Not a lot of thought provokers

There was a lot of news this week, but really, nothing that sparks a lot of thought.

There were some strong stories, but nothing that really seemed too controversial.

I guess the biggest thought provoker is high-speed chases.

This week Beaumont police had at least three instances of bandits running from officers.

Two of the pursuits made the news because they ended in accidents.

Every time this happens there are those who will blame the police for the chase and not blame the lawbreaker the police are chasing.

Look, there is no way to for a cop to know why a person is running.

Did he just kill someone?

Did he just rape someone?

Everyone knows it’s a serious thing to run from a cop so if the guy chooses to run, he probably has something big to hide.

Bottom line… stop means stop!

Should I Give Up Hope?

This week I’ve been watching the “most read” stories on CNN and Fox News.

Both networks keep a tally of what people are actually reading from their web page.

Anna Smith…. Britney Spears….give me a break.

Are Americans really this bubble headed or is this a bad example from a small sample?

I’m afraid I know the answer.

America 101

The political momentum is building like a rollercoaster just topping a hill…. And as we get ready to speed down the other side …everyone closes their eyes and begins screaming.

But unlike a roller coaster, they’re closing their eyes not to hide from a scary ride, but to hide from anything that may show their candidate could possibly be wrong.

They are screaming not because they’re having fun, but because they want to drown out logic with a political slogan.

My Republican friends cannot bring themselves to say anything wrong about our presence in Iraq.

My Democrat friends cannot bring themselves to admit that any good can come out of our presence in Iraq.

Since this has been dubbed the top political issue, everyone is putting their heads in the sand and chanting political slogans to themselves.

I find it amazing listening to Democrats defend Hillary’s decision to vote for going into Iraq and Condemn all Republicans who voted for the exact same thing.

Just this week I debated a Republican who slammed Clinton for pushing through NAFTA, but defended Bush the elder for getting the whole thing started.

Come on, when is someone going to talk about an issue for the face value of the issue?

Last week while talking with a coworker I made the mistake of saying America is not a Democracy.

My coworker called me a “Republican communist.”

I’m not even sure what a Republican communist is.

Look, we are a democratic-republic.

If we were a pure democracy, then anything goes as long as the majority approves.

That would mean NO CIVIL RIGHTS.

If the majority wants to bring back Jim Crow laws, that would be OK under a democracy.

But we are ruled by laws and have a constitution.

We have restrictions on what the majority can do or cannot do.

The downside is the way the majority of us choose our leaders.

We get our view of politics from some bubble-headed starlet in her 20’s who thinks she is qualified to lecture the country on world events simply because she can shake her ass while she sings a pop tune.

We vote on leaders because they look good on camera.

We condemn our president not because of his policy, but because he mispronounces “nuclear” like Bush or cannot keep his pants on like Clinton (Bill not Hilary.)

We want media leaders.

I’ve seen photos of past presidents who were down-right goofy looking.

Would someone like Taft be able to get elected today? Hell no!

Not because of his politics, not because of his policy, but because he “ain’t gonna win any beauty contest!”

Back when the elder Bush lost his election, everyone was saying “read my lips, no new taxes.”

This was the line I heard over and over in street political discussion.

Funny thing is, when I asked people to identify what Bush was talking about, I found extremely few who actually knew.

They would usually say, “Bush raised those taxes.”

I would respond, “What taxes?”

The answer would be, you know, the ones everyone is talking about…. the ones Jay Leno made fun of….etc.

Heaven forbid I bring up the fact that congress…then a Democrat congress… raises and lowers taxes.

When I did that, I was accused of being a Republican, same way I would get accused of being a

Democrat if I condemned our deplorable policies toward the environment.
Welcome to America!

Home of slogans, intimidation and an almost total ban on real issues in the realm of public debate.

Hit List Hysteria

Today the F.B.I. announced it is taking what amounts to a no-tolerance policy toward the authors of the recent “hit lists” found on area campuses.

I know the investigators and local agents are good people.

There is no doubt in my mind the FBI folks I’ve talked to are sincerely interested in doing what’s best.

I freely admit I could not do their job.

I wonder how many inside the FBI would agree with me.

After all, they are enforcers of the law and not makers of the law.

They are also not allowed to speak out about certain things because of the nature of their job.

What gets me is what they are being asked to do.

The rules just don’t make sense in this case.

If I am a student, and I’m pissed at you, it would be better for me to walk up to you and kick you in the nuts than to write your name down on a piece of paper.

I think everyone has gone a little crazy since Columbine.

This week they found a list at LC-M high school.

The list didn’t say “Kill These People”… It was a list of names.

This is a hit list?

I guess Santa Clause should be prepared for the FBI to come knocking’ on his door soon.

The guy keeps a list of people called “The Naughty List.”

He needs to be prosecuted!

A few years back there was a kid in Vidor, Jasen Ketl.

Apparently he had a list AND a cache of weapons.

This is a different situation than kids who are pissed and take their aggression out with a pen rather than a fist or a gun.

Everyone needs to chill out!

If memory serves me correctly, just before the hurricane there was an elementary student in

Port Arthur who had a list she titled “People to kill.”

She had erased the word “kill.”

Someone found the note in her possession.

