs. wanted to watch some hurricane coverage on the tube. Personally, I avoid cable news like the plague. Can’t stand it in any variety. The few minutes of FoxNews we watched reinforced why I don’t watch it. First up was a scene in which the announcer said something about a woman who learned her lesson. The woman said (paraphrased from memory):

I should have got out like they told me to.

They, of course, being the authorities. The next segment was about how the TeeVee show Wheel of Fortune and a few movie projects being filmed there were canceled. Seriously, that’s worthy of coverage? I never did hear if Vanna White was OK.

Comment over at Ravenwood’s:

I’ve heard of blue balls, but how do you get gun nuts?

Michael reports:

The public and reporters will be barred from a Senate ethics panel’s discussions on whether a state senator may be an “unindicted co-conspirator” in a federal fraud case, the group’s chairman said Tuesday.

Seriously? The biggest political scam in Tennessee’s history will be discussed by those likely involved in it in an effort to deal with a problem that only they created and no outsiders are allowed? This ethics committee is a sham. Nothing of substance will get done. Shame on all of them.

Egalia notes some good news in that Fred Phelps and his merry band of zealots were essentially chased out of town. Good. However, she posts an annoying little graphic in the top right of the post that says:

Ban Republican Marriage! Hatred is Unnatural

The problem I have with this image is that it is irrelevant. Fred Phelps, after all, is a Democrat who campaigned for Al Gore. Now, I am not suggesting that his views represent the whole of the Democrat party (or even a small part of it). In fact, any sane person would oppose Phelps’ views on gays. Still, Egalia singles out Republicans. Why? I commented on it at her site and she replied:

I’ve heard that. Obviously he’s in the wrong party.

He’s such a nutcase that you have to wonder if someone isn’t paying him for his performances.

Seriously? I think being a nutcase transcends party lines. If they hate gays, they must be Republican. Must score cheap political points, even if we are wrong and must mislead.

Shameful.

The other day, I looked into the pantry and there it was. I’d seen it before and never paid much attention. It was a jar of Jif peanut butter (creamy, if you must know) with the word Dogs written on it with a Sharpie. We have peanut butter just for our dogs (you know, for giving them pills or as a treat). Starvation, devastation , genocide, and everything else going on in the world; and my dogs have their own peanut butter. Maybe we Americans do live in excess.