Spend Your Thanksgiving at the Airport!
By · CommentsToo many Americans today have convinced themselves that there are no such things as privileges anymore, just rights! The most recent uproar over individual freedoms and rights is the Transportation Safety Administration’s newest rulings concerning screening of passengers at our airports. The TSA has recently changed their approach to screening by introducing full body scanners and changing pat down techniques from hand pats to hand sweeps.
One airline passenger to be, by the name of John Tyner told a security screener that if he attempted to pat him down he would charge the agent with sexual molestation. This was after Mr Tyner chose to opt-out of a full body scan. The TSA denied John Tyner the privilege of boarding his aircraft, he was refunded his ticket cost and sent on his way. But wait, John Tyner was apparently prepared for this confrontation because he promptly posted a cell phone video of the event on youtube, where it almost overnight turned Mr Tyner into a celebrity.
In less than a day an organization was formed and the American people were called upon to join in a national opt-out day. People are being asked to opt-out of full body scans and pat downs on the day before Thanksgiving Day. People are being asked to purposely disrupt air travel on the busiest travel day of the year.
I’m sorry but this idea is utterly ridiculous, it is selfish and it is without merit. I agree wholeheartedly that any potential airline passenger has a right to protest the new rules. they have the right to question the rules and they have a right to free speech. However they do not have the right to decide for me whether or not I accept the new rules and choose to live by them and board my flight in a timely manner.
If you want to opt-out, by all means, feel free to do so. Opt-out by not getting in the security line. Contact your local Congressman or Senator, let your voice be heard. But don’t do it at my expense, don’t take away my privilege to board my aircraft, to be with my family and to make my own decisions.
By the way, if you do choose to disrupt air travel for millions of law abiding Americans, if you do succeed in backing up security lines and if your claim to fame is stranding people who just want to see their loved ones. I hope you’ll understand if the airport doesn’t serve you turkey and gravy.
What’s Wrong With Us?
How Fair is Fair Trade? You Might Be Surprised!
By · CommentsThe “fair trade” label used on many products is supposed to help poor merchants get more for their products by cutting out the middleman.
The whole idea of “fair trade” is to pay farmers, craftsmen and small business people in undeveloped nations a fair wage for their time and effort. In addition, a portion of the price is supposed to go toward improving living conditions and infrastructure in the small villages and communities designated as “fair trade” locales.
Unfortunately “fair trade” just doesn’t work out that way much of the time. Most people who shop “fair trade” don’t really know how much of their money makes it to the people they hope to help. Money actually does trickle down to the producer of the goods, but huge amounts of mark up still go to middlemen and “fair trade” retailers
TransFair is an organization that promotes “fair trade” practices. The fair trade organization takes on the role of the middlemen by itself. The results are the same, the mark-up exists, and the “fair trade” organization and retailer are making huge profits by tugging on the heartstrings of consumers who feel they need to help out the poor third world farmer.
Fair Trade labels don’t tell you how much is paid to farmers, but hanks to the internet that amount can be determined. TransFair itself will tell you that a cocoa farmer gets 0.03 cents of the $3.49 spent on a 3.5-ounce chocolate bar labeled
“organic fair trade” and sold at Target stores. Whole Foods, a “fair trade” grocer pays farmers about 0.26 cents for a one pound bag of sugar that it sells for $3.59.
Just because you pay a premium for a product that is labeled “fair trade” doesn’t mean the farmer, craftsmen or small business person isn’t being exploited, many times it means the retailer is just taking advantage of another uneducated consumer.
What’s Wrong With Us?
Recently, Prince William County police arrested Carlos A. Martinelly Montano, a 23 year old illegal alien. He was arrested and charged with Driving Under the Influence and Involuntary Manslaughter after the car he was driving was involved in a head on collision that claimed the life of Sister Denise Mosier, a Benedictine Nun.
The fact that Montano was driving a vehicle in this country is absolutely unbelievable; you see Montano has been in trouble before. He was actually free on bond waiting to be deported. You see, this is the third time in the last five years that Montano has been arrested for Driving Under the Influence, each time in the same county. He has been cited previously for DUI, speeding, public drunkenness, and of course for being in our country illegally. Montano was driving with a suspended license that he was able to obtain through the local Motor Vehicle Authority.
As if all of this is not enough! Mr. Montano has also been in the custody of the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency on two separate occasions. Each time he was in custody, he was released, because our representatives in Washington D.C. refuse to fund the deportation of illegal aliens in our country!
What’s Wrong With Us?
Here’s 50 Million! I’m So Sorry If I Hurt Your Feelings
By · CommentsThe Cleveland Browns just signed their first round draft pick. The #7 overall pick in the 2010 NFL draft was Joe Haden, a top rated cornerback, he recently signed a contract to play for the Browns for 5 years. He will be payed as much as 50 million dollars, including 26 million which is guaranteed and a 12 million dollar signing bonus. If you think that’s absurd, which I personally believe, wait til you hear what happened next!
Browns Defensive Coordinator Rob Ryan had to put poor Joe Haden’s mind at ease and assure him that the Browns really wanted him to play for them (50 million just wasn’t convincing enough). It seems that somewhere along the way poor Joe Haden heard that Rob Ryan really wanted to pick a different player but the Browns GM Tom Heckert and President Mike Holmgren made him take poor Joe instead.
Poor Joe, 50 million dollars and unwanted, or at least that’s what he thought until he got an apology from the coach.
