Politics and religion.

[RICHARD]

Yesterday I was listening to one of my favorite news/comedy radio programs, Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me.

The host and guests were talking about a woman who was able to keep her teen son from going to the Middle East and joining a terrorist group/movement.

Apparently the son asked his mother for his passport. The mother asked "why do you want it?" and then -thru that wonderful ability that women possess - deduced that her son was going to do something stupid, like join a terrorist group.

Chalk one up for parents?

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I was walking the dog and listening to the show and began to laugh.

I thought of MY MOM and how she would have reacted if I had wanted my passport to join some stupid cause?

She would have gladly given me my the paperwork with the sage wisdom that she dispensed when I (or my sibs) wanted to participate in any sketchy endeavor?

"You want to join them? Go ahead, here is your passport....And if you get into trouble DON'T CALL ME, call your friends or someone else that will help you or get you out of trouble......."

When I was younger, my mom's stance on any tomfoolery, confused me.

SHE WANTED me to go out and get into trouble, she also washed her hands of me and my behavior....

I thought, "What is the matter with her?" And as I 'matured' (I still am a stupid child at times) I realized that she did care.

She wanted me to know that my vision/perception of 'maturity' came with a steep price if I refused to see the long term ramifications of my actions. She loved me, but hated my moron-itude.

Even as an adult, I often consulted with her about things in my life. Should I buy this - GF, work problems, Did you watch the game last night or can I swing by with/for dinner? Often, I knew the answer to the question, but I found some comfort in hearing myself talk and her input.

Later on, I realized that my going to her probably made her feel like she raised at least one kid who thought before they acted? Was it a good thing?

Anyway........she encouraged me to be stupid - reverse psychology? - to jump off the bridge with my friends, but NOT TO BOTHER HER WITH THE RESULTS.

A very effective strategy.

As the segment on the radio closed, the panel joked about sending some mothers to the Middle East - that would stop most of the idiots from joining a terrorist group/movement.

And then I really started to laugh.

I pictured my mom at the back of a cargo plane, parachute on her back, jumping out to join the other mothers fighting terrorism in the area.

What would I say to her?

"Go ahead, get on an airplane and jump out with a parachute on your back, And if something goes wrong? Don't call me, call your friends to help you out?......"

[RICHARD]

Religion and politics blended so seamlessly this past week.........


Imagine getting a letter from a neighbor family that you believe is a great Satan.

How would you take it?

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My other take on the news is this....

Imagine you have an emergency at your house and the cops do not show up.

THEN, imagine that you have an emergency at your house and the cops show up drunk?

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And how do you trust one politician after years of being told, "You have to trust me on this......." by other politicians, that are liars?

[Lady's Human]

Just read an article of Ferguson detailing the DOJ report on the municipal police and court system.

There are 16,000 outstanding warrants in Ferguson out of a population of 21000.

In other words, 3/4 of the population of that fine, upstanding midwestern town have warrants for their arrest. The place is either hell on earth, which I doubt, or the PD and court system are out of control.

One of the more disturbing charges is one person charged with destruction of Government property. How did the individual destroy Government property? After the cops beat the heck out of the arrestee, they had the audacity to bleed on the arresting officer's uniform.

[cassiesmom]

LH, we were just talking about this after church yesterday. A friend from choir heard on the news that race relations between the government, police and the residents of Ferguson have been deteriorating (bad and getting worse) for a long time, even before the unrest last summer. How does a person live in a town where things are that bad every single day. How does the city administration let it go on and on until it just blows up?

[RICHARD]

Just read an article of Ferguson detailing the DOJ report on the municipal police and court system.

There are 16,000 outstanding warrants in Ferguson out of a population of 21000.

In other words, 3/4 of the population of that fine, upstanding midwestern town have warrants for their arrest. The place is either hell on earth, which I doubt, or the PD and court system are out of control.

One of the more disturbing charges is one person charged with destruction of Government property. How did the individual destroy Government property? After the cops beat the heck out of the arrestee, they had the audacity to bleed on the arresting officer's uniform.

Not to side with either faction?

I'd see a guy from the old 'hood' after he'd be gone for a week or two-maybe longer? He'd talk about going to jail over some stupid charge/warrant and I'd shake my head and wonder about how they could 'navigate' the court/legal system with little or no worry.

Now, I knew these guys weren't on the up and up, but some of the things that they were pulled over for/jammed with were sometimes overstated - like the bleeding on a cop's uni???

Some cops would overstate a charge to get someone off the street or to 'get even' if a guy gave them any lip or acted up..my pals would see a ticket - for some stupid minor infraction - as a exactly what it was - A way to inconvenience someone who wasted the cop's time.

Not to say that those tickets/violations weren't deserved - it was just the way that the officer or violator acted - sometimes a simple traffic stop turned into a peeing contest.....and someone was going to get peepee on their pants?

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I bet that many of those warrants are multiples - people that just can't seem to keep their nose clean - but when they are finally caught and put into jail, that fuels the 'debtor's prison' idea.

Well, if those people took care of a simple ticket - not let it go to warrant or get an extension, or JUST STOP DOING THE THINGS THAT put you in a situation where a cop is going to interact with you?? There wouldn't be such a high number of warrants/people being jailed?

I can bet dollars to donuts that a good percentage of those warrants are for stupid shat like a burnt out turn signal, not following traffic laws? Stuff that can be avoided if you pay attention to stuff like that?

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The topic of PO behavior and 'thug life' is always a lively one in the house.

