As one of the frequent topics I discuss on this blog, I am not a fan of red light cameras.
Continuing from the story I posted last month, American Traffic Solutions or ATS, filed a federal lawsuit over the charter amendment in the 2010 election that the voters told the city to shut the cameras off.
The city did stop issuing citations, but ATS continued silently collecting observations to use in their court case. Friday, U.S. District Judge Lynn Hughes invalidated the charter amendment, saying the city at large cannot reverse an ordinance once it has been in effect for more than 30 days (and of course that ordinance was passed clear back in 2004 by then-Mayor Bill “Boss Hogg” White).
The case going to Federal Court versus a state court appears to be a power move, knowing that judges at the Federal Level tend to want to legislate from the bench, since a state court (particularly here in conservative Texas) would have been more in the people’s favor. Continue reading
My day job consists of working in private industry supporting telephone equipment. So, when videos like this come up, I tend to pay attention. A friend of mine e-mailed this to me today, and I wanted to share it with you:
As many will note, I often have something to say about the state of our Transportation Security. I also know that the Department of Homeland Insecurity has visited this site a few times over the last few months, so I do have the powers that be in Washington’s attention.
It also goes to say that there are good screeners. There are friendly screeners, who know it’s rough, but try to make your trip through the checkpoint go smoother. The incidents I account here are, I hope, isolated, but are also driven by poorly planned and badly executed policies.
I recently had a opportunity to talk to some screeners during a recent trip to Honolulu and Hilo, Hawaii. I even saw an undercover agent working with an uniformed screener to test the agents performing checked bag screening. The people are serious, and most are trustworthy. Continue reading
Today is Memorial Day, a day we remember those who have lived before us.
Originally called “Decoration Day”, it began on May 30th, 1868 to honor the fallen Civil War soldiers, by decorating their grave sites with flowers and flags.
In 1971, it was officially declared a national holiday, and moved from May 30th, to the last Monday in May.
As the state legislative session began winding down last week, I started following certain bills of interest, including HB 1937, which, as I discussed before, would prohibit the TSA from touching “private parts” during screening.
Much to my surprise, the bill, which passed unanimously out of the House, was withdrawn before being brought to the vote Tuesday. With Wednesday being the last day it could face a vote before the end of the legislative session, I knew that it was dead this session.
I set about to research what caused the sudden demise of what seemed to be a popular bill, and I got some unusual answers. The TSA, through the Department of Justice (DOJ), sent a letter to the Legislature threatening to cancel all flights out of Texas if the bill passed. Continue reading
UPDATE: A friend from Kansas City just sent me a link to the Daily Mail in the United Kingdom. To demonstrate the power of these storms, they have before and after pictures. Please check them out here.
This tornado season has been unbelievably active. As someone who grew up in Tornado Alley, I have seen more than my share of tornadoes.
Much like fire drills in school, we also practiced tornado drills, so we always knew where to go in severe weather. Fortunately, we never had to take shelter for real.
Likewise, through the tireless efforts of storm chasers and trained spotters, along with technology advances, make tracking these storms much easier. This allows cities like Joplin to have more warning than ever before. Continue reading
Just when you thought it couldn’t get any worse, the TSA’s heavy-handed tactics prove that they show no end to their insanity.
This time, it happened at an airport I travel to on a frequent basis, Kansas City International Airport (or as the locals call it, KCI – yet the airlines call it MCI – but that’s another story for another day).
This time, Kansas City pastor Jacob Jester watched as agents patted down an 8-month-old after the child’s stroller alarmed while passing through the checkpoint.
Continuing from the story I posted last month, American Traffic Solutions or ATS, filed a federal lawsuit over the charter amendment in the 2010 election that the voters told the city to shut the cameras off.
