Learn how to drive

Over the last year, I have spent an increasing amount of time on the freeways of southern California. It is not that people don't know how to turn the steering wheel or operate the throttle and brakes. Too many drivers have simply forgot to apply basic rules of the road and common courtesy. Like everyone I have some favorite bugaboos.

Left Lane Leaners
Have you noticed how many cars have a mechanical defect that forces the car into the left lane the instant the driver enters the freeway? It does not matter that traffic is moving more freely in other lanes or that they going slower than any other vehicle on the road. The drivers must feel helpless finding themselves forced into a lane when they know they are driving much too slowly. Big Hint! If there is no one in front of you for 100 yards and there are cars lined up behind you, move to the right. YOU are the slow driver.

Broken Turn signals
Another common vehicle defect is the broken turn signal. I bet it is frustrating for these good drivers trying to signal others of their lane changes and turns and their turn signal just doesn't work. No matter how much they move that signal lever up or down, no signal is emitted. Of course, the next most common turn signal problem is the intermittent signal. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. Big Hint! If you are afraid the guy you are trying to merge in front of won't let you in when you signal, you probably don't want that jerk on your tail after you just cut him off without signaling. Signal. Someone will let you into their lane.

Tailgating
I guess the state should start mandatory vehicle inspections. It is bad enough we have all those cars and trucks with bad turn signals and defective steering columns but have you noticed the number of them with bad brakes? Some folks either think they are playing NASCAR and are trying to bump their way into a better position on the track or a lot just have bad brakes. I can't imagine why anyone would climb up on the rear bumper of someone else's car and sit there. Surely they know how dangerous that can be in rush hour traffic.

Monty Python and Politicians circa 1972

'Monty Python' was a hugely popular television comedy broadcast in Great Britain during the early 1970's. In episode thirty-two recorded on January 21, 1972, and first broadcast on November 23, 1972, it delivered an apology to politicians with tongue firmly in cheek. Here is the dialogue and I leave you with a question. Has anything changed since 1972?

"We would like to apologize for the way in which politicians are represented in this programme. It was never our intention to imply that politicians are weak-kneed, political time-servers who are concerned more with their personal vendettas and private power struggles than the problems of government, nor to suggest at any point that they sacrifice their credibility by denying free debate on vital matters in the mistaken impression that party unity comes before the well-being of the people they supposedly represent nor to imply at any stage that they are squabbling little toadies without an ounce of concern for the vital social problems of today. Nor indeed do we intend that viewers should consider them as crabby ulcerous little self-seeking vermin with furry legs and an excessive addiction to alcohol and certain explicit sexual practices which some people might find offensive.

We are sorry if this impression has come across."

Judge Roberts versus the Forces of Evil

Senator Diane Feinstein is at it again. She and her liberal Democratic colleagues are once again embarked on a campaign of personal destruction. Not satisfied with examining Judge Roberts on his legal qualifications, they have attacked the good judge for not being their nominee.

Advice and consent. That is all the constitution calls for from the U. S. Senate. Did anyone at any point during the writing of the constitution or for the next 200 years expect the Senate to demand a judicial nominee "promise" to deliver verdicts favorable to the examiners political beliefs? The President has not insisted that a prospective justice hew to his party line. How dare Feinstein, "Chappaquiddick" Ted and Schumer demand of a nominee those guarantees the President of the Untied States is unable to require.

Someone should write all of the socialist cabal's questions down for later reference. Maybe in the next election we can ask of our senators those things they asked of Judge Roberts. I doubt they would be as courteous or offer as competent a response.

Louisiana Local Failures

As the hurricane Katrina story continues, more information comes to light on the failures of both the Mayor of New Orleans and the Governor of Louisiana. Mayor Ray Nagin failed to implement the city's disaster plan. Let me say that again. Mayor C. Ray Nagin FAILED to implement the New Orleans' established disaster plan. The Governor of Louisiana failed to request federal assistance in a timely fashion. Let me say that again. The governor of Louisiana FAILED to ask for federal assistance even though that assistance was waiting for her call.

The liberal press and the socialist left have been hounding the President for moving so slowly even though he requested the sovereign state of Louisiana declare an emergency and evacuate the city of New Orleans two days in advance of hurricane Katrina. The silence is deafening on the press' coverage of the failures of the Mayor Nagin and the governor. Senator Ted "Chappaquiddick" Kennedy has been voluble on President Bush's shortcomings. If anyone should know about the need to aid drowning victims, it surely must be Senator Kennedy. Senator Ted has complained but as in Chappaquiddick he hasn't offered any plan of action to save the day.

Now late breaking news, the City of New Orleans is bankrupt. The city went from solvent to bankrupt in under two weeks. Yup, good old Mayor Nagin is on the ball. He took a city filled with people living on the dole to an entire city having to go on the welfare. Two-thirds of the police have walked away from their jobs and no one knows the status of other first responders and public service employees. Other communities have suffered just as much as New Orleans and we hear nothing from them about lawlessness or bankruptcy.

Maybe Mayor Giuliani can be convinced to come to New Orleans and make it work properly. It is clear the Governor and Mayor Nagin haven't a clue. I suggest the first thing Mayor Giuliani do is seek indictments for the criminal negligence of Mayor C. Ray Nagin's failure to follow his own disaster plan which lead to the death of thousands of his residents.

