Highway Deaths and Cash Cows

Recently an acquaintance of ours was killed in traffic accident. A trailer being towed by a vehicle traveling in the opposite direction broke loose, crossed the center median and struck her vehicle. My understanding is she was killed instantly. The tragedy was worsened by the fact her young children witnessed the accident as they were following her in another vehicle.

Although the accident happened in Mississippi, it happens all too often in Louisiana. Several states have taken the issue in hand by installing a cable fence designed to prevent an out of control vehicle from crossing the median into the oncoming traffic. I first saw one of these while driving through Alabama and thought it was good idea. I think natural barriers such as trees and heavy landscaping would also work. In addition to lives saved, a money savings would occur by not having to mow the area. The trees could help the environment and slow the climate change.

I suspect our legislators will be slow in appropriating money for the highway department to construct these barriers. After all, several legislators have made a lot of money filing lawsuits against the state for failing to correct hazardous or neglectful situations. Go figure, a state senator creates his own personal cash cow by not funding state agencies so he can turn around and file a lawsuit against the state in his private law practice. Stopping legislators from filing law suits against the state should be priority in Governor Jindal's ethics reform package and also save lives.

Koodos to the Supremes

June has been a good month for those who favor civil rights. Twice now, the Supreme Court has sent the government the consistent messages: civil liberties, fairness, and, freedom will not be over ridden by political agendas.

The lastest ruling has told local governments they can not outright prohibit the ownership of handguns in a citizen's home. Gun control advocates argue that the writers intended for 2nd Amendment to refer to government militias and not citizens. If that were the case, I suppose the 1st Amendment would only apply to the press. However, Courts have consistently ruled citizens have the right to free speech. Remember, the amendment authors were a bunch of radicals who had just overthrown their British oppressors. I find it hard to believe they would tolerate any arrangement where our government held a monopoly on instruments of deadly force. In World War II, the Germans and Japanese knew all to well that an attack on American soil would be fruitless because of armed citizens. During the cold war, the former USSR officials were aware of the same. For the same reason, it would be very difficult for our citizens to become oppressed by own government. A nation armed to the teeth can never readily be invaded or defeated.

There will always be a readily available black market in guns within our country, ban or no ban. Therefore the honest law abiding citizen should have the right to bear arms to protect ourselves. It is virtually impossible for the police to protect us against an active criminal. Under the best case scenario a victim is on his own for the first five or so minutes, assuming a call was made to 911. The victims best hope for survival during this time is for himself to have ready access to a weapon or an off-duty officer or competent gun carrying citizen to happen into the event. More armed citizens lessons the chance of a violent encounter. After all, most of these thugs or sick individuals seek an opportunity where he has the less chance of retaliation. I have always said if every passenger on airplanes were armed, there would never be a hijacking and 9/11 would still be just a date in September.

Those in disagreement with the gun ruling argue suicides, thefts and accidental shootings will increase. A depressed person hell bent on suicide will find a method. The ruling did not prevent legislation requiring unattended handguns from being locked up. I support such legislation. Most are unaware that all federal law enforcement officers are required to secure their weapons by lock if not wearing the weapon.

Most polls show the majority of voters support the right to own handguns. For this reason, the Republican Party has taken pro gun stance in their campaigns. The Democratic Party should reconsider there agenda on gun control if they wish to retrieve their grassroot supporters who favor gun ownership. Gun control advocates haven't prevented a single gunshot death in the US, but by opening the door to tyrants like Bush, they have caused hundreds of thousands of gunshot deaths abroad.

Perfect Sense Part 2

Roger Waters, former song writer and musician for Pink Floyd, voices his disillusion with the Western World politics and shenanigans in the two part song, Perfect Sense. The monkey in the beginning of Part 1 represents the common person trying to make sense of the world. The song begins with a fade in from "2001 a Space Odyssey." As you may recall that movie began with an ape scene. Roger's distrust of government and authority is a recurring theme in his song writings.


