No Nanny State - Molon Labe!

Pinhead Politicians

I was listening to the news yesterday, and I heard a quick snippet that, for a moment, brought me some hope that sanity was returning to our government.

The short teaser said something to the effect of how the City of Oakland, California, was discontinuing the use of roadside sobriety tests. Could one city be coming to it's senses?

I have long believed that this is an egregious trampling of our Fourth Amendment rights against unreasonable search and seizure. How the courts have allowed the government's ability to randomly search the person and vehicles of individuals that have shown no outward signs of illegal activity is beyond me. But there it is.

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

Seems pretty unambiguous to me, but then again, somehow the government has figured out ways of restricting our right to bear arms, so I guess I shouldn't be too surprised.

Anyways, after hearing the snippet, I pay attention to the story. If nothing else, it has reaffirmed my belief that most politicians, especially here in Liberal Valley USA (aka Northern California) are unfit as leaders, and morally bankrupt as individuals.

Take a guess as to why they want to stop the road blocks. Too expensive? Nope. Sick and tired of trampling rights? Ha! Piss poor use of precious police resources in the Murder Capital of Northern California? Surely you jest. No, the reason they are stopping the road blocks is because one politician, City Council President Ignacio De La Fuente, thinks the rights of illegal aliens are being trampled.

Fuck.

Some other community "leaders" agree,

"These checkpoints make people's lives miserable, not make them safer," said Jesus Rodriguez of Oakland Community Organizations, which filed most of the complaints about the checkpoints. "I've watched while the police have towed away cars (full) of groceries, leaving children crying on the sidewalk."

Well, we wouldn't want to inconvenience these criminals, now would we? I'd like to ask Mr. Rodriquez if he'd have his panties in such a wad if the police had towed away a car full of groceries, with crying kids on the sidewalk, if the driver of the car had broken another law. Oh, something like robbery or fraud.

Well wake up and smell the coffee folks, because that is exactly what illegal aliens are doing. They are stealing our resources, and they are doing it under fraudulent circumstances (they have to lie about not being illegals to get work, right?). That's on top of the fact that simply entering our country without permission is illegal in and of itself.

But that doesn't seem to faze the likes of Mr. De La Fuente or Mr. Rodriguez. No, they have some perceived allegiance to these poor, down trodden, just-trying-to-make-a-buck folks. What they don't realize, and what their true constituents need to remember at election time, is that every job that is give to an illegal alien, is a job that could have gone to a citizen or legal resident. And don't give me the crap about how no one else will take these jobs. As I pointed out here, it is the illegal aliens that are artificially keeping wages down, not the fact that no one will do the work.

If you live in Oakland or any other city that is following this destructive path, you need to become politically active and stop this cancer before it rots the very core of your community.

Update

It seems as though the Chief of Police has told Mr. De La Fuente to pound sand. He says he has no intentions whatsoever of discontinuing the roadblocks. On the one hand, I'm glad he didn't cave to PC pressure. On the other hand, the roadblocks continue to be a violation of our rights, and need to be discontinued for reasons of personal liberty.

At least for the time being

I am still thankful of the day that Ahhhnold became the Guv of California. He just vetoed a bill that would have allowed illegal aliens to obtain a legal driver's license. Former Governor Davis would have been out there handing out registration forms and getting signatures for a petition drive to allow illegals to vote for the next Guv. Hey, they've got ID, car insurance, a job. Why not let them vote? You're not a racist, are you?

Maybe we need to give them the right to vote as soon as they get here. Otherwise if they're ever convicted of a felony, how would we be able to take away their right to vote? That would be racist, and just plain mean. Imagine the paperwork at the Department of Rights For Not Totally Legal ('illegal' just sounds like scary lawyer stuff) Californians (can't say 'aliens' because they didn't come here on spaceships, silly!).

I digress. I'm not -again - going to go into the insanity of allowing a person that has broken into our state, is using up many more resources than they generate, and - did I mention they're here ILLEGALLY - then giving them a legal form of identification. If you have two gray cells to rub together, you've got to wonder about who could think this is a good idea.

Apparently, some of our politicians fall into that category.

Anyway, I was reading an article on the subject, and this line kicked me in the tender nether-regions:

For illegal immigrants now in California, it means that every drive to work or the grocery store continues to be an illegal one.

Really. NO SHIT! You see, even if they had a license, it would still be an illegal drive, because, well, THEY'RE HERE ILLEGALLY!

I gotta write a letter. There's got to be some sanity left in Sacramento, right?

Just back from a very restful 10 days of vacation. Some thoughts as the real world seeps back into my life:

• Didn't anyone from CBS ever go to journalism school? I thought you always checked your sources before publishing a story. Holy crap, could they be more stupid?
  
• Some kid in his early 20's was stabbed to death after the Giants game in which Barry Bonds hit number 700. The reason he was stabbed - 3 times in the heart - was that, while leaving the game, he bumped into the side-view mirror of a car. A car that was occupied by 3 gang members. I hope these fuckers roast in hell when they're caught.
  
