Thank God it's finally raining...

Labels: not dead yet just resting...

posted by YIH @ 9:00 PM on Sunday, June 10, 2007  : 

I was over at Vanishing American and saw this:

Of course illegal is bad; that should go without saying. But because illegal is bad, does it automatically follow that the same thing is good as long as it is done legally?

There are some countries, notably in Europe, which have to most intents and purposes legalized drugs, the drugs which in our country are illegal. Many in this country, notably many libertarians, and many baby-boomers and Gen X and Y people, say we should make all recreational drugs legal. Suppose we did that. We may, one day, if this country keeps going more and more towards a libertarian/hedonistic society. Would heroin be good for us once it's legal? There are many things which in and of themselves are harmful, regardless of legality. Just making something legal does not automatically remove any harmful aspects of it.

His point here was actually about the distinction between 'Legal' and 'Illegal' mass immigration (I.E the ''I have no problem with mass immigration so long as it's legal'' train of thought).
The subject of ''drug legalization'' came up. I used to be one of those who supported it from the (alcohol) ''Prohibition didn't work'' point of view.
What changed my mind is what used to be derided as ''the numbers racket'' (A.K.A. ''bolita'').
The term for illegal lotteries about 30-40 years ago. Fast-forward to today and what has happend? ''The numbers racket'' is legal, state-sponsored, available just about everywhere and heavily advertised.
And you know what? The harm gambling can and does do has not changed. Just now the State ''gets it's cut of the action''. I know folks that spend at least $100 week after week on ''Lotto''. This is money that could have been used to pay bills or saved for the future BLOWN (and that's the correct term) on ''Lotto''. And while Joe Shmoe might ''win'' relatively small sums here and there overall it's just money that disappears down a rathole.
And even when someone wins ''the great jackpot'' they still lose, because the sudden wealth basically destroys them and often their entire families.
The other side effect of ''legalized gambling'' is that the same people that would have once decried ''the evils of gambling'' now are either silent about it or worse claim ''it's just fine because it's legal''. I used to listen to ''Dr. Laura'' and used to respect her. One of the things that changed my mind about her was the Bill ''The Book of Virtues'' Bennett's ''gambling scandal'' broke out while I was still a regular listener. The very day after the story broke she was on the air to shriek (and she does indeed like to shriek, another aspect of her that I tired of) that Bennett ''wasn't hurting himself or his family, what he was doing was legal, and his critics are merely picking on him''. Well ''Dr. Laura'' he DID ''hurt himself'', pretty much since the story came out his credibility as ''Mr. Virtue'' is gone and can never be completely regained:

Like it or not, it pretty much says it all.
Full Disclosure Time: Have I ever been in a casino (''legal'' or otherwise)? No, I can honestly say I never have. Have I ever played ''Lotto''? I'd be lying if I said I never have. I have not participated in any form of gambling (or as it's proponents call it, ''gaming'') in many years. I see it as a waste of my time and money, ''legal'' or not.
The rush (no pun intended) to defend Limbaugh after he entered rehab for drug abuse (YES, that IS what it was) appalled me. His defenders wanted to preserve the image of him as ''a paragon of morality and virtue'' when IMHO he was merely one of ''the rich and famous'' who had a ''Dr. Feelgood'' to perscribe him all the ''dope'' he wanted. ''Legally'', of course.
When it came out that he was likely buying more ''dope'' on the black market because what he was perscribed was not enough to satisfy him, he ''checked into rehab''.
When the recent ''crazy astronaut'' story came out, I said sarcastically in a chatroom:
[Your Image Here] Let me guess, she'll blame it on booze, and check into rehab
[fellow chatter] Seems to be the trend these days, doesn't it?
BTW, it's true. If I were to sign into that chatroom as my real name, no one would know who I was. My psudonym is my name there. The sarcastic comment was of course in reference to the Mark Foley ''scandal'' that was one of the reasons we now all use the phrase ''Speaker Pelosi''.
The frustration that comes with ''the right'' crashing and burning depresses me...

Labels: ''Junk food conservitisim''

posted by YIH @ 3:02 AM on Sunday, June 03, 2007  : 

I voted for him as Govenor of FL TWICE:

Jeb Bush, Ken Mehlman: Illegal Aliens Will Vote Republican

Go ahead, click the ''comment'' link and chew me out. I deserve it.
When I saw this I started crying. I thought I was doing right for my State when I enthusiastically voted for JEB TWICE.
I KNOW ''Sorry doesn't feed the bulldog'' but I offer my apologies anyway.
I made a mistake twice. Now that I know I screwed up, I will learn from my mistakes...

Labels: Bush Sorrow

posted by YIH @ 6:26 PM on Saturday, June 02, 2007  : 

Quote of the year: (Americans) ''don't want to do what's right for America''.
If THIS isn't proof of the President's hatred of America. I don't know what to say.
We have a President that has SQUANDERD the lives of over 3200 Americans in A FUTILE effort to ''transform'' a Moslim land into ''America II'' and is desperately trying to RAM 'amnesty' down America's throat!!!
You KNEW that was part of his agenda even BEFORE 9/11 didn't you? I did.
You thought ''Hey, Bush is a conservative, and LOVES America'' when it became clear that in 2000 and 2004 that our choices were between A LIBERAL and another LIBERAL.
But Bush is ''a cowboy'' you say. And I say ''And so was Marion Morrison'' (Google that name, see what you get).
I see right through his portrayal of a staunch defender of America. It's gotten so awful that even genuine LIBERALS see him as actually one of their own.
''The worst President America ever had'' was how Jimmy Carter described him. I remember his Presidency and how terrible it was. I can only say ''No, SECOND worst, it would take a complete collapse of the US economy to knock you off your throne''.
When Hillary Rodham is sworn in as President the GOP will take the blame. And rightly so.
Watching my country ''crash and burn'' is a terrible thing...

Labels: Goodbye America

posted by YIH @ 4:29 PM on  :