Talk about your cold cash! Rep. Bill Jefferson, a Louisiana Democrat, is the latest member of Congress that the FBI apparently has snared in a corruption probe. Jefferson is innocent until proven guilty, of course. But I am beginning to think maybe we should only elect millionaires to Congress.
It seems that I am getting a bit heavy handed in my old age. I deleted a draft post and in the process deleted the last post. Oh well, it wasn’t anything earth-shattering just my talking about watching a semi-interesting exchange among U.S. House members on C-Span. Yawn, huh?
While out running an errand earlier I saw a funny bumper sticker. It said:
“My kid wants to be president.
I told him to aim higher.”
Bumper stickers are an odd facet of our society. Plastered to our bumpers and windows are our thoughts about life, gender, sex, politics, religion and what kind of beer one drinks among other topics.
An ex-husband, ex-wife, ex-lover, ex-whatever makes a good target for a bumper philosophy such as:
“Ex-lovers make great
speed bumps.”
Heck, it doesn’t even have to be an ex:
“My wife and best friend just ran off together.
I’m sure going to miss him.”
Sometimes bumper stickers express feelings that you might or might not otherwise publicly disclose such as:
“Drive any closer
And I’m gonna slap you.”
I noticed one earlier today while taking a walk that kind of took me aback. The sticker was in the window of a pickup truck belonging to a roofer from Houston. It showed the Rebel flag and said something to the effect of “Don’t be afraid to show your colors.” I’m not sure if those were the exact words but that was the gist of it. I think the first thought that came to mind was: What a moron!
Now I don’t care how you feel about the Confederate battle flag. I can see why those who detest the thought of slavery and its relationship with the South are repelled by the flag. I see it more in historic terms although not to the degree that many do who use such an argument.
The CSA had three national flags. This was the first one. The crossed star-and-bar flag seen so commonly among the redneck elite was the battle flag of the confederacy. If you are genuinely pissed off that Texas and other southern states are still a part of the United States, then I guess I can understand why you would cling to the battle flag as a symbol.
It wasn’t ideology that made me think the guy was a moron who had the sticker of the Rebel flag and the exhortation to fly it. No, it was the fact that this guy has a business and might well have a tendency to turn off potential customers of all races, colors and creeds with such a display.
As is the case with drinking liquor and shooting firearms (though not necessarily together), a little common sense goes a long way. The same is true with displaying a personal philosophy with a bumper sticker.
This weird machine is sitting outside my apartment complex. With its tracks for moving around and its upward tilt of what appears to be pipes, it somewhat reminds me of a rocket launcher. Actually, I think it is kind of a high-tech roto-rooter. A pipe is going into the ground and there is a tiny screen on the operator’s console. Perhaps it is inserting a tiny camera through the underground water pipes. I do know that they are working on water pipes because all of the areas around the water meters from my apartments up past the next block are dug up. Or at least I suppose they are working on the water lines.
Then again, with the looks of this, I’m not sure what they are digging for. This outline in the hole they dug out front bears a slight resemblance to a body outline. Oh come on! If you look hard enough you can see it! Maybe they are really digging for Jimmy Hoffa outside. After all, I read that the FBI is looking for Hoffa’s body again. Although, you don’t see many instances of city water crews digging for long-dead bodies, especially without any police in sight.
Maybe I’ll just ask them what kind of work they are doing outside my apartment. But then, what fun would that be?
It is funny how someone can, all of a sudden, ponder a phrase that he or she has heard all of their lives but never gave the words much thought. I noticed a “no trespassing” sign on an apartment complex this morning as I walked by. Small, red letters at the bottom of the sign said:
“Violators will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.”
I never really thought about just what being prosecuted to the full extent of the law meant until today. It’s just something I have always heard and never questioned. A legal definition of “prosecute” is:
“v. 1) in criminal law, to charge a person with a crime and thereafter pursue the case through trial on behalf of the government. This is normally the function of the District Attorney and the U.S. Attorney in federal criminal cases. 2) to conduct any legal action by a lawyer on behalf of a client, including both civil and criminal cases, but most commonly referring to prosecution for crimes.”
So I don’t know if you get what I am leading up to but basically, in a sense of the word, the property owner does not really have much of a dog in the hunt as for actually prosecuting the crime. They can file a complaint. They can ask the district attorney to prosecute the crime to the full extent of the law. But the district attorney doesn’t have to, nor sometimes does he or she want to, prosecute someone to the fullest extent of the law.
Also puzzling is the wording “full extent of the law.” I would think if someone has had a crime committed against them or if there was a possibility of a crime happening to them that they wouldn’t want the perpetrator prosecuted to the “least extent of the law,” or the “medium extent of the law.” It just seems “full extent” is sort of a superfluous notion.
Even if the sign leaves off the full extent phrase and just proclaims that the violator will be prosecuted, well we would be right back where I began with the D.A. I have known some D.A.s over time of whom police officers have been downright scornful because of their unwillingness to prosecute cases. It seems having a sign that says: “Violators might be prosecuted,” or “Violators might be prosecuted if the D.A. is not a jackass,” may be more accurate. The value of such phrases as a deterrent, of course, might be questionable.
I am sure those who know the law much more than me (or even those who don’t know) might question my questioning of the concept. But the truth is, it really isn’t that important. Thus, I don’t really care.
Contrary to what many who know me might think, I really don’t like being cynical. That is, at least all the time. I would rather give people the benefit of the doubt especially in cases in which they have suffered some hardship.
My reference is to White House Press Secretary Tony Snow and his show of emotion — what he called his “Ed Muskie moment” — Monday during his first on-air press briefing. For those of you who might not remember or know, Ed Muskie was a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1972. In defending his wife from a newspaper attack, Muskie apparently wept while speaking outside the newspaper’s office while campaigning. He later claimed to be wiping snowflakes from his eyes.
Snow was asked by a reporter yesterday about a yellow wristband that he wears. It was during the following exchange that he had to pause a couple of times to regain his composure:
“MR. SNOW: I had cancer last year. And having cancer, it’s one of these things — thank Terry Hunt for having provided — I lost my old one when I was in the hospital having my last cancer surgery. It’s going to sound stupid, and I’ll be personal here, but — just having gone through this last year — and I said this to Chris Wallace — was the best thing that ever happened to me. It’s my Ed Muskie moment. (Laughter.) I lost a mother to cancer when I was 17, same type — same type, colon cancer. And what has happened in the field of cancer since then is a miracle.
“I actually had a chance to talk today with Lance Anderson [sic] about this. You know, it’s one of these things where America — whatever we may say about a health care system, the technologies that were available to me that have me standing behind the podium today, where a doctor who said, you don’t have to worry about getting cancer, just heartburn, talking to these people — (laughter) — that’s a wonderful thing. And I feel every day is a blessing.”
Snow later corrected his mistake referring to Lance Armstrong as Lance Anderson.
The press secretary’s emotion appeared genuine. Maybe it was genuine. I would have liked to have think so. But you can’t escape the fact that Snow is a pretty slick performer. And there appears to be no scheme — no matter how low, idiotic, or illegal — that his boss’ administration will not concoct.
All I can say is that I am sorry that I have to question someone’s show of feelings for what is a truly emotional subject. But Gee Dubya and his pals have raised my cynicism to an all-time high.
