Letter to a Congressman... your views | FerrariChat

Letter to a Congressman... your views

Discussion in 'Other Off Topic Forum' started by randall, Nov 6, 2003.

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  1. randall

    randall Formula 3

    Nov 2, 2003
    1,352
    Portsmouth, VA
    Full Name:
    Randall
    This is the letter a friend of mine wrote and is sending out. I was just curious what you all think about his views, the good, the bad and drawbacks to any ideas.

    Dear Sir or Madam:

    My name is ****** and I am a member of the armed forces stationed in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. I have never written a letter to readers of such stature as you and your colleagues before but as a citizen, taxpayer, and voter, I have recently become compelled to do so. In a nutshell, the topics I wish to address are the domestic issues of welfare, drugs/drug addiction, and the cost (both monetary and non-monetary) associated with them. My girlfriend of two years was on welfare when I met her. Her three children all have and/or still do smoke methamphetamines. I’ve been to the housing project where she lived, witnessed the court hearings, adult correctional facilities, youth correctional facilities, drug treatment programs, and all the other programs and facilities that exist to deal with these problems. As person who was raised in a middle class, rural farming community in western Kentucky, and therefore have no prior experience in dealing with issues such as these, I feel I can offer a fresh perspective. The bottom line is this: the system as it exists now does not work. In the next few paragraphs, I’d like to point out some of the major things I have seen and (like any good list of complaints) offer what I think are viable solutions.

    The current system encourages persons on welfare, food stamps, low-income housing, etc. (hereafter I’ll refer to these programs wholly or in part as ‘benefits’) to NOT work. Any increase in a person’s income (i.e., getting a job) will result in a reduction in their benefits. Also, for single mothers, the cost of daycare would equal or exceed the income gained. So, the decision becomes either stay at home, do nothing and receive (for example) $800/month or go get a job and receive $350/month. The basis for this process is the assumption that people have a real desire to not receive benefits and are receiving benefits only because they’re ‘down on their luck’, or ‘it’s just until I get back on my feet’. This is not the case. Whole generations of people in my girlfriend’s housing project have grown up to fully believe that the mailman is the family’s provider and they’re passing that way of life to their children. Compounding matters is that benefits also go up upon having more children. We have created a veritable breeding ground of people who consume massive amounts of the system’s resources but don’t put any positive contributions (taxes, children with good work ethic) back in. This captive audience of low-income people with expansive amounts of free time and desires to have the material things of their favorite music artists creates an ideal environment for the illegal drug business. Drug dealers operate with relative impunity due to lack of law enforcement presence and the attitude (reality) that even if they are caught, they’ll only get probation or a similar slap on the wrist. Something has to change.

    PROBLEM 1: Persons receiving benefits are discouraged from working for fear of losing benefits or because they have no options for childcare.

    POTENTIAL SOLUTION: Once a person/family becomes eligible for benefits, they will receive a set amount of benefits in exchange for a 40 hour work week at the housing project by every able bodied family member. The work will be physical in nature and therefore not something a person would desire to do indefinitely. The housing project shall have an on-site daycare facility for those with small children. For every verifiable hour of outside employment or attempts to gain outside employment (i.e., job interviews), that person is excused from one hour of project employment. This plan does several things: 1) Offers incentive to find legitimate, taxpaying employment vice penalizing the effort. 2) Provides childcare for single parents so they can work during the day. 3) Doesn’t allow receivers of benefits to be idle all day therefore limiting opportunities to find trouble to get into. 4) Provides return on the government’s investment by having general property maintenance done at no extra cost vice having to contract it out. 5) Most importantly, eliminates the mindset that a person can do nothing and just wait for that check on the 1st and 15th. Children will grow up seeing their caretaker get up and go to work everyday to provide for the family vice marking off days on the calendar.

    PROBLEM 2: The entity of a housing project is inherently conducive to illegal drug activity.

