NY shooting spurs changes

When shots rang out Wednesday in New York City Hall, Dallas officials sprang into action. Several meetings and one day later, three new metal detectors were on order for Dallas City Hall.

In Texas cities and across the country, the slaying of New York City Council member James Davis spawned discussions about the delicate balance between security and accessibility.
Dallas officials are opting for more checkpoints, while council members in many other cities remain committed to keeping their buildings and meetings as open as possible.
But nearly all said they are haunted by one question: Could this happen here?

The answer, many officials said, is yes.

Let me rephrase this: “In their continuing effort to be an International City and “just like Manhattan”, the Dallas City Council panicked like a bunch of 8 year-old girls confronted with a garter snake, and wasted Lord knows how much taxpayers’ money on completely unnecessary fortifications in a transparent attempt at self-aggrandizement.”

Of course, it could happen here. An asteroid could fall out of space and hit City Hall during a council meeting, too, so you better get on those energy shields. I could win the Lottery on Saturday and you’ll never hear from me again. I suspect the chances of each of the three are roughly the same. Please, dear Lord, spare me from the idiots that are local pols. Get a load of this one, from the unelected Ted Benavides:

Dallas City Manager Ted Benavides said the new law would make it more difficult to ensure that elected officials and employees are safe.

“I’m expected to protect everyone, and now there’s a law that allows people to bring guns in,” he said. “That seems like a conflict.”

Mitchell Rasansky, a Dallas council member, said city halls need more stringent security requirements – not laws allowing guns in the building. Every week, elected officials make decisions that directly impact residents’ lives, and tensions run high, he said.

Where did we find these pussies? The Dallas City Council is worried about the law-abiding citizens who take the time, money and energy to go and get a concealed-carry permit. Fellows (and ladies), these are NOT the people you should be concerned with.

Aw, hell, never mind. Maybe they can take their seats at the next council meeting wearing body armor and Kevlar helmets. You never know when some licensed toter is gonna get incensed over his neighborhood’s bulk removal schedule. The real screwing is going on behind solidly closed oaken doors that no citizen is ever gonna get near.

CNN International
Stryker unit going to Iraq

Well, I know I wouldn’t be one of the ones wearing a black hat when Stryker gets there. I hear he’s a tough SOB.

Bryan Preston’s Junk Yard Blog has a new address. Adjust your directional finders accordingly.

Now here’s something you don’t see everyday: a purple polar bear!

Pelusa, a fourteen-year-old female polar bear, look through the bars of her cage at Mendoza’s Zoo, some 1,200 kilometers (750 miles) west of Buenos Aires, Argentina, Tuesday, July 22, 2003. Pelusa, normally white, turned violet after veterinarians administered a drug to treat a skin’s infection. Veterinarians said she should turn to her normal color within a month. (AP Photo/Walter Moreno-Los Andes)

I wonder if she’s aware of the fact that she’s now purple, and if it bugs her. I would think you wouldn’t want a pissed-off polar bear on your hands.

* Lamest Title Of The Week award winner!

A not-for-geeks examination of the Internet, how it works, why it works, and what it needs to be or do or something like that from the inventor of Ethernet, Richard Bennett. It’s another shot across the bow of the Cult of the Sacred Camel that idealizes the Interweb as something that will Save Mankind.

OK, it’s kinda geeky, but not so much.

Yeehaw! El Capitan of USS Clueless is now a verified member of the VRWC, Bush-Lapdog-Media Division. Sing Hallelujah, brothers and sisters!

Does this mean that Steven has to stop referring to himself as “just a guy with a website?” I don’t think anyone has ever put much stock in that, anyway.

I think this might be a reason to buy my own self a Tivo: American Chopper. If you haven’t seen this show, you need to if you’re a burly, manly man. The best way to describe it is like one of those home&garden or cooking shows, except with welders, grinders, big-ass chromed motors, overflowing with testosterone. The bikes the Teutuls build are works of art, and I’m always shocked when they show them driving them on the road.

It’s almost enough to get me past my life-long fear of motorsickles and into bikes. I don’t fear the bike — I fear the crazy bastages I see on the road every week driving to and from the ranch. That’s about 200 miles every weekend, and not a trip goes by that I don’t see someone doing something exceedingly stupid that endangers a biker. Usually, it’s just being utterly oblivious to their surroundings.

STICKER SHOCK UPDATE: John LeBlanc tells me that those damn specialty bikes from OCC cost, on average, $150,000!!! I repeat, !!!. Kee-riminey. Here I thought I was watching some regular guys struggling to get an operation going, and they’re richer than hell. Durn teevee…fooled me again. Oh, well — back to live professional sporting events. At least there I know in advance everyone’s a millionaire.

This poker show is another reason for Tivo. I can’t believe I’m saying this, after all the grief I’ve given my lovely bride over her Tivo addiction.