Perfect Sense Part 2

Can't you see
It all makes perfect sense
Expressed in dollars and cents
Pounds shillings and pence
Can't you see
It all makes perfect sense
Little black soul departs in perfect focus
Prime time fodder for the News at Nine
Darling is the child warm in the bed tonight
Hi everybody I'm Marv Albert
And welcome to our telecast
Coming to you live from Memorial Stadium
It's a beautiful day
And today we except a sensational matchup
Bur first our global anthem
Can't you see
It all makes perfect sense
Expressed in dollars and cents
Pounds shillings and pence
Can't you see
It all makes perfect sense
And here come the players
As I speak to you now the captain
Has he cross hairs zeroed on the oil rig
It looks to me like he's going to attack
By the way did you know that a submarine
Captain earns 200,000 dollars a year
Oh that's less tax Marv less tax
Uh thank you Emery you're welcome
Now back to the game he fires one yes
There goes two both fish are running
The rig is going into a prevent defense
Will they make it I don't think so
Can't you see
It all makes perfect sense
Expressed in dollars and cents
Pounds shillings and pence
Can't you see
It all makes perfect sense

Perfect Sense Part 1

The monkey sat on a pile of stones
And he stared at the broken bone in his hand
And the strains Viennese quartet
Rang out across the land
The monkey looked up at the stars
And he thought to himself
Memory is a stranger
History is for fools
And he cleaned his hands
In a pool of holy writing
Turned his back on the garden
And set out for the nearest town
Hold on hold on soldier
When you add it all up
The tears and marrowbone
There's an ounce of gold
And an ounce of pride in each ledger
And the Germans killed the Jews
And the Jews killed the Arabs
And Arabs killed the hostages
And that is the news
And is it any wonder
That the monkey's confused
He said Mama Mama
The President's a fool
Why do I have to keep reading
These technical manuals
And the joint chiefs of staff
And the brokers on Wall Street said
Don't make us laugh
You're smart kid
Time is linear
Memory's a stranger
History's for fools
Man is a tool in the hands
Of the great God Almighty
And they gave him command
Of a nuclear submarine
And sent him back in search of
The Garden of Eden

Written by Roger Waters (Pink Floyd) 1992

Did Walmart Violate My Rights?

Last night, I was once again hassled by a Walmart cashier. Anyone that knows OWO is aware I like my wine. OK, times are getting tough with rising gas and food prices so I had to stoop to buying my wine at Walmart. I am not yet down to Sam's Choice wine, but close. It was a couple bottles of that Yellow Kangaroo Wine. Anyway, I was checking out my wine and other groceries when the girl held up the wine and said, "can I see your ID?" I looked at her with that WTF(?) look and said, "I am more than double 21 and you know it." The last two cashiers that tried that lost the argument when I refused to show my ID. They settled on taking a chance the OWO really was pushing 50 than restocking my buggy of groceries. Well, I must have felt sorry for the cashier last night because I cut her some slack when she said she was new and her supervisor told her she would be fired if she did not card everyone under forty. Maybe it was the fact that she was hot, at least on Walmart standards and she told me, "I was handsome and carried my age well."

Why do I have to prove I am obeying the law when I buy liquor at Walmart? Is this not a violation of my rights? I struggle to understand why Walmart will not allow their employees to display a little common sense. I respect their effort to keep alcohol away from minors, but they should not force someone they know damn well is over 21 to prove they are of age. It is time Americans stop allowing themselves to be force to prove their innocence.

Same Song, Different Verse

If it keeps on rainin', levee's goin' to break,
When The Levee Breaks I'll have no place to stay.

Mean old levee taught me to weep and moan,
Got what it takes to make a mountain man leave his home,
Oh, well, oh, well, oh, well...

