spare change

It's a bit of a twist on the game of "Name That Party" over at NashvillePost.com, which in its reporting on the CEO of a troubled restaurant chain made prominent mention of the man's political contributions.

So Atlanta combats the problem partially by installing the increasingly popular donation parking meters.

It should come as no surprise in this time of economic hardship that more people than ever have taken up panhandling as a way to earn a few extra bucks.

Glad to see that Malanga reiterates the fact that most folks who are homeless do not panhandle....

And everyone asking for help on the street is not interested in conning the public or is headed to the nearest liquor store when someone gives them spare change.

Amen.

So I awaken to news I thought would be at the very least tolerable, considering the alternative that was initially proposed. I knew last night that the panhandling ordinance had made it past its third reading and had passed by unanimous vote, which led me to believe, wrongly as I rather quickly and rudely discovered, that the after dark ban on all panhandling had been squashed.

Instapundit thinks maybe so. He may be right. The Thompson campaign had to beg online and shake the bus cushions for spare change to raise about $250,000 to run commercial in Iowa, but in the last seven days - since the Fox News debate in Myrtle Beach, which virtually all observers and analysts said Fred won, hands down - his campaign has raised nearly a million dollars online.

I'll say this again: many folks - both "homed" and Homeless - might cautiously get behind an "anti-aggressive" panhandling prohibition suggested by those trying to correct a perceived out of control problem but that support comes to a screeching halt when blanket panhandling bans are introduced, and it doesn't matter if its "only at night" or "only in certain locations."