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I Believe the Germans Have a Word for This

Friday, February 11th, 2011

Incumbent food truck magnate in Austin develops totally-public-minded-and-not-at-all-protectionist “health, safety and environmental concerns” over a massive increase in the number trucks that have sprung up to compete with him . . .

. . . demands city council pass stricter regulations of his own industry . . .

. . . now faces a bureaucratic nightmare as his own fleet of trucks can’t pass the regulations he insisted were necessary to protect the public.

(Thanks to Adam Buxton for the tip.)

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This entry was posted on Friday, February 11th, 2011 at 11:40 am by Radley Balko and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

25 Responses to “I Believe the Germans Have a Word for This”

  1. #1 |  C. S. P. Schofield |  February 11th, 2011 at 11:42 am

    Not sure about the German, but I would call it Karma.

  2. #2 |  Adam W. |  February 11th, 2011 at 11:46 am

    I believe the word Radley’s looking for is “schadenfreude.”

  3. #3 |  Aresen |  February 11th, 2011 at 11:48 am

    C.S.P.S. beat me to it on the karma.

    But I believe the expression “Shooting oneself in the foot” also applies.

  4. #4 |  ClubMedSux |  February 11th, 2011 at 11:48 am

    They also have a word for the food truck magnate: Backpfeifengesicht.

  5. #5 |  TomG |  February 11th, 2011 at 11:51 am

    Is this where I link a picture of Nelson (from the Simpsons) pointing and going “Ha Ha!” ?

  6. #6 |  Radley Balko |  February 11th, 2011 at 11:55 am

    Good idea!

    I’m going to add the image, then pretend I thought of it all along.

  7. #7 |  Joe |  February 11th, 2011 at 11:57 am

    Just when you think there is no justice in the world…

  8. #8 |  varmintito |  February 11th, 2011 at 11:58 am

    Cue Neson Muntz (dammit, somebody beat me to it).

  9. #9 |  ClubMedSux |  February 11th, 2011 at 12:00 pm

    +1 on the Nelson pic. :-)

  10. #10 |  Matt Groening |  February 11th, 2011 at 12:06 pm

    All your royalties are belong to me….

  11. #11 |  jb |  February 11th, 2011 at 12:32 pm

    His mistake was not getting his trucks grandfathered. Should have learned from Mattel and the CPSIA…

  12. #12 |  Andrew S. |  February 11th, 2011 at 12:34 pm

    That is spectacular. Thanks for making me laugh for once.

  13. #13 |  Tweets that mention I Believe the Germans Have a Word for This | The Agitator -- Topsy.com |  February 11th, 2011 at 1:04 pm

    [...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by damaged justice, teaist ats. teaist ats said: I Believe the Germans Have a Word for This http://bit.ly/gQ6IGK http://t.tatsn.com/n [...]

  14. #14 |  Brian |  February 11th, 2011 at 1:15 pm

    His petard. He has been hoisted by it.

  15. #15 |  PTLindy |  February 11th, 2011 at 1:30 pm

    As a “large scale” business, he was shrewd in getting the enforcement of regulations geared up. Smaller businesses have a penchant for not following every single regulation (note: well regulated systems have allowances that account for this and allow them some extra time/leeway to get to code), which can create a competitive advantage.

    However, he’s a flaming idiot for purchasing food trucks that don’t have all their documentation. Working as an engineer, I know that when purchasing equipment your P.O. always includes at least a functional specification that specifies all required documents. Guess what this guy forgot/decided not to pay for upfront (and always costs $$$ more after the fact)?

  16. #16 |  jb |  February 11th, 2011 at 1:35 pm

    Funny, as I was reading the word that came to my mind was Reinheitsgebot. I suppose schadenfreude works too.

  17. #17 |  Dan |  February 11th, 2011 at 1:42 pm

    I see his trucks all the time, and I even bought some tacos a couple of times when they were doing construction outside my office, the breakfast tacos were not that great..Never again, I am sticking with the guy who drives an S-10 around with ice chests full of tacos wrapped in towels to keep them warm.

  18. #18 |  Marty |  February 11th, 2011 at 1:48 pm

    I hate it that this dipshit put a bunch of people out of business, but it’s fabulous that he’s getting bit by the dog he trained on his competitors.

  19. #19 |  Ben |  February 11th, 2011 at 1:52 pm

    Watch the images you post, Radley: http://techland.time.com/2011/02/09/law-firm-finds-success-targeting-those-who-post-copyrighted-images/

  20. #20 |  Highway |  February 11th, 2011 at 2:08 pm

    Someone should draw Radley a picture of a random stickish figure pointing up like that and saying “HA HA!”. I like the effect of pointing at the post title. Same sentiment, no copyright issues assuming the person transfers usage rights.

  21. #21 |  James J.B. |  February 11th, 2011 at 2:52 pm

    HAHAHHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAAHAHAHAHAAHAH

    Usually, the Balkonator hits in the nuts. Today, I salute you, sir!!!!!

  22. #22 |  EH |  February 11th, 2011 at 5:33 pm

    For completeness’ sake:
    http://nelsonhaha.com/

  23. #23 |  the innominate one |  February 11th, 2011 at 5:43 pm

    Now that is irony.

  24. #24 |  croaker |  February 11th, 2011 at 11:48 pm

    Backpfeifengesicht – A face that cries out for a fist in it. This asshat didn’t just get a fist, he got fisted.

  25. #25 |  Oz |  February 16th, 2011 at 9:51 pm

    A vanishingly rare example of justice.

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