Cryin' won't help you, prayin' won't do you no good,
Now, cryin' won't help you, prayin' won't do you no good,
When the levee breaks, mama, you got to move. Led Zeppelin

"When the Levee Breaks" was written as a Blue's song following the Great Flood of 1927. Rock star Robert Plant re-worded the song and his rock group Led Zeppelin made the song a hit on their fourth album.

This years song verse comes from Iowa, Missouri, and Illinois. Three years ago the verse came from New Orleans. Fifteen years ago it was Missouri and Illinois. And so on. Why do levees keep breaking? The title of an article in today's New York Times sums it up well. Call for Change Ignored, Levees Remain Patchy brings out two important issues. 1) Politicians continue to ignore scientists and engineers and 2) one flood control project can save the funding area but be detrimental to other areas.

Levees cost the politicians a lot of their money. Following a flood, levee projects get lots of attention and funding. Unfortunately levee projects take years to build. Levees provide flood protection which is rarely needed, albeit damn well worth every penny when they are needed. The problem is when they are not needed, they are forgotten. Traffic jams and other infrastructural problems happen continuously and the need for flood control is put aside for the "more pressing issues." Politicians take money from levee projects and put into highways, betting another flood will not happen during their tenure. Call it political roulette with George Bush, Kathleen Blanco and now Midwest officials being the latest losers.

Following every flood, we hear the same rhetoric regarding levee failure from scientist and engineers such as levees were poorly constructed and no central control. When polled, most voters believe the Army Corps of Engineers has control. This could not be farther from the truth. Although the Corps has some control of major levees, most are controlled by various local and state agencies. Some are even controlled by land owners. It has long been known some materials are better than others for building levees. In times of haste or waste, who cares?

Take for instance a local farmer who tires of having his bean field flooded out every so often. The farmer decides on his own to build a levee around his land and uses whatever fill materials are close and cheap. This sets the stage in time for two problems. First, the water that no longer floods his land has to go somewhere. Now a lower levee which was once adequate is no longer protecting the folks on the other side. Try filling a saucer to the point it overflows. Now tip one side a little higher. You will notice now higher side no longer floods, but water rushes over the other sides. A second problem may later occur due to the substandard materials used in construction. Lets say fifteen years later, developers buy out the farmer and turn the once large bean field into a mixed residential development. A few years after the land is fully developed, one of those now frequent "500 year floods" occurs. The fact the levee was built un-engineered and with substandard materials was unbeknown to the new residents. The flood waters breach through the substandard materials and cause loss of life and millions of dollars of damage to what was formally a bean field.

At some point in time, hopefully sooner than later, the politicians will quit playing roulette and adequately fund levee construction, then properly manage them. This might not happen, because, sadly, disasters tend to be good for the economy as money is poured into rebuilding into the same area to await the next disaster. Despite the fact lives are lost and individuals finances are ruined politicians like a good economy. Just ask South Louisiana officials how is the economy following Katrina. Then ask flooded New Orleans residents how much of their life savings was lost.

Look for different verses of this song to continue.

On Rendition and Torture

Rendition involves secretly taking persons suspected of terrorist activities to a foreign country where torture is practiced. Instead of staining American soil with blood of potentially innocent parties, you do so on foreign land where such tactics are accepted interrogation techniques. Think of it as imprisonment without trial, no rights, and no due process. Then add torture to the process. What better way to do protect your human rights record than by giving the nod for another country to use whatever means necessary in the name of protecting more lives.

One's first thought is it might not be so bad for a savage terrorist. Then ask yourself - how are we sure this person is not innocent? Remember they have not been given any due process. It seems to me that Americans are above savage treatment. How can someone who approves of torture go to church every Sunday? You can not tell me Jesus would approve of torturing another human being. I remember the torture scene in The Deer Hunter where the North Vietnamese tortured an American POW. The scene made me furious - like I wanted to drop a nuke on North Vietnam. Well what kind of leader allows us stoop to that level?