    POTENTIAL SOLUTION: We have to start treating the housing project for what it is: a government installation. Just like those living on a military base, the residents need to be held accountable for what happens in their assigned unit. This includes random inspections and inquiries by the staff. Dealing drugs is done for one purpose: to make money. The kind of money and associated material items that will stand out in a housing project. If a $35,000 SUV shows up in the parking lot of a housing project or the Sears delivery truck drops off a 57” HD television (as I’ve seen in my girlfriend’s former project), someone should be looking into that. Every time I see or think about things like that, it just makes me sick because I see my pay stub at the end of the month and see my tax dollars going away to subsidize this. Normally, I’m completely against the government intruding into the lives of its citizens. However, these people have shown an inability and/or unwillingness to manage their lives on their own and are living 100% at the expense of the American taxpayer. I understand that in some cases, there may exist legitimate, temporary reasons, but this just offers even more incentive to pull themselves out of this situation. Bottom line: if you want the government’s benefits, you’re going to put up with the government’s rules. (Strangely familiar to my situation in the military.)

    PROBLEM 3: Lax enforcement of lax laws offers ineffective deterrent for those thinking about of drug activity.

    POTENTIAL SOLUTION: We have to create a viable deterrent to those who are thinking about dealing drugs. My suggestion is that if you’re caught with above a certain amount of drugs (an amount large enough to not be for personal use), that’s 10 years in a federal penitentiary. Period. No parole, no three strikes, nothing. Also, the grounds of the project shall be subject to more strict laws similar to school grounds. If you’re convicted of a drug-related offense on the grounds, the punishment shall be at least a factor of two greater. These people are poisoning our population and with current levels of punishment and enforcement, it’s actually worth the risk in the minds of some people. Also, our jails need to lose the Club Med environment and get back to something everyone would consider a deterrent. When the average 12 year old kid sees his drug dealing role model with the ‘cool’ car and the nice necklace get hauled off and not come back, and then hears about the 10 years of hell waiting for him, maybe he’ll think twice about getting involved. If he doesn’t get the message, then he can be the example for that next 12 year old. In the early stages, arrest rates and prison population levels will skyrocket while people figure out that there’s ‘a new sheriff in town’ but in the long run, our nation will be better off by far. If the cost of that is building more prisons to house those who want to poison others for their own financial gain, then so be it.

    In conclusion/summary, I feel it is time to shift the paradigm with respect to how we deal with our country’s domestic problems. Make it real simple. You don’t work=you don’t eat on the government’s expense. You want to sell drugs=you’ll spend 10 years in a concrete box. You want to sit on your butt and do nothing while the government takes care of your needs? Buy a passport, because it’s not happening in this country anymore. I am sick and tired of seeing my tax dollars effectively thrown into the trash. In my personal investments, I would not invest in something I know will never return any dividends. I’m not willing to sit idly by and watch as my financial contribution as a citizen is invested in exactly that manner.
     
  2. maranelloman

    maranelloman Guest

    I can't disagree with the ideas in the letter...but it is too long.

    Remember, the average Member of Congress receives thousands of communications form constituents & special interest groups DAILY. The longer & more detail-filled, the more likely to go to a low-rent staffer, who will respond with a form letter.

    Keep it brief, to the point, and in the format of: Tell 'em what you're gonna tell 'em; Tell 'em; and Tell 'em what you just told 'em.
     
  3. ART360

    ART360 Guest

    The welfare reform bill, passed under Clinton, makes many of the corrections needed, with a strict time limit on the amount of welfare someone can receive for their entire life span.

    The people collection welfare are usually young, female with young children. The issue is: how do you get the fathers of those kids to pay for them. The answer is that you probably don't, since a very high percentage of them are in prison, or otherwise occuppied.

    The better solution, but we've never adeqately funded it: is that we support them, education them, and send them off into the working world, prepared to work, and after that its their problem. In every place its been tried, with adequate funding, a great majority of the people get off welfare, earn a living, and don't go back.

    As to the issue regarding drugs, it's stupid to criminialize that behavior. It drives up the price of drugs, and we end up with people in jail for trying to get high. Not a good allocation of resources, in my humble opion.

    Art
     
  4. Shadow DN8

    Shadow DN8 Rookie

    Nov 4, 2003
    23
    Yup ! Think about how many times you've passed over (or just skimmed) a forum post just because it was real long.
     
