I thought that the Dems loved Mylar.

They used all that mylar confetti at their convention.

This is the Republicans fault. They invented Mylar.

You  are spot-on, Ace.

The spirit of the  law has been so debased and twisted by the Marxists in power that soon, the simple act of breathing without Official State Permission will be illegal.  Instapundit has  been pointing this out lately, and somebody else  (whose name escapes me at  the moment) has a book out about the average American committing three felonies a day.

That SUCKS.      The poor guy.  

Geez, what next?   Are they finally going to outlaw throwing rice at weddings because of the poor widdle birdies?   (And I say that as a bird lover)

Hey, here's a question:  littering.   Do you consider it "littering" to throw a banana peel or apple core out the window of your car, or into the woods?   I don't.   The way I see it, if it's something that I'd otherwise toss on a compost heap it's not litter.   But I did that in front of my sister one day -- chucked a banana peel out the window into the brush at the side of the road -- and she said, "You shouldn't do that!   That's   littering!"    And no, my sister is not a pearl-clutching   lib     by any stretch of the imagination.   

So what do y'all think?   Littering, yay or nay?    And just FYI, I always make sure to avoid throwing such things onto a person's private property.   There's plenty of ditches and    weed-choked   culverts along the roadside on public land   here in NH.

Posted by: USA at February 26, 2013 02:24 PM (RIg+t)

They were assault mylar.

Posted by: L, elle at February 26, 2013 02:25 PM (0PiQ4)

Pics or it didn't happen.

Horse.

Posted by: EC at February 26, 2013 02:21 PM (GQ8sn)

What are things that have been used for sexual gratification, Alex?

>>Do you consider it "littering" to throw a banana peel or apple core out the window of your car, or into the woods?

I used to think it was funny until I tripped on one and lost an eye.

Posted by: DangerGirl - Stop this thing, I want off at February 26, 2013 02:25 PM (yhPOh)

Zes is good. How does zis "assault balloon" work?

Posted by: Mama AJ at February 26, 2013 02:28 PM (SUKHu)

I shouldn't laugh, and yet...  *suppresses giggle!*

I apologize in advance to all the lawyer-types here.

 This is a result of lawyers making laws. More laws   create    the need for more lawyers.  The end result is that the law becomes a business, a very lucrative one:  more tax money is needed for the system, more facilities  to house the offenders, rinse and repeat until there is no freedom left any more.

Posted by: Mama AJ at February 26, 2013 02:28 PM (SUKHu)

Our entire family was killed by one of those dangerous "assault bananas" after running off a cliff. Damn you Billy Madison. Damn you.

O'Doyle Rules!

Posted by: O'Doyle family at February 26, 2013 02:31 PM (t06LC)

You think thats bad, I can't even count the number of times I've run off into hot magma due to an ill placed "assault banana."

Don't even get me started on "assault turtle shells"

>>assault bananas

No one needs more than 3 bananas in a bunch.

Posted by: USA at February 26, 2013 02:30 PM (RIg+t)

LOL!

Let's see, what crimes is he committing in that picture:

1) Release of non eco-friendly balloons

2) Public    nudity

3) Operating an   airborne vehicle without approval     from the appropriate       licensing    authority

4) Failure to file a flight plan (not sure if that's illegal, but why not?)

5) Inciting a riot (for ticking off the    bees)

6) Theft (for the honey)

7) Property damage (for the hive)

@70

It took law school to teach me something important. I hate lawyers and most of them.. er us are douche bags.

Posted by: tasker at February 26, 2013 02:24 PM (r2PLg)

One of the municipalities around here is using *gasp* economics to encourage recycling.

They made recycling pick up the default included pick up that's "free" (yes I know not actually free, but already included in whatever taxes they pay) then you pay a per bag (or can I guess) trash pickup fee.

Of all the ways to approach the issue this is the least egregious.

  Only half the things you'd like to do are actually criminal, but you assume the rest might be too, thus putting it in your head you need State Permission to take virtually any action besides going to work and, of course, paying the state its dues.

---

But you forgot to note that they also make the dues-paying so complex that a good percentage of the population are also accidental tax-cheats.

Right Tim Geithner?

Posted by: alexthechick - Chaotic Evil Hobbit. at February 26, 2013 02:32 PM (VtjlW)

We could deploy the "no criminal intent" defense reserved for David Gregory, right?

No? Not for us?

Oh well, off to jail.

Posted by: eleven at February 26, 2013 02:35 PM (KXm42)

That's the real crime here "cock blocking"

Posted by: Burn the Witch at February 26, 2013 02:31 PM (yCvxi)

Don't. Legal weed is blue states telling the Feds to take their laws and shove them up their ass. I think that is all win.

It beats the learned helplessness that has pervaded sane folks.

Posted by: Jeff B. at February 26, 2013 02:33 PM (/COnL)

For your information, JeffB, I have survived three serious crashes which include rollover, fire, and totaled vehicles, all without a seat belt. But yeah, I'm  kinda tough.

54....All you 'ettes out there, pay attention! Us morons will now be subject to arrest if we try and please you. You're just gonna have to accept disappointment from now on. No more balloons, flowers, candy, or presents anymore.

----------

Nice try.

