As we get ready for another legislative session to begin, some bills are being pre-filed by our state lawmakers. As usual, many of the bills are plainly ridiculous. Every year, some of our esteemed legislators waste time debating the merits of the state poem, flower or fruit.
This year, a host of ill-advised bills have been introduced, including one to outlaw low riding pants. If passed, youngsters with questionable fashion tastes will have to worry about being arrested. This bill is both misguided and unnecessary. There are already laws on the books regulating obscenity. It will just add another burden to our already busy law enforcement officers, who should be focused on more important tasks.
Another bill has been introduced to prevent the use of hand held cell phones in vehicles, even though research shows that hands free units are just as dangerous.
Legislators need to back away from the desire to regulate every aspect of our lives and make it a “safer” environment. In our state, individuals should have the freedom to make their own decisions regarding fashion and electronic accessories.
Yesterday, we learned that State Senator Robert Adley (R-Benton) will introduce a bill to outlaw the sale of energy drinks to anyone under the age of 16. Adley is acting on the issue because of a constituent who claimed that her son was rendered unconscious and started vomiting after consuming an energy drink.
This youngster may have other health problems that could have caused this reaction. The federal government has no prohibition on youngsters using these beverages, so neither should the state government. If the energy drinks were harmful to youngsters certainly the federal government would have already issued health warnings. It should not be the business of the Louisiana Legislature to regulate energy drink sales. There are much more important issues to address.
With the bill being introduced, Senator Adley will call witnesses and waste precious legislative time on an issue that should not be a priority for this session. We have serious budget woes and are in need of massive fiscal reform. The Senator and his colleagues need to focus on how to create more private sector jobs and make Louisiana a more competitive state. In the last economic report, the fastest growth sector of our economy was government jobs. This trend must be stopped, but, instead legislators are wasting time on fashion, cell phones and energy drinks.
The Louisiana Legislators have enacted too many laws and are on path to pass more senseless and counter-productive measures in this session. A better use of time would be to remove laws from the books and make life easier and less regulated in Louisiana. The people of our state do not want more government, they want less. Maybe one day, our politicians will get the message.
Jeff Crouere is the Host of “Ringside Politics,” which airs at 7:30 p.m. Fri. and 10:00 p.m. Sun. on WLAE-TV 32, a PBS station, and 7 till 11 a.m. weekdays on WGSO 990 AM in New Orleans and the Northshore. He is the Political Analyst for WGNO-TV ABC26 and a Columnist for selected publications. For more information, visit his web site at RingsidePolitics.com. E-mail him at jeff@ringsidepolitics.com.
Kp, you keep dribbling something about 'Free Markets'.... There is no such thing chief....... Or duzn't ya understands the economies that makes us underwares?... or is it unawares??? I mean seriously dude, give me a break, and while you are at it, get a life... You and T-bluhb probably need to go dancing together, and while you is at it, bring a couple of those intellectual hoity toities that sometimes blubber on this bored along for the fun.... Written by
on 3/31/2010
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I understand the manipulation by government for the advantage of their campaign contributors (or those simply slipping them money under the table). But that is "manipulation" - not a free market. As far a my having a "rude awakening" - I don't believe there is anything new under the sun; so I doubt I'll be surprised by anything that comes down the road, no matter what that may be. I 'suspect' government will continue to 1) waste resources (i.e. take too much money from the private sector) that will dampen "economic recovery" and that 2) since this action's consequences is something that "did not happen" or can be measured (jobs NOT created in the private sector) that many will champion their actions. The Constitution is not followed by our elected officials in D.C., anymore than we have a free market economy. I KNOW the ship is headed for an iceburg, I DO NOT expect anyone to stop it. I just call out "hey d**khead, we're headed for an iceburg" ...... not really expecting to change anything.... or even be heard. Kind of like telling <someone I knew> that his diabetic "episodes" was a sign he needed to change his ways ... he didn't listen ... and died .... but at least I sleep okay at night ... since I tried to warn him. No "Chief" - I don't think we'll have a "happy ending." Perhaps though, before the do-do hits the fan, enough people will realize that government can not only help the economy (infrastructure, etc.) but also hurt it ("rewarding the reckless" "bailing out failures" "enabling dependency" etc.)..... Perhaps (or "perhaps not" as the case may be)...... In the mean time, I'll spend time with my loved ones, drink and dance, enjoy south Louisiana cuisine, work, pay taxes, and - in various ways - fight for free markets, constitutional government, and individual rights (which is "freedom from the tyranny of government" IMHO). But will I be surprised by whatever time brings to the deluded populace of the United States of America? No, not in the least. Written by kpf
