Various & Sundry, 9/13/13

A Moment of Fiscal Sanity in DC

Be still my beating heart – there’s actually a local politician with some understanding of economics.

Mayor Vincent C. Gray vetoed legislation Thursday that would force the District’s largest retailers to pay their workers significantly more, choosing the potential for jobs and development at home over joining a national fight against low-wage work.

. . .

Gray (D) announced his veto in a letter delivered to Council Chairman Phil Mendelson on Thursday morning. It explained his opposition to the bill and tried to soften the political consequences by disclosing his intention to seek a minimum-wage increase from all employers, not just large retailers.

In the letter, Gray said the measure was “not a true living-wage bill,” because its effect would be limited to “a small fraction of the District’s workforce.” He called the bill a “job-killer,” citing threats from Wal-Mart and other retailers that they would not locate in the city if the bill becomes law.

“If I were to sign this bill into law, it would do nothing but hinder our ability to create jobs, drive away retailers, and set us back on the path to prosperity for all,” he said.

Gray must be made to understand that being theoretically paid $12.50 per hour while actually being paid $0 per hour is much superior to being paid $8.25 per hour.

Judge Refuses to Let Jewish Man Wear Kippah in Court

And the judge relied on some profound reasons for the refusal.

Stephen Orr, a resident of Chesapeake, Va., was tried in absentia and found guilty, after a Circuit Court judge denied his request to wear a hat, or “kippah,” into the courtroom in keeping with a Jewish mandate that persons wear a head covering at all times. The judge allegedly based his denial on the fact that other Jewish litigants appear in court without a head covering.

Yes, they’re called Reform Jews, and they are to Judaism what readers of National Catholic Reporter are to Catholicism.

Senate Wants to Define Journalist

And in more “the First Amendment is obsolete” news, there’s this:

A Senate panel on Thursday approved a measure defining a journalist, which had been an obstacle to broader media shield legislation designed to protect reporters and the news media from having to reveal their sources.

The Judiciary Committee’s action cleared the way for approval of legislation prompted by the disclosure earlier this year that the Justice Department had secretly subpoenaed almost two months of telephone records for 21 phone lines used by reporters and editors for The Associated Press and secretly used a warrant to obtain some emails of a Fox News journalist. The subpoenas grew out of investigations into leaks of classified information to the news organizations.

They’re going to pretend this about protecting journalists, but in reality it’s about sticking it to non-traditional media. In the 90s we had efforts to re-introduce the “Fairness Doctrine,” nicknamed the “Hush Rush” law. This seems to be the “Hush Drudge” law.

Roman Catholic Priest Injured in Zanzibar Acid Attack

The nuttery is not just confined to the Middle East.

Ignorant Trash Destroy 9/11 Display

I have to agree with some of the commenters – were there no onlookers who could have stopped them?

Reason Number 845254 I don’t Particularly Miss Cable

Whatever Shepard Smith is paid is too much money.

Shepard Smith has signed a new multi-year deal with Fox News Channel in which he will become the primary breaking news anchor for the network. In the process, he will lose his 7pmET “Fox Report,” while his 3pmET program “Studio B” will now be known as “Shepard Smith Reporting.”

No one exemplifies the empty-headed, pretty boy talking head quite like Shep.