But there are lots of other things that make nice presents at Valentines Day.

Diamonds, Emeralds and Rubies.

Lingerie.

A nice dinner out.

My hubby gave me a new orchid for my collection...and I was thrilled.

He picked it up at Lowes, when he was there buying some tools.

It's illegal to release balloons where I live. I thought it was about aircraft safety. 

But that's not what this story says.  If it were about aircraft safety, that would have been the charge. Instead, it's about protecting endangered frogs and amoebas.

Up to five years for this.   Is FL conservative or not?

Posted by: EC at February 26, 2013 02:36 PM (GQ8sn)

You should try one still on the inside.

Posted by: Y-not at February 26, 2013 02:35 PM (5H6zj)

Well that's just it.   I wouldn't drop a banana peel or apple core in a public park, or on the sidewalk.   Those are well-tended, trafficked areas.  

Posted by: wheatie at February 26, 2013 02:37 PM (eyJSG)

Plucked an orchid out of it's natural Gaian embrace to live the confines of a manmade structure?

Class three felony.  Off to jail.

So some fucking idiot snail darter MIGHT choke on the thing, somewhere, somehow. We will never know if one does, nor charge him for that, but just the possibility is criminal.

Try to count all the laws, rules and regulations that are  based upon something which has been shown to  be false: Man-caused Climate Change. Also notice  that these  laws have yet to be repealed,  and are costing us billions per year in increased costs.

All for a myth...

Posted by: Ian S. at February 26, 2013 02:36 PM (B/VB5)

--Steyn is right when he says sexual libertinism is the distractions liberals use to take away truly meaningful freedoms.

@118

I almost nailed some baloons in a 172 once. I don't think it would have done anything.

Now the genius that decided that it would be cool to skydive at the muni airport and not use calls on UNICOM would have been a different story.

I remember a comic strip when i was a kid called 'there ought to be a law' that each week took some trivial annoyance and jokingly suggested it should be banned. People seem to have taken that idea too seriously.

Can we start some kind of reverse comic strip just about stupid laws?

Talking out of turn? That's a felony.

Lookin' out the window? That's a felony.

Staring at my sandals? That's a felony.

Paddlin' the school canoe? Oh, you better believe that's a felony.

I would love for this guy to sue the state, win a big settlement, buy his girfriend a big engagement ring, and take her on a whirlwind trip through Italy and France.  All of this on the stupid state of Florida's/tax payers dime.  Sue stupid until it bleeds.

I remember riding in the back seat of my dad's brand new 1963 Chevy Impala as we traveled from MA to CA to my dad's new duty station.  No seat belts, mom's smoking away, dad's drinking a beer, and my brother and I are tumbling around the back having a great time.

My parent's would be in jail for that now and my brother and I in foster care.

Statists assholes ruin everything.

I lived in Japan off-and-on between 1990 and 2010.  In much if not most of Japanese sociopolitical life, unless a given act or item is expressly approved (in law and/or social custom) -- or at least acquiesced to -- the default mode is that you must assume it is prohibited, in some cases severely so.

The only people in Japan who can really get away with ignoring this arrangement are certain very well-to-do foreigners and the Yakuza.

One of the reasons I eventually fell out of love with Japan, so to speak.

You know he will when he gets out. A female comedian made me laugh once when she said, "You haven't lived until you fucked a man fresh out of prison."

----

Word

"You become docile, unmotivated, compliant, and risk-averse."  ~ Ace

People even pointed this out...to Karl Marx...when he was advocating his communist policies. 

And he declared that it "wouldn't happen".

His denials were much like the ones given today, by the liberal media, who claim that they aren't biased.

Posted by: wheatie at February 26, 2013 02:37 PM (eyJSG)

But you don't understand!  Trying to do those things will become a felony.

Diamonds, emeralds, rubies - destructive mining without an EPA permit

Lingerie - males buying lingerie are sexual predators with a kidnapped teenager trapped in a well back home

A nice dinner out - the carbon footprint of going out to eat exceeds our monthly allotted ration

You see, you're just going to have to tolerate getting jack and squat for those special occasions.

I can't wait to start tasing and cuffing kids by the boat load at Disney World!

Stakeout the Mouse! FTW

Did the trooper's gun jam while this guy was raping the enviroment?

A 10 round clip isn't enough to put down someone who would kill millions with his helium-filled death bags. 

Posted by: wheatie at February 26, 2013 02:37 PM (eyJSG)

My wife got an Orchid as a present from her best friend one year for her birthday.

She was out of town when it arrive, I dutifully unpacked it and set it out.

Fast forward some 3 years now (3 years tomorrow) and I'm still the one who takes care of it.  She's never even touched the damn thing.  I got it through 2-3 flowering cylces (we broke the stem during the move so now flowers this time.)

I'm seriously thinking of just getting rid of it.  Sure they're pretty but a stunning amount of work. (We'll see if it survives, I just accidentally removed it from the pot and and to reseat it.)

But there are lots of other things that make nice presents at Valentines Day.

Diamonds, Emeralds and Rubies.
Lingerie.
A nice dinner out.

----

But we cannot be sure that they are legal either. Though i would will willing to risk it for some of the sluttier items in the Fredericks catalogue.

