Slow news day, which just makes it more of a challenge. So here goes:
- Justices send Obamacare contraception issue back to lower courts — With Scalia gone and no replacement, the court decided unanimously to punt this hot potato.
- Libya: US backs arming of government for IS fight — Interestingly, this wasn’t prominently played on any U.S. outlet; I got it from the BBC.
- The presidency is Clinton’s to lose. Here are 12 ways she could. — And she’s perfectly capable of trying each and every one of them, while the rest of us watch on pins and needles, fearing the sound of “President Trump.”
- Cancer Survivor Receives First Penis Transplant in U.S. — Ummm… I’m just going to say God bless this poor guy, and I hope this works out well for him.
- Man told deputies he was cleaning gun when it went off, wounding 11-year-old — Just to get something local on the page. Seriously, who cleans a loaded gun?
- Queen of Cartels: most famous female leader of Mexico’s underworld speaks out — Recently, I tried watching a show in Spanish on Netflix called “La Viuda Negra.” It was SO bad I stopped about five minutes in. But I guess the subject of this story may have been an inspiration for that. Anyway, I thought I’d give you a story off the beaten path. For the mix…
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5. The same people – or some of them – who keep loaded guns around.
Unintentional gun injuries are like STD’s: Entirely avoidable with the proper precautions.
I have 3 guns that are loaded in my house. Been around guns my entire life, even as a young boy.
I’ve never seen anyone try to clean one that is loaded.
Guy was drunk, on drugs, or some combination.
I really, honestly, do not understand the excuse of “I was cleaning it, and it went off.” That just doesn’t compute. The first step in the gun-cleaning process is UNLOAD YOUR GUN, DUMMY.
In my case, I take all ammunition into another room. There is literally no ammunition allowed in the room while the guns are being cleaned. It’s a safe zone. (Also, that’s that’s because you don’t need to clean the ammo.) Also, you still treat unloaded guns as if they are loaded. You don’t point a gun at someone (or something you’re not willing to destroy) even if it’s unloaded.
When I hear, “I was cleaning my gun, and it went off accidentally shooting someone” it sounds like “I was washing my car, and it accidentally shifted into drive and ran over someone”.
It’s just impossible.
It’s an excuse for someone who is foolin’ around and not being safe. When the police show up, it’s like the only thing people can say. Like a drunk driver saying “Hey, I was just washing my car, and the darn thing ran off the road and hit this tree here.”
But people do dumb things.
That was a negligent, not accidental, discharge, a foolish circumstance because the bore has to be unobstructed for proper cleaning. A bullet would obstruct the bore.
Just as a boomerang that won’t come back should be referred to as a “stick,” an unloaded firearm is merely a paperweight, a weapon to the extent of its weight.
UPDATE! We have a new lede story:
Gov. Haley vetoes $40 million in aid to SC farmers — The gov said this was an “unprecedented bailout for a single industry.” Hmmm… seems like I read in a separate story this morning that she had advocated for that exact amount — $40 million — for beach renourishment projects, I assume to protect the tourism industry. Interesting…
So to make “room” on the virtual page, we need to drop either number 5 or number 6.
(I realize it’s kind of anachronistic to have six stories on my VFPs — since newspaper pages are substantially smaller these days, almost no one gets that many on the front anymore. They might have that many refers, but not that many actual stories. But that was the standard number when I was last a front-page editor back in the 80s, so I make myself come up with that many — because after all, in this medium, space is not a limitation. I don’t allow myself MORE than 6 because one must have discipline.)
I’ve emailed my legislators and asked them to override her veto. The farmers really need our support.
Friendly Skies: $500 Dinners, $85K Luxury Box Characterize Airport Board Spending
Thenerve.org
You never seen those stories anywhere but their website, why is that? They expose so much corruption around the state but you never hear about it on the news or in any of the newspapers. It’s as if they don’t want the word to get out.
I wish I had an answer. It’s as if no one else cares.
Agree! Ron Aiken and the rest of the folks at The Nerve do a great job. In the case of the spending habits of the Richland/Lexington Airport District (RLAD), they uncover yet another Special Purpose District (SPD) that’s behaving in a way insulting to drunken sailors who are spending their own wages carousing about town.
What’s noteworthy is the amounts some of those folks spend on booze and expensive meals. The IRS casts a leery eye on “lavish or extravagant” expenses. That the primary offender seems to be of the “D” persuasion argues against any IRS interest, but we can still dream…
Down with SPDs and let’s get the tar heated up and the feathers ready for the RLAD gang! I’ll supply the pitchforks.
I can’t fathom the amount Duane Cooper spends on alcohol, dinner, and tips. There is no legitimate business reason for anyone to be charging taxpayers for $500 dinners and $100 tips, and huge amounts of alcoholic beverages.
and why are they staying at such expensive hotels? That makes no sense. When I worked for the state, I had a convention in Chicago that I had to attend. They put me up at the Comfort Inn for $129 a night. That was actually over what they would spend in South Carolina for a hotel at the timel, but this was Chicago- and that was the government rate.
As a former state employee, we were not allowed to give over a 15% tip. If we did, our official agency policy was we had to pay the overage ourselves (write a check and turn it in to our office).
and our agency never paid for alcohol. If you wanted alcoholic beverages, you paid for them out of your own pocket.
But apparently rules and good common sense don’t apply to people like Duane Cooper who also got paid close to $200,000 for PR work for the penny tax program (without submitting any invoices that detailed the work he performed for that money).
Who does this guy know and how is he getting away with it?
Re: 1
Doesn’t one either “punt a football” or “drop a hot potato”? I, for one, would not like to see a hot potato punted. Sour cream, bacon bits and chives EVERYWHERE! What a waste… 😉
You’re right, Dave. He has chosen his cake, and now must lie in it.
But a bird in the hand is worth any amount of beating about the bush, don’t you agree?
Yes! I was saying that to the doctor just the other day…
Although it might be cool to see what happens to a football when it’s microwaved.