Comments on: Cash, not concerns for handicapped, drives new parking crackdown

By: The American Guesser » Blog Archive » The high cost of government altruism

Wed, 28 Dec 2005 22:55:55 +0000

[...] Peoria Pundit Bill Dennis has been complaining about handicapped parking spaces for a while. This prompted C.J. Summers of the Peoria Chronicle to complain about another way the government makes things worse by trying too hard to help. In this case, it’s a new law mandating that all programs — including church service broadcasts — include closed captioning: Now, I’m all for closed captioning. But the problem is that it’s expensive. The first thing you have to do is transcribe your program. You can do it yourself (labor-intensive) or hire a professional stenographer (or “stenocaptioner”) at $1.50 to $3 per minute, or $90-$180 per one-hour show. Then you have to get it into the video stream using an encoder. Encoder services can run you $300-$400 per one-hour show. Alternatively, you could buy encoding equipment and do it yourself, but then you have your own labor costs, plus equipment that can cost as much as $20,000. Your closed-captioning cost is now almost as much as the fee you’re charged to broadcast the program on a local TV station. So what do you think smaller operations are going to do? Stop broadcasting their programs, of course. Or at least remove them from some smaller markets, like one show in New York is doing. [...]

By: Vonster

Vonster — Mon, 19 Dec 2005 14:20:05 +0000

Robbieeeeee….time to come in now…….

By: Mick

Mick — Sun, 18 Dec 2005 02:43:29 +0000

I think Robby is upsety. Have a timeouty. Seriously – keep it clean.

By: Rob B.

Rob B. — Sun, 18 Dec 2005 01:31:22 +0000

WTF, Bill? Following your logic, parking tickets, seat belt tickets, littering citations, noise ordinance tickets, et al, should not be enforced because the problem is not about felony crime, and only used to raise money.

Maybe if more people(pseudo media folks, for instance) had jobs that included tax money being taken out, cities wouldn’t have to resort to such tactics. Have a twinkie and shut the fuck up.

By: Bill Dennis

Bill Dennis — Sat, 17 Dec 2005 20:10:40 +0000

True. But it NOT the point. It’s about government assuming ever increasing powers to regulate and tax the citizens.

By: Ryan Johnson

Ryan Johnson — Sat, 17 Dec 2005 20:08:20 +0000

wow….laaaaaazzzzzzyyyyyy.

You could use the exercise, bud.

By: Peoria Pundit » Blog Archive » The tyrany of good intentions

Peoria Pundit » Blog Archive » The tyrany of good intentions — Sat, 17 Dec 2005 14:04:36 +0000

[...] As I’ve written before, the problem of able-bodied people using handicapped parking spots is vastly over hyped. On one hand, we have a loud and active special interest group that demands the government show its love by constantly increasing fines and over-enforcing the rules. On the other, we have a state agency looking to bring in more revenue. [...]

By: Peoria Pundit » Blog Archive »

Peoria Pundit » Blog Archive » — Sat, 17 Dec 2005 11:13:11 +0000

[...] I’m getting a lot of static from my post about the crackdown on handicapped parking. Most of the replies were along the lines of “you’re kidding, right?” and “gee, you must hate to walk.” [...]

By: D Money

D Money — Sat, 17 Dec 2005 05:19:51 +0000

sorry bill, you are wrong.

hey, one time out of a milloin isnt bad.

By: Jenny kellstedt

Jenny kellstedt — Sat, 17 Dec 2005 03:59:39 +0000

How many years does it take for us to wise up? JUST WHY did all the doctors suddenly move out to Dunlap, to raise their families? And just why is OSF creating a big facility out there?…..while the rest of us breathe in bad fumes daily, in downtown Peoria? How long will these polluters be given free-rein to damage our children???? How long will we suffer our children (and ourselves) this way??? This is CRAZY!!! Raise up and stand up for your rights. Do your children have a God-given right to be polluted and brain-damaged? I think not!! Let’s do something, NOW!!! Jenny