A Chicago Blog

This guy is having way too much fun being a murder suspect. It’s starting to creep me out.

Jonah Goldberg:

What’s troubling about The Man From Hope 2.0 is what he represents. Huckabee represents compassionate conservatism on steroids. A devout social conservative on issues such as abortion, school prayer, homosexuality and evolution, Huckabee is a populist on economics, a fad-follower on the environment and an all-around do-gooder who believes that the biblical obligation to do “good works” extends to using government — and your tax dollars — to bring us closer to the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth.

Jim Harper at Cato is arguing against mandated product labeling for fast-food restaurants. He writes:

If consumers had unlimited attention, the surfeit of notices would be an unqualified good thing. But consumer attention is not unlimited. Consumers quickly learn to ignore notices that don’t interest them. Notices can easily confuse consumers. Mandated notices often provide information that consumers would already get in more accessible ways.

Agreed. But there’s a big step between providing too much information and not providing enough and one could argue that reasonable people can agree on a compromise, such as putting only limited information on the sign board but more detailed info elsewhere.

But Harper is committed to the bigger picture:

Information about products and services is subject to market demand just like every other feature of the things we buy. If you don’t believe me, try running a grocery store without putting price tags on or near the canned peaches.

I’m a libertarian, but this is always something I’ve taken issue with: the assumption that the EVERYTHING is or should be subject to market demand. To hold to this strictly requires believing that all human demands are rationally formed and/or considered or that the costs of allowing large sections of the population to behave irrationally doesn’t have potential consequences for those of us smart enough to watch our weight and take care of ourselves.

Don’t the people stuffing Moonpies and Doritos in their mouths inevitably show up at a Democratic debate somewhere crying over not being able to afford their insulin? And isn’t the cost of encouraging responsible behavior through soft paternalism lower than allowing these people to wreck the political system. And doesn’t labeling give society the moral authority to hold people more accountable for their actions?

Genius.

We knew it was coming. I wish it would’ve been before he broke Aaron’s record. Of course, if he’s convicted he’ll be kicked out of baseball. But if he get’s off the hook somehow, the question is will an indictment be enough to get him kicked out of baseball. If not, Selig better start apologizing to Pete Rose.

I can’t say that I’ve spent all that much time in Lincoln Square. But I certainly wouldn’t call it a blighted community. Nevertheless, the city is trying to shut down 36 businesses in the name of revitalizing the area. TIF has another victim.

A big thank you to the Tribune for publishing the roll call from Tuesday’s budget vote. I republish it here just for future reference:

Vote on overall budget
Yes (37) — Dowell (3rd), Hairston (5th), Lyle (6th), Harris (8th), Beale (9th), Pope (10th), Balcer (11th), Cardenas (12th), Olivo (13th), Burke (14th), Thompson (16th), Thomas (17th), Lane (18th), Rugai (19th), Cochran (20th), Brookins (21st), Zalewski (23rd), Solis (25th), Ocasio (26th), Burnett (27th), E. Smith (28th), Carothers (29th), Reboyras (30th), Suarez (31st), Waguespack (32nd), Mell (33rd), Austin (34th), Banks (36th), Mitts (37th), Allen (38th), Laurino (39th), O’Connor (40th), Daley (43rd), Tunney (44th), Levar (45th), Shiller (46th), M. Smith (48th).

No (13) — Flores (1st), Fioretti (2nd), Preckwinkle (4th), Jackson (7th), Foulkes (15th), Munoz (22nd), Dixon (24th), Colon (35th), Doherty (41st), Reilly (42nd), Schulter (47th), Moore (49th), Stone (50th).

Vote to raise property taxes by $86.5 million
Yes (29) — Dowell (3rd), Hairston (5th), Lyle (6th), Harris (8th), Beale (9th), Pope (10th), Balcer (11th), Cardenas (12th), Olivo (13th), Burke (14th), Thompson (16th), Thomas (17th), Lane (18th), Rugai (19th), Cochran (20th), Zalewski (23rd), Solis (25th), Ocasio (26th), Burnett (27th), E. Smith (28th), Carothers (29th), Reboyras (30th), Mell (33rd), Austin (34th), Mitts (37th), O’Connor (40th), Tunney (44th), Shiller (46th), M. Smith (48th).

No (21) — Flores (1st), Fioretti (2nd), Preckwinkle (4th), Jackson (7th), Foulkes (15th), Brookins (21st), Munoz (22nd), Dixon (24th), Suarez (31st), Waguespack (32nd), Colon (35th), Banks (36th), Allen (38th), Laurino (39th), Doherty (41st), Reilly (42nd), Daley (43rd), Levar (45th), Schulter (47th), Moore (49th), Stone (50th).

Vote to raise other taxes, fees and fines
Yes (40) — Flores (1st), Dowell (3rd), Hairston (5th), Lyle (6th), Harris (8th), Beale (9th), Pope (10th), Balcer (11th), Cardenas (12th), Olivo (13th), Burke (14th), Thompson (16th), Thomas (17th), Lane (18th), Rugai (19th), Cochran (20th), Zalewski (23rd), Dixon (24th), Solis (25th), Burnett (27th), E. Smith (28th), Carothers (29th), Reboyras (30th), Suarez (31st), Waguespack (32nd), Mell (33rd), Austin (34th), Colón (35th), Banks (36th), Mitts (37th), Allen (38th), Laurino (39th), O’Connor (40th), Daley (43rd), Tunney (44th), Levar (45th), Shiller (46th), Schulter (47th), M.Smith (48th), Stone (50th).

No (10) — Fioretti (2nd), Preckwinkle (4th), Jackson (7th), Foulkes (15th), Brookins (21st), Munoz (22nd), Ocasio (26th), Doherty (41st), Reilly (42nd), Moore (49th).

Arriving at Ohare the other night was madness. We were on the ground five minutes early but ended up sitting on the tarmac waiting for a gate for nearly half an hour. Add to that another half an hour waiting on my luggage and it took me a full hour to get out of Ohare after landing.

At least I wasn’t in a “convergence.”

I’m in Oklahoma City on work for a couple of days. Blogging is likely to be sparse. But check back anyway.

They’re recalling aqua dots! Damn! Apparently the toy was somehow infected with a “date rape” chemical that can kill kids if ingested. What are Aqua Dots? Hundreds of small beads that you arrange into shapes and spray water on to make them stick. Yeah, totally safe for small children. If I didn’t know any better I’d think somebody planned this … hmm …