The governor has asked Californians not to buy fireworks, even the legal kind, this Fourth of July holiday. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger made the request as he surveyed damage done by a 20,000-acre wild fire south of Monterey.

MONTEREY COUNTY, CA - With hundreds of wildfires raging around the state, Gov. Schwarzenegger Wednesday urged Californians not to buy or use fireworks this July Fourth holiday.

After a meeting with fire officials Wednesday morning at the Basin Complex fire command post in Monterey County, Schwarzenegger made the unusual recommendation to help firefighters battling to control about 700 wildfires that continued to burn statewide following weekend lightning storms.

“I know that the people that are selling all this stuff are going to go crazy now when I say this, but don’t buy fireworks,” Schwarzenegger said. “You will help the fire department and the state and law enforcement and everyone a tremendous amount if you want to contribute and make sure those fires go away and we don’t have more fires coming up,

“Be careful,” he continued. “Don’t buy the fireworks. Don’t go out and play with fireworks because its just too dry and too dangerous to do these things.”

I would be very surprised if the Governor did not just open himself and the state up to countless lawsuits. He just told the public, many of which will listen, and not buy fireworks. Resulting in tens of thousands of dollars in lost revenues for many local charities and community organizations.

Groups Fear Loss of Fireworks Income

Meanwhile, many school, civic and other groups and charities who depend on fireworks sales each year to keep their organizations running were concerned about the governor’s request.

“We can make $3,000, $4,000, up to $5,000 a year. It’s a huge chunk of change for us,” said Modesto High School football coach Rod Long.

Long said the money from fireworks sales pays for about half of the school’s uniform and equipment needs.

With actual sales starting Saturday, fireworks stands began popping up all over the city of Modesto Wednesday. Modesto High’s football stand won’t open until July 1.”It’s a good way for us to make good money in a short period of time,” said Long.

Kim Miller is a booster for the high school’s sports programs. The cheerleader squad and baseball team have booths as well this summer.

“It makes a huge difference,” said Kim Miller, a booster of the school’s various sports programs. “There are no funds available in public school for sports. Every little bit helps. We need to find money for these kids to play sports.” In addition to the football booth, Miller said Modesto High’s cheerleading squad and baseball team also had fireworks booth fundraisers planned this summer.

Both of my rugrats are in Little League, of which the sale of LEGAL fireworks are an essential part of being able to afford uniforms, fields, permits, and countless other items.

I find this call by our governor ludicrous. Be safe and responsible, but enjoy your Fourth of July, the American way…

Direct from the Sacramento Republicrat:

The Iranian government shut down a newspaper for their critical view of President Terrorist Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

From the AP:

TEHRAN, Iran — Authorities have shut down a Tehran newspaper ,the official IRNA news agency reported Sunday, after the paper published a story critical of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s stance on Israel.

The Press Supervisory Board, which is controlled by hard-liners, banned Tehran Today on Saturday after the paper’s editor was summoned to court for publishing material deemed as insulting Ahmadinejad, IRNA said.

The news agency did not provide more details. But the announcement comes after the paper published a story Saturday that said Ahmadinejad’s comments on Israel “seems to have led to a different result — more pressure on Iran and more support to Israel.”

In 2005, Ahmadinejad said Israel should be wiped off the map. He also has called the Holocaust “a myth.”

Media closures are not unusual in Iran. In March, nine cinema and lifestyle magazines were banned for publishing material about foreign celebrities.

Talk about a case where the Canadian Judicial System really screwed the pooch! Justice Suzanne Tessier should be disbarred, fired, removed from the bench, whatever the Canadians do when a Justice makes a bone head move!

It’s bad enough that the government is in parents business as much as they are, but to be able to tell a father that his punishment is too harsh, is over the top.

OTTAWA (AFP) - A Canadian court has lifted a 12-year-old girl’s grounding, overturning her father’s punishment for disobeying his orders to stay off the Internet, his lawyer said Wednesday.

The girl had taken her father to Quebec Superior Court after he refused to allow her to go on a school trip for chatting on websites he tried to block, and then posting “inappropriate” pictures of herself online using a friend’s computer.

The father’s lawyer Kim Beaudoin said the disciplinary measures were for the girl’s “own protection” and is appealing the ruling. “She’s a child,” Beaudoin told AFP. “At her age, children test their limits and it’s up to their parents to set boundaries.”

“I started an appeal of the decision today to reestablish parental authority, and to ensure that this case doesn’t set a precedent,” she said. Otherwise, said Beaudoin, “parents are going to be walking on egg shells from now on.” “I think most children respect their parents and would never go so far as to take them to court, but it’s clear that some would and we have to ask ourselves how far this will go.”

According to court documents, the girl’s Internet transgression was just the latest in a string of broken house rules. Even so, Justice Suzanne Tessier found her punishment too severe.
Beaudoin noted the girl used a court-appointed lawyer in her parents’ 10-year custody dispute to launch her landmark case against dear old dad.

I cannot even imagine one of my kids pulling a stunt like this, and if they did, I’d ground them until they were 18! Unless the Judicial System wants to intervene …