  5. randall

    randall Formula 3

    Nov 2, 2003
    1,352
    Portsmouth, VA
    Full Name:
    Randall
    Art,
    Are you pro legalization of everything? Hawaii has the biggest problem with meth use in the country, and something needs to be done to these people. Even if it was legalized you'd still have all the idiot trash having kids that are drug addicted. I have pretty liberal views toward drugs, but I'm sick of the meth users here. If it was up to me the state would lace a bunch of meth with cyanide and put it on the streets. Half the crime committed in the state is committed by people on meth, so by eliminating them crime would drop significantly. Rehab and education clearly doesn't work, so there has to be a new way to approach the problem.

    As far as putting too many people in prison, that wouldn't be a problem if prisons were turned into labor camps.
     
  6. ryalex

    ryalex Two Time F1 World Champ
    Consultant Owner

    Aug 6, 2003
    24,957
    Las Vegas, NV
    Full Name:
    Ryan Alexander
    Heck, I didn't even get through the original post, either!
     
  7. Ontogenetik

    Ontogenetik Karting

    Nov 2, 2003
    149
    Randall,

    there are as many fools in the forest as there are wise men at the court.

    http://www.counterpunch.org/whitman01272003.html




    >My girlfriend of two years was on welfare when I met her.
    >Her three children all have and/or still do smoke methamphetamines.
    ...
    >I feel I can offer a fresh perspective.

    "The bottom line is this:
    Bottom line:
    Bottom line:
    that’s 10 years in a federal penitentiary. (no FREEDOM but FREE
    Period.
    No parole, no three strikes, nothing."


    (copious fresh tears)

    "Now I see the secret of the making of the best persons"
    "Women are meant to be loved, not to be understood."




    >I was just curious what you all think about his views, the good, the bad and drawbacks to any ideas.


    Jean Cocteau : Testament of Orpheus

    "What is your sentence?"
    "To judge others."
     
  8. randall

    randall Formula 3

    Nov 2, 2003
    1,352
    Portsmouth, VA
    Full Name:
    Randall
    Your reply makes no sense to me. Have you been smoking crack? Can you come up with a better REALISTIC solution for drug problems in america that promote crime and violence?
     
  9. ART360

    ART360 Guest

    The issue regarding drugs is this: the problem is demand not supply. If people want this stuff, you can't keep them from using it. Addiction usually starts when they're young, and its about trying something. Making their use illegal does nothing but fill up the prisons with people who shouldn't be in prison.

    On the other hand, we have too many violent criminals in our society who should be locked up, but aren't because of the sentencing rules for drug use. The utter lack of have any priorities amazes me. California spends more on its prison system (60% are in for drug use only) than it does on its schools, go figure.

    Too many people make money when we criminalize drug useage.

    Art
     
  10. Ontogenetik

    Ontogenetik Karting

    Nov 2, 2003
    149
    randall

    >Your reply makes no sense to me. Have you been smoking crack?

    My point precisely.


    >Can you come up with a better REALISTIC solution for drug problems
    >in america that promote crime and violence?

    It was suggested you and your friend frequent a very real PUBLIC library.
     
  11. randall

    randall Formula 3

    Nov 2, 2003
    1,352
    Portsmouth, VA
    Full Name:
    Randall
    Art,
    He wasn't for locking up users, but rather dealers. People in possesion of 10 grams of meth or more. I don't think that the users should be thrown in jail, unless they're committing crimes against others. But there is no way this country will legalize everything, especially when there's so much fear over pot still. Rehab and legalization won't cure all the problems associated with drugs; severe punishments must also be applied to the criminal behaviors associated with drug use.

    Onto,
    Thanks for supplying nothing to the topic. If you're commenting that we shouldn't judge others; I could agree if I didn't have to put up with their worthless asses. I shouldn't have to pay for others, and I shouldn't have to worry about meth addict trash trying to steal from me.
     
  12. Ontogenetik

    Ontogenetik Karting

    Nov 2, 2003
    149
    Dear Randall, assuming the problem is the topic ...

    Drug use is not the problem, rather the symptom of the problem.
    Addressing the symptoms mimics the charlatans reciting the War on Drugs proclamation. If cockroaches are present in one's house, one may care to address the problem, not the cockroaches.