Speaking as one of those lawyer-types, you really have no idea what you're talking about. Laws like these don't come from attorneys (hell, I'd suspect that many of them don't even get appropriate oversight and review from qualified attorneys before being voted into law). They come from bureaucrats and regulators and activists.

None of which were lawyers prior to being elected?  No one in Greenpeace is a lawyer?

151I proudly chuck apple cores onto the side of the road, for small animals to eat.

---

Johnny Appleseed - serial offender

"We don't recycle"

Don't worry - very, very few do. What most do is "sort" - a job that used to be carried out downstream, and is a fairly useless task to carry out so far upstream...

Posted by: BCochran1981

I hear    his  blog is Fabulous!

118 I can attest that there always was a lot of trouble associated with losing bunches of those balloons. Especially anywhere near an air traffic control facility. I've never gotten a straight explanation that seemed consistent but a lost bunch of these supposedly creates a false image that is really alarming to those trying to keep aerial stuff from finding each other unexpectedly.

------------

Phase 1: Create balloon.

Phase 2: Cover balloon in conductive aluminium.

Phase 3: Release balloon under high-tension lines.

Phase 4: Profit!

>>You type really really well for a bear.

Does a bear blog in the woods?

114 You think this is bad, comrade? Wait until the EPA puts an emissions cap on your flatulence.

---

Well, that's the second worst emission that could try to cap. but if they do, they'll just be in for a BP style disaster in my pants.

120 If it were about aircraft safety, that would have been the charge. Instead, it's about protecting endangered frogs and amoebas.

------------

Aluminized mylar is a well-known mutagen. In one of the alternate timelines, Spiderman is *not* a boy who got bitten by a spider, but a spider that was innocently minding its own business when it was viciously attacked by a roving band of aluminized mylar balloons.

WTF, Why wasn't the girlfriend arrested?

"This is a result of lawyers making laws. More laws create the need for
more lawyers. The end result is that the law becomes a business, a very
lucrative one: more tax money is needed for the system, more facilities
to house the offenders, rinse and repeat until there is no freedom left
any more."

Well, I wouldn't say *no* freedom.  There will be plenty of freedom for the lawyers and gummint types (BIRM) as a result of the impenatrably-worded carveouts in the laws they push.  Fuck the little people.

Posted by: Things Twain May or May Not Have Said at February 26, 2013 02:22 PM (RD7QR)

A criminal code must track with the basic human sense of right and wrong. The law has a make-'em-up rule to prevent people from saying "I didn't know there was a law against this" (ignorance of the law is no defense, it goes), but that's a stupid ass stopgap the law requires to function at all.

Oh, by the way, this     isn't necessarily the case anymore.    For an example, see   the City of Bell's  corruption case.

Link to CBS Local's LA Times blog:  http://tiny.cc/3gp4sw

...The high court held in its August decision that prosecutors in public corruption cases must prove that defendants knew they were breaking the law, or were criminally negligent in not knowing.

But in rejecting the defense motion, Superior Court Judge Kathleen Kennedy wrote that there is “ample probable cause” to believe the Bell defendants knew they were acting criminally when they allegedly looted the city’s treasury, or “should have known that their conduct was illegal...”

In other words, the council members claimed, "We didn't know what we were doing was illegal!"    And the Judge said, "Yes you did!"

But nowhere did anyone say,  "It doesn't matter    whether you knew or not.         Ignorance is no defense."

So, long held judicial doctrine apparently out the window.

A criminal code must track with the basic human sense of right and wrong. The law has a make-'em-up rule to prevent people from saying "I didn't know there was a law against this" (ignorance of the law is no defense, it goes), but that's a stupid ass stopgap the law requires to function at all.

Oh, by the way, this     isn't necessarily the case anymore.    For an example, see   the City of Bell's  corruption case.

Link to CBS Local's LA Times blog:  http://tiny.cc/3gp4sw

...The high court held in its August decision that prosecutors in public corruption cases must prove that defendants knew they were breaking the law, or were criminally negligent in not knowing.

But in rejecting the defense motion, Superior Court Judge Kathleen Kennedy wrote that there is “ample probable cause” to believe the Bell defendants knew they were acting criminally when they allegedly looted the city’s treasury, or “should have known that their conduct was illegal...”

In other words, the council members claimed, "We didn't know what we were doing was illegal!"    And the Judge said, "Yes you did!"

But nowhere did anyone say,  "It doesn't matter    whether you knew or not.         Ignorance is no defense."

So, long held judicial doctrine apparently out the window.

A criminal code must track with the basic human sense of right and wrong. The law has a make-'em-up rule to prevent people from saying "I didn't know there was a law against this" (ignorance of the law is no defense, it goes), but that's a stupid ass stopgap the law requires to function at all.

Oh, by the way, this     isn't necessarily the case anymore.    For an example, see   the City of Bell's  corruption case.

Link to CBS Local's LA Times blog:  http://tiny.cc/3gp4sw

...The high court held in its August decision that prosecutors in public corruption cases must prove that defendants knew they were breaking the law, or were criminally negligent in not knowing.

But in rejecting the defense motion, Superior Court Judge Kathleen Kennedy wrote that there is “ample probable cause” to believe the Bell defendants knew they were acting criminally when they allegedly looted the city’s treasury, or “should have known that their conduct was illegal...”