on 3/27/2010
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ehh, you say tomato - I say tomahtoe... Or perhaps you like Coke and I like Pepsi or visa vice.... Again, you degenerate into mere semantics.... Seriously chief, what is the sense of putting a road out in the middle of nowhere in the desert if it isn't generating a profit? Depends on a persons perspective of profit I suppose... Oh wait, I know, that way you could set up a water stand selling glasses of water for $5.00 a glass.... And laws can be passed that only buses travel on that road, and the only place they can stop would be at the 500 mile mark where you and you alone have your stand.... And, aside from water in the bus toilet, and the radiator, oh, and the distilled water for the batter, by law, no water can be taken aboard a bus because it could be an implement of mass destruction.........?????? Oh, and if the bus isn't profitable, well then, governments and markets and other varying institutions can step in and manipulate the price of fuel to see if that helps the bus line any..... But you will still be there with your 'concession' stand.... And if manipulating fuel prices don't work, a production cost defrayment on buses spread out amongst the masses will be implemented...... Or let's see, perhaps the rubber tax can be 'finigled' so that tires are cheaper.... Or let's set up some kind of special quota trade agreement with the Mexicans across the border for retreads and manipulate D.O.T. laws so that now you can use 50% of those on the busses 8 wheels, and on and on and on and on..... Because we didn't start the fire, it was always burning since the world's been turning....... You see Kp, everyone has a base "modus operendi" they cling to....... When I get to it, I am going to discuss your sitting around and protecting your cans of pork n' beans on the shelf philosophy when it comes time fer ya to 'cling' to yer gun in 'defense' of your 'constitution'.... Not that it is all bad, but man are you in for a rather rude awakening when you begin to comprehend what the facts or the crux of the matters are....... Written by
on 3/27/2010
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If you read me correctly then you'd understand that I believe that if it is profitable to have a bus line, a bus line will be there; if not, then people will demand that government provide one. That is not the same as government bailing out a failed bus line, or providing a bus line where one is not needed. Written by kpf
on 3/26/2010
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- - - ""It has nothing to do with faith - or me - consumers make their choices - and the consequences that follow cannot be changed or controlled."" - - - - And that my friend is an example of what semantics are..... Mere semantics...... Change and control are not static conditions, they are very fluid. If I were to read you correctly, it would almost appear that you favor the "let them walk if they don't have bus-fare, or let 'em walk if they do have bus fare, but there ain't no bus running around here and I sure as hell ain't offering them a ride in the rain" mentality...... Written by
on 3/26/2010
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I don't know about consumers wanting things for less money, but rather they want something they need at an honest price in relationship to its value... I am in estranged agreement with you on the government thing to a certain extent chief... Written by
on 3/26/2010
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It is not a matter of "faith" in the market, rather it is recognizing that consumers - not government - determine which business ventures succeed or fail. Consumers want things that cost less money, so WalMart thrives and "Mom and Pop" stores close down. It has nothing to do with faith - or me - consumers make their choices - and the consequences that follow cannot be changed or controlled. Written by kpf
on 3/26/2010
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An there ya goes there Chief - - - - - - - -- - - - -- - Bloomberg- - - - ………What they can’t do is manufacture enough artificial demand for an asset that was artificially inflated to begin with……….. - - - - - - and of course the; - - - - - March 26 (Bloomberg) -- Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said the recent rise in Treasury yields represents a “canary in the mine” that may signal further gains in interest rates………………-------- followed downline by; - -- - - - …………………………The U.S. economy expanded at a 5.6 percent annual rate in the fourth quarter of 2009, and corporate profits climbed, figures from the Commerce Department showed today in Washington. Company earnings increased 8 percent, capping the biggest year- over-year gain in a quarter century. - - - - - - And again, I ask; Just who is the; “those who need help expect - as a right - a roof, color tv, abundant food, clothes, an education ... etc ... all without lifting a finger to earn it.” you are referring to there Chief?......... Rant and rave all you want, dismiss strongconcrete solutions and approaches all you want, in fact, cling to your faith in the holy market