• Anyone up another hurricane? What the hell is going on? I'm not one of those weather geeks, but I can't remember this many hurricanes in a single season. Ever. I understand that this is God's way of punishing Florida for stealing the election in 2000 (Source: Democratic Underground). ;-)
  
• I brew my own beer. This past weekend, I had an Oktoberfest party (YES, the real Oktoberfest also started on September 18th. Don't ask me why, just drink). We had 50+ folks over, lots of food, 7 styles of beer, 7 flavors of soda for the kids. Note to self: A 45 year old liver and kidneys do not process beer the way they used to when you were 25. I was totally and utterly useless on Sunday. Gone. Spent. Did I mention useless? Shit. I know how Dan Rather feels.
  

See ya 'round.

'Experian' Means Idiot In Latin

I've got to buy a new phone. I busted mine all up today.

I subscribe to one of those credit reporting services. They send me an email if anyone messes with my credit in any way, shape or form. It also allows me to go in and pull up a credit report at any time. The service is called Credit Manager and the company is owned by Experian.

I ran a report today, and it shows one of my credit cards as being "closed by subscriber" as well as being in dispute. Being that I am the subscriber, this information surprised me, as I have never disputed my card, and it works just fine, thank you very much.

I click through the site to find a phone number, and am finally connected with a 'human' (I use the term very loosely) after dicking around with the phone tree for what seemed like hours.

We go through all of the verification steps, and I explain my problem. Card is fine. Report shows dispute. How do I fix this? Not rocket science. Seems pretty pedestrian. Oh, how foolish of me.

"May I place you on hold, sir?" Sure.

Maybe two minutes pass. "Sir, if you want to place a dispute on your card, you will need to go to the website to do this."

Thanks, I tell her, but my problem is with a functioning credit card that their service says has a dispute and is closed down, neither of which are correct.

"May I place you on hold, sir?" Like I have a choice. Go ahead.

This time, I actually check my watch. Three minutes and 40 seconds later, "Sir, to report fraudulent activity on your card, you need to contact Experian fraud reporting directly. Would you like the number?"

I'm pissed, now. I ask her how in Gods name she came to the conclusion that there was fraudulent activity on my card. She says, "Isn't that what you just told me, sir? Would you like the number of Experian fraud reporting?"

I feel the carbon in the telephone handset beginning to turn to diamonds due to the pressure of the death grip I've got on it's midsection. No, I say, let me talk to your supervisor.

"May I place you on hold, sir?" I chew through my lower lip attempting to stifle the primal scream forcing it's way from my being.

"Yes, I'll hold."

Four minutes and 5 seconds later she returns. "I'm sorry sir, but my supervisor is handling another call at this time." No doubt she's trying to talk the last victim of this insipid twit down from the ledge of his office building.

"Since we get our information directly from Experian, you'll need to contact them directly." Oh. I tell her I'm looking at their site right now, and it has the Experian logo in the upper right corner of the home page. In fact, Experian is all over their site. What's the deal? "We're a separate company that is owned by Experian." Fine. Can you connect me, or give me their 800 number? "No sir. You'll need to go directly to the Experian web site for that information."

I feel a vein explode in my forehead. The vein that has been beating like a conga drum player on crack. It suddenly gives way, covering my desk, monitor, and the wall on the far side of my office with the fine, bright red stream of my fluid of life.

I was all a blur, really. The swift, swinging-of-the-axe motion, as I slammed the handset into the cradle. The hairline crack, emerging from the back of the handset, like the crack in the thin ice after you've walked too far out on to the pond. This won't be covered by an expense report.

She's won the first round, but I'll be back. Oh yeah, I'll be back...

Compassionate, My Ass

There continues to be a lot of discussion about the pros and cons of our immigration policy. Typically, those on the left say we need to let everyone and anyone into our country. The poor in Mexico just want to better their lives, and we have so much wealth that we should share it. If they come here sick, or become ill while here illegally, we should pay for all of their health care, because, well, we should share our wealth. And because they've had it so bad, give them breaks on things like the cost of a college tuition, first-time homebuyer give-aways and free health care (oops, did I already say that one?). After all, we have so much wealth, we need to share it with the less fortunate. Even if we don't want to share.

The right, on the other hand, generally supports much tighter border policies. Allow a certain number of immigrants into the country each year, make them responsible for themselves, and kick their assess out of here if they don't follow our laws to the letter. If they're here legally, they can have access to our health care system, but only if they've contributed to it. We will accept no slackers. This is not (well, should not be) a welfare state. You're our guest, and will follow our rules. Don't like 'em, then beat it.

As you may have guessed, I lean well to the right on this one. Apparently even farther to the right than our illustrious president, who favors amnesty, and open borders, and all kinds of huggy-feely stuff with our neighbors to the south.

I genuinely believe that our citizenship has value. If you're a citizen, you are allowed all of the rights, privileges and responsibilities that go with it. If you're here with a green card, I'd allow you most of those things. Still can't vote, but you'd get most others. If you're here illegally, you should get a free stay in our luxurious border suites, known as "jails", and an all expense paid ticket home. If only that were the case....

