I've often said that I hate the two-party political system, but if I'm forced to use a partisan label, I call myself a Casey Democrat. After reading this, I think I might be a sort of white Cosby Republican. Socially conservative and fiscally liberal? Yeah, I dig that. (HT: Ambiviblog)
On a related note, I was shocked to hear that Al "Rent-a-Mob" Sharpton is urging blacks to stop blindly supporting the Democratic Party. Somebody had to say it, but did it have to be him?! (HT: PowerBlog!)
I was already excited about this news story.
"A proposal to severely restrict panhandling in the City of Pittsburgh was introduced in City Council today."
Pittsburgh’s professional panhandlers drive me nuts and I’d like to see the practice banned altogether. Before you call me heartless and unsympathetic, come to Oakland sometime and witness these phonies for yourself. Anyhow, I thought any effort to combat them would be a step in the right direction.
Then I read this.
"Busking — defined as the public provision of entertainment without a vocal request for money — would be expressly permitted."
Those who’ve lived in Da Burgh for a little while is probably well aware of its inability to retain young people after graduation from one of our fine collegiate institutions. Most of the time, it seems our legislators not only have no intention of fixing the problem (witness the mayoral ads focusing almost entirely on the elderly), but they also seem intent on making it worse. Supporting busking, however, is a step in the right direction.
Buskers contribute to the cultural atmosphere of a city. It’s not like they’re jingling a cup and annoying people for a living. They’re entertaining people. They’re contributing to the ambiance. They’re fun.
Let’s hope this trend continues so Pittsburgh can stop hemorrhaging young people.
[For the record, I had to rewrite this post because I’m an idiot and read "expressly permitted" as "expressly forbidden". – Funky]
Rob Carr of Unspace has some questions for his Catholic friends in the blogosphere.
"Hypothetical situation: Let�s assume, for the sake of the argument, that the Constitution had a line in it that said 'Abortion shall be available to all.' It doesn�t � this is a hypothetical question, a 'gedanken experiment.' That�s German for 'thought experiment.'"
"If Roberts were a Supreme Court justice and he were asked to rule on the constitutionality of a law that totally banned all abortions (remember, folks – 'gedanken'). The law is clearly unconstitutional under our hypothetical gedanken experiment. "
"As a Roman Catholic, would he be permitted to rule that the Constitution says the law is unconstitutional? Or would he, because of his faith, be required to rule that the law is constitutional?"
Occasionally I post some of the more interesting search engine queries that bring
people here. Here’s July’s batch.
Mo Cuishla: I’m amazed that this still such a popular search. Perhaps the DVD was released recently. Anyhow, it means “my darling, my blood”.
do you walk to work or carry your lunch: Are these mutually exclusive on your planet?!
last ruling on Catholic Purgatory: I have no idea what ruling is intended or by whom. I do know we still believe in it.
presentation on the life cycle of a serial killer: Replace “serial killer” with “praying mantis” and you have a nature program on PBS.
toga party and catholic: I guess the new pope is wilder than his predecessor. 😉
free turn paper on beneficial side of stem cells: Downloading term papers is plagiarism and grounds for failing most courses or worse. Thinking “term papers” are “turn papers” means you deserve to fail.
I had sex with my gay brother-in-law: Say what now?! How in Heaven’s name did this search lead someone to my blog?
transgender who wants to be a woman and a leg amputee: Um…Eww.
regain virginity surgery: Huh? Somebody failed health class in high school.
transgender leg amputee personal dating: Who are these freaks?!
The pastor of my sister’s ELCA church said in a sermon that very recently an agreement
was reached between the RCC and ELCA allowing members of each to share each other’s
communion. I haven’t heard of any such thing. Have any of you? Have I missed the
biggest ecumenical news story of the year somehow? A Google search seems to confirm
my immediate suspicion that the pastor is grossly misinformed. Can anybody shed
more light on this?