David McElroy

It’s not often I have reason to praise a major politician. It’s even less often that I expect to have praise for Calif. Gov. Jerry Brown, but Gov. Moonbeam did something praiseworthy last week.

After the California Legislature passed a bill requiring helmets for minors skiing or snowboarding, Brown vetoed it, telling lawmakers in his veto message that parents should make the decision for their children instead. The veto message (PDF) said:

To the Members of the California State Senate:

I am returning Senate Bill 105 without my signature.

This measure would impose criminal penalites on a child under the age of 18 and his or her parents if the child skis or snowboards without a helmet.

While I appreciate the value of wearing a ski helmet, I am concerned about the continuing and seemingly inexorable transfer of authority from parents to the state. Not every human problem deserves a law.

I believe parents have the ability and the responsibility to make good choices for their children.

Sincerely,
Edmund G. Brown

I’m a big fan of wearing helmets when doing dangerous things, but I’m an even bigger fan of parents having the power to make decisions for their own children.

Keep Reading

Stockbroker Martin Kessman might be 64 years old, but he’s behaving more like a 6-year-old recently. The 290-pounder in Nanuet, N.Y., is suing the White Castle hamburger chain because he can’t get his fat body into the booths built for people considerably smaller. He claims the chain is violating his rights under the Americans with Disabilities Act. I’m not kidding.

As you can see in the photo, our rotund hamburger fiend is able to get into the booth, but he claims it’s not comfortable enough. I’d suggest he be arrested and carted off, but stupidity still isn’t against the law.

It’s easy to make fun of this idiot — and I take great pleasure in doing so — but the bigger issue isn’t one moron suing a restaurant. No, the bigger issue is that we’ve become a society of people who believe we’re entitled to get our way — even when we’ve created the problem we’re whining about.

Keep Reading

In South Pasadena, Calif., a traffic light went out at a major intersection Thursday morning. Traffic was backed up more than a mile and getting through the intersection took more than half an hour — until a private citizen stepped up to direct traffic.

Alan Ehrlich put on a bright orange shirt and grabbed a couple of orange safety flags and started directing traffic. He had the traffic unsnarled and moving within about 10 minutes. Then police showed up.

They weren’t there to take over directing traffic, because the police chief says this particular traffic light isn’t a priority. They also weren’t there to thank Ehrlich for helping fix the problem. No, they were there to issue him a ticket for interfering. The police chief told an LA television station that it’s safer to allow traffic to back up than to allow someone to direct traffic.

Keep Reading