|
|
| www.1001TopWords.com |
|
|
The Glorious Acts of Our Legislature
I always have to remember to take a deep breath when examining the laws being proposed by our grand Legislature. I detest most of the new legislation on the table, but have to forgive our representatives in the House and Senate for it. After all, writing laws is what a Legislature does, and if they don't write enough laws, it can begin to look like they've been loafing. Call me strange, but I rather prefer a Legislature that goofs off and under produces new laws. I'm convinced we have enough of them already, and agree with Mark Twain, who famously said that no man's life, liberty, or property is safe while the Legislature is in session. Mainly, that is because no lawmaker wants to look like a slacker, especially so soon after an election. It's bad form. As a result, we get some hideous proposals that I would chalk up as an effort to hide behind some broad good intention while looking meaningful, or at least busy. House Bill 1508 is a textbook case as one such proposal. Representative Vanessa Summers, an Indianapolis Democrat, has introduced legislation that would prohibit the use of cell phones, making exceptions for hands-free devices and for emergency use. The proposed fine for violations of the law would be up to $25. The intent is to make our streets a little less hazardous. We have all groused at the idiot guilty of driving while in conversation that cut us off or made us miss a light, and we have cursed the driver and his cell phone. Summers' proposal takes its cue from similar laws passed in New York and the District of Columbia. As everyone knows, these cities now have the safest streets in the world. This law is rife with problems, from practical application to the higher concerns of individual liberty. I know four friends, right off the top of my head, who would gladly pay up to $25, as a cost of doing business. They think this highly of each and every one of their calls. $25 is no kind of deterrent for these people. What is emergency use? I define emergency use of a cell phone as a frantic call to a friend because I suddenly had two tickets offered to me for a Colts' playoff game, and I have to accept within five minutes, or the tickets will be passed on to a co-worker. My wife defines it as having found a deal on furniture, and she's on her way home so I can look at fabric swatches. I'm betting that this is not what the Representative has in mind. Some revisions will be in order. But why just cell phones? If the real intent of the law is to eliminate distractions from our roadways, why not ban them all? Summers could justifiably expand the proposal to include a ban on smoking in the car, adjusting the radio or inserting a Britney Spears CD, eating fast food, scolding the rug rats in the backseat, talking with your spouse, shaving or applying makeup, doing the crossword puzzle, using a laptop computer, calling for on-screen directions to Starbucks, and rehearsing your excuse that explains your tardiness to the boss. Could we really ban Britney Spears CDs? I digress. Before the law is done with revisions, no common person will be able to read and understand it, and mainly, drivers will just continue to take their chances. This begs the significant philosophical question: Why bother? Isn't it sufficient that citations can already be issued if the use of a cell phone is the cause of an accident? Why pile on? No harm, no foul: If the use of a cell phone isn't endangering anyone in the moment, why penalize for the harm that was not caused? Ah, the law is to be a deterrent, to eliminate the possibility of harm. But won't it also become more than that? How much of a stretch is it to envision police pulling over drivers who endanger nobody on a deserted road at 11pm, but who are guilty of making a cell call, just so the officer can meet his monthly quota? Isn't that a harm all its own? Say, if the police pull a driver over to the side of the road, isn't that the sort of distraction that could cause an accident? It should be banned! Let's hope this Bill dies in committee. If it passes, Summers will run for re-election in 2006 on the basis of having produced this wonderful law? and of having been suitably busy. Mike Kole is chair of the Libertarian Party of Hamilton County (Noblesville) and candidate for Secretary of State (2006). Libertarian Writers' Bureau http://www.writersbureau.org
|
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Osama bin Laden Needs a Pay Raise Osama bin Laden probably needs to get a pay raise, as he has not sent in any new videos lately to scare us via Al Jezerz TV. Where oh where has our little dog gone? We need OBL to keep us in fear. Without a really evil type protagonist it makes everyone look really stupid in all these Middle Eastern conflicts? We have tried to promote other bad guys to the scene, various Cleric Lunatics who are in sighting Muslim Radical Jihadists to the battle. But it is not working. Everyone is asking where Osama bin Laden really is. Hiding in a cave sounded really funny and cool, but obviously that was bogus? Quality of Life and Freedom, Unilateral Discussion City Governments is their quest for; "quality of life" often