7/29: No Clucking Around With Gang Violence
8 p.m.
• So the baseball HOF ceremonies were this weekend, and one of my all-time favorite players, Tony Gwynn, got inducted. As a kid, there were a handful of baseball “heroes” I had during the 1980s. They were Gwynn, George Brett, Carlton Fisk and Fernando Valenzuela. That's all I got. Tony's the man.
• Oh I can’t wait to see how this shit gets enforced.
Fed up with deadly drive-by shootings, incessant drug dealing and graffiti, cities nationwide are trying a different tactic to combat gangs: They're suing them.
Fort Worth and San Francisco are among the latest to file lawsuits against gang members, asking courts for injunctions barring them from hanging out together on street corners, in cars or anywhere else in certain areas.
The injunctions are aimed at disrupting gang activity before it can escalate. They also give police legal reasons to stop and question gang members, who often are found with drugs or weapons, authorities said. In some cases, they don't allow gang members to even talk to people passing in cars or to carry spray paint.
This part made me laugh.
But critics say such lawsuits go too far, limiting otherwise lawful activities and unfairly targeting minority youth.
• And speaking of enforcing laws, this shit blew my mind earlier this week.
A federal judge struck down a Pennsylvania city's ordinance that sought to punish landlords who rented to illegal immigrants and employers who hired them, ruling yesterday that immigration law is the province of the federal government.
The Hazleton measure had become an inspiration for a growing movement among state and city officials to enact local laws to combat illegal immigration. Supporters say Washington has failed to control national borders or deal with the estimated 12 million illegal immigrants in the U.S.
So local governments aren’t allowed to take measures to stop the invasion and have to rely on the FEDERAL GOVERNMENT? God help us all. Also, I have no clue what political party Hazleton's mayor is, but if he would run for governor I'd vote for him.
• It’s bad enough parents don’t have time for their kids, but now they don’t have time for dogs?
From the state that popularized purse puppies, drive-thru dog washes and gourmet dog food delivery comes the latest in canine convenience—a company that contracts out dogs by the day to urbanites without the time or space to care for a pet full-time.
Marlena Cervantes, founder of FlexPetz, bristles when people refer to her five-month-old business as a rent-a-pet service. She prefers the term "shared pet ownership," explaining the concept is more akin to a vacation time share or a gym membership than a trip to the video store.
"Our members are responsible in that they realize full-time ownership is not an option for them and would be unfair to the dog," said Cervantes, 32, a behavioral therapist who got the idea while working with pets and autistic children. "It prevents dogs from being adopted and then returned to the shelter by people who realize it wasn't a good fit."
Actually, this isn’t such a bad idea. I’d rather have someone rent-a-pooch for a few hours each week than have them buy a dog only to take it to the pound a few months later when the owner discovers that canines like to do things like walk and poop outside. And, unlike children, I'm sure the dogs don't care where they end up each day as long as they associate "home" with the business' kennel.
• I’m sure you can make a variety of cock jokes with this one.
A Painesville judge has ordered three men who pleaded guilty to soliciting sex to take turns dressing in a bright yellow chicken costume.
Judge Michael Cicconetti agreed to suspend a 30-day jail sentence if they wear the costume between four and seven pm tomorrow outside the court.
They also must carry a sign that reads "No Chicken Ranch in Painesville."
The sign and costume refer to the "World Famous Chicken Ranch," a prostitution house in Nevada where sex-for-money is legal.
The three men solicited sex from an undercover Painesville police officer earlier this summer.
If only they had choked their chickens, those guys wouldn't be dressed like one.
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