Alexandria Moves Toward Registration And Taxing Bicycles

301px-Seal_of_Alexandria,_VA.svg220px-MichauxjunWe have previously discussed the counterproductive increases in taxes that have been implemented recently without consideration of their impact on behavior or revenue. France’s ridiculous 75 percent tax on the rich is an obvious example (now even the former French president is reportedly planning to flee the taxes for England). So is our high tax on corporations while Canada continues to lower its tax just next door. There are also reports of high earners like Tiger Woods leaving California and New York in the face of high increases. A smaller but even more moronic tax is being contemplated by Alexandria, Virginia where the city council is considering a law forcing people to register bikes so that they can be forced to pay a fee.

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What So Proudly We Hailed at Beyoncé’s Lip Syncing . . . (Part II)

220px-Beyonce_Knowles_with_necklaces220px-The_Star-Spangled_Banner_-_Project_Gutenberg_eText_21566We previously discussed the insulting decision of Beyoncé to lip sync the national anthem at the Inauguration.  The story has only gotten worse with time.  First, it turns out that the Marine band also faked playing to match her fake singing.  Second, and more recently, we have learned that Beyoncé decided to lip sync the day before after showing up late and not rehearsing. It appears that gig was not important enough to her to either show up on time or work a bit later. It is not the Superbowl after all.

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Obama and The Leap Of Faith

PresObamaAfter the Inauguration, I shared my thoughts on President Barack Obama’s address. I liked the speech but, as with many civil libertarians, I do not share the faith in his commitment to principle — at least not the principles behind civil liberties. Below is today’s print column that touches on some of the same themes with a few additional observations.

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California Highway Patrol Settles Case Of Pregnant Woman Being Thrown To Ground and Hogtied After Talking On Her Cellphone While Driving

mqdefaultThe California Highway Patrol has agreed to a settlement of the recent case of a pregnant driver, Tamara Gaglione, 30, being hogtied by police after being stopped for talking on her cellphone. Gaglione will receive a $250,000 settlement.

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Paleontological Perversity? Saudi Religious Police Shutdown Dinosaur Exhibit

220px-Marasuchus170px-Ministry_of_Interior_Saudi_Arabia.svgThe Saudi Committee for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice is a religious police force that has been a constant presence in the Kingdom arresting woman having coffee with colleagues or forcing young girls to burn to death in fire rather than run out without their scarves. Now the religious police in Dammam marched into a popular dinosaur exhibit and shut it down without any explanation of why the dinosaurs threatened the virtue of good Muslims.

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Pay the Piper: Reporter Bankrupted After Being Ordered To Pay Damage To Porsche 917

200px-Porsche_917CJournalist Mark Hales is facing bankruptcy after he blew the engine of a £1.3million replica Porsche 917 during a test drive. Hales says that the owner, veteran Formula One ace David Piper, told him that he would cover any damage. However, Piper denied the oral agreement occurred and a court ordered Hale to pay $76,000 to cover repairs to the car, plus $100,000 in legal costs.

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North Carolina Teacher Avoids Rape Charges By Marrying Student

teacher_244x183In Bolivia, North Carolina, former teacher Leah Gayle Shipman, 42, was spared a criminal trial on statutory rape of a student on a rather novel ground: she married the student. Shipman married Johnnie Ray Ison, 17, after divorcing her husband of 19 years. Ison married with the consent of his mother.

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What So Proudly We Hailed at Beyoncé’s Lip Syncing . . .

220px-The_Star-Spangled_Banner_-_Project_Gutenberg_eText_21566220px-Beyonce_Knowles_with_necklacesRemember the moving rendition of the National Anthem by Beyoncé at the Inaugural? Not only does it now appear that she lip synced but it took a British newspaper to uncover the truth. The Times is reporting that the spokesperson for the Marine Corp Band Kristen DuBois confirmed that Beyoncé did a Milli Vanilli with the National Anthem.

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Three Illinois Police Officers Indicted In Narcotics Sting

chi-schaumburg-officers-and-female-companion-20130117Three police officers in Schaumburg, Illinois (outside Chicago) have been indicted for allegedly teaming up with a drug dealer to sell narcotics. Matthew Hudak, John Cichy, and Terrance O’Brien were all members of the tactical unit and charged with a female companion, Nicole Brehm, 44.

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Former New Orleans Mayor Nagin Indicted On Federal Corruption Charges

225px-Nagin2June2006In perhaps the world’s least surprising news item, former New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin has been indicted on federal corruption charges. Nagin was a disgrace during Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and was notorious for bizarre and self-absorded conduct. His reelection in New Orleans soured many on the idea of giving additional relief to a city that would retain such an utter failure as a mayor. Now, Nagin will face 21 charges including bribery, money laundering, fraud and filing false tax returns.
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Lowe Blow: Minnesota Lawyer Suspended After Having Affair With Client And Then Billing Her For Time Spent In Sexual Encounters

230px-Honoré_Daumier_018Minnesota attorney Thomas P. Lowe, 58, has been suspended indefinitely after he was found not only to have had an affair with a client in a divorce case but then charged her for time they spent having sex.

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Chris Matthews: Obama Speech Akin To Gettysburg Address

220px-Abraham_LincolnPresObamaI have already given my view of the Inauguration Speech. However, I just read MSNBC’s Chris Matthews comparison of this unremarkable speech to the Gettysburg Address. I previously tweeted about the now formulaic approaches of Fox and MSNBC to covering the president. However, this comparison demonstrates the detachment from the actual observed news once filtered through these cable programs.

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The Obama Inauguration: A Case Of Hope Over Experience

220px-Inauguration-01-20-2009Below is my column today in USA Today on the Inauguration Speech of President Obama. Unfortunately, my family got back and reported that the Jumbotron or giant screen was malfunctioning so they missed the entire inauguration speech. Thousands of people were similarly deprived by whatever contractor was handling the screen — a terrible disappointment for thousands who came from all over the country.

Here is the column.

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Inauguration Day

PresObama President Barack Obama is set to give his inauguration address today. The crowd is much smaller than his first term as is his popularity. The new Gallop poll shows Obama at a 49 percent popularity rate. While he remains personally popular, the overall popularity rate below fifty percent is comparable to Jimmy Carter and Gerald Ford — two presidents who ultimately languished in office.

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