lose sight of the revenue stream which derives the money to run their city. Of course this trend has been going on a very long time. People should remember that government exists because the people allow it to exist and it should also remember that you can always start throwing tea in the water when your government fails you. Cloning; The Possibilities and Advantages of Thought Swapping We can all see the issues involved in the cloning debate, which go much deeper than religion; the real debate has to do with evolutions process of a self-replicating organic machine, human beings, and the future of science and the species. There will be power shifts in economic status amongst ruling elite, political families, etc along with issues of entanglement, connected brains and communication abilities in the future. Discussing issues with individuals or entire groups of clones will be done with telepathic thought transfer, which will definitely be beneficial to the group dynamics and forward progression. Socialist Public Schools In America Many parents might think it a bit farfetched to compare our public schools to schools in socialist or communist countries. However, if we look closer, we will see striking similarities between the two systems. 911 Could Have Been Prevented, Was It Bush?s Fault? September 11, 2001 could have been prevented. We could have stopped that International Terrorist Act had we just employed a few simple tools. If we would have simply kept our eyes and ears open and had a plan in place. Was it Bush's fault? No, it was America's fault. It is our fault for thinking every thing was fine and that the CIA and FBI could protect us from any one of a hundred different types of attacks. International Terrorists have so many ways to attack us. The True Power of Terrorism Those of us hundreds of miles from ground zero sat glued to our television sets with horror and disbelief as two of the tallest buildings in the world slowly disintegrated in a violence of dust and death. Anarchy: Law, Order, and Authority [Author's Note: Another essay that I wrote on notebook paper during boring school hours. This wonderful little piece was starting in boring English class on Tuesday, November 26, 2002, and continued into Art class. It was finished in school on Tuesday, December 2, 2002, when I finished it in English class. I worked on it in no other class, and finished it within a few classes. Hooray for high school.] Advances in Nuclear Energy; Safe, Clean and Reliable The newest pebble reactors are easy to build and manage and have extremely high out put considering their small size, perfect for islands set down wind from populations. Unfortunately the Three-mile Island and Chernople incident make populations feel uncomfortable with Nuclear. Therefore the increased regulations have made the cost of construction almost not worth it. The ROI of a nuclear power plant could take as long 150 years. This is so unfortunate seeing how great Nuclear power is and how clean it can be when handled correctly. For this reason in the past three decades no new permits have been granted and we continue to have a large percentage of our power coming from fossil fuels which is a problem for air quality and long term it has many issues such as acid rain. Netanyahu: Too Late For A Fight-back? The resignation from cabinet yesterday, Sunday, by the Israeli minister of Finance is a good signal by the extreme right-wing, within the ruling Likud Party to the world that a group exists that would not go to sleep, much less on the same bed with terrorism. The Fabric of Economic Trust Economy is called the dismal science because it pretends to be one, disguising its uncertainties and shifting fashions with mathematical formulae. Economy describes the aggregate behaviour of humans and, in this restricted sense, it is a branch of psychology. Liberal Agenda and Communism; Lance Rants If we go hog wild towards the liberal agenda where everything is equal and everything is fair and it does not matter if you produce or not or have any productivity all you're still entitled the same amount of potatoes, then you will find every American in line for said potatoes. Think of this unemployment lines of 2000 as our inability to live within reality as we listen to podium pushers promise us the world of unattainable dreams, of an unreachable utopia for the impossible price of FREE? Oh really since when? Quite frankly it cannot exist without the commitment, integrity and teamwork that built this country in the first place. Freedom is not free, it did not just pop up one day and say HELLO, HERE I AM, HOPE YOU LIKE IT. OPECs Swan Song? Indonesia's Energy Minister, Purnomo Yusgiantoro, is unhappy with the modest production cut, from June 1, of 2 million barrels per day, adopted by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries last week. He intends to demand further reductions at the June 11 get-together in Qatar. Newspaper Reporters Tread Lightly on Compulsive Gambling Addiction Websites designed to help people overcome their gambling addictions have recently been contacted by television associate producers and reporters in an effort to obtain information about individuals who have