system we currently labor under….. All while you are ---------- Sitting in a bunker - here behind my wall.... Waiting for the worms to come in perfect isolation - here behind my wall..... Waiting for the worms to come..... We're {waiting to succeed} and going to convene outside Brixton Town Hall where we're going to be... Waiting to cut out the deadwood - Waiting to clean up the city... Waiting to follow the worms.... Waiting to put on a black shirt.... Waiting to weed out the weaklings... Waiting to smash in their windows And kick in their doors.... Waiting for the final solution... To strengthen the strain.... Waiting to follow the worms.... Waiting to turn on the showers - And fire the ovens.... Waiting for the queens and the coons - and the reds and the jews.....Waiting to follow the worms.... Would you like to see Britannia... Rule again - my friend?.... All you have to do - is - follow - the - worms.... Would you like to send our colored cousins...... home again - my friend?.... All you need to - do..... is follow the worms..... Written by
on 3/26/2010
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Not enough "change" for me ... as the GOP is just as arrogant - and wrong - in thinking that they can "control the economy" - they can't. Those who think government is their economic salvation are just as wrong - and at fault - for the economic mess we're in. But overall, "yes" I think "divided government" is far, far better than the spending train we have today. As far as my statement on people feeling entitled to live off their fellow citizens yet not work - I WAS MISTAKEN - there are no such people. BTW, a GREAT article in Bloomberg today on government created bubbles, housing, the economy in general: h t t p : / / w w w . bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601039&sid=a7Z8mzKdoEZA ______ and yet another on Alan Greenspan's concerns about our debt, a "concern" for me as well as our government's debt could bring us down like Tojo never could: h t t p : / / w w w . bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=a77tZkPI2DT4&pos=1 Written by kpf
on 3/26/2010
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Just who is the; “those who need help expect - as a right - a roof, color tv, abundant food, clothes, an education ... etc ... all without lifting a finger to earn it.” You are referring to there Chief? And as far as your gripe about some kind of a housing program, did it ever occur to you that across the board choice was never made available, and perhaps that as well is a contributing factor? Oh, I see, now I can offer alternatives and directives that could circumvent those kinds of happenings occuring again, as well as stimulate the economy AND put people to work……………….. BUT THAT WOULDN’T SUIT YOU EITHER… I AM PRETTY SURE I HAVE IT RIGHT WHEN I GIVE YOU YOUR “GOODHOUSKEEPING ATAGONIST SEAL OF APPROVAL”…………………………… Hey, here is another interesting thought, sort of a ‘bennie’ actually but this is as good a place as anywhere to plant a seed again…….. pssssssstttttt - - - (community supported agriculture)….. Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm…… And as far as this November 'mid-term' elections go..... You really think anything is going to "Change"? Written by
on 3/26/2010
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OH! I see the Obama administration is planning on providing a few billion from the King's purse ... ahem ... I mean from the unspent TARP (or whatever they call this crap) Funds to those who bought homes they can't afford. The string is they must obtain a job during the three months their mortgage is being paid (or "try to") before "qualifying" for additional assistance. Of course, they have a RIGHT to have other Americans pay for homes - many bought as speculative ventures - that now they are unable to roll it over with a profit. Private profit, public risk - I don't think I'm alone in being outraged and fed up with this. I suspect I will never have greater pleasure in casting a vote than this coming November's midterm election. Written by kpf
on 3/26/2010
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what i meant was ... far in the past we had "let them eat cake" attitude towards the poor ... then we decided to help ... but now those who need help expect - as a right - a roof, color tv, abundant food, clothes, an education ... etc ... all without lifting a finger to earn it. I was not advocating the extreme of adopting an Ebonezer Scrooge attitude ... merely commenting on how we have - IMHO - gone too far in the other direction. Written by kpf
on 3/25/2010
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No Chief, it is not going to "Take care of itself".. The end result is what we forge and make of it...... And if ever we did have a collective attitude of: "To hell with the poor and the sick"... Than that one attitude alone is all the reason in the world as to why we <will?> FAIL........... You are in lockstep march to flawed and obsolete theory and pursuit..... It was once a working model, but like anything else in nature, or which has a nature, or which was the result of a flawed nurture, if it fails to evolve, then it goes extinct..... You had asked me if you had missed anything.... My answer is still; "Yes.......... you have", only I am going to allow that statement to evolve a little further and allow it to manifest itself as; "Yes.......... you are....... Written by
on 3/25/2010