    Regarding your friend's observations ...
    the realization should have been that his gov
    is not concerned with the well being of the house.

    If you are in a particularly festive mood, I would also consider what
    Kafka told us in the Metamorphosis ... some cockroaches are lovely
    human beings, they just need compassion, a fact corroborated by your friend's story , the prologue in particular.

    Regards
     
  13. randall

    randall Formula 3

    Nov 2, 2003
    1,352
    Portsmouth, VA
    Full Name:
    Randall
    You never responded about the age/job question.

    I notice some foolish americans believe love can solve all problems. Can you name a country that that works in? I bet you can't. If not, do you think you can name a country that harsh punishments work in? Do a little research and you'll find a few.

    But comparing junkies to cockroaches seems pretty accurate to me, and I think a lot of the criminal ones need to be treated as such.

    Not sure what part of his story makes you think compassion is doing anyone good. The mother is compassionate toward her kids, they in turn use her and cost her thousands of dollars. The penal system is compassionate toward them also, which keeps the kids on the streets and out of jail. The welfare system is compassionate toward her daughter, which supplies her money to continue buying meth.

    Using rehab and compassion to solve the problems associated with drugs (namely crimes against others) is like using a tiny brush to paint a house. You'll make minimal progress, but nothing significant.
     
  14. randall

    randall Formula 3

    Nov 2, 2003
    1,352
    Portsmouth, VA
    Full Name:
    Randall
    BTW, if cockroaches are in my house, I would kill them. Then I'd poison for any others that may be around and then clean with bleach to ensure they don't come back. And if that's how you think we should solve the problems of drug abusing criminals, I'm all for it.
     
  15. Slim

    Slim Formula 3

    Oct 11, 2001
    1,735
    Pacifica, CA, USA
    Full Name:
    richard
    Many of the points mentioned in regard to welfare are no longer applicable. Welfare now has a 5year limit (a total of 5 years in a lifetime). That may be too long, but at least it means people won't be on it for "generations" as mentioned. Anyone receiving "cash aid" must register for something called "welfare to work". This means you either have to work or be in a training program to receive benefits. I don't know exactly how all this stuff works but I think it's a step in the right direction at least.

    -Slim
    (formerly dino2400)
     
  16. MarkPDX

    MarkPDX F1 World Champ
    Lifetime Rossa

    Apr 21, 2003
    15,111
    Gulf Coast
    Reminds me of a trick the East German Stasi used quite a few years ago. They contaminated money with Strontium-90 so they could easily follow it's flow through some group they were after. It was later discovered that the radiation was sufficient to cause sterility.

    I don't think the US should start learning dirty tricks from socialist tyrants but it would certainly have an interesting impact on the drug trade.
     
  17. Ontogenetik

    Ontogenetik Karting

    Nov 2, 2003
    149
    randall

    >BTW,

    http://www.wesh.com/houseandhome/1131568/detail.html
    http://www.wesh.com/houseandhome/1131560/detail.html
    http://www.wesh.com/landscaping/1131644/detail.html



    >if cockroaches are in my house, I would kill them.

    Wouldn't you wonder why they were inside?

    If we view society as an organism, we may regard welfare recipients as 'parasites'.
    Some 'parasites' are friendly, they clean the host, assist in digestion,
    protect against other 'parasites' etc, others aren't.

    Most people would regard drug addicts as unfriendly 'parasites'.
    The war on drugs, another Bush fiasco, is decades old no?
    As most wars it has succeeded superbly.

    http://homedoctor.net/tipsfaq/7.1.html [read conclusion]



    >I would kill them.

    Do you also kill your alarm clock for waking you up? Of course not.
    Cockroaches inside the house, is an alarm clock as well.


    >Then I'd poison for any others that may be around and then clean with
    >bleach to ensure they don't come back. And if that's how you think we
    >should solve the problems of drug abusing criminals, I'm all for it.

    You have a lot of energy, but you are approaching the situation a bit hastily, so, here is a suggestion.

    http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0075314/



    >As far as putting too many people in prison, that wouldn't be a problem if prisons were turned into labor camps.