In other words, the council members claimed, "We didn't know what we were doing was illegal!"    And the Judge said, "Yes you did!"

But nowhere did anyone say,  "It doesn't matter    whether you knew or not.         Ignorance is no defense."

So, long held judicial doctrine apparently out the window.

168...I'm seriously thinking of just getting rid of it. Sure they're pretty but a stunning amount of work.

Eh? Orchids aren't much work at all.

You can go for a month or more without watering them.

They are grateful for any old cheap plant food...you don't have to buy the 'orchid food'.

A bloom spike will last for six months.

You don't have to re-pot them very often....every other year, if you don't want to mess with it.

For watering...I just use a plastic container, a little bigger than the orchid pot, to soak each of them in.

Soak them for a few hours, or overnight if they look dried out...then dump the water.

Orchids are a lot easier to grow than I used to think, before I got one.

168...I'm seriously thinking of just getting rid of it. Sure they're pretty but a stunning amount of work.

Eh? Orchids aren't much work at all.

You can go for a month or more without watering them.

They are grateful for any old cheap plant food...you don't have to buy the 'orchid food'.

A bloom spike will last for six months.

You don't have to re-pot them very often....every other year, if you don't want to mess with it.

For watering...I just use a plastic container, a little bigger than the orchid pot, to soak each of them in.

Soak them for a few hours, or overnight if they look dried out...then dump the water.

Orchids are a lot easier to grow than I used to think, before I got one.

168...I'm seriously thinking of just getting rid of it. Sure they're pretty but a stunning amount of work.

Eh? Orchids aren't much work at all.

You can go for a month or more without watering them.

They are grateful for any old cheap plant food...you don't have to buy the 'orchid food'.

A bloom spike will last for six months.

You don't have to re-pot them very often....every other year, if you don't want to mess with it.

For watering...I just use a plastic container, a little bigger than the orchid pot, to soak each of them in.

Soak them for a few hours, or overnight if they look dried out...then dump the water.

Orchids are a lot easier to grow than I used to think, before I got one.

In Chicago, there are red-light cameras all over the place.  These were installed to "improve safety".  Red light cameras actually increase the number of rear-end accidents at intersections, because 1) yellow light times are shortened in order to 2) take photos of license plates and send $100+ tickets to motorists who have "run" the red light.

Chicago is about to install "speed cameras" in school zones.  For the same reason, to extract millions of dollars from drivers who exceed 20 mph in a school zone.

The Illinois legislature is poised to approve a measure that would allow a citizen only 24 hours to pay the above fines, or have their automobile "booted" by police.  It costs hundreds of dollars to get the boot removed, in addition to the original fines.

In Chicago, there are red-light cameras all over the place.  These were installed to "improve safety".  Red light cameras actually increase the number of rear-end accidents at intersections, because 1) yellow light times are shortened in order to 2) take photos of license plates and send $100+ tickets to motorists who have "run" the red light.

Chicago is about to install "speed cameras" in school zones.  For the same reason, to extract millions of dollars from drivers who exceed 20 mph in a school zone.

The Illinois legislature is poised to approve a measure that would allow a citizen only 24 hours to pay the above fines, or have their automobile "booted" by police.  It costs hundreds of dollars to get the boot removed, in addition to the original fines.

In Chicago, there are red-light cameras all over the place.  These were installed to "improve safety".  Red light cameras actually increase the number of rear-end accidents at intersections, because 1) yellow light times are shortened in order to 2) take photos of license plates and send $100+ tickets to motorists who have "run" the red light.

Chicago is about to install "speed cameras" in school zones.  For the same reason, to extract millions of dollars from drivers who exceed 20 mph in a school zone.

The Illinois legislature is poised to approve a measure that would allow a citizen only 24 hours to pay the above fines, or have their automobile "booted" by police.  It costs hundreds of dollars to get the boot removed, in addition to the original fines.

Posted by: BackwardsBoy, who did not vote for this shit. at February 26, 2013 02:47 PM (+z4pE)

Or, more appropriately, none of them have their Juris Doctorate?   Because I guarantee you a shitload of them do.

Posted by: Jeff B. at February 26, 2013 02:39 PM (/COnL)

You didn't ask me, Jeff, but I'll answer: wearing a seatbelt is a good idea.  Being forced to wear it through the arbitrary power of the state (we'll pull you over for a moving violation if we see you're not wearing one; your state won't get it's federal funding if you don't pass a mandatory seatbelt law) is not.

>>twenty seven eight-by-ten color glossy

Ha ha.

"For the same reason, to extract millions of dollars from drivers who exceed 20 mph in a school zone"

Don't forget that "school zone" now includes streets & surfaces nowhere near (if I can't reach it w/a driver & 5 iron, it ain't near) a school...

If a leftist followed you around for a week, how many 'crimes' would you be charged with?

One.  And it would only take about 20 minutes.

Posted by: BCochran1981 at February 26, 2013 02:53 PM (ZAT/c)

They're about to start production on a live action film based on a popular manga about a teenage boy who gets superpowers by wearing girls panties on his head.

Yes.

