catallaxy.net

Today’s wholly one sided Lexington Herald Leader story on yet another breast-feeding protest falls (pun fully intended) flat.

From the article:

 The protest was in response to Brooke Ryan, 34, who in June was asked by the manager of the restaurant to cover up while breast-feeding her 7-month-old son. She said it was too hot to cover up with a blanket, and instead left to nurse her child in the car. The protest spread by word of mouth and the Internet over the past several weeks to at least 60 Applebee’s in 30 states.

…

“You’re just trying to do something natural and normal, but you’re being treated like a second-class citizen,” said Maren McGimsey of Nicholasville. “You have a country that sees breasts only for sexual purposes.”

That’s true, of course. Breastfeeding is a natural and normal process. For reference, here is a partial list of some other perfectly natural and normal processes:

• Urinating outdoors
• Vomiting after excessive drinking of alcohol
• Cutting one’s toenails

The point being, of course, that you do not have a natural and unlimited right to perform any procedures you deem to be “natural” anywhere you so choose. When you are in someone else’s home you have to abide by their wishes to an extent, and the same holds true for a restaurant.

Yes, you have a right to breastfeed and to cut your toenails and to do any number of other things. You do not have a right to do these things anywhere and anytime you deem appropriate, no matter what. Sorry. The rest of us have rights too, especially on our own property, where you are often guests.

This seems like an opportunity to end a government program:

Kentucky Auditor Crit Luallen has released a performance audit of the state’s High-Tech Construction Pool and High-Tech Investment Pool, which are used to help technology businesses get started.

The pools are administered by the Department of Commercialization and Innovation within the Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development.

Through April 2007, more than $104 million has been approved for use in 97 projects.

The audit reviewed a sample of 25 projects and found that, overall, the DCI is ensuring that the state is making investments as intended by law. However, there are areas where the department needs to provide greater transparency and accountability in its actions by documenting administrative processes and reporting on the outcomes of funded projects, the audit said.

Luallen said there are no regulations, internal policies or other formal written guidelines to document the criteria and process used in administering funds.

Why shouldn’t the General Assembly simply allow these kinds of “investments” to be made by the private sector instead of a public agency with few internal controls?