Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Secury Communities program under attack locally

It was interesting to read that there is local opposition to the Secure Communities program. It's a contentious and messy issue, so sometimes it's easier to clarify an issue if it's reduced from a national perspective to that of an individual.

Let's say someone looks out her window and sees a family camping on her front lawn. She is likely to do one of two things. She can evict them, the kindest alternative, or she can have them arrested, the more harsh alternative. Should she do neither, other people would see the campers and set up camp, until the entire property becomes covered with trespassers.

In this analogy, undocumented (illegal) aliens can be deported, which is like being evicted. It isn't cruel, as these people go back to their prior homes, where they have roots and speak the language. The harsh alternative is throwing them in prison for being here illegally. Since, unless they are felons, they will be deported, it doesn't seem such a bad policy.

A third alternative would be for our hypothetical homeowner to allow the people to continue camping and let others do the same. Soon, the yard would be packed with campers, making it necessary for the owner to install sanitary facilities, clean water, and mitigate disputes between increasingly densely packed campers. Then there is the issue of buying insurance in case someone is hurt on the property. It rapidly becomes unmanageable.

That alternative, one advocated by people who are thinking with their hearts, rather than the organ that evolved for that purpose, would be to throw the gates open and welcome anyone who wishes to cross our boarders. That would mean not only throwing out our immigration policies, but abandoning the concepts of citizenship and national boarders, a radical social experiment few would have the stomach for, and one that would not find favor in most other countries.

Unlike electrons, we can't exist in that fuzzy area between wave and particle. We either have a policy with mechanisms in place for immigration, or we don't. Secure Communities may not be a perfect plan, but it is a plan, and any objections to it should be attached to a sensible way to amend it.

Sunday, April 17, 2011

Rewarding screw up kids

You reward your kid if he or she does something well, right?  I mean, the kid brings home a great report card, and you purchase some gizmo on his or her wish list. Perhaps if the kids graduates with straight As and gets into a major university, a good used car is in order. So far, makes sense I hope.

So, why does a kid, perhaps as young as 11 or 12, one who does no home work, gets mostly Ds and Fs, is always getting in trouble with the school and probably doesn't help around the house get rewarded with a $300 i phone/ i pod or some such?  What message are parents sending?  Being a total screw up is good, makes the old man proud? 

Then, naturally, having something fancy to play with all day reduces what little motivation the kids still has. It comes down to, "I can't multiply 4 times 5, but I've got 300 apps.

The sad thing is that the school principal is legally forbidden to slap the shit out of the dumb ass parent.

Saturday, April 16, 2011

The end of the world, again!

Planet X, 2012 (Mayan calendar) and strange, spooky thing that will cause the end of the world (as we know it). If you are bored, gullible, obsessed with the "end time" and get your kicks out of being in fear for your life, you're in luck.  YowRadio.com is apparently your one stop shopping location for all this mumbo jumbo.

A friend send me the link to this, telling me how I should check it out. I really think he believes all that, but then the sky is not the same color in his world as it is in mine.

There are a few things I find fascinating about stuff like this. One is that if something is really obscure or the product of some ancient writing or ritual, it is taken as more valid than everything modern science can offer up. Another thing is that there are always experts who write or go on the radio to promote this stuff. Often they have some quasi legitimate credentials. The most amazing thing is that if it has to do with the end of the world, people just love to believe. All the times the world was supposed to end would fill a book, and it fact it did. I read such a book, but it's gotten away from me, likely taken up by aliens in space ships or loaned to an absent minded friend.

Friday, April 15, 2011

Prison for the elderly

There are always alternative ways to solve any problem. Since there are folks in congress who want to slash or perhaps eliminate Medicare and Social Security, the elderly, unhealthy and soon to be both are concerned about their futures. Will they be left with no income or health care?

Of course not. They simply need to think outside the box and ask themselves, "Where can I get a roof over my head, three squares a day and total medical for free?"  The simple answer is prison.

So, when congress finally drives the last nail into the coffin of programs for seniors, each of these elderly and probably not terribly healthy people should spend their last government check on a small hand gun. No need to even invest in bullets, as none will be needed. Then they need to tie handkerchiefs around their faces, mostly to make it look authentic. Then walk into a bank, produce the gun and demand the money.

Now, the average senior doesn't move all that fast so before they can get a block down the street, the police will all over them. Gun and cash in hand, the old folks will just have to confess. After a short trial, an armed robbery conviction should net somewhere around 15 years, so if one is 75, that's pretty much security for life.

Naturally, the prison system isn't going to take a frail senior citizen and subject him or her to hard labor. More likely, incarceration will involve a comfortable cell, passable meals and medical care on demand. All in all, not a bad retirement plan.

Thursday, April 7, 2011

shutting down the governement

Budget talks are down to the wire, and the parties can't agree, so perhaps the government will shut down. Well, it won't completely shut down, as much as the Tea Party would like that. Essential services will be maintained, and you can find a list of those in your daily paper. Also, possible cuts being negotiated will not include essential items like keeping soldiers in Afghanistan through a second decade, along with some in Iraq. 
Well, it's nice to see our elected officials are serious.

Monday, April 4, 2011

How disappointed am I in the two major parties?

I'm so past partisan politics and the Democrats and Republicans, so I'm wondering who I'll vote for in 2012. The Democrats will put up Obama, and assuming the Republicans put up the best person they have, and then some third party puts up Charles Manson. So, who do I vote for?  Damn, Manson isn't looking all that bad any more.

Saturday, April 2, 2011

Olympics in stupidity


Well, the games are on for the gold medal in stupidity. On the eastern front, a group in Afghanistan attacked a UN office to protest a Qur’an burning by a church group in Florida. The fact that the people they attacked and killed weren't from Florida or even the US didn't matter. Disrespect the religion or the holy book, and they attack something or someone.
Not to be outdone, some of our states are protesting and even passing laws against the replacement of outmoded incandescent light bulbs, mostly 'cause the gov'mint ain't got no right to tell us what to do. So, while electricity becomes more expensive, and incandescent bulbs use the majority of this costly energy on throwing off heat, rather than light, these states are going to protect their right to waste more money on inefficiency. I guess there's a problem with updating 130 year old technology. I wonder if those people objecting to the new bulbs are also going to throw away their tractors and hook the wife up to the plow.