been affected by compulsive gambling addictions. In most cases, they are looking for people to come forward and share how their lives have been impacted by local gambling establishments. In the majority of these cases, people feel fear of embarrassment from family and friends and therefore, are not willing to discuss how their lives were affected. Jobs and the Flow of Fuel We see today a fierce unspoken competition between trucks and trains. It is well known in those industries and with those who ship the products, components, parts, natural resources, produce and event he fuel itself. After all the fuel competes for the cheapest mode of delivery as well. Whether it is a pipeline, rail car, tanker truck, ship, barge, etc. In the case of military, you can add in all the squadrons of flying gas stations too. The price of fuel can be the savior to an industry which is hammered by over seas competition or is trying to find a little more room to cut costs to appease a persnickety union with greater health care costs, safer working conditions (at least they often claim that), less working hours, more paid vacation time, bonuses, higher pay, etc. The money has to come from somewhere and the price of fuel and the supply will often determine the viability of a large corporation. Those companies, which use lots of fuel are very much affected by these trends. For instance; Airlines, Trucking Companies, Railroads, Manufacturing Companies, and Service Companies of every shape and size. When these companies pay more for fuel those prices are figured into the price to the customer. When such companies have long term contracts to a customer and the price moves upward to quickly then these companies have to eat that cost. This causes huge operational losses and poor quarterly earnings, which effects their market valuations due to hammering by the gambling casino stock markets when they report these losses. This in turn leads to massive lay offs. Which is not a good thing. Thinking on Energy Regarding the de-regulation of energy, this is not such a bad idea really; even the commoditizing of energy is not such a bad idea. This can be done correctly and can assist businesses in judging costs and allow entrepreneurs to understand their costs and turn variable costs into fixed costs meaning more investment in R and D, co-generation, and larger capital expenditures for manufacturing, knowing things will be okay. We see a huge problem with factories, which switched to Natural Gas to save the environment and get some tax breaks and this winter may be put out of business due to the rising costs during the coming shortage of Natural Gas. Conspiracy Theory; Kill Off the Old Folks Recently I met a man in a coffee shop, a conspiracy theorist, which had me cornered and began to get into a way-out conspiracy theory. As I listened to this crazy idea, he complained about all the usual folks. The Skull and Bones, Masonic Faith, Catholic Church, Trilateral Commission, etc., explaining they were all in this together along with the Globalists trying to develop a one-world currency, nation, people, etc. It appears when ever people do not understand something or some group they label them part of the conspiracy. Why the United States just doesnt get the United Nations For years I have been amazed as I've listened to people here in the United States demonstrate their complete ignorance of the purpose and tremendous value of the United Nations, even to the point of our country not paying dues to the organization. Ambassador to the United Nations has often been viewed as a second-class or B-level diplomatic job and with the current Presidential perspective, the UN has become a troublesome entity and the appointment of an Ambassador a hassle. John Bolton, denied the appointment, knows what I'm talking about here. Illegal Aliens and Homeland Security; Rants from Lance 2003 Is it just me or are you concerned that illegal aliens were working on a nuclear submarine in San Diego? Is it just me or are you upset that 81,000 people come over the border in Laredo TX every day to shop and from there can go nearly anywhere if they time their travel correctly? Is it just me or are you concerned that we only have our borders secured in one direction, coming into the country? Is it just me or are you concerned about the two houses with tunnels from Mexico to the US with handrails and lighting and cement sides, roof and floor that was just found, but had been there for two decades? At least it was ADA Compliant? Conservation of Water in Big Cities Water Conservation in larger cities is less of an issue publicly than in smaller cities, yet in reality it is more important in larger cities to conserve to allow smaller cities to exist. This is ironic, however truth because a small city that saves a lot is a mere drop in the bucket to the amount of water a big city can save when each person saves only a small amount, because those little amounts are multiplied by the masses into true water savings. The Public Is Enemy Number One There is something egregiously wrong about a government that will not listen to its people especially in, dare I say it, a democracy.
|
| © Athifea Distribution LLC - 2013 |