181 wheatie,

 

I'm joking BTW. My wife's birthday is tomorrow and I'm buying her some jewelry and flowers. I don't do cards because they're bullshit, but I do do gifts.

 

I'd do anything for her.

---------

Oh, I know, EC.

I was actually enjoying what you were doing with that riff. Heh.

It's not the individual gift really, that is thrilling....it is the fact that your beloved was thinking of you, and took the time to pick something up for you.

So it's a bonus, if it's something that you actually like.

Posted by: tasker at February 26, 2013 02:58 PM (r2PLg)

Well, looks like my Saturdays are shot.

Civil War II starts in 3, 2, 1...

Nah. 

Most will happily enslave themselves as long as their master keeps them fed and entertained.  The few who object in any threatening way will be crushed with derision, lawfare, and, if necessary, deadly force.   

Posted by: wiserbud at February 26, 2013 03:02 PM (WCe8r) 

And we have a Winner!

Posted by: rickb223 at February 26, 2013 03:03 PM (GFM2b)

Tsk tsk, rickb223.   You mean you'd    let them find the body?

Us law-talkin' guys are merely a 'weapon' used by both sides when these issues spill over into litigation.

Remember, I apologized in advance.

I had an eye-opening discussion with a   Greenie/Birkenstock/Enviroweenie a few years back. He wanted me to contribute   to Greenpeace for all their environmental work. I asked him what they did that needed funding: were they doing tangible things such as handing out reusable grocery bags?  He said no, they were  using lawsuits to effect "change."

I also seem to remember some type of arrangement where environmental groups sue the Federal government and get their costs reimbursed, essentially a taxpayer clusterfuck. From what I've read, the entire Environmental industry is a  legal scam of monstrous proportions.

I in no way meant to tar  any of the Morons here, I just  meant to point out that there seems to be no one serving the interests of the public to live freely without fear of being arrested for something as innocuous as releasing  ballons.  Shakespeare noted this problem long  ago.

Posted by: Jaws at February 26, 2013 03:03 PM (4I3Uo)

I will stand and defend this nation to the bitter... oh wait!  Is that a new episode of Honey Boo Boo?

Posted by: MWR, Proud Tea(rrorist) Party Assault Hobbit at February 26, 2013 02:53 PM (4df7R)

Just reading the excerpt, I think what the judge is saying is that the "mens rea" or guilty mind element is met. Ignorance of a crime is no defense, but lack of mens rea is. You had to intend to defraud for example, it doesn't matter if you don't know fraud is a crime. Common misconception.

if I can't reach it w/a driver 5 iron, it ain't near

So, like, 220 yards?

219
If a leftist followed you around for a week, how many 'crimes' would you be charged with?

We have a lot to choose from now...so the possibilites are endless.

It depends on how much we don't like you.

Instapundit has a paper out, "Ham Sandwich Nation: Due Process when Everything is a Crime".

About how anybody can be indicted for anything nowadays.

Posted by: Jollyroger at February 26, 2013 03:05 PM (t06LC) [/i]

Could be.  I've been trying to find a copy of the actual RULING,       but all the doc storage places that may have the PDF are blocked here at my work.   It's irritating as hell.

Posted by: SFGoth at February 26, 2013 02:59 PM (dZ756)

You are talented at missing the point. The state has no business protecting me from myself. Not wearing the fucking belt has not a goddam thing to do with advantage. And you will wait a fucking long time to see me with my hand out for welfare.

Posted by: BlueStateRebel at February 26, 2013 03:03 PM (7ObY1)

ARRRGH, I cannot seem to type out my italics tags    today!    *kicks self in hands*

Ow.  Okay, bad idea.

Brasfield was charged with polluting to harm humans, animals, plants, etc. under the Florida Air and Water Pollution Control Act.

---

otoh, it sounds like this law could've taken care of the entire Occupy movement. At least if they were not preferred customers.

Posted by: Vic at February 26, 2013 03:08 PM (53z96)

___________

After the 2012 elections nothing would surprise me anymore.

There once was some latin phrase that said that although the King (state) had absolute power, it really didn't matter because the King couldn't see everywhere or prosecute all crimes. I forgot what this doctrine is called. I would say modern technology and the proliferation of burecrats did away with that quaint notion long ago, but there is that.

297All this guy needs to do is get a jury trial. No sane jury would convict him.

---

You did notice that this was Florida, right?

The surveillance society is pervasive.  The UK is way ahead of us with it, but we are catching up.

Given how everything else in the UK sucks, we are not on the right track.

Shall we talk about    speeding tickets then?   Okay.    The difference between getting a speeding ticket on a state or local road here in NH and getting one on the highway are astronomical.   For example, I've gotten    a     few speeding tickets in my day,   usually for going 15mph faster than the posted limit.  Okay, I understand that.   My bad, especially in suburban areas with families and people walking.

Those are around $75,   or $25 for every 5mph over the limit.

I got one ticket on the highway a few years ago.   Same thing, going 15mph over the posted limit (I was doing 80 in a 65, again ON THE HIGHWAY and following the flow of traffic).

Cost of the ticket?   $300.   

THREE HUNDRED FUCKING DOLLARS.

Even the staties look uncomfortable handing out tickets like that.  They know it's pure bullshit.