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Where we have failed is we have gone from "the hell with the poor and sick" to "we will help the poor and sick" to now, "the poor and sick are entitled being taken care of." Pretty soon, the whole country will be like New Orleans, where the majority of the populace are either government employees or welfare dependents. Call that what you may, it's not a prescription for a growing economic system. This will however, take care of itself, one way or another. Written by kpf
on 3/25/2010
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You see Chief, we do not have a 'failed' policy on the 'War on Drugs'.... What we have is a 'failed' or a 'failure' effect where the deployment of our dollars are concerned... Drugs, commerce, war, etc., etc., etc..... That is what is at the base of the pyramid.... Written by
on 3/25/2010
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Or perhaps more poetically, "The heart wants what the heart wants"... and of course there is no way to stop smugglers, and of course there is the old axiom; "Ignorance is Bliss".... and of course, "Curiosity killed the Cat"... and on and on and on and on..... ……………………………. Because we didn't start the fire, - - it was always burning since the world's been turning,,,, we didn't start the fire.. - No we didn't light it - but we tried to fight it.....Harry Truman, - Doris Day, - Red China, - Johnny Ray - South Pacific, - Walter Winchell, - Joe DiMaggio - Joe McCarthy, - Richard Nixon, - Studebaker, - Television - North Korea, - South Korea,- Marilyn Monroe - Rosenbergs, - H Bomb, - Sugar Ray, - Panmunjom Brando, - The King And I, - and The Catcher In The Rye.. - Eisenhower, - Vaccine, - England's got a new queen - Maciano, - Liberace, - Santayana - goodbye,,,, We didn't start the fire - It was always burning Since the world's been turning ---- We didn't start the fire - No we didn't light it - But we tried to fight it --- Joseph Stalin, - Malenkov, - Nasser and Prokofiev - Rockefeller, - Campanella, - Communist Bloc - Roy Cohn, - Juan Peron, - Toscanini, - Dancron Dien Bien - Phu Falls, - Rock Around the Clock - Einstein, James Dean, - Brooklyn's got a winning team ... Davy Crockett, - Peter Pan, - Elvis Presley, Disneyland ..... Bardot, - Budapest, - Alabama, - Khrushchev - Princess Grace, - Peyton Place, - Trouble in the Suez........ We didn't start the fire - It was always burning - Since the world's been turning...... We didn't start the fire - No we didn't light it - But we tried to fight it... Little Rock, - Pasternak,- (Yes Miss Pssternak) - Mickey Mantle, - Kerouac - Sputnik, - Chou En-Lai, - Bridge On The River Kwai - ... Lebanon, - Charles de Gaulle, - California - baseball ,,, Starkwether, - Homicide, - Children of Thalidomide -.... Buddy Holly, - Ben Hur, - Space - Monkey,.. Mafia Hula Hoops, - Castro, - Edsel is a no-go - U2, - Syngman Rhee, - payola and Kennedy ... Chubby Checker, - Psycho, - Belgians in the Congo .... We didn't start the fire………. It was always burning Since the world's been turning………. We didn't start the fire……… No we didn't light it But we tried to fight it……. Hemingway, - Eichman, - Stranger in a Strange Land Dylan,... Berlin, - Bay of Pigs.. invasion - Lawrence of Arabia, - British Beatlemania - Ole Miss, - John Glenn, - Liston beats Patterson..... Pope Paul, - Malcolm X, - British Politician - sex - J.F.K. blown away,... what else do I have to say……. We didn't start the fire…… It was always burning Since the world's been turning……… We didn't start the fire No we didn't light it….. But we tried to fight it……. Birth control, - Ho Chi Minh, - Richard Nixon back again .... Moonshot, - Woodstock, -Watergate, - punk rock -..... Begin, - Reagan, - Palestine,.... Terror on the airline - Ayatollah's in Iran, - Russians in Afghanistan -... Wheel of Fortune, - Sally Ride,... heavy metal, - suicide... Foreign debts, - homeless Vets, - AIDS, - Crack,- Bernie Goetz..... Hypodermics on the shores,.... China's under martial law - Rock and Roller cola wars, - I can't take it anymore...... We didn't start the fire……. It was always burning…… Since the world's been turning…. We didn't start the fire…..No we didn't light it But we tried to fight it…….. And it goes on and on and on and on…………………… Written by
on 3/24/2010
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In other words there chief, some people can, and most people can't, some they will, and some they won't.... ehhhh, how about this: - - - Supertramp - - - Breakfast in America - - - (1979) - - - Goodbye Stranger ************ It was an early morning yesterday,... I was up before the dawn...... And I really have enjoyed my stay - But I must be moving on...... Like a king without a castle - Like a queen without a throne.. - I'm an early morning lover - And I must be moving on...... Now I believe in what you say - Is the undisputed truth,.... But I have to have things my own way - - To keep me in my youth...... Like a ship without an achor - Like a slave without a chain - Just the thought of those sweet ladies - Sends a shiver through my veins.... And I will go on shining - Shining like brand new... I'll never look behind me - - My troubles will be few........ Goodbye strange - it's been nice - Hope you find your - paradise... Tried to see your - point of view... Hope your dreams will - all come true.. Goodbye Mary, - Goodbye Jane... Will we ever - meet again.... Feel no sorrow, - feel no shame...