I grew up with some savory and unsavory people in the neighborhood and I was a first hand witness to some of the stupidity that put you on the law's radar...I come from the place of 'if you are stupid, you deserve whatever you find at the end of the road'. Doris, being a former cop, sees things differently...

IF you behave, keep your nose clean and stop being an AH in your neighborhood, you won't have any problems. If you go ahead and pile up the tickets/warrants - please do not cry that you are being targeted and jailed 'for no reason'. By the same token? If you MUST deal with the dregs of society everyday of your life, I don't expect you to walk up to my car door thinking about puppies, unicorns and rainbows?

I do expect a ticket/summons, but sometimes, by just being a nice guy and co-operating with them? I get my license back with a stern warning and a "have a good day"..

Sometimes it's all about a mindset, manners and not being a jerk.

[Bonny]

Just read an article of Ferguson detailing the DOJ report on the municipal police and court system.

There are 16,000 outstanding warrants in Ferguson out of a population of 21000.

In other words, 3/4 of the population of that fine, upstanding midwestern town have warrants for their arrest. The place is either hell on earth, which I doubt, or the PD and court system are out of control.

One of the more disturbing charges is one person charged with destruction of Government property. How did the individual destroy Government property? After the cops beat the heck out of the arrestee, they had the audacity to bleed on the arresting officer's uniform.

Sounds like the cities of Sodom & Gomorrah back during Biblical times? Corruption everywhere!!!

[Lady's Human]

Richard, the "debtor's prison" comments in the articles about the practices have to do with filing charges against someone for a minor violation, i.e. jaywalking, and then, instead of having a civil fine structure in place for those who don't pay in time ($25 for 30 days late, etc), or give them the option of community service in lieu of a fine, those who don't pay are sent to jail.

In New York, if you have an outstanding violation, they don't look for you, they just get you when it comes time to renew your driver's license or other needed state issues. Even then they just mandate that you pay the fine before your license is renewed.

The jail for housing those who fail to pay their fines in Ferguson is of course not run by the municipality, but by a for-profit corporation who is paid X dollars/day per inmate.

I've dealt with PDs like this one, and the citizen winds up screwed regardless. Thankfully in the case of Nolanville, TX we had a commanding General on Ft. Hood who told the municipality to cut the BS or he was going to declare the town off-limits to all soldiers. There's no CG to do that for the residents of Ferguson. Nolanville made millions in fining soldiers on the highway to Ft. Hood which went through their town for about 2 miles. It's a great gig for a town, because soldiers are going to pay the fine, or they wind up with military charges against them in addition to the civil charges on the ticket. On that stretch of road, which was the sole 55 MPH limit for miles, if you were doing 56 MPH you were given a speeding ticket. If they were really low on revenue that week, if you were doing 53 MPH you were given a ticket for impeding the flow of traffic.

The way these cases read, it's an echo of warnings I have given people in the past: The bureaucracy is set up so that no matter what you do, by the time you finish your commute to work, you've violated at least 1 law. All you can do is hope that your particular violation doesn't become the point of emphasis on any given day.

[Lady's Human]

OMG...

I normally can't stand Stephen A Smith, but he nailed this one.


http://www.cnn.com/videos/tv/2015/03...h-03212015.cnn

[RICHARD]

OMG...

I normally can't stand Stephen A Smith, but he nailed this one.


http://www.cnn.com/videos/tv/2015/03...h-03212015.cnn

I had to laugh (in agreement) with the statements about the 'Hispanic community' looking to be courted by a political party.

Historically, the HC has been a group that votes with the Dem blocks.

And SAS is correct, it is all about "What are YOU going to do for us?"...When you come out of the blocks and begin to offer 'citizenship on a fast track', people are going to come out in droves to vote for a candidate/party....

(You'd think that people would realize that just because a politician promises you one thing, it's not a given?)

Back in 2007-8 the general consensus in the Hispanic community was - vote Democratic, the promises of INSTANT CITIZENSHIP are for real!!!!

I'll have to come back and finish this, my battery is running low....

[RICHARD]

......so, the Hispanic media was rife with stories about how 'wonderful' it would be to elect a party that was going to fast track the citizenship laws.

One of the dynamics/thoughts in the Hispanic group (HG) is that they work hard and contribute to the economy - the illegals are in a very unique position here in the US -work under the table and if caught, they can be deported.
They do pay taxes - sales and gas - and often work in the industries where the work is hard, dirty, and at or below the minimum wage. They work with no benefits and no insurance.

A 'promise' of citizenship was a classic bait and switch move by the political machine...and years later, with no real movement on the horizon - this next election should be interesting and 'fun' to watch.

The dems are going to blame the repubs for the bottleneck and try to keep the HG.
The repubs are going to try and swing them over.....with what new promises?

Bottom line?

It's politics to sway a group to vote for you. But how long is it before that voting block see the promises as a cruel way to put people on "hold" while they play games with the laws.

It's a great way to get into office, but soon the people who's shoulders you used to stand on, are going to tired of being stepped on?

[Lady's Human]

Frankly, they're arresting the wrong people in those cases.

[Lady's Human]

Can the "Duck Dynasty" boys 15 minutes of fame be over?

[Lady's Human]

Well, I was planning on bringing the kids to Disney.

No longer.

http://www.computerworld.com/article...n-workers.html

No, I'm not a xenophobe.

However, I have had enough of the abuse of a program designed to bring truly special, irreplaceable talent into the country to displace American workers with lower paid foreign staff brought in under the auspices of H1B.