Scott Bradford: Off on a Tangent

Busted: I’m Not A Perfect Driver

Posted

I received a ‘warning notice’ in the mail today because I apparently ran a red light in Washington, DC, on October 23 at 3rd St. and New York Ave. NW. Thankfully it’s just a warning, not an actual citation, but I’ll presumably get a real citation if I ever do it again.

At first I doubted it . . . the photos could easily be interpreted as me stopping at a red light and then making a legal right turn on red (which is something I do a lot). However, after logging in and viewing the video, it’s clear that I did actually run the light. Oops.

In my defense, there was no reason for the light to be red. As you can see in the video, there weren’t any cars coming, and the light wasn’t even long enough to clear the backlog off 3rd St. (one or two cars ahead of me got caught too; look closely to see the camera flashes). I had also just spent about 10 minutes trying to get through this idiotic intersection since, for some reason, you can’t make a left from New Jersey (heading north) onto New York (heading west). I had to do this stupid U-turn maneuver onto 3rd and go through three traffic lights to make a simple left turn. And, of course, DC’s traffic lights are notoriously hard to see against the city backdrop.

Not making excuses, just laying out the mitigating factors. I have a nearly-spotless driving record and take driving very seriously (and am quick to criticize others). In the interest of expressing a bit of humility, here is evidence that even Scott Bradford makes an occasional mistake behind the wheel. Mitigating factors or not, I should have stopped at the light as the law requires. If this had been a real citation, I would have paid without contesting.

My Sister’s Fall Showcase (Videos and Photos)

Posted

Melissa and I spent a nice weekend down in the Roanoke area. The main purpose of the trip was to see my sister Kristen dance in her Fall Showcase with Arthur Murray Dance Center of Roanoke, which was held Saturday afternoon at the Hotel Roanoke. She did a great job, as always.

This time, I brought my Canon camera instead of relying on a cell phone, so I got some good photos and halfway-decent videos (as good as can be expected with the room’s crappy lighting). I took a number of random photos before, during, and after the showcase, and took video of Kristen’s various routines.

We also got to spend some time with both my and Melissa’s parents in celebration of both of our birthdays, which was nice. It’s great to spend some time with the family (and get free food ;-)).

Anyway . . . videos and photos from the Showcase below. Enjoy!

Read more . . .

Explosive Devices Found; Bound for U.S. Synagogues

Posted

President Barack Obama (D) announced this afternoon that the United States fell under a ‘credible terrorist threat’ over the last 24 hours and officials have intercepted at least two packages containing explosive material. The packages were sent from Yemen via U.S. shipping companies, and were addressed to Jewish synagogues in Chicago, IL.

One package intercepted in London contained a modified printer/copier toner cartridge and explosive material. Another intercepted in Dubai, United Arab Emirates also contained explosives. Cargo aircraft have been inspected in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Newark, New Jersey, and a truck has been inspected in New York, NY. Also, Emirates Airlines flight 201 was escorted by fighter jets into John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York and landed safely. No explosives have been found in any of these aircraft or trucks.

Chicago synagogues have been asked to increase their security as a result of this threat, and the U.S. Dept. of Homeland Security issued a statement on increased security precautions at U.S. airports. Additionally, FedEx has temporarily suspended all shipments from Yemen to the United States.

Several media outlets are reporting (without clear attribution) that this is likely either a terror plot or ‘dry-run’ orchestrated by al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), an Islamic terrorist group loosely associated with al-Qaeda that operates in Yemen and Saudi Arabia.

Ford: No Bailout Required

Posted

I have long hoped for a resurgence of the American auto industry. All the way back in July 2007, I wrote an epic analysis of the state of the ‘big three’ American car companies and what I thought they needed to do to save themselves. I revisited the piece in June of this year to check-up on how they were doing—Chrysler and General Motors (GM) bankrupt, but Ford doing surprisingly well.

Of course, in the middle of all this Chrysler and GM were recipients of massive, pointless, unconstitutional public ‘investment.’ In the aftermath, there have been reports that both companies are now profitable—reports that are actually completely misleading and false. Supposedly, GM made a 865 million dollars in the first quarter of 2010 and $1.3 billion in the second. Chrysler, meanwhile, reported making 183 million dollars in the second quarter. These numbers are mostly fiction, since they include federal money and do not include the outstanding liabilities of the pre-bankruptcy versions of the two companies, now named Motors Liquidation Company (‘bad’ GM) and Old Carco LLC (‘bad’ Chrysler).

So after being handed billions of dollars of your and my money, GM and Chrysler have managed to each separate themselves into two companies and convince us that these quarterly profits of their newly-formed doppelgangers are something to be proud of. Congratulations to them; a lot of people fell for it.

But what about the other 1/3 of the old ‘big three’ U.S. automakers?

Ford Motor Company didn’t take a single cent of taxpayer bailout dollars. They never went bankrupt. They never split themselves into two companies to try and fake us out and hide their debts and liabilities. They shared the same competitive disadvantages—particularly the over-paid unionized workforce—of their two American cousins against the Japanese and Korean automakers. Despite all of this, Ford is turning record profits even in the midst of a serious economic downturn.

If we were going to spend tax money on car companies, maybe we should have let GM and Chrysler go under and invest in the one that seems to have leadership, great product, and a future . . . just a thought.

Marijuana and the Feds

Posted

Newsweek wonders what the federal government can do about about California’s Proposition 19. The proper answer, if you care what the U.S. Constitution has to say, is nothing. Prop. 19 is a referendum being presented to the people of California in November that would, essentially, legalize the recreational use of marijuana in the state. California is one of a few states that already allow the medicinal use of cannabis, despite its being prohibited under federal law, and several other states are currently considering loosening their pot laws as well.

I don’t know how many times I have to say it, but the U.S. Constitution enumerates certain powers that fall in the federal purview and explicitly states that everything else is state or individual business (see the Tenth Amendment). The federal government has the authority to regulate or prohibit interstate or international trade in marijuana, since interstate and international commerce matters rightly fall under their authority, but it has no authority whatsoever to outlaw the drug’s use (or, for that matter, the use of any other drug). I don’t see ‘regulate the recreational use of drugs’ on the list of enumerated powers.

The states have the sole authority to regulate the use of drugs, and the states have the sole authority to regulate the production of drugs within their borders. Federal authority only comes in when the drugs are crossing state or international lines. If the people of California wish to legalize cannabis for recreational purposes, that is completely their choice to make. Drugs produced, distributed, and consumed within the state’s borders never fall under federal jurisdiction. The federal government has no right whatsoever to raid marijuana production facilities in states where their existence is legal, as long as those facilities are not intentionally shipping their product outside of the state in violation of [legitimate] federal law. Period.

I’m indifferent on the California proposition itself. I am not convinced that cannabis is any more or less dangerous than alcohol, and I see no sufficient justification for its prohibition. Harder drugs (cocaine, heroin, LSD, meth, etc.) are a different issue. In either case, federal drug laws are largely unconstitutional and these matters are properly left to the states.

Scott Bradford is a writer and technologist who has been putting his opinions online since 1995. He believes in three inviolable human rights: life, liberty, and property. He is a Catholic Christian who worships the trinitarian God described in the Nicene Creed. Scott is a husband, nerd, pet lover, and AMC/Jeep enthusiast with a B.S. degree in public administration from George Mason University.