Come tomorrow, - feel no pain... Now some they do and some they don't.....
And some you just can't tell..... And some they will and some they won't.... With some it's just as well.... You can laugh at my behavior - That'll never bother me... Say the devil is my savior - But I don't pay no heed - And I will go on shining... Shining like brand new... I'll never look behind me - My troubles will be few.............Goodbye stranger - it's been nice.. Hope you find your - paradise... Tried to see your - point of view... Hope your dreams will - all come true.. Goodbye Mary, - Goodbye Jane... Will we ever - meet again.... Feel no sorrow, - feel no shame... Come tomorrow, - feel no pain................ Written by
on 3/24/2010
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Well chief, you ask some sort of question as to “Why?”… Well, I would suppose it is because of the inherent perpensity of a greater majority of people to gravitate towards the Superbia – Pride ,,,,, Invidia – Envy,,,,,, Ira – Anger,,,,, Avaritia – Avarice (jealousy),,,,, Tristia – Sadness,,,, Gula – Gluttony,,,, Luxuria – Lust,,,,, or the Sunday: Monday: Tuesday: Wednesday: Thursday: Friday: and Saturday OF IT all - And if english, or latin, or out and out observation of human nature isn’t a satisfactory enough explanation, and you weigh in searching for some kind of Constitutional ammendment or decree or solution or basis for things, perhaps you can wrap your mind around the understanding one of our founding fore fathers had on ‘people’, ‘circumstances’, ‘motivation’, reason for law, or whatever - - - - - - - - -- - - -- - - - - -- - - -- - - - "It is an axiom in my mind that our liberty can never be safe but in the hands of the people themselves, and that too of the people with a certain degree of instruction. This it is the business of the state to effect, and on a general plan." --- Thomas Jefferson -- to George Washington, January 4, 1786 Written by
on 3/24/2010
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"All things in moderation" - I agree. So why make any of it illegal if - used in moderation - it is okay? Some consistency here would make far more sense to me than our failed war on drugs. Written by kpf
on 3/23/2010
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What's the bother there Kp? Are you some kind of rule 'freak' or something??? Enjoy the abundance of life whenever possible and remember, Jesus himself said; "All things in moderation".... I have no problem with that - - - - Amen??? Written by
on 3/23/2010
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Jeff don't be so dumb all the time. Cell phones are more then just phones today. They are mini computers that people are texting on, checking sports scores, surfing the web etc. You don't even need a survey to tell you that's dangerous to the general public. Stop looking at things so one sided. Sheeez.... Written by Al
on 3/23/2010
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I agree that legal alcohol kills more than prohibition ever did ... so should we make alcohol illegal also? Written by kpf
on 3/22/2010
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Oh, well excuse me, I was under the impression you felt your ‘right’ to get ‘high’ was being trampled upon or something like that as much as you go on and on and on about weed or wutever. In as far as your knowledge of prohibition, or drug use and their socio-economic consequences go, you really do not have the slightest clue as to what you are talking about… At no time, all prohibition time combined, were there even near 17,000 deaths ‘attributable’ to ‘prohibition’. I think 6 or 7 got it at one time due to some ‘massacre’ in Chicago though… Made quite the newspaper headlines and great fodder for Hollywood and the thrill seekers that thought they might like to, go to the show……. That was about the height of the ‘rampant’ killings. Now, in as far as the ‘War on Drugs’ goes… We are using the wrong strategy… Remember….. MONEY, IT’S A HIT…. DON’T GIVE ME THAT GOOD – GOOD – DO GOODY-GOOD BULLSH^T….. Money, so they say, is the root of all evil today…….. -----“ Gettysburg or Iwo Jima was for our nation.”