Posted by: AllenG (Dedicated Tenther) Channelling Breitbart at February 26, 2013 03:12 PM (xN73L)

Oh it's totally worse here.  Most traffic court judges won't do shit for you unless you have a law degree, even if the cop doesn't show up.  They'll make up some excuse to refuse to see you.

Except across the river. Ironically the most corrupt judiciary in the region (Madison County) apparently decided just to do away with the whole dog and pony show.  All tickets come with an automatic plead down now.  Just call the number on them and you can plead to a no points thing.

(Which is the only reason I "fight" them, to avoid the insurance increase.) It might as well be racketeering.)

"There's no way to rule innocent men. The only power any government has is the power to crack down on criminals. Well, when there aren't enough criminals, one makes them. One declares so many things to be a crime that it becomes impossible for men to live without breaking laws. Who wants a nation of law-abiding citizens? What's there in that for anyone? But just pass the kind of laws that can neither be observed nor enforced nor objectively interpreted and you create a nation of law-breakers - then you cash in on the guilt"

-Ayn Rand

"This was at 7:00 am in the morning in a quiet part of town. with not another car, not a single one, in sight. Not to mention that schools ain't open at 7 in the AM"

Of course, the actual time school is open is irrelevant in most cases.

Shanks - that would be a really, really bad day, even at my advanced age...

"Cost of the ticket? $300.

THREE HUNDRED FUCKING DOLLARS."

That ticket is getting into blowjob range. 

Just say'in. 

288...Still though the light is the biggest problem. Our leaves are always spotty (and we've lost a few.)

 tsrblke,

Spotty leaves? ...Uh oh, that could be mites, which are a fucking nightmare to get rid of.

That would explain the weak bloom spikes, as well.

You're better off just tossing that one.

And don't re-use the pot that it's in either.

Someone gave me an orchid that was infested with mites.

I spent two years trying to nurse it back to health...and nothing worked...and it infected two others that were next to it.

I ended up losing two healthy ones, when I should've just tossed the infested one to begin with.

This was chargeable as a felony.  A FUCKING FELONY.

That officer should lose his job and badge IMMEDIATELY!!!!!!!!!

317They're about to start production on a live action film based on a
popular manga about a teenage boy who gets superpowers by wearing girls
panties on his head.


What kind of powers?

----

Screw that, what kind of panties?

Posted by: Jeff B. at February 26, 2013 02:59 PM (/COnL)

And this is why our Country is turning to shit.  I work for attys and I despise them.

Winston Smith was guilty of thoughtcrime. His love of Julia was thoughtcrime, certainly, but thoughtcrime can be said to encompass everything the state says is thoughtcrime. As commenter on a previous post exclaimed, '1984 is a work of fiction, you Leftist bastards. It was never intended to be a blueprint.'

To the point of your post, wait until these myriad regulatory and bureaucratic misdemeanors are ratched up to felonies. Criminal penalties aside, millions of people belonging to targeted groups could be disenfranchised in a matter of months.

"Screw that, what kind of panties?"

Screw that, which head?

(ducks & runs)

Posted by: EC at February 26, 2013 03:14 PM (GQ8sn)

"It’s a comedy manga that tells a story about a high school student “Shikijo Kyosuke”. When he puts ladies’ panties over his head, his perverted blood awakens which brings out 100% of latent potential in his body, and it makes him transform into a superman “Hentai Kamen (lit. “Perverted Mask”)"

The poster is... mesmerizing.  

Link to story on Tokyo Hive: http://tiny.cc/3gp4sw

Posted by: SFGoth at February 26, 2013 03:14 PM (dZ756)

I'm tilting at government trying to control every aspect of my life. Fuck them and their good intentions. I don't want them, I don't need them. I can ride my motorcycle without a helmet, but I never do. I can drive my car without my seat belt, and generally do because the state has seen fit to make it mandatory. Fuck them. They want to ban all private firearms for the same reasons. Not safety, but fucking control. I choose to disobey.

Posted by: tsrblke (work) at February 26, 2013 03:16 PM (/0Nh2)

______________________

Texas has a thing where you can pay 150% of the fine and the ticket doesn't go on your record if you don't get another ticket for a year. I've had 4 speeding tickets in my life. 2 of them were in Texas, which is why I know this, even though I don't live there. I was actually glad this was an option because I wasn't going to fly back to TX for a court hearing anyway. I payd the extra money, and my insurance company never found out. Win-win for everyone. State gets the money without court costs, my insurance doesn't go up.

Posted by: TANSTAAFL at February 26, 2013 03:16 PM (tqAT4)

--------------------------------------

You've done this before.  Wise  up.

Posted by: Vic at February 26, 2013 03:20 PM (53z96)

That's a straight up protection racket.

358
Here if you get a speeding ticket you can go down to the municipal court
and plead guilty to a non-moving violation and pay a bigger fine to the
city. They get the money and you get to avoid a 4 point violation that
will increase your insurance costs for three years.

Posted by: HoboJerky, now with 45% more DOOM! at February 26, 2013 03:23 PM (xAtAj)

Yup.   And it happens in a lot of municipalities.

Think of the absurdity of the charge "a crime against the environment."  The environment is not a person.  You can not committ a crime against a rock (rocks have rights, too?).

