Should bats be offended?

"My party has gone bat-shit crazy!"

At least SC Senator Lindsey Graham is being honest.   He went on to say that if Tea Party spark plug Ted Cruz was murdered on the floor of the Senate, and the trial was in the Senate, no one would be convicted. *and he should know!*

Thanks Tea Party.  Because of you, the Republican Party has ceased to be a respected body of conservative thought, and has instead become a body of radical obstructionists.  They are no more capable of governing than Joe McCarthy was back in the 1950's.  Even those reasonable Republicans left in Congress are afraid to speak up against these extremists....except apparently Lindsey Graham.

It's ironic to me to watch Tea Party stalwarts pledge such strong allegiance to the Constitution, then eschew compromise.  It's "my way or the highway" they proudly proclaim.  They have no compunction about shutting down the government, even willing (so they say) to suspend retirees and disabled veterans Social Security and disability checks in order to leverage their coercion.  How shameful!

Do they not realize that the Constitution is itself a compromise?   When the populous states wanted representation based on population, and the less populous states wanted equal representation, they compromised....our Founding Fathers agreed to two houses of congress.  The House of Representatives is weighted in favor of more populous states, and the Senate allows for two Senators per state.  

Such pragmatism has worked for us for 227 years, but the Tea Party seems to think they know better.  Call me skeptical.  HIGHLY skeptical!

Those of you who live in Super Tuesday states, don't forget to vote tomorrow.

S

You know what really chaps my hide?

Are you a flasher?  Err....let me re-phrase that.  When you see a police radar trap, do you flash your headlights at oncoming cars to warn them to slow down?  I do.  

Speed traps really chap my hide.  To think that we have crime in the streets and are perpetually short of police (?), yet they can spare dozens of cops to hide in obscure places and blindside drivers is ridiculous.

I'm not saying it's OK to drive recklessly, just that ALL cops should keep an eye out for dangerous drivers and pull them over as needed, yet spend the bulk of their time on patrol looking for the REAL bad guys.

Freedom of speech?

Here's where I'm going:  There is a growing trend for citizens who "obstruct justice" (the citation they're given if they flash or put out signs to warn others) to claim flashing is protected by the Constitution as "freedom of speech".  In fact, Florida, Utah, and Tennessee have made citing flashers illegal, and others who have pleaded "freedom of speech" in court elsewhere often have their tickets dismissed.  

The city's concern is someone will take up the cause as a class-action lawsuit, and that (might) result in cities having to go back and reimburse flashers who were previously convicted and fined.

It seems to me flashers are actually HELPING the police.  If the purpose of speed traps is to get people to slow down, and flashing others to get them to slow down accomplishes the same thing, then we're helping, right?....only without having to take the time to write millions of dollars worth of those pesky 'ol tickets.

But....could it be it's NOT so much about safety, but about THE MONEY?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The logic here escapes me.

There has been widespread civil unrest and sporadic violence across the country ever since George Zimmerman was found "not guilty" of murdering Trayvon Martin last weekend.  I understand why some would be upset.  I can see why they would write letters to their congressman, their newspaper, attend rallies, sign petitions, etc.

What I don't understand is the violence.  "Yeah....I'm pissed.  I'm gonna burn up a few cars, bust out a bunch of windows, and if I can find me a nice 48" flat screen, I'm gonna take it.  I'll steal it 'for Trayvon'.  JUSTICE!"

And even sillier, remember the major violence in past years when rioters burned up entire sections of town?  "OK, now I'm REALLY pissed!  I'm gonna burn up MY OWN NEIGHBORHOOD.  My grocery store, my barbershop, my kid's school, where I work....everything.  THAT'LL SHOW 'EM!  Umm....hey....that's MY house!"  DUH!

Idiots.

S

"Call me right now and get what you DESERVE!"

That was the pitch of the law firm spokesman on TV offering to sue whoever cut me off on I-35 so I can get "what I deserve".  The counselors at Begg, Barrow, and Steele will, for a not-so-small fee, hold up my foe by his ankles and shake out his pockets because, you know, I deserve satisfaction...and all his money.  And next came a home improvement store ad offering high-end fixtures at cheap prices so I can have the luxury lifestyle I deserve at a price I can afford.  WooHoo!


So what exactly do I deserve?  I'm hoping it's a Maserati or maybe a European vacation, but I've read the Magna Carta...er....Constitution (or was it Publisher's Clearing House?) and all it said I deserved was "Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness".  It said I could pursue a Maserati.  It didn't say I was going to catch it.  I think that's deceptive advertising.  I'm calling Begg, Barrow, and Steele RIGHT NOW!  


Ha!  Take that John Hancock.  ;)


S

The Silver Lining

So the crooks in Washington are locked in a Death Battle, each side wanting to "fix" things on the backs of someone else.  One party wants to preserve their special interest's privileged position while the other party is unwilling to give on programs their special interests "depend on".  And the clock ticks toward midnight.  The experts predict "catastrophe". 


Last night on the news they did people-on-the-street interviews, and coast-to-coast the attitude was disgust with Washington.


Do I dare hope for a 10-million-man march on Washington, and every state capital, and every party headquarter, and every congressional and senatorial office in every district?  Marchers with torches in their hands and snarls on their faces, demanding all the crooks abdicate office before things turn nasty.  Marchers demanding a new Constitutional Convention to update our beloved Founding Father's brilliant document that could never have foreseen how the subsequent centuries would play out.   Marchers wanting to return sanity to government and remove all the graft and greed that pervades it today.  


Do I dare hope?  *To be continued*


S