------????? Uhhhhhhhhh….. nahooooooooooooooooooooo……. It was for the ultimate power of control….. Both of them….. And at their base…. ….. MONEY, IT’S A HIT…. DON’T GIVE ME THAT GOOD – GOOD – DO GOODY-GOOD BULLSH^T….. Now what is needed is true direction for our nation. One that preserves our rights, liberties, freedoms, privileges…. A course that will produce prosperity for all on a more generous gradient scale… #1… ‘Lever’ notes with an expiration date attached to them… #2….. Immigration reform…. As in toss out all of the illegal’s and their offspring right now… Change the anchor baby clause as well…. #3….. A very large public works program that is geared to enhance our transportation capabilities, or water resources, our agricultural resources, our renewable resources such as energy, forest, fisheries, air, land, as well as other infrastructure needs….. #4….. A medical system based upon the U.S. Navy Medical Corps model… Forget Huey Long, charities, blah-blah-blah…. They are obsolete in approach and practice……. Sure, you can still have private practices and ‘Hollywood’ Doctors, but to keep costs in line, provide for better health care, and for overall efficiency this has to be done… and before your little brain starts spinning on the negatives, it can be covered, #1 takes care of it. #5…… Increase our pursuits of foreign trade, as well as providing foreign aid in a more diligent and meaningful fashion…. #6…….. Maintain a vigilant military that can provide for our defense…. Not really interested in any apologies from you, nor am I all that impressed with ideologies you may profess to possess… It all comes on down to an honest days wage for an honest day’s labor…. Plain and simple… A fair and even exchange for goods or services provided.. No getting around that unless you are hell bent on pushing up daisies…. As far as the elitist or status quo? I have no problem allowing them to participate in a global economy… But they should be restricted from doing that at the common man’s expense or ultimate detriment, peril, or perishment….. Now in as far as other socio/economic paradigms go, there are lists and lists to be compiled….. And they can be accommodated fruitfully….. Got nothing to do with taking away something from one man to give to another, but at the same time, it has everything to do with a group of folks keeping another group of folks under their thumb, and that, my antagonistic and somewhat misguided friend, is what it is going to take to turn this shit-heap around… Create jobs, allow for prosperity, enjoy the company of our neighbors, take care of our homes and our kids, look forward to a good future, enjoy life, like yourself, like what you create, what you participate in, what you accomplish, what you do…. THAT IS WHAT AMERICA IS SUPPOSED TO BE ALL ABOUT….. e. Pluribus Unum….. IN GOD WE TRUST………………….. Written by
on 3/22/2010
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I do not want to do drugs, but the main reason we have killings in our streets is due to the money that can be made by selling something the people want that is also illegal. Now it is drugs, during prohibition it was alcohol. Alcohol is now legal, and the shootings due to the blackmarket for alcohol has ended. We DO have 17,000 alcohol-related deaths each year on our highways, and other lives ruined due to its legality; but not competing blackmarketeers blasting away at each other. Prohibition failed, our "War on Drugs" is not the success story that say .. Gettysburg or Iwo Jima was for our nation. Personally, I'd rather see those who want to do drugs ruin their lives doing so than to see confiscatory gun control enacted and our citizens be unarmed against the thugs who - due to the money they make selling illegal drugs - are armed as we see in Mexico, where the police, military, and members of the drug cartels are the only people who possess arms. Just some more of that "freedom" and "Constitutional" ideology I have. No apology forthcoming for that belief. Written by kpf
on 3/22/2010
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Ehhh, pretty much just more slush in the cup there Chief….. If you want to do drugs, go to Mexico, they are legal there…. May I suggest getting a nice room in Juarez? It is a great place for tourists these days, always has been a glitzy modern city with all the latest conveniences, and they love Americans… Bring your 9mm American Express card with you and you can live like a king as long as you keep one eye looking over your shoulder… In as far as Israel, or the Cherokees, or the Apaches, (among my favorite tribes, you should visit Cochise Stronghold sometime, or if you want, head on up to Cherokee, North Carolina, nice folks there also. I suppose though that probably the Navejo, the Hopi, and the Zuni are among my favorites, ehh, hell, to tell the truth, hard to pick out any one tribe I favor over another, even the Chitimacha have some o.k. folks, ‘course they are really offshoots of the Cherokee, and of course the Cherokee are pretty much a wide ranging tribe, but anyways….) The reason the land the Israelis occupy is seen as Palistinian land by Israel's enemies is because it is Palestinian land. And before it was ‘Palestine’ it was known as ‘Judeah’, and before that it was some other people, Gentiles or something like that, I forget… Anyways……. ……………………………. Because we didn't start the fire, it was always burning since the world's been turning,,,, we didn't start the fire..No we didn't light it but we tried to fight it.....Harry Truman, Doris Day, Red China, Johnny Ray South Pacific, Walter Winchell, Joe