The inmates are in control of the asylum--no surprise here.

So... to wander off the reservation a bit... Christie's pretty much a fuck, huh?

Its funny how people that were elected preciesly to stop this abomination that never has gotten to 50% approval think its good for thier careers to bend over.

Posted by: rickb223 at February 26, 2013 03:26 PM (GFM2b)

What the fuck?

Posted by: SFGoth at February 26, 2013 02:59 PM (dZ756)

Nice strawman you're fucking there, asswipe.  How about I come after you when your Big Mac-clogged arteries or your syphilitic-ridden body wants welfare?  There's no justification for eating a greasy hamburger or fucking your chancre-dripping dogslut of a mother, either.

Posted by: rickb223 at February 26, 2013 03:26 PM (GFM2b)

Its illegal in most States out West. You also have to be careful in buying property out West as the mineral rights, and in some cases the water rights, are separate from the property.

All of us down at the Brattleboro WomanÂ’s Reproductive and Pregnancy Decision Center think he should be jailed. What if a small animal or bird swallows one of these deflated mylar balloon? The animal will suffer a agonizing death plus health does mylar affect the environment with inducing global warming. Why are peeple so stewped and thinking about the consequences when they do such things?????

"I believe that again health care (though not government paid for at that time) was cited as one of the reasons why it was a reasonable seizure of a citizens rights"

Sort of. That was the biggest push for the first "passive restraint" system - 74's "starter interlock" fiasco. The later push for mandatory state seatbelt laws came from the "passive restraint" push in the 80's (recalling Ralph Nader's two step @ his line "I'll buy the first car with two front seat airbags" - then pointed out to him that was a Porsche 944...) in which automakers agreed to support an 80% rule - in that as long as 80% of the population were covered by a manditory seat belt law, said passive regs wouldn't kick in... a sorry episode in American Federal Regulatory Action.

365...Mites?
Shouldn't I be able to see those? The instructions it came with warned that too much sun would lead to leaves with spots on them.

They're teensy tiny little fuckers.

So you won't see them very easily.

Then only time I've seen them...is floating on top of the water, after I emersed the whole plant in a bucket.

They will float, like a white sheen of powder, on the top of the water.

Too much sun looks like sunburn...not spots.

Also keep in mind that a "weak" stem for me is one that can't stand up on it's own (even without flowers) which is (as I understand it) pretty much any orchid.

A healthy bloom spike is usually quite rigid...once it gets longer than a few inches.

You need to stake them, to make them grow upright.

In the forrest...the bloom spikes go out at right angles to the orchid plants, which are usually attached to a tree.

Why is it illegal to collect rainwater on your property? 

"A criminal code must track with the basic human sense of right and wrong."  So when laws become nothing more than a multiplicity of regulations rather than true laws they cede any moral code.  If they're just rules that some one else has made, then we are all free to make our own rules, each to our own advantage.  The game breaks down, anarchy prevails.

What some people should do in this case is get about 100 (1,000?) people together in one place and each release helium-filled mylar balloons.  Let's see how the FHP does trying to arrest 1,000 people.

Didn't all of this shit start in IIRC the '20's when they starting using "Case Law" instead of following the Constitution? 

Well, case law says in this instance, you can do this because this rule/law applies.

That's why you can't get through an entire day without breaking a law.

Posted by: model_1066 at February 26, 2013 03:31 PM (7xPCu)

It's now illegal to build a new house with PVC pipe too.  Can't be having that because the plumbers union wants copper.

Posted by: wheatie at February 26, 2013 03:31 PM (eyJSG)

Dirty florist talk.

In Houston we get taxed on the amount of rain runoff on our property.

Posted by: polynikes at February 26, 2013 03:31 PM (CNuph)

--- We do?

@417

Just guessing its because rain is scarce and rain collected can't enter the groundwater system. The law was probably drafted with huge commercial water tanks in mind for irrigation but was done so poorly affecting homeowners with cisterns.

And water can be militarized into "assault water" which has been a leading cause of death.

>>>What if a small animal or bird swallows one of these deflated mylar balloon?

You mean they eat those things?

Stupid fucks deserve to die, IMHO.

Posted by: Heralder at February 26, 2013 03:32 PM (+xmn4)

------------------------------------------

Because shut the fuck up, that's why.

@419

Case law or common law has been around since english law. It usually works really well for liberty (at least prior to the New Deal). Every state save one is based off the common law system.

Louisiana uses the Napoleonic code, which is frankly insane.

Posted by: Bigby's Other Hand at February 26, 2013 03:36 PM (3ZtZW)

--- Thats why you can't throw rice at a wedding anymore unless its cooked

Posted by: Vic at February 26, 2013 03:28 PM (53z96)

Wait what?!

Meanwhile my city is busy actively encouraging people to start collecting rain water as a way of preventing downstream contamination of our watersheds (which are water supplies for smaller cities south of here.)

Seriously.  They'll pay for your rain barrels. (I considered it, but our gutters are mostly buried already.  And the ones that aren't the ones I'd love to fix are on the front of the house so it'd look really ugly.)

There is a fairly standard way of overcoming a criminal offense by arguing that the statute violated is unconstitutionally vague -- the "void for vagueness" argument.   But it applies to the language of individual statutes.  

