Tuesday

1992 – A 203-year-old proposed constitutional amendment barring the U.S. Congress from giving itself a midterm pay raise was ratified as the 27th Amendment.

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Paddy O'Furnijur
Editor
11 years ago

Good morning, Gerbil Nation!
Now if we could only force those public leeches to live under the same laws and regulations as the rest of us, then maybe we’d be getting somewhere.

Fatwa Arbuckle: Misanthropologist

G’day from Happy Larryville, GN!

Paddy --

I’d like to see all public officials -- and public employees -- stripped of their various sorts of “immunity” from consequences for their actions (or lack of same). It it were up to me, they’d all have to purchase liability insurance for themselves which would a) reduce the exposure of taxpayers caused by bad actors and b) render them unemployable wherein teh public teat is concerned after an expensive screw-up or two (when they effectively become uninsurable).

Also, no public employees unions. 😉

Just Sven
Editor
11 years ago

Good morning-

I’ve been reading this book, Dial 911 and Die, by Richard Stevens. He discusses how govts avoid responsibility for their actions through immunity and ‘no-duty’ rules. He documents court cases from each state, and his general premise is that govt has no responsibility to protect an individual from bad things happening, so you ought to have a gun and accept that you are responsible for yourself.

Not a great book, but interesting reading the various cases.

Just Sven
Editor
11 years ago
Reply to  Just Sven

Here’s some of California’s Government Code related to the above:

845. Neither a public entity nor a public employee is liable for failure to establish a police department or otherwise to provide police protection service or, if police protection service is provided, for failure to provide sufficient police protection service.

846. Neither a public entity nor a public employee is liable for injury caused by the failure to make an arrest or by the failure to retain an arrested person in custody.

821. A public employee is not liable for an injury caused by his adoption of or failure to adopt an enactment or by his failure to enforce an enactment.

Bottom line: You’re on your own, baby.

Just Sven
Editor
11 years ago
Reply to  X_LA_Native

Did you get to see some of the speakers, X? Sarah Palin?

Just Sven
Editor
11 years ago

My house is a mess. Mrs Sven is sick and the teevee aint working right. The bigger problem is that the circuit breaker for the kitchen kept tripping yesterday. I thought it was the refrigerator finally giving up its ghost, but turned out the gas stove top had a 1/4 of standing water in it and electronic pilot lights were shorting out. Where did the water come from? As best as we can figure, somebody was cleaning things up in the kitchen last Saturday and somehow inadvertently poured water in it. I’ve mopped it out and dried things out with a hot air gun, but I don’t know if it is salvageable. The darn thing is 40 years old. Got the refrigerator running off an extension cord.

Just Sven
Editor
11 years ago

Kings won last night to tie their series at 2. Clearly not the same team as last year, and Quick in goal inspires little confidence. But they are making a show of it.

Just Sven
Editor
11 years ago
Reply to  X_LA_Native

In California, ‘right-winger’ would be a charitable characterization.