    The objective is to create a healthy social environment suitable for people
    to become productive citizens, and live a fulfilling life, a macro version of FChat if you will.

    So then, what are some ideas you have for helping _one_ Hawaii meth addict to become a full human being again?
    After all, anyone can step on a 'cockroach' ... but not just anyone can turn a 'cockroach' into a human being (your friend seems to have).

    http://www.bio.umass.edu/biology/kunkel/cockroach_faq.html
    http://www.museums.org.za/bio/insects/cockroaches/
    http://www.bio.umass.edu/biology/kunkel/cockroach.html
    http://www.acheeseman.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/page24.htm


    and cockroaches (as drug addicts) are extensively used in scientific research

    1. Lady cockroaches prefer wimps
    Description: Nature Science Update: The latest science research and news reported by......
    CONTEXT: ...Lady cockroaches prefer wimps Female cockroaches like the smell of failure, but don't want their children tainted by it. 6 March 2001 JOHN WHITFIELD Female cockroaches try to avoid hazardous encounters with aggressive......
    http://www.nature.com/nsu/010308/010308-7.html

    2. Odour conveys status on cockroaches
    Patricia J. Moore, Nancy L. Reagan-Wallin, Kenneth F. Haynes, Allen J. Moore
    Description: The evolution of social dominance is thought to require phenotypic traits......
    CONTEXT: ...and provides equivocal support for the hypothesis. By chemical manipulation of the odour of socially naive male cockroaches (Nauphoeta cinerea) we show that the sex pheromone of males determines rather than reflects status. The......
    Nature389, 25 (04 Sep 1997) Scientific Correspondence
    Full Text | PDF

    3. Insect perception: Do cockroaches 'know' about fluid dynamics?
    D. Rinberg, H. Davidowitz
    SUMMARY: Animals use their senses to extract information from the world around them, so they need to be able to gauge the physical properties of...
    CONTEXT: ...objects (less than about 1 m in size) and the relevant wind velocities (0.1 m s-1), the Reynolds number is Re103, so cockroaches live in a world that is often turbulent. Spectra with long, high-frequency tails are characteristic of......
    Nature405, 756 (15 Jun 2000) Brief Communication
    Abstract | Full Text | PDF

    6. Nature Science Update
    Description: A bug's life SARA ABDULLA Cockroaches (Peripl......
    CONTEXT: Cockroaches (Periplaneta americana) can really move. They can run at speeds of nearly 3km/hr (0.8 m/s). They can make up to 25 body turns in a second - the highest known rate in the animal kingdom. And, being nocturnal, they do most of......
    http://www.nature.com/nsu/990211/990211-6.html

    7. Nature Science Update
    Description: Grooming while Rome burns SARA ABDULLA If someon......
    CONTEXT: ...but for his or her facial scrub and hairbrush, you'd think them peculiar. But, when stung by Ampulex compressa wasps, cockroaches (Periplaneta americana) do more or less exactly that: they groom themselves. And they continue to do......
    http://www.nature.com/nsu/990401/990401-4.html


    Regards.





    ps. "The war on drugs" - obviously there is money to be made as well ...





    markpdx

    >Reminds me of a trick the East German Stasi used quite a few years ago. They contaminated money with Strontium-90 so they could easily follow it's flow through some group they were after. It was later discovered that the radiation was sufficient to cause sterility.
    >
    >I don't think the US should start learning dirty tricks from socialist tyrants but it would certainly have an interesting impact on the drug trade.


    the drug trade may itself be Strontium-90.
     
  18. PeterS

    PeterS Four Time F1 World Champ
    Silver Subscribed

    Jan 24, 2003
    47,931
    Goodyear, AZ
    Full Name:
    PeterS
    Unless you are a big $$ contributor, all your letters are useless. Thats the way it works.
     
  19. Ontogenetik

    Ontogenetik Karting

    Nov 2, 2003
    149
    randall

    >BTW,

    http://www.wesh.com/houseandhome/1131568/detail.html
    http://www.wesh.com/houseandhome/1131560/detail.html
    http://www.wesh.com/landscaping/1131644/detail.html



    >if cockroaches are in my house, I would kill them.

    Wouldn't you wonder why they were inside?

