Sweet, though probably temporary

Do you remember the guy you used to work with who irritated you so much? He was kind of short, fat, and slovenly. Not really very smart, but conniving. Loud and arrogant, liked to talk tough, but kind of pink-cheeked and soft. He really should have been fired long ago, but everybody sort of felt sorry for him and wanted to give him another chance.

Well, that guy's name is the Texas Residential Construction Commission, and he is gone. Or will be in February. For at least a little while.

It's not like he's been getting good reviews from the Sunset Commission. This time around, it looks like everyone just kind of acted like he wasn't there and decided to forget to send him his next paycheck, along with a few of his buddies who will undoubtedly get re-hired as part of a special session.

Will we possibly go back to the enforcement of contracts? Could one of the capable private inspection services be used by potential homebuyers? Probably not. TRCC, even if under a different name, will probably come back to suck up a paycheck, but it might take another two years for the legislature to give him a bath and clean up his act a little. Anyway, it'll be fun while it lasts.

Border Patrol: The game wardens of the southwest?

On the surface it would appear that Border Patrol/DHS agents have the same exemption from the Fourth Amendment that Texas game wardens (and I'm sure many other LEOs) have.

Is this type of thing getting more common, or has the free market - by cleaning out the deadwood and ushering in the New Media - given us a little more visibility into the extent of official oppression?

Here we have a nice young pastor, father of five, small businessman; you know, a real troublemaker. He appears to have been beaten by DHS and Arizona DPS agents, after extensive damage was done to his car, for failing to allow a warrantless search. This was not even at an actual national border but at one of the checkpoints inside the state of Arizona.

Now, I'm sure that many self-proclaimed Republicans - the ones who appreciate emails written in blue 18 point font that say "KillEmAllNoImportsOrForeignersGodBlessJohnWayneforPrezident2012!" - would appreciate what they would term "Crackin' down on them illegals." (You know who you are: You wear starched Wranglers, graduated from a government college with a degree in Construction Science, drive a spotless new 4-wheel-drive, and have hands softer than my sister's.)

Hopefully, though, most of us recognize this as a misapplication of authority and force in the ostensible protection against other crime. After all, it's a lot easier to catch an American citizen who compliantly drives right into your checkpoint than it is to actually go out and find the problem.