She did not post the list, it was found on her.

I seriously doubt this elementary student who wrote a note in anger actually owns an AK47.

Last year in Jefferson County I remember covering a murder trial in which the defendant got PROBATION.

How can you justify giving a child 2 years in prison for writing an angry note and give an adult who killed probation??

Is this a matter of typical American politicians reaching a reactionary answer to actual violent kids?

Cookie-cutter answers do not work in the real world.

A god of Peace

I just watched a portion of a television special on Islamic terrorists.

The show really didn’t tell me anything I have not already seen and heard concerning the matter.

In a nut shell, the terrorist sympathizers say the terrorists are people fighting against Israel the only way they know how.

What a load of crap!

An old woman strapping bombs to her body and exploding herself in the middle of a wedding has nothing to do with fighting a government.

If she were to explode herself in the midst of a group of soldiers I might see their argument.

That would not be any different than the Japanese Kamikaze of World War II.

But no, these Islamic “freedom fighters” AIM at innocent people.

I would love to believe that the majority of Muslims world-wide are against this type of idiocy, but I just don’t see it.

These people teach their children that it is good to kill innocent non-muslims.

I remember back a few years there was a man who would call into my talk show off and on.

He would try to defend Islam, and he did a good job for the most part.

But what was very noticeable was he refused to say the men who blow themselves up are following a false religion.

He would say they are not true Muslims because he says Islam is a religion of peace.

But every time I asked him to condemn them as followers of a false religion (after all, he said they were not real Muslims) he would refuse to do so.

I don’t see Jewish people strapping on bombs and prancing into Islamic weddings.

The Israeli army doesn’t plan random attacks on innocent civilians.

There is a huge difference between on firing on a public building housing a machine gun nest and simply firing on a public building

The Islamic “martyr” who targets kindergarten classes is the man to blame for putting civilians on both sides in danger.

The terrorists have created a situation where a soldier cannot tell if you are an innocent woman on a weekend stroll or an Islamic freak hiding a bomb under your burqa.

Hell is full of human waste like Mohamed Atta al-Sayed of 9-1-1 fame.

Last year the Pope made a statement about Muslims being violent.

How did Islamic radicals respond?

How did they demonstrate that they are not violent?

They bombed a few churches of course!

I know there are some good Muslims.

I have met some very giving, generous people who follow Islam.

For them, great. Live in peace.

For the terrorists and terrorist sympathizers… those who speak of a god of Peace but commit
homicide… you guys are crazy.

You are the reason Palestinians are not taken seriously when they plead their cause to the world!

I guess I need to calm down… take a break… do some light reading.

Perhaps that will allow me to chill a bit and see that most Muslims world-wide are tolerant loving people who practice the philosophy of live and let live.

Now, let’s see.

Where did I put that Salman Rushdie novel?

Smoke Signals from a Non Smoker

This week brought word from Austin that some lawmakers are hoping to begin legislation that would bring about a statewide ban on smoking in public places.

I have had a lot of conversations about this with co-workers and friends.

After hearing response after response from people telling me that this is a good thing, I’m left with the feeling that I am one of the few… if not the only… non-smoker who things the state needs to mind its own business.

Here are a few of the arguments I have heard repeated numerous times, almost as if there are some pro-smoking-ban talking points going around.

1) Second hand smoke is bad for those around you.

My response?

If you are worried about 2nd hand smoke, don’t go where people are smoking. The smoking bans for most cities, and now the proposed ban for the state, would include bars and other places you would expect to have smoking.

2) Employees are subjected to the 2nd hand smoke.

O.K., this one is pretty lame.

I have worked in so many shops with all sorts of crap in the air.

Trinity Industries had us where respirators (the cheap masks)

Why should a bar be any different?

If a waitress doesn’t want to breathe the fumes, give her a mask.

If she thinks it is embarrassing to wear a mask, tough!

It’s the employer’s job to make her job safe.

If she wants to be safe, she will wear the mask.

3) Business will go up if you get rid of the cigarettes.
So what?

The state isn’t the one investing in the business.

It’s the business owner’s ass on the line so let him/her make the decision.

There are some other arguments that come up, but these seem to be the top responses.

What’s coming next?

How about a ban on alcohol sales in bars because so many people are killed by drunk drivers.

Next, let’s ban guys talking with girls.

We all know the harm caused by sexually transmitted disease.

Now that I think about it…. Let’s get rid of those small trays of salted nuts.

Every doctor knows that too much sodium is bad for you.

So, now we’re all happy because all of the bars do not have smoking, beer or babes.

Sound ridiculous?

A few years ago I would have told you that it would be impossible for anyone to outlaw smoking in a bar.

Let me go out on a limb here.

I predict that sometime in the next five years, if not sooner, there will be laws passed that outlaw junk food.

They are already chipping away in some major cities, outlawing trans fats in cooking oil.

Next will come a calorie limit or a sodium limit or some other aspect of fast food that makes it worth while.

I guess I should blame my worldview on my childhood.

I grew up with Tom and Jerry smoking cigars and Fred Flintstone selling Winston cigarettes.

Why not, the thing to do is to blame someone else or something for everything these days.

I guess that's a different subject for a different day.