    If we view society as an organism, we may regard welfare recipients as 'parasites'.
    Some 'parasites' are friendly, they clean the host, assist in digestion,
    protect against other 'parasites' etc, others aren't.

    Most people would regard drug addicts as unfriendly 'parasites'.
    The war on drugs, another Bush fiasco, is decades old no?
    As most wars it has succeeded superbly.

    http://homedoctor.net/tipsfaq/7.1.html [read conclusion]



    >I would kill them.

    Do you also kill your alarm clock for waking you up? Of course not.
    Cockroaches inside the house, is an alarm clock as well.


    >Then I'd poison for any others that may be around and then clean with
    >bleach to ensure they don't come back. And if that's how you think we
    >should solve the problems of drug abusing criminals, I'm all for it.

    You have a lot of energy, but you are approaching the situation a bit hastily, so, here is a suggestion.

    http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0075314/



    >As far as putting too many people in prison, that wouldn't be a problem if prisons were turned into labor camps.

    The objective is to create a healthy social environment suitable for people
    to become productive citizens, and live a fulfilling life, a macro version of FChat if you will.

    So then, what are some ideas you have for helping _one_ Hawaii meth addict to become a full human being again?
    After all, anyone can step on a 'cockroach' ... but not just anyone can turn a 'cockroach' into a human being (your friend seems to have).

    http://www.bio.umass.edu/biology/kunkel/cockroach_faq.html
    http://www.museums.org.za/bio/insects/cockroaches/
    http://www.bio.umass.edu/biology/kunkel/cockroach.html
    http://www.acheeseman.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/page24.htm


    and cockroaches (as drug addicts) are extensively used in scientific research

    1. Lady cockroaches prefer wimps
    Description: Nature Science Update: The latest science research and news reported by......
    CONTEXT: ...Lady cockroaches prefer wimps Female cockroaches like the smell of failure, but don't want their children tainted by it. 6 March 2001 JOHN WHITFIELD Female cockroaches try to avoid hazardous encounters with aggressive......
    http://www.nature.com/nsu/010308/010308-7.html

    2. Odour conveys status on cockroaches
    Patricia J. Moore, Nancy L. Reagan-Wallin, Kenneth F. Haynes, Allen J. Moore
    Description: The evolution of social dominance is thought to require phenotypic traits......
    CONTEXT: ...and provides equivocal support for the hypothesis. By chemical manipulation of the odour of socially naive male cockroaches (Nauphoeta cinerea) we show that the sex pheromone of males determines rather than reflects status. The......
    Nature389, 25 (04 Sep 1997) Scientific Correspondence
    Full Text | PDF

    3. Insect perception: Do cockroaches 'know' about fluid dynamics?
    D. Rinberg, H. Davidowitz
    SUMMARY: Animals use their senses to extract information from the world around them, so they need to be able to gauge the physical properties of...
    CONTEXT: ...objects (less than about 1 m in size) and the relevant wind velocities (0.1 m s-1), the Reynolds number is Re103, so cockroaches live in a world that is often turbulent. Spectra with long, high-frequency tails are characteristic of......
    Nature405, 756 (15 Jun 2000) Brief Communication
    Abstract | Full Text | PDF

    6. Nature Science Update
    Description: A bug's life SARA ABDULLA Cockroaches (Peripl......
    CONTEXT: Cockroaches (Periplaneta americana) can really move. They can run at speeds of nearly 3km/hr (0.8 m/s). They can make up to 25 body turns in a second - the highest known rate in the animal kingdom. And, being nocturnal, they do most of......
    http://www.nature.com/nsu/990211/990211-6.html

    7. Nature Science Update
    Description: Grooming while Rome burns SARA ABDULLA If someon......
    CONTEXT: ...but for his or her facial scrub and hairbrush, you'd think them peculiar. But, when stung by Ampulex compressa wasps, cockroaches (Periplaneta americana) do more or less exactly that: they groom themselves. And they continue to do......
    http://www.nature.com/nsu/990401/990401-4.html


    Regards.





    ps. "The war on drugs" - obviously there is money to be made as well ...





    markpdx

    >Reminds me of a trick the East German Stasi used quite a few years ago. They contaminated money with Strontium-90 so they could easily follow it's flow through some group they were after. It was later discovered that the radiation was sufficient to cause sterility.
    >
    >I don't think the US should start learning dirty tricks from socialist tyrants but it would certainly have an interesting impact on the drug trade.


    the drug trade may itself be Strontium-90.
     