Professional sports is out of control, whiny young players are demanding apologies, the commisioners are kissing behinds trying to get new labor agreements, veterans are creating fantasy teams and meanwhile the rest of the world is trying to find a job to feed their families.
What’s Wrong With Us?
“I’m Sorry” – The Two Most Misused Words in America
By · CommentsWhen I was growing up, my parents constantly reminded me of a few basic phrases. Please, Thank You, Excuse Me and I’m Sorry. Today I’m not really sure if the words please and thank you are even part of our countries everyday vocabulary. Think about it, how often in a day do you really hear those words used?
I was recently wandering the aisles of a local department store and I noticed a girl of about 9 or 10 years old who was riding in one of those huge shopping carts that kind of resembles a carnival ride. The cart was being pushed by a woman who was no doubt a Grandma and she was struggling. Just about the time we met each other going opposite directions; the young girl spotted something of interest and bolted from the cart, she ran into me, bounced off and continued on her way. Grandma admonished the girl to apologize and the young lady raised a hand, waved dismissively and without turning her head, said “Sorry”
Now, think about the phrase “I’m Sorry”, or just the word “Sorry”. Listen closely while you go through your day and see how often you here them spoken, and then ask yourself if you think they were spoken with any sincerity at all.
The words “I’m Sorry” are often muttered by someone who might bump into you in the grocery store, someone who is trying to walk and text at the same time, someone who just flat out is unaware of anyone in the world other than themselves. In today’s society, “Rude is the Rule”, it starts with adults and the example is picked up by children, and so it goes. The word “Sorry” is much easier to mutter, than the simple action of common courtesy is to execute, therefore “Sorry” is what is repeated all too often.
Don’t take my word for it, listen yourself, and I truly hope that someone can tell me I’m wrong.
What’s Wrong With Us?
Politicians Are a Lot Like Diapers
By · Comments“Politicians are a lot like diapers – they should be changed frequently and for the same reason”
Let’s look at a recent Cleveland Ohio event that had Governor Ted Strickland, US Senator Sherrod Brown and US Representative Dennis Kucinich all slapping each other on the back and lauding their victory in keeping jobs in Ohio and Cleveland.
What were the jobs? These were factory jobs at the only site in the US that produces suits for Hugo Boss. The suits sell for around $800 dollars each, and Hugo Boss wanted to move production out of the US where they could get cheaper labor, maybe Bangladesh where the average factory worker makes $43 a MONTH! In order to keep the jobs here in the US, the workers had to agree to cut their own wages from an average of $13 an hour to $10 an hour. Average salary after the jobs were saved is $20,800 per year. That’s only $1250 less than the 2009 federal poverty level for a family of 4, and for this we get State and Federal politicians congratulating each other.
Instead of slapping each other on the back, maybe these guys ought to get back to Washington and tell Hugo Boss that if they want to move production out of the US, that’s fine, but now if you want to sell suits in the US there will be a tariff of $250 per suit imported into our country.
We have to stop exporting everything we do to other countries and foreign companies that really don’t like us anyway!
What’s Wrong With Us?
Sound Bytes are Sensational, But are they Believable?
By · CommentsSound bytes are usually sensational, rarely believable, seldom news worthy, yet they seem to shape our daily world!
Let’s look at the recentforced resignation of Shirley Sherrod on July 19, 2010. This resignation came after conservative blogger Andrew Breitbart posted video and sound bytes of Sherrod’s address at a March 2010 NAACP event on his website. Within 24 hours of this posting of out of context sound bytes, the NAACP had condemned Sherrod, the Obama White House had called for her resignation and our country was sent into another racially fueled controversy over nothing more than Sound Bytes!
Mr. Breitbart chose just the right bytes from Ms Sherrod’s speech to have the exact impact that he wanted them to have. He used sound bytes to create an air of sensationalism, he used sound bytes to promote himself and his website and he brought undeserved criticism to the conservative movement in this country.
What’s Wrong With Us?
We Don’t Need No Stinkin Radar!
By · CommentsThat’s right folks, Ohio State Troopers and even local police in the Great State of Ohio don’t need to clock your speed with a radar device in order to issue you a traffic citation. The Ohio State Supreme Court recently ruled that police officers who have been properly trained in estimating the speed of an automobile may issue the citation with nothing other than an educated guess on the actual speed of the vehicle being ticketed.
Please, please, please explain to me how in the world this makes any sense at all. This ruling is sure to spark controversy and create another mess that the taxpayers will no doubt get a bill for. That’s right, tell me that this isn’t a prime opportunity for an outcry of speed trapping, racial profiling or just plain bad police work. This ruling is going to add to the already overcrowded local court dockets, it’s going to drag police officers off the street and into courtrooms to sit and wait to testify, it’s going to be challenged over and over, and my guess is that each ticket issued in this manner will end up costing more to defend than it could ever cost the alleged speeder.
The people of the Great State of Ohio have already picked up the tab for over 2 years of legal wrangling on this case. The offender was originally ticketed for doing 82 in a 60 mph zone. That ticket was thrown out because the issuing officer couldn’t prove he was certified to operate the radar equipment. Then the officer was allowed to estimate the speed of the vehicle and he estimated the speed at 70 mph, what? I thought the radar said 82, now we are at 70 and either the officer or the radar is really wrong. I guess it really doesn’t matter, does it?
What’s Wrong With Us?