It has been said that for every person tortured one hundred people rise up to perform acts of vengeance. You get an ever increasing cycle of violence. There is little evidence that torture actually provides useful information. There is no way two wrongs can make a right. I guess this stance makes me a bleeding heart liberal to those who shut their minds to the facts that this does happen.

Americans have prided ourselves on being world leaders and a society governed by the rule of law. Part of that was innocent until proven guilty. It was also based on the principles laid out in the Geneva Convention. The Clinton administration actually approved renditions. However, the presidency of El Supremo (Bush) and his band of party loyalist, have taken renditions to a higher lever. This administration thinks people have no rights when accused of anything. That’s quite ironic for an administration whose party platform was based on family values, morality and religion. (Personally I think he duped the voters.) Americans remain oblivious to these actions because they think it doesn’t effect them. As our rights are eroded away, it will slowly become easier for a future and smarter El Supremo to seize all of rights. At that point we will be powerless to stop them. At that point, the government starts accusing everyone and society turns into complete chaos. Torturing and killing people, guilty or not leads to anarchy.

Those who claim that rendition, torture and the abuse of basic human rights are necessary to protect our way of life are as wrong as the terrorists and suicide bombers.

Don't buy into offshore drilling to lower gas prices

Bush’s latest plea to Congress to open more of our country’s coastline to oil drilling will not lower the price of gas. We consume 25% of the worlds oil deposits, but have only 3% in reserves. With those numbers, it is mathematically impossible to drill ourselves to lower gas prices. Besides, it would take 7-10 more years to bring the new offshore fields into production. It has also been reported that the oil companies have only explored 25% of their present leases. What Bush’s present plan will do is give the oil companies more leases in environmentally protected areas. This is just a last minute gift in the form of future oil leases from Bush and Cheney to their pals at the big oil companies. Congress should respond with a bill that requires oil companies to explore a lease within a reasonable set amount of time or loose the lease. Quite frankly, I am not opposed to drilling along coast lines and ANWAR, but selling or inferring this as a fix to today’s high gas prices is simply not true, but typical of this administrations practices.

The only solution to lower energy prices is to wean us off of oil by curbing our consumption now and by switching to renewable sources of energy. Some of this is already happening. People are driving less and using more fuel-efficient cars. Much more can be done with a forward-looking energy strategy that encourages and rewards renewable energy and conservation. We need to immediately begin approving new nuclear power plants and encouraging other means of energy generation such as wind and water. The automakers who sell cars in the US should be forced to triple (or at least increase) vehicle gas mileage rates.

Furthermore, Congress needs to do everything in its power to push more US research into alternative sources of energy. Whichever country makes this happen quickly will benefit by having developed the necessary technology, which can then be profitably exported to other nations. We can be that country. If we continue to bury our head in the sand by listening to oil companies excuses (which are designed to make them more money), we will end up trying to catch up to other countries.

Score One for the Good Guys

Last week the US Supreme Court in a 5-4 decision handed the Bush Administration another defeat in his attempts to override the US Constitution. This opinion concerned prisoners being held at Guantanamo (Gitmo). There have been a lot of foul cries from Bush cheerleaders over this decision. I suspect most complainers have not taken time to read the 100 plus page decision which will not release any prisoners. What the decision does do is gives the prisoners the right to petition US Courts for the right to due process and an shown they should be held indefinitely (or a habeas corpus hearing in legal terms). What is wrong with that? How can we Christians allow our government the right to detain someone definitely without any type of hearing?

I am sure most of the prisoners held in Gitmo are there on just cause. However, how do we know some poor bastard has not been mistakenly yanked from his village in the middle of the night and submitted to torture for information he has no knowledge to provide? There has to be some type of check and balance to insure this has not happened. Suppose some rogue Iraqi official decided to rid himself of a law abiding arch rival and provide enough untruthful information to convince US soldiers to believe he is a terrorist? Bush has asked us to trust our tired overworked and underpaid troops to detain the right persons. I don't think this is a good idea. I've being around our criminal justice system long enough to see a number of mistaken arrests.