  20. Ontogenetik

    Ontogenetik Karting

    Nov 2, 2003
    149
    Dear Randall, assuming the problem is the topic ...

    Drug use is not the problem, rather the symptom of the problem.
    Addressing the symptoms mimics the charlatans reciting the War on Drugs proclamation. If cockroaches are present in one's house, one may care to address the problem, not the cockroaches.

    Regarding your friend's observations ...
    the realization should have been that his gov
    is not concerned with the well being of the house.

    If you are in a particularly festive mood, I would also consider what
    Kafka told us in the Metamorphosis ... some cockroaches are lovely
    human beings, they just need compassion, a fact corroborated by your friend's story , the prologue in particular.

    Regards
     
  21. randall

    randall Formula 3

    Nov 2, 2003
    1,352
    Portsmouth, VA
    Full Name:
    Randall
    Here's an idea. Look at the country of Singapore and tell me how many drug addicts they have? So maybe if they are eliminated or drastically reduced in numbers, it will bring the quality of life up for everyone, thus starting a vicious cycle of raising life standards and lowering drug problems.

    The only time drug use is a problem is when the crimes associated with it pop up. People can sit home and shoot up, smoke out or trip on whatever they want, more power to them. The problem is when they go out and break into homes, shoot cops and drive around wasted. Those people deserve no pity. Too many americans rant about how it's a symptom of a problem. It is, it's a symptom of our societies weak stance on crime. It's a symptom of people getting used to using drugs as a valid excuse.

    Once again your cockroach comparison is quite fitting. I know why they come into my house. Because I have something they want, and my house is the easiest way to get it. They see it as survival, I see it as fear of having to try hard (aka laziness).

    The drug problem could be reduced significantly by legalizing pot and executing anyone in possession of large amounts of other illegal drugs. As for making prisons strictly reform facilities, sure. Reform the people to know how to work hard labor. Train them to do construction, farming and other manual labor. They'll work for their 5-20 year sentence and when they get out they'll be trained in woking hard.
     
  22. randall

    randall Formula 3

    Nov 2, 2003
    1,352
    Portsmouth, VA
    Full Name:
    Randall
    quote "After all, anyone can step on a 'cockroach' ... but not just anyone can turn a 'cockroach' into a human being (your friend seems to have)."

    Where do you get this crap? My friend hasn't done anything, if it was up to him all of his girlfriends kids would made sterile. After that they would all be forced to get jobs and work full time, if they didn't accomplish these tasks they might as well be put to sleep, because they will just be a burden to the rest of working america.
     
  23. Stephen S. Saia (sssaia)

    Apr 14, 2003
    72
    New Orleans
    Full Name:
    Stephen S. Saia
    They should legalize pot, it's not nearly as bad as the government wants you to think. If they legalized pot, that would give the police time to catch real criminals instead of chasing after a stoner with a joint. Gimme a break, even alcahol messes you up more then pot does. If the government sold pot, they would be able to pay off a pretty big chunk of the nation's debt, and make many people happy. But any other drug would be stupid to legalize, like crack or heroin, because they get you way too messes up and you can OD on these drugs (you can't OD on pot). Plus, those drugs can give you rage, and pot calms you down. As for criminals, eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth. If you kill someone and it was not self defence or justified in any way, you get killed. It will make you think twice before killing someone. As for the rest of the criminals, put them to work. Instead of using millions of dollars hiring people to build highways, make the criminals build them. It would be cheaper and teach the criminals a skill, so maybe when they get out of jail they can go to work for a construction company instead of having to work at a fast food restraunt or steal from people.
    With welfare, for people that are able to work, give them $100 lower then what they'd make working a minimum wage job. That way, it would actually pay off to get a job. For people that can't work or for senior citizens (64+ years) give them $100 over minimum wage.

    I hope that made some kind of sense :)
     

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