"It's for the planet!"...or something. California Governor Jerry "Moonbeam" Brown signed SB270 into law, making it illegal for retailers to use single-use, plastic bags. Instead, stores will charge a ten cent per bag fee for paper bags.
The starry-eyed fools that supported this steaming pile of crap claim that "most plastic bags end up in the ocean or landfills." If that were true, why would it be so? I'll tell you why; it's because people are lazy. First of all, I don't believe the severity of their claims. Most people have jumped on the recycling bandwagon already, reusing plastic grocery bags for other things, not to mention the fact that "single use" grocery bags are typically made from recycled materials. The lazy minority that refuse to recycle are the cause of plastic making its way into landfills or the ocean. California's typically misguided solution to lazy people is to ban the bags and increase costs; let's also not forget the jobs lost and other economic impacts (see here) of the huge hit the plastic bag industry will take.
Additionally, a recent analysis undertaken by Reason Foundation found that "Lightweight plastic bags constitute less than 1 percent of visible litter, represent only 0.4 percent of all municipal solid waste, and are not a major cause of blocked storm drains. Banning them has practically no impact on the amount of litter generated, the amount Californians pay for waste disposal, or the risk of flooding." Reason's article goes on to discuss the real and measurable impact of alleged "reusable" bags.
Just when you think the discussion in California couldn't get any crazier, in an article from the San Diego UT (click here to read it) supporters of the new law claim that, "Producers are responsible for the end of life impact of their products." That's about the dumbest thing I've heard all week. That's like saying that Jack Daniels is responsible for what your abusive step dad does when he gets liquored up.
Well, since the uninformed voters that seem to make up the majority of California have elected a bunch of crooks and idiots to their state legislature, garbage like SB270 has been the norm. Liberal control over the lives of the voting base continues to grow in California, where the state motto should be changed to, "If we can't tax it, ban it!"
There is currently widespread and rabid demands for Ray Rice's head on a pike over a video of him punching his (then) girlfriend in the face, knocking her out. Rice was arrested back in February for simple assault, but the demands for excessive punishment only began once the media hyped the incident. There is no shortage of players in the NFL that have been arrested for criminal acts (and I'm not talking about speeding tickets) and are still collecting that seven figure pay check.
I have to ask, where's the outrage over the rest of the dirtbags that the NFL employs? UT San Diego has a database of NFL player arrests (click here to see it), and you may be surprised to see the number and seriousness of the arrests. Why? Because you've likely never heard of them before, since the media didn't choose to hype them the way they did the Rice case.
On August 31st of this year, Ray McDonald of the San Francisco 49ers was arrested on suspicion of felony domestic violence. Where's the outrage? On July 20th, St Louis Rams linebacker Jo-Lonn Dunbar was arrested for battery and disorderly conduct. Where's the outrage? On July 19th, Eagles safety Keelan Johnson was arrested for assaulting a police officer. Where's the outrage?
I submit that the NFL only punishes those that the media demands they punish. Again, I ask, where's the outrage over the other criminal acts of NFL players? Why is the media silent on those counts? Why do those players get a free pass by the media and league? Rice did nothing worse than other players, but he doesn't rate to play football anymore, or something. If we're going to hold him to a certain standard, let's hold the other domestic abusers, dopers, drunk drivers, and cop beaters to the same standard.
In a move that can only be described as puzzling, the Huffington Post has hired former NFL player Donte Stallworth as a "fellow to cover national security." Let me go ahead and point out the 800 pound gorilla in the room: Stallworth is a nutjob, having demonstrated his loose grip on reality with his 9/11 truther tweets in 2009. Oh, and there's that pesky little manslaughter conviction to go along with his national security ignorance.
The Washington Post blathers on about how great Stallworth is in an article (click here to read it) that seems to focus more on his love of homosexuals than anything else. Huffpo's Washington Bureau Chief, Ryan Grim, can't offer anything relevant to Stallworth's national security expertise (or lack of it), but attempts to justify the hire by stating, "...his LGBT work brought him to our attention and impressed us." Well, that's just super.
Breitbart has a more focused piece (click here to read it) that points to Stallworth's insane tweets, while alluding to the obvious question: What in the hell are they smoking over at Huffpo?