DiMaggio Joe McCarthy, Richard Nixon, Studebaker, Television North Korea, South Korea, Marilyn Monroe Rosenbergs, H Bomb, Sugar Ray, Panmunjom Brando, The King And I, and The Catcher In The Rye Eisenhower, Vaccine, England's got a new queen Maciano, Liberace, Santayana goodbye We didn't start the fire It was always burning Since the world's been turning We didn't start the fire No we didn't light it But we tried to fight it Joseph Stalin, Malenkov, Nasser and Prokofiev Rockefeller, Campanella, Communist Bloc Roy Cohn, Juan Peron, Toscanini, Dancron Dien Bien Phu Falls, Rock Around the Clock Einstein, James Dean, Brooklyn's got a winning team Davy Crockett, Peter Pan, Elvis Presley, Disneyland Bardot, Budapest, Alabama, Khrushchev Princess Grace, Peyton Place, Trouble in the Suez We didn't start the fire It was always burning Since the world's been turning We didn't start the fire No we didn't light it But we tried to fight it Little Rock, Pasternak, Mickey Mantle, Kerouac Sputnik, Chou En-Lai, Bridge On The River Kwai Lebanon, Charles de Gaulle, California baseball Starkwether, Homicide, Children of Thalidomide Buddy Holly, Ben Hur, Space Monkey, Mafia Hula Hoops, Castro, Edsel is a no-go U2, Syngman Rhee, payola and Kennedy Chubby Checker, Psycho, Belgians in the Congo We didn't start the fire………. It was always burning Since the world's been turning………. We didn't start the fire……… No we didn't light it But we tried to fight it……. Hemingway, Eichman, Stranger in a Strange Land Dylan, Berlin, Bay of Pigs invasion Lawrence of Arabia, British Beatlemania Ole Miss, John Glenn, Liston beats Patterson Pope Paul, Malcolm X, British Politician sex J.F.K. blown away, what else do I have to say……. We didn't start the fire…… It was always burning Since the world's been turning……… We didn't start the fire No we didn't light it….. But we tried to fight it……. Birth control, Ho Chi Minh, Richard Nixon back again Moonshot, Woodstock, Watergate, punk rock Begin, Reagan, Palestine, Terror on the airline Ayatollah's in Iran, Russians in Afghanistan Wheel of Fortune, Sally Ride, heavy metal, suicide Foreign debts, homeless Vets, AIDS, Crack, Bernie Goetz Hypodermics on the shores, China's under martial law Rock and Roller cola wars, I can't take it anymore We didn't start the fire……. It was always burning…… Since the world's been turning…. We didn't start the fire…..No we didn't light it But we tried to fight it…….. And it goes on and on and on and on…………………… Written by
on 3/22/2010
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Unfortunately it takes both sides to have peace. Whenever Israel "makes concessions" and gives up territory, their "partners in peace" use the land granted to employ indirect fire weapons upon their "Israeli friends." The land the Israelis occupy is seen as Palistinian land by Israel's enemies. That is not a situation that leads to either "compromise" or "peace." In my study of the history of mankind, such a matter is not settled by "right and wrong" but rather "weak and strong." Israel should make the same concessions Americans made to the Cherokee, Apache and Mexicans. They should follow our nation's "shining example." Written by kpf
on 3/21/2010
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- - - - "I suspect the machine gun killings in the streets of America occurring today would end with drug legalization." - - - - Uhhh, I guess that's where the boat done sailed away there Chief. I for one do not want to see Heroin, Crack, Crystal Meth, or any other derivative that is called a 'drug' legalized. Those are among some of the root problems our nation faces. Not going to get into a long winded dissertation on it, but simply put, those things destroy lives and lives are what communities are based on.... I simply hope we do not follow the same course as the Chinese did during or after the Boxer Rebellion. Which at its roots had Silver as the catalyst... As far as 'radical' "Muslims" getting nukes? I am surprised we have kept them from getting them for this long..... Back in the early 70's it was pretty much figured they would have them or access to them by the mid to late 90's if not on the very tail end of the 80's.... Israel needs to simply stand down, right now.... And Israel's neighbors that would seek to harm it through non conventional proliferation need to understand that they will not survive the fallout as a result of their actions against it... This whole Israel/Palestinian/Arab/Muslim thing is becomming quite tedious, for the past 60 some odd years now.... They were given charter, and charters can be revoked for the good of the many instead of it serving the self interests of a concerted few. Israel needs to start getting a bit more sociable.... As does Iran.... Written by
on 3/20/2010
