[sic]

*Cross-posted from Blogging.la

It’s not every day here in Southern California you get to bag a wild lion from behind a 9mm pistol in the comfort of your own backyard, but that’s what an Orange County resident did yesterday morning when he confronted a mountain lion that had ventured from the adjacent Cleveland National Forest onto his Rancho Santa Margarita property.

Quoted in today’s L.A. Times article the trigger-happy former cop’s logic is impeccable:

Hill said he retrieved a 9-millimeter pistol from his car and entered his backyard through a side gate. He saw the cougar hunch down on a slope 30 feet away, with a 5-foot-high iron fence and a swimming pool between them. He feared the animal was going to attack, and he fired two shots.

“I thought I could be in trouble with the lion that close to me, especially when he went from standing up to hunching down,” he said.

So let me get this straight… after putting himself in potential harm by advancing toward the mountain lion and then seeing the big cat hunker down (not out of potential anxiety over its unfamiliar surroundings but because it obviously wanted to eat Hill) with not one but two barriers between them, the terrified Mr. Hill took it upon himself not only to break what I’m guessing is an ordinance against the discharge of a firearm within city or county limits but also a law against the destruction a protected species.

Slight digression: Uh, I know he’s identified as a former police officer and I guess he’s allowed to be strapped despite his current lack of law enforcement authority, but what the hell is he doing keeping a weapon in his car?

Of course, with the animal now wounded thanks to Hill’s fine marksmanship and therefore a far greater risk to the populace, law enforcement and wildlife officials had no choice to finish the creature off after it was located dying about a quarter mile away some 90 minutes later.

The article makes absolutely no mention of whether Hill was cited for breaking laws, but being that it’s the OC’s outback, my bet is he’ll be hailed as a hero.

Me? I’ll only be hailing his actions as despicable given my love and respect of cougars, which can be found in my blog post of last year following the discover in January 2005 of a pair that had been poisoned in the nearby Santa Susana Mountains.

On the heels of my serenity-now post I can’t help but vent at the news that’s out about Gov. Schwarzenegger. Seems that after taking 15 stitches to the lip following an accident in which the motorcycle he was driving collided with a car backing out of a driveway, it’s been revealed that Ahnold doesn’t hold a Class M licenserequired — by the state he purports to lead — of anyone who owns and operates a motorcycle.

The only thing Arnie leads is by lousy example.

And further it was reported that upon discovery by CHP officers at the scene of the accident that he was in violation, did they cite him as they undoubtedly would any other improperly licensed citizen? Hell no! Their reasoning? Well, they arrived after the accident and didn’t witness it.

Riiiiight. Look, I’m glad he wasn’t seriously injured and that his son riding in the bike’s sidecar avoided getting hurt. This isn’t about questioning Arn’s ability on a Harley, it’s about obeying the fucking law — whether you’re the leader of a motorcycle club or the leader of Kalifornia.

So the next story I want to read is about Schwarzenegger getting the ticket he’s due with a follow-up on him doing what all legally minded motorcycle drivers past and present have been obligated to do: take and pass the proper written and driving tests.

I know: Dream on. The bullshit privilege afforded him by his office and his celebrity will make the ticket never happen and an “M” on his license magically appear.

UPDATE: 

From the L.A. Times piece in today’s paper, which quotes an Arnold staffer as saying she doesn’t think he’ll be riding anymore until he’s properly licensed, there’s also this:

But officials at the state Department of Motor Vehicles and other experts said a citation was unlikely because of a loophole in the law. The motor vehicle code states that an M1 license is required for drivers of all “two wheel” vehicles. Because Schwarzenegger was driving Sunday with a sidecar, his bike had three wheels.

Good grief. Gotta love those loopholes. If I were an unlicensed motorcyclist I’d be out bolting on a trailing third wheel (maybe from a skateboard or a grocery cart) to the rear axle of my ride right now. After all the law doesn’t say where the third wheel has to be, just that it not be a two-wheeler.

A couple days ago on blogging.la I posted what’s become an annual rant around this time of year about asshat neighbors who just put their Christmas trees out with the trash cans and then just leave them out there after they aren’t picked up:

I know this has been covered elsewhere (Councilman Eric Garcetti’s blog and LAist come to mind). Hell, I should just cut and paste my “Help Take The Ass Out Of Christmas” post from 366 days ago , but instead I’ll just link to it and keep the redundant complaining about “Not My Problem” Christmas tree dumpers to the following observation.

Walking the dog this morning down to the end of the block (basically a 20th of a mile) I found three of the dead arbors discarded curbside by my asshat neighbors where they will sit for infinity or at least until Saturday when I sweep my block and toss as many as the back of my truck will carry along with mine, which I will then shlep over to the city’s tree recyling station in the L.A. Zoo’s parking lot. There are 16 of the stations throughout L.A. open this weekend and next from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Well, this morning before Susan and I went for a hike up from Ferndell Park up to the Griffith Observatory, I made good on my pledge to scope out the ‘hood and by the time I was back at the house I had five trees strapped down in the bed of the pick-up, like so: