Below The Beltway

Drew Carey is back with his latest Reason.tv installment, this time he takes on the food police in Los Angeles:

Amid the hustle and bustle of downtown Los Angeles, there exists another world, an underground world of illicit trade in—not drugs or sex—but bacon-wrapped hot dogs. Street vendors may sell you an illegal bacon dog, but […]

A Maryland Delegate is proposing legislation that would restrict the ability of banks and lenders to adjust lending practices based on changes in their exposure to risk:
Maryland could soon change the laws governing the credit industry by prohibiting companies from adjusting interest rates for what critics say are arbitrary reasons, such as a customer opening […]

George W. Bush speaking on the so-called mortgage crisis:
“The government’s got a role to play” in dealing with the issue, Bush said.
Sir, the only role the government has to play in this situation is to sit on the sidelines and let the courts enforce the terms of contracts that people entered into.

Apparently, lap dances are protected speech, at least in Oregon:
SALEM, Ore. (AP) — A Marion County judge has ruled that lap dances in Salem are protected by the free speech provisions of the Oregon Constitution.
Judge Albin Norblad’s ruling struck down a city ban on “prohibited touching” - sexually exciting physical contact for pay.
The case involves […]

This time by passing a law that effectively nullifies any condominium or homeowners association that regulates the display of the American flag:
The Senate has approved a measure that would override rules set by homeowners’ associations and other groups that limit displays of the American flag, clearing the way for President Bush to sign it into […]

One continuing controversy in the Washington, DC area since the return of the Washington Nationals has been the fact that its not easy to see them on television here. In order to obtain his consent to a team in Washington, Major League Baseball basically gave Baltimore Orioles owner complete control of the Nationals’ media rights. […]

As if the Flag Burning Amendment weren’t bad enough, there are a host of other flag-related proposals before Congress this week. One would bar Federal Courts from hearing lawsuits attempting to challenge the inclusion of the words “Under God” in the Pledge Of Allegience. Like the Flag Burning Amendment, this one is pure symbolism. The […]

There are several pieces out today on the issue of whether the arguments being advanced in favor of gay marriage will, over time, be used by those who practice polygamy as support for the argument that their relationships should be legalized.
First, Charles Krauthammer writes on the issue and argues that the answer is emphatically yes.
In […]