Under the word "Coward" -- Alan Dershowitz

A post by Alan Dershowitz entitled "Telling the Truth About Chief Justice Rehnquist" was posted on Labor Day in the Huffington.com web site. It must be one of the most cowardly attacks I have ever read. The salient statement is "So here's the truth about Chief Justice Rehnquist you won't hear on Fox News or from politicians. Chief Justice William Rehnquist set back liberty, equality, and human rights perhaps more than any American judge of this generation. His rise to power speaks volumes about the current state of American values." In just those few sentences he attacks conservative Americans, Fox News service, Republican, moderate and conservative politicians and just about everyone that disagrees with the liberal world view. Mr. Dershowitz attacks a man who has risen to the peak of the judicial ladder in American jurisprudence only after he is dead. He didn't have the nerve to attack the man while he was still alive or even while he was merely dying of cancer. No, he waited until after the man is dead to attack.

Mr. Dershowitz attacked Chief Justice Rehnquist's moral values but what does this brazen back stabbing say about his own values? Mr. Dershowitz is a coward. Mr. Dershowitz should be disbarred and thrown out of his cushy teaching position. Every time Mr. Dershowitz makes an appearance as a professional commentator a letter of protest should be sent to the offending news program. Mr. Dershowitz is a disgrace to Harvard, to the legal profession, to Jews everywhere. He is a disgrace to his family and his religion.

Welcome to America -- Now go home!

Ahhh, Labor Day. When the American worker is honored for his or her service to the country. A traditional marking of the end of summer and the start of school for a great many children across the country, patriotic picnics and labor functions.

It also brings to mind the often mentioned opinion that their are some jobs that American's will not accept. This lack of acceptance is the wedge used by liberals to justify illegal immigration. One American of African descent agreed with the President of Mexico when he said Mexicans fill jobs that even Americans of African descent don't want. Bull puckey. The jobs that are ignored by most Americans are jobs that pay so poorly as to make sweeping the floor at McDonald's a major upward career move.

It is a national disgrace. The most basic of industries, food production, is among the lowest paid. To fill these jobs big agra business pays illegal aliens wages so low as to keep them chained as surely as if they were slaves. The real statement why Americans do not want these jobs is not because they don't want to do them. It is that Americans do not want to do them for the pitiful wage that is offered. We MUST pay our field workers an adequate wage. Doing so will provide two immediate benefits. Americans will want these jobs and the illegal scum will no longer have a reason to invade our country. A real win-win situation.

Kanye West and all those New Orleans "victims"

Rapper, hip-hop artist Kanye West pretty much summed up the attitude of all self-made victims during a concert for hurricane relief. He said " George Bush doesn't care about black people" and said America is set up "to help the poor, the black people, the less well-off as slow as possible." as quoted from a Frazier Moore, AP Television writer, story. Mr. Moore continues with "(Kanye West) declared that government authorities are intentionally dragging their feet on aid to the Gulf Coast. Without getting specific, he added, "They've given them permission to go down and shoot us."

What part of looting, rape and murder does Mr. West not understand? Does he believe that because someone is of African descent they have no moral duties, no personal responsibility for their actions? Does he consider breaking into stores and stealing televisions, clothes, drugs and guns an African prerogative during natural disasters? In the past week anyone able to loot a store could have simply walked out of New Orleans to a place of safety. Any able-bodied person, and if you are looting you are able-bodied, could have moved themselves, their family and their friends to a place where decent shelter and food were available. These people chose to stay behind before and after the hurricane. How is this the fault of the government?

The phrase "looters shot on sight" was not invented for New Orleans. The fact there is a disproportionate number of people of African descent acting criminally in a disaster is more a comment on "black culture" than any taint of racism on President Bush's part. It is no coincidence in the Louisiana rural areas everyone, be they black, white, brown, red or yellow, are not whining about their misfortune but are helping each other to survive. What is it about those dashing urbanites that makes them incapable of fending for themselves? It isn't the color of their skin but the effects of relying on government for everything their entire lives. This should be a clarion call for less government and more self reliance. Too bad Mr. West is not mature enough to realize that for himself.

New Orleans' descent into barbarism comes far too quickly and far too easily. Other cities have suffered sudden devastation and its residents did not become feral animals. New Orleans' even had the benefit of an early warning of pending disaster. The mayor and the state governor had declared an emergency and ordered evacuation of the city. People unable to leave were told to come to the local sports complex but to bring their own food and drink. Apparently, many of these people were either too lazy or too stupid to flee a force 5 hurricane or even bring the bare necessities to a place of shelter.

Too many of these people have grown up with the dubious benefits of a liberal nanny state where everything is provided by the government. They obviously have no idea how to take care of themselves except for lawlessness. I daresay those out in the farm lands or up in the Bayous are fairing much better and with less crime than their city neighbors. Country folks live taking care of themselves, their family and their neighbors. Annual Mississippi River floods will wipe out entire farming and rural communities in Kansas, Missouri and further up the river and we do not hear of wide-spread looting. If there was ever an indictment of the liberal cause of cradle to grave government care this is surely it. These people have had common sense replaced with the thought that the government will always be there to take care of them.

This should be a wakeup call to the dangers lurking behind that free-for-the-taking government handout. These people need to learn how to fend for themselves and more importantly become responsible for their own lives. Next time the Mayor says get out of town maybe the residents who stayed behind will pay attention. I doubt it but I am the optimist.