Nanny(State) Knows Best

(S)motherism is the newest craze in statecraft. There seems to be few things in life that aren't subject to state interference. The temp you set your thermostat is the latest thing to come under attack here in California. (via Samizdata)

It's for Gaia, so we must submit. We must allow state bureaucrats decide what temps we can set our central air/heat at so that they won't have to build any additional Gaia offending power plants.

I don't think the committee that recommended these changes expected anyone to notice in time to complain before they get slipped into new building codes. Luckily, this is an invasive enough intrusion on people's liberties that this issue should become toxic even for the most liberal politicians and should die a speedy and ignomious death.

Or at least I hope.

Once again though, as with many of these energy type issues, I live my life greenly, not as a matter of Gaiaism, but more frugality and location. It never gets too hot here, with the frequent ocean breezes, so no central air needed, and the few months it's cold enough to require heating, it's never so cold that our old gas furnace can't handle the job without destroying too much of the planet. But if I lived in the desert, that wouldn't be the case, and if they want to change people's behavior, then expose them to the market more, don't regulate frugality. People will change their habits if they see immediate costs to keeping their houses at 68 degrees when nobody's home on a 100+ degree day. The Enron scandal wasn't a scandal born of de-regulation, but of sloppy and easily manipulated regulation. The powers that be see to it that power will never be subject to a true free market. Because of this, folks don't behave as sensibly as they might otherwise. The solution isn't technological, the solution lies with the market. But don't expect that argument to get proposed by any government commission tasked with finding energy 'solutions'.

LOL Leonard?!?

No Mr. King, sorry, you can't haz a fag.

This is a snap of Leonard King, the poor sod who got nicked for smoking in his lorry.

(I loaded up this post with Britishisms, despite my aversion to their creeping into American English, cause it sounds funnier, and I'm all about teh funny)

Word of the Day (Dog Catcher Edition)

Gobsmacking

Wow. Just wow. Just go ahead and make the stuff illegal then. A first offense fine of £260 (that's $530.77) seems pretty crazy. Wonder what truck drivers (I refuse to call him a lorry driver) make over there? Probably cost him a few days pay for that one cigarette.

Not to be left out of the anti-smoking hysteria, the fine city of Calabasas bans indoor smoking, bans outdoor smoking in public areas, they even ban smoking on your own patio if it's too close to public areas, they're proud of themselves over this draconian infringement on personal rights.

My hometown of Santa Monica is virulently anti-smoking as well, though, that's caused some friction with the city's "compassionate" attitude towards homelessness.

Back to the Daily Mail article, my favorite part is that he was caught by the "council dog warden". Their job is to protect citizens from mad dogs and smoking Englishmen, I guess.

LOL Edwards?!?

A SHOCKING NEW REVELATION ABOUT EDWARDS-CARE

(figured I'd give DRUDGE his headline up front)

Original image courtesy the Edwards 2008 Flickr page (the Iowa- Labor Day set), and big mistake allowing "remix" ing in the creative commons license for these images. Not all remixers are your friends. Some might even find your ideas regarding subjects such as health care rather astonishing.