It appears the neoconservatives are using an important, but not situation changing, decision to put fear in voters that the makeup of the Supreme Court needs to be changed. Americans who care about their civil rights are furtunate there are five justices who feel the same way.

Politicizing Communion

Several months ago Douglas Kmiec, a Republican and former Dean of Catholic University Law School was denied communion because he endorsed Barack Obama. It was reported that Kmiec has been a longtime supporter of the Catholic Church's position on abortion and supports the overturning of Roe v. Wade.

LINK to article

I wonder how this Priest can give Communion to a Bush or McCain supporter given the deaths associated with the unnecessary war in Iraq or their stands on torture and destruction of our Civil Rights.

It is unfortunate that this priest insists upon holding Communion hostage to partisan politics. I am certain that most voters do not vote for Democratic solely for the purpose of supporting abortion. OWO is greatly concerned by the fact that the Catholic Church would use something as sacred as Communion as a political weapon. I would hope that I could support a candidate who fills the majority of my beliefs then plead for him to reconsider those issues we differ on.

OWO remains a strong supporter of the separation of church and state.

Jindal - Is he all bark?

Governor Jindal seems to be governing his own circle instead of the entire state. According to a report in yesterday's Advocate, "More bills have become law without the governor’s signature in 2008 than in any other year since at least 1990. In fact, Jindal, though only five months in office, already accounts for more unsigned bills becoming law than any governor in the last two decades except Mike Foster, who served eight years." LINK to article

What's the deal Bobby? If a bill wasn't your idea, your not going to sign it? Here's a news flash for you Bobby. It still becomes a law if you don't sign it. Do your job by either signing a bill or vetoing the bill. Take some responsibility. Show us the leadership that Rush, McCain, and a handful of GOP enthusiast think you have.

Jindal is only person capable of addressing the biggest slap in face handed to citizens by our "reform minded" legislators. Yet he is taken the same positive available to citizens - a voice of disapproval by issuing the following press release:

"I still disapprove of this pay raise. While I'm glad they reduced it, it's still more than a doubling of their pay, which I believe is excessive. The legislature is a separate branch of government and must manage their own affairs. There is still time for them to turn back. They will have to answer directly to the people.

"One thing is for sure, I will not bail them out on this and do their job for them. I will not veto this as it is very clear to everyone that the result would be a grinding halt to the tremendous reforms and progress our state is making. I will give them no excuse to stop doing the people's business, and I will not allow the momentum of our state to stop over this or anything else."

If Jindal is really opposed to the bill he should veto it. If he was a real leader, that bill would have never made it out of committee. If Jindal were to veto the bill he would have the majority of voters covering his back.

OWO ask all the Jindal enthusiast, when is our savior going to start biting? Right now he seems to be following the footsteps of his "dad," the 2nd to last do nothing governor we had, Mike Foster.

OWO's email to legistators

Below is the email I sent to Rep. Richardson and Sen. Erdy.

I urge you to vote against the legislative pay raise bill. It's not that I don't think your work is worth more than $16,800 a year, but the proposed amount is excessive and the timing is poor. You do your part and bring this state up to rank of your proposed pay raise and I will support you.

Best Regards,

Old Wise One

They Are Not Priest!

To quote the Times-Picayune, House Speaker Jim Tucker, R-Algiers said, "this is not the priesthood where you take a vow of poverty" when he defended his request to give himself a 30% pay raise. LINK to article

No they are certainly not Priest. Priest are not greedy hypocritical liars.