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Two thoughts Bill ... we had violence related to alcohol prohibition - including machine gun drive-bys in the streets of America - this violence ended when alcohol was legalized. I suspect the machine gun killings in the streets of America occurring today would end with drug legalization. 2nd - I have - since the embassy takeover in 1979 - thought we should do everything in our power to keep radical Muslims from getting nuclear weapons. It makes no sense to me to fight two conventional wars in the Middle East and not do "jack squat" about Iran building nuclear weapons?! Perhaps our friend Israel will take care of this problem for us. Written by kpf
on 3/20/2010
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KPF --- Hopefully, your comments about Ron Paul made sense to you --- as they would not make any sense to a thinking person. While he has some good political platforms, some only serve to humor the idealistic and uneducated. He could NOT do anything relative to drugs. Perhaps you weren't born --- but we did have a dastardly act called "9/11." Written by Bill Bradshaw
on 3/19/2010
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Too bad Ron Paul didn't become president; how different our country would be without the wars .. the war on drugs .. the war in Iraq ... the war in Afghanistan. Now that would be "change." Written by kpf
on 3/19/2010
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While you're at it, there are at least a dozen bills to prohibit herbal sales at retail establishments thus losing control and sales tax revenues to the internet where the LEGAL substances are easily available. At the least, stores control minors while a simple mouse click can make you any age you want to be. Paint and a myriad of other sources which teens use to get a buzz are proven dangerous and will, of course, remain legal and necesary to commerce. Prime beneficiaries of the legislation will be real drug dealers and the internet. Written by Charlie Smith
on 3/19/2010
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The main thing that separates humans from the rest of the animal kingdom is that we are the only species that hates. Some of us believe that makes us special and superior, usually it's the ones with a low self esteem and a false sense of self worth. Hitler was like that. . . . Jimi Hendrix said, "When the Power of Love exceeds the Love of Power, then there will be Peace". . . Jesus said, "Love God and Love one another"...the greatest commandment. It's in Mathew when the Pharisees and Sadducees tried to get him to say something against Caesar for which they could arrest Him (at that point in time the emperor thought that he was god himself - another real piece of work). Mathew 22:34-40. . . . A full abundant life is all about the Love baby. Check it out, it's quite liberating. Peace and Love to all! I know it is difficult sometimes, but if we can figure it out... Ehhh, who knows? Just Gotta luv that Austin Powers..... an' his Mojo... yeah baby.... But you know something folks, if we do put our petty selfish crap aside, and work on solutions to problems answers in abundance await us, and then all we have to do is make them work.... It's worth a shot I think...
Written by
on 3/19/2010
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Wuzamattuh, Mr.Crouere-- don't wanna talk about HealthCare today? No fodder from FOX either. Having a Tea Party Sunday afternoon? Written by KjunLady
on 3/19/2010
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Pink Floyd » Us And Them Lyrics…………….. Us - - - and Them - - - - And after all - we're only - ordinary men…. Me, - - - - and you - - - - God only knows- it's not what we would choose - -- to do - - - - Forward he cried - from the rear and the front rank died - - - -- - - And the General sat, - as the lines on the map - moved from side ----- to side……….. Black - - - - - and Blue - - - - - And who knows which is which - and who is who - - - -- - Up ------ and Down------- And in the end - it's only - round and round - - - - - and round - - -- - - - - Haven't you heard - it's a battle of words - the poster bearer cried - - - -- -- Listen son, - said the man with the gun - There's room for you inside……………. Down - - - - - and Out - - - - It can't be helped - but there's - a - lot of it about - - - -- - - - With, ------ without………. And who'll deny - that's what the - fightings all about - - - Get out of the way, - it's a busy day - - - - And I've got things on - my mind….. For want of the price of tea - - and a slice - - - The old man --------------- died……………. Written by
on 3/19/2010
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As we get ready for another legislative session to begin, some bills are being pre-filed by our state lawmakers. As usual, many of the bills are plainly ridiculous. Every year, some of our esteemed legislators waste time debating the merits of the state poem, flower or fruit. 
