DJ Says...

The owner of a 32-year-old horse named Peter Rabbit wasn't able to buck a local ban on livestock within city limits.

After widespread publicity of the ban that threatened to kick Peter Rabbit off the pasture where he was born, the Hickman City Council considered an ordinance Tuesday night that would allow horses inside city limits. But council members ultimately voted 4-2 against adopting it, leaving the ban intact.

According to the Constitution of the United States, the government cannot take private property without compensation. However, judges have been letting governments get away with doing just that for about half a century now. So long as the title to the property remains in the hands of its owners, the courts let local, state and federal governments do pretty much what they please, even if that destroys much of the value of the property.

One of the reasons property rights do not get all the protection that the Constitution prescribes is that they are seen as special benefits to the affluent, which must give way to the general welfare. The old leftist phrase "property rights versus human rights" summarizes this mindset.

This ignores the value of property rights to the society as a whole, including people who own no property. Most Americans do not own agricultural land, but they get an abundance of food at affordable prices because farmers own both land and its produce as their private property, and therefore have incentives to produce far more efficiently than in countries where the land is owned by the government. The Soviet Union was a classic example of the latter, with hungry people despite an abundance of fertile land, inefficiently used under government control.

City Councilman Richard Harms said before Tuesday's meeting that he didn't plan to be swayed by all the talk.

"I'm not giving them breaks anymore," Harms said. "They've had opportunities in the past."

Besides, Harms said, "a horse is a horse and a mule is a mule _ it's all livestock."

between posts! Guess I just wanted a break or something, although I've been doing a lot of political blogging at LoneStarTimes.com. Wow, I just checked, it's been over two months since I posted anything in the Life category. A few things have happened since then, to say the least.

Biggest and most important of course was the wedding. We finally got the yard and house completed from the Ike damage and it looks better than ever! I think I'm going to enjoy the more open space of the yard, we've already had a couple of parties. But back to the wedding, my girl should be a wedding planner! Wow, did she do good or what? It was perfect. Just perfect.

The ceremony took place at Clear Lake Church of Christ and was so "simple". I mean, totally stripped down to just the commitment of two souls joining as one. The wedding vows were inspiring, Hero having written out a long one and Kaia using a passage from Ruth. And she was so pretty. My little girl, all grown up and ready for the next stage of life.

Then we went back to the house for the reception, catered by El Toro (as if you had to guess that). Terri did a wonderful job with the decorations, we had a 40 x 40 tent, tables, chairs, candles, all kinds of stuff. Even had candles floating in the pool, that was cool. And off they went to the Bahamas to begin their new life.

The following Monday, 2 set out for Italy again. This time it was for three weeks of "hosteling", just bumming around the country, looking for a place to lay her head at night. Some say it sounds scary, I thought it was awesome. She matured so much the last time she went over there, I knew it would be a positive experience again. And it was. She is now safely back in Austin for her last semester before who knows? Maybe she'll live overseas, I wouldn't bet against that.

Terri and I thought we were going to have some downtime after all of the repairs and wedding but man life seems busy. Maybe because she's had to travel a lot lately, it just seems that way. Nothing especially noteworthy, just busy. My work has been pretty stressful lately, adding to that busy feeling, I'm looking forward to retirement.

Speaking of retirement, we hosted or rather, I volunteered Les to host, a Dave Ramsey Financial Peace University at church. That was 13 weeks, every Thursday. We had a great time, 19 people went through it. Relationships were strengthened right along with finances. Pretty good stuff.

I'm hoping to get back to writing regularly soon, I just haven't felt like it. I finally did the Facebook thing, I've had the account for awhile but never used it. I've sort of enjoyed it but must admit that I don't want to remember some people or things! Hey, not all of us have had perfect lives, you know? Well, that's it for now, hopefully I'll be back soon.