Some cops are just aholes

From what I hear police budgets are stretched to the limit. This doesn't seem like the wisest deployment of limited resources, but is indicative of the road we're on.

It's Texas, wott do you expect?

Good thing the girls are white, otherwise the SWAT team would have been called out.

It's Texas, wott do you expect?

Good thing the girls are white, otherwise the SWAT team would have been called out.

Had they been black, the cop would have had a fight on his hands. Probably get hit with some ice, and maybe a pitcher upside the head.

Police in this situation are just doing their jobs, IMO.

I know it's just kids and a lemonade stand, but if you can't sell perishable food without a permit in that area, then, well, ugh.

Ironic thing being, if those girls used store bought lemonade or made it from store bought concentrate, there's enough sugar in those to kill any bacteria on sight. 😛

Looks to me like the little shysters were trying to work the system to avoid paying their fair share of fees and taxes and they got busted. No different than Leona Helmsley. They're lucky to get off with a warning.

Hey, in all fairness, the cops did waive the $150 permit fee, but then the kids got sent from City Hall to the health dept. for the permit. They declined to go through all of that trouble, re-opened the stand on Saturday with "free lemonade. Donations welcome." Smart kids. 😉

Looks to me like the little shysters were trying to work the system to avoid paying their fair share of fees and taxes and they got busted. No different than Leona Helmsley. They're lucky to get off with a warning.

I demand to see their Social Security records! 😉

About 3 years ago - down on the beach by where I live I saw the cutest thing. This kid - maybe about 7 years old had one of those gigantic coolers on a coaster wagon - selling cans of ice cold beer! He was doing a brisk business, I might add. Yeah, I know - this was bad and illegal ... but just the cutest thing I've ever seen!

Hate to sound like a nasty old coot - but unfortunately the letter of the law needs to be followed. Can't let them slide (if someone reported them) and then arrest someone for selling hot dogs without a license.

I heard Obama personally ordered the stand shut down. Another good reason to hate him.

This same thing happened to Al Capone.

Hate to sound like a nasty old coot - but unfortunately the letter of the law needs to be followed. Can't let them slide (if someone reported them) and then arrest someone for selling hot dogs without a license.

Hate to sound like a nasty old coot - if I were a cop, I'd pretend I never saw the girls and arrest the hot dog vendor.

Hate to sound like a nasty old coot - but unfortunately the letter of the law needs to be followed. Can't let them slide (if someone reported them) and then arrest someone for selling hot dogs without a license.

Hate to sound like a nasty old coot - if I were a cop, I'd pretend I never saw the girls and arrest the hot dog vendor.

There may be an other element, the story doesn't say if the police were responding to a complaint. It wouldn't surprise me in the least if someone called the cops on those girls because they thought it looked trashy or whatever in their neighborhood.

Last summer in one of the suburbs here, there was a fantastically ridiculous kerfuffle over the Little Free Libraries that started popping up. Some folks reacted as if the city had opened up a landfill in the middle of their block. Took it to the City Council, all that. Gotta keep those home values up!

you just never know. Look what happened at the Acid Tests. And Jonestown. Then again, that was Kool-Aid, not lemonade. Still, probably a good idea to stop these things before they get out of control.

This is pathetic, probably the worst allocation of police resources and stewardship of public money imaginable. Not surprised that some don't see a problem and think this is anywhere close to being on the up and up. A pretty good indicator of where we're at.

This akin to the guy in Staten Island who was selling individual cigarettes (many claim "victimless crime" though he was turned in by stores) and died in police custody. I guess laws are laws - without regulation they could be the children of a serial killer; at very least a claim could me made that they were interfering with local retail. Like it or not that is why we have laws - and while police tend to look the other way in cases like this there are sometimes extenuating circumstance. If someone has a dog in a place they aren't allowed to and some hardass calls the police they can't refuse to answer a call

without regulation they could be the children of a serial killer

With this in mind, we should push for a ban on sharing lunch at school, could be ANYTHING in there, and trick or treating should require registration with the proper authorities.

With this in mind, we should push for a ban on sharing lunch at school, could be ANYTHING in there, and trick or treating should require registration with the proper authorities.

VERY good points. Just HOW far do we want to take this ridiculous bullsh*t?

Hey, in all fairness, the cops did waive the $150 permit fee, but then the kids got sent from City Hall to the health dept. for the permit. They declined to go through all of that trouble, re-opened the stand on Saturday with "free lemonade. Donations welcome." Smart kids. 😉

I'll wager some nice person @ "City Hall" leaned over and whispered the, "free lemonade. Donations welcome." idea to one of the parents....

Hey, in all fairness, the cops did waive the $150 permit fee, but then the kids got sent from City Hall to the health dept. for the permit. They declined to go through all of that trouble, re-opened the stand on Saturday with "free lemonade. Donations welcome." Smart kids. 😉

I'll wager some nice person @ "City Hall" leaned over and whispered the, "free lemonade. Donations welcome." idea to one of the parents....

Sounds about right. I was obviously joking about the "serial killer" angle; but if something is technically illegal the police really have to respond to a call. And obviously this falls under the absurd category (kids; lemonade) but the motivating issue is no business owner wants illegal completion and no residential tenants wants illegal business in a residential neighborhood. So if the kids can do it who is to stop a food truck from setting up on your corner? Glad the cops (or parents) figured out a solution.

And this leads to a whole larger discussion re: Uber and AirBnB. Are they merely "dating sights" to hook people up who want to share services or do they foster illegal (uninsured; etc) businesses?

And obviously this falls under the absurd category (kids; lemonade) but the motivating issue is no business owner wants illegal completion and no residential tenants wants illegal business in a residential neighborhood. So if the kids can do it who is to stop a food truck from setting up on your corner? Glad the cops (or parents) figured out a solution.

It is absurd. Totally. A youngster's lemonade stand is not an ongoing business interest. It's a way for kids to stay occupied and have some fun. The idea of the police shaking them down for operating an "illegal business" is ridiculous.

IMO

With this in mind, we should push for a ban on sharing lunch at school, could be ANYTHING in there, and trick or treating should require registration with the proper authorities.

VERY good points. Just HOW far do we want to take this ridiculous bullsh*t?

And then there's this: http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/pat-robertson-tell-bereaved-mother-her-dead-baby-couldve-been-next-hitler

With this in mind, we should push for a ban on sharing lunch at school, could be ANYTHING in there, and trick or treating should require registration with the proper authorities.

VERY good points. Just HOW far do we want to take this ridiculous bullsh*t?

And then there's this: http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/pat-robertson-tell-bereaved-mother-her-dead-baby-couldve-been-next-hitler

I bet he feels the same way concerning a woman who makes a decision to have an abortion...

would it be ok for the homeless or those begging money at the off ramp to sell lemonade?

would it be ok for the homeless or those begging money at the off ramp to sell lemonade?

As unpalatable as it may seem the Lemonade Stand is really not materially different from "Squeegiemen" asking to get paid in the eyes of the law. Some people hate bums; others dislike the girl scouts.

Is it ok to give a homeless person on the ramp a glass of lemonade?