Archive for March, 2009
27
As we all know, we are in a recession. Regardless of what the pundits, Federal Reserve, legislators, or President says, it’s a recession. And nearly every part of the economic pie is getting bitten. And while in the past, it was an “employees market”, it is now the employers market. Meaning employers now have the power and they can ask for the moon and the stars from employees, both current and potential because they know the fear of not having a job is an all too real threat. And now, with more people than ever getting welfare, food stamps, and unemployment, we have the government throwing their weight around. They are now trying to pass laws saying if you are getting a handout from the government, you must pass random drug tests! Craig Blair, a Republican in the West Virginia Legislature, is spearheading a law to require random drug tests of people getting government benefits.
I certainly don’t to allow someone to sit around collecting welfare, food stamps, or unemployment to getting their “party on” using tax dollars. But to say that ONLY those people should be required to pass drug tests is questionable at best, and elitist at worse. If those people collecting welfare, food stamps, and unemployemnt benefits should be tested, what about the people who got “corporate welfare” re-named BAILOUTS! Where are their drug tests? Because they must have been on the “good shit” to have even gotten us into this mess! And what about the officers at A.I.G.? OOPPS. I mean A.I.U. They changed their name! (Like that is going to hide the stench of what they did!) For them to first even consider passing out bonuses, and worse, to ACCEPT THEM, must mean they are on something. Million dollar bonuses to people whose company took welfare from the American taxpayers. Am I missing something here??? So let’s add to the random drug tests, anyone who accepted money in the form of a bailout, loan, or bonus, from the American government!
And while we are at it, since the consensus seems to be that “no one is forcing them to apply for benefits” no one forced you, Mr. Blair, to run for office. And you are getting taxpayer benefits called a SALARY! So why don’t we add mayors, judges, police chiefs, sheriffs, senators, , governors, congressmen and women, and the president, to the list of people who should take random drug tests. Aren’t they getting benefits too!!! Let’s see how fast that idea falls to the way side!
Test all or test none. This picking and choosing of who to test and who not to test is just wrong. Because welfare is welfare regardless of whether it is $700.00 a month check or it’s called a MILLION DOLLAR BONUS or BILLION DOLLAR BAILOUT!!!!!!!
27
As I said in a previous post, cops aren’t my favorite people. And it doesn’t matter if they are gay or straight, male or female, black or white. In my almost 28 years of driving, I have been harassed, followed, and jack up by the police more times than I care to remember. And I have heard cops laughing and giggling about how they “made someone’s day” by giving them a bogus ticket. Yeah, real funny. Like I said, most of them are GANG MEMBERS with BADGES! And before anyone comments by saying “then don’t call the cops when you need help if that is the way you feel about it.” Trust me, most African Americans only call the police as a LAST RESORT because we know they are going to give a HALF-ASSED EFFORT in helping us so WHAT’S THE USE!!!!!!! But this incident has my blood boiling.
Professional Football player Ryan Moats was stopped by a cop for running a red light turning into a hospital. When he was stopped, he informed the cop that his mother-in-law was DYING and that was the reason he ran the light. Ryan’s wife, whose mother was dying, tried to explain the situation but the cop, Mr. Robert Powell, didn’t seem to care. Fearing that she wasn’t going to be able to say her final goodbye to the woman who raised her, Tamishia Moats ran into the hospital. We are all lucky that this heartless cop didn’t shoot her in the back!!!
Living in california and being a woman, and having an incident where Kara Knott was killed by a CHP, we have been told to put our flashers on if we feel nervous about the area we are being requested to stop at by the police. We were told that putting the flashers on lets the cop know that we see them. Moats’ did just that. The dashboard camera, showed just how cowardly Mr. Powell was. The more Moats tried to explain the situation, the angrier the cop became. After a heated exchange, Powell said, “Shut your mouth! You can either settle down and cooperate or I can just take you to jail for running a red light.” Ryan was also told his car could be towed. That he could be put in handcuffs. Take someone to jail for running a red light!!! You have got to be kidding me!
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26
I’m trying to wrap my head around this concept. For those people living in california, you know that every time you look around, there seems a new tax, a rise in food prices, or gas prices, or a loss of jobs. And now there is a San Francisco representative, Tom Ammiano, who wants to tax marijuana .
Ok, first thing is that while californians have passed Prop 215 that allows for the growing and use of marijuana for medical purposes. Yet marijuana dispensaries are being raided on a weekly basis. And it is still against Federal Law. Second, and how I understand it, the state would put a $50.00 fee on an ounce of marijuana. L. M. F. A. O. !!! Why would I pay $150.00 for an ounce of marijuana when I can still go to the “neighborhood dealer” and get the same or BETTER marijuana for $50.00 less???? Why would a drug dealer pay $5,000.00 for a “franchise fee” and another $2,500.00, on a yearly basis mind you, when they don’t have to? How many legitimate business owners waited until they started making “real money” before they got all of the licenses, permits, and “legalese” worked out??? Many people want to keep the government out of their business. Why would I let them into something like this????
Lastly, and this is what really pisses me off the most. The citizens of this state voted against Same Sex Marriage. A decision that cost this state potentially $684 million dollars. The Williams Institute at U.C.L.A. predicted gay men and lesbians would spend alot of money on wedding cakes, photographers, tuxedos, hotel rooms, and related wedding trappings. So here we have an untapped market that has a “trickle down” effect and was voted away. Here is a market that would pull people from not only other states, BUT OTHER COUNTRIES as well, to add money to our state coffers. But noooooo! We would rather have the governor raise sales and income taxes, and have cuts to many social service programs.
Either way, the state of california loses. Because instead of people coming here to get married, they are going to Massachuttes, Vermont, and Rhode Island. Oh, and instead of californians staying here and getting married, we are “heading east.” Kinda puts a new spin on the “east coast, west coast” debate doesn’t it! To smoke or get married. What a dilema!