The Florida Senate today debated and passed an amendment to impose a $60 fine on Truck Nutz, the novelty vehicle adornment attached to trailer hitches that resemble the dangling southern end of a northbound bull.

The popular accessory to truck trailer hitches is on its way to being subject to a fine in a bill debated — albeit delicately — on the Senate floor Thursday.

Although lawmakers said they’re widespread in North Florida, the bill says that displaying reproductions of bull genitalia — one version has the brand name Truck Nutz — on a vehicle or trailer can lead to a $60 fine, charges of a moving violations, and points against a driver license.

The ban was proposed by Sen. Cary Baker, R-Eustis, who said the items are “not appropriate,” even though he sees a lot of them in his district.

You know what?  I am not paying you people to debate moronic crap like this.  Our utility bill was over $200 last month because our local utility company tacks on a fuel charge roughly equal to our entire consumption charge for the month…yes, that’s right, doubling our actual utility bill.  How about we debate THAT instead of some moronic redneck vehicle accoutrement, eh?

Forced to leave the combat zone after his two brothers died in the Iraq war, Army Spc. Jason Hubbard faced another battle once he returned home: The military cut off his family’s health care, stopped his G.I. educational subsidies and wanted him to repay his sign-up bonus.

Um, what?  If he had come to the end of his hitch, and not elected to re-up, his discharge would have been the same status, and he would have retained all benefits.  So, by virtue of first losing two brothers, and then being discharged due to a policy whose entire raison d’etre is compassion, it somehow made sense to NOT continue to provide the bennies advertised?

No, doesn’t make sense at all.  Good on the young gentleman for contacting his Congresscritter, and double good on the Congresscritter for A) getting his benefits reinstated, and B) introducing legislation that will prevent some overzealous ledger-checker from doing same in the future.

Police say James Edward Bridges, 46 walked into the store went behind the counter, shoved a clerk and started grabbing money out of the cash register.

An off-duty jailer swung into action using a six pack of beer bottles, whacking the suspect over the head.

Another customer helped pin the suspect to the ground until police arrived.

Good, GOOD boys!

“We would never want anyone to risk their own safety, but this is a case where two citizens, acting quickly and decisively literally caught a criminal.” Boise Police Lt. Ron Winegar said in a prepared statement.

…

“These two citizens saw an opportunity and really made a difference in this case. We’re very thankful for their help and very glad the suspect is in custody,” said Lt. Winegar.

Good, GOOD police department spokesperson!

Citizen action is the only way we’re getting our society back from the thugs, people. “I don’t want to get involved,” is not an option anymore. You are involved because it could happen to you at any time.

Updated to add: Via Michael Totten, you have to respect the ability to keep your sense of humor in a war zone…

Oh, this is just classic

State Del. Lionel Spruill introduced a bill Tuesday to ban displaying replicas of human genitalia on vehicles, calling it a safety issue because it could distract other drivers.

Oh really? A safety issue, eh? I’m assuming Mr. Spruill has reams of documentation showing vehicular accident reports with the main cause as “Driver was hypnotized by pair of large, dangly, hot pink testicles and ended up running off the road.”

Right?

Or maybe the real reason he wants to ban them has more to do with him believing they’re indecent.

He said the idea came from a constituent whose young daughter spotted an example of the trail hitch adornment and asked her father to explain it.

“‘I didn’t know what to tell her,’” Spruill said the constituent told him before Spruill vowed to stop such displays.

That doesn’t exactly ring of “a public* safety issue”.

Look, I think putting a set of droopy balls on the back of your Get ‘Er’ Done is stupid. I also think LEDs in your windshield washers are dumb. I also find it quite tasteless to boot. But to claim this is a public safety issue is nothing more than a Wizard of Oz moment where you’re not supposed to look at the statist behind the curtain and instead enjoy the pretty light show.

For your own good, of course.

I’m wondering if Mr. Spruill has even driven by cattle or owns a male pet? Does he plan on banning animals since they generally display their offspring generation devices 24/7? Will there be a $250 fine for each canine engaged in licking themselves? Maybe we can mandate blinders for children riding in vehicles so that they won’t be exposed to icky things.

As a side story, last Thanksgiving my family was driving up to Georgia when my oldest daughter, reading the billboards, asked what “Adult Toys” were (we have Cafe Risque here in Florida). The last thing on my mind, and I’m a prude by practically everyone’s standards, was to call some nanny-statist lawmaker and have the billboard removed.

Again, I could understand the issue being brought up as a decency issue. I would have a problem if someone dangled figurines in the act of copulating or a large, erect penis. But to call it a “safety issue” is not-so-slight of hand to try to absolve Mr. Spruill of pushing his morality when that is exactly what he’s trying to do.

*And yes, I had to strain to not write “a pubic safety issue”