It appears our reform minded Louisiana legislators and government have become a little too tempted when they realized their hands were in the cookie jar containing a record surplus. Yep, the voters fell for their campaign BS again. I don't disagree that they are paid too little for the job they do, but they told us they were going to fix our state's problems for $16,800 a year when they asked for the job. This move is akin to agreeing to build a house for $100K, then telling the home owner the price is $400K when it is 3/4 complete because the builder has plans to fix the neighbor hood up. Yet the trailer park, landfill and titty bar are still next door.

OWO's message to the legislators and governor is fix state first then let's talk money. If you really want to do the right thing, grant a respectful raise to take effect when your term is up. In it's present form, you just gave yourself a higher salary than a teacher - who I imagine most of you promised a raise during your campaign - and you only work part-time. You were smart enough to put a section in law which allows congress to vote your future raises. In doing so, you fixed it where you don't have to listen to the public outcry on this issue again.

I encourage all of you to contact your Senator and Representative and track their voting record here.

Legislators Salaries around the US

Best Regards,

Old Wise One

The Right's Wrights

Much has been said about Obama’s left wing minister, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright. However, if one was to open up the closets of the GOP a group of active neo-conservative fascist and equally extreme Word of Faith ministers, such as John Hagee, Kenneth Copeland and Rod Parsley would appear. These guys make the political views of Jerry Falwell look liberal.

While voters cringe at the speakings of Jeremiah Wright, the Word of Faith ministers have quietly taken a leading role in the politics of the GOP. Three fundamentals of the Word of Faith ministries should raise everyone’s eyebrows - faith healing, authoritarian leadership and Gospel Prosperity. Faith healing is the rebuking of modern medicine and the reliance on God’s spirit and will usually in the hands of a minister or church appointee - if the minister is too busy making money somewhere else. Gospel Prosperity is the notion that you can’t have financial success unless you tithe – to the Word of Faith church of course. How else could the ministers pay themselves million dollar salaries and have Lear jets as primary means of transportation? Tithing is so important that a good deal of time in every worship service is used to remind worshipers of importance of tithing. The authoritarian role fits in nicely as you do not question the minister - sort of “do as I say, not as I do” - particularly in the areas of healing and fidelity. While these guys are using their hands to heal followers, they all go to traditional doctors for their ailments. When it comes to fidelity - HA! Their preached upon doctrine is if you remarry and engage in sex you’re sinning. Hagee and his wife, Diane regularly preach to this effect. However, they skip over the part about Diane being Hagee’s second wife and two of the children they often refer to as “theirs” were from John’s first marriage. Diane was teenager in Hagee’s first church when they married six months after Hagee’s divorce. I guess ministers get passes on certain slip ups in their doctrine.

Parsley has said he will not rest until every public office and Court is occupied by men like himself. Hagee’s more famous sermons involve God sending Hilter to punish the Jews and God sending Katrina to destroy New Orleans to punish New Orleans for allowing gays to march. Hagee has publicly denounced Catholics on numerous occasions and referred to them as whores. Hagee has been a long time supporter of Israel and vocally for war against the non Christian middle east countries such as Iraq and Iran. The deputy Secretary of Defense who pushed misleading information concerning WMD’s in Iraq was recommended to the Bush Administration by Hagee.

Yet Bush and McCain have referred to Hagee and Parsley as good Christians and their spiritual advisers. McCain recently was forced to denounce his sought after endorsement of Hagee when Catholic supporters began raising eyebrows. We all know Bush has a sorry reputation of praising the wrong folks - remember he said Michael Brown did a heck of job during Katrina - so McCain should have known better. The fact is McCain would have most likely gotten their support without his asking since these guys refer to all liberals as evil.

Why does the GOP court these wackos? Several reasons. 1) These guys have churches the size of NBA arenas, 2) TV networks which reach several million viewers, 3) mailing and email list which reach millions of gullible miss guided followers who don’t question their pastor, and 4) these wackos blend into the GOP’s moral agenda - most GOP voters will see the photo opp of the candidate with a reverend and never question the substance of the preacher. The GOP gets the votes and the Word of Faith wackos get political clout.