The problem nowadays, that this story highlights, is that the main vagueness of the law as currently promulgated doesn't come from imprecise language in individual statutes, it comes from the sheer volume of statutes that no human being could possibly know and hold in his mind as he goes about what used to be called "human existence," and now apparently can be called "criminality" whenever a cop happens to see you doing it.

I'm having an argument about what's LEGAL, and pointing out that things like seat-belt laws don't represent some sort of new category-level "big government" intrusion, but rather fall squarely into the box of the sorts of things that states have always, since before the Founding, had the right to regulate.

But my argument, Jeff, is that the federal government ordering states (such as NH) to institute mandatory seatbelt laws or they will not get federal transportation monies is "big government intrusion."  It puts a metaphorical gun to a state's head and says "which do you like more, your money or your freedom?"

@439

Thats the way it was supposed to be designed on purpose. The most intrusive laws having the greatest impact were to be administered at the local levels.

Why?

Because, protesting an unjust law to a bunch of faceless mandarins at the EPA won't do any good. If you get several hundred people at the state house, people start to notice. If you get that many at city hall, you probably will change the law.

I personally think that we need to adopt the "sword of state" approach like the isle of man. Let Obama read off the new laws made each year whilist a person appointed and answerable only to the people holds a sword to the nape of his neck. Bad laws have consequences to the lawmaker in such a system.

Posted by: HoboJerky, now with 45% more DOOM! at February 26, 2013 03:35 PM (xAtAj)

"Cut an run."

Or "cut and continue on someone else's dime."  Most places will cut a deal allowing you to finish your PhD.

This one I'm working on has brought me nothing but hardship and missed opportunities I think sometimes.  More doors are being closed in my face than when I cut open mice.

I'm still banking on "upward mobility." (there's not much of that in the "Mice chopping up" field in fact my guess is I was already at the top of my ladder.)

Just guessing its because rain is scarce and rain collected can't enter the groundwater system. The law was probably drafted with huge commercial water tanks in mind for irrigation but was done so poorly affecting homeowners with cisterns.

And water can be militarized into "assault water" which has been a leading cause of death.
Posted by: Jollyroger at February 26, 2013 03:35 PM (t06LC)

Well if it were up here in New England my guess would be because standing water can lead to mosquitoes, which can lead to the transmission of EEE and West Nile.   But I don't think those things are as troublesome in Oregon, if they're even a factor at all.    And to the best of my knowledge   no one in New England has yet outlawed collecting rain water.      So I'm flummoxed.

But as    this thread shows, who cares what knowledge we have about what's legal and what isn't?

Um...wow. I'm going to quote Wolfgang Pauli here: "that's not right...that's not even wrong." In other words, there are so many things wrong with this question that it's practically nonsensical.

So I'm misreading Langdell?

Posted by: BCochran1981 at February 26, 2013 03:43 PM (ZAT/c)

So exactly how much does a blowjob from Springsteen run these days?

447 I'm proud to say that I've introduced a new bill making it illegal to give mylar balloons to girlfriends on Valentines Day. I'm seeking your support for this long-overdue measure. Please consider sending me money.

Please post a pic of you at your presser holding the menacing baloon. Puh-lease...

Can we start some kind of reverse comic strip just about stupid laws?

-----

An updated 'Government:  Believe It or Not!' comic.

If memory serves...

When Mylar was invented, and used in food packaging...it was applauded by the greenies, as a way to prolong food life without preservatives or evil refrigeration.

Just like the way the greenies were against Paper Bags because 'Save The Trees You Guys'.

Plastic bags were the new big thing.

Polution is not a good thing...and we should avoid it.

I've had to clean up illegal dumping on a piece of family property.

So I know how bad it can get.

But the Marxist bureaucrats are taking this waay too far.

They deserve maximum mockage for their totalitarian overreach.

@483

How the fuck is he going to get up? Anyone got one of those Medicalert necklaces and a small crane?

Posted by: Jean at February 26, 2013 03:54 PM (AP6/F)

Rick Scott.

Let's just cut to the endgame and issue people their Sleep Pills, Work Pills, and Sex Pills, and at all other times dose them with libido-reducing sedatives. So that everyone is nicely compliant and in perpetually peaceful service to the State.

Meh, its overrated.

486...I think an infraction along with a painful fine would get the job done.

Yep, exactly.

And commensurate with the type of poluting.

Intentionally dumping some barrels of toxic chemicals, or old refrigerators, should be a much worse infraction....than releasing some mylar ballons.

Posted by: SARDiver at February 26, 2013 03:54 PM (456+v)

-------------------------------------------

And why aren't they on motorcycles?

@508

Back in the old days knowing how to swim was requsite training for such a rescue.

Up here in Indiana, we know how to treat desperate criminals like this one!  Florida judges should watch and learn.

http://tinyurl.com/ac3qxv9

Posted by: weft cut-loop at February 26, 2013 03:25 PM (Ipj15)

I prefer: 

"Revolution, Part II.  Wear a cup, motherfucker."

What if EVERYONE refused to be cuffed, searched and caged one day, and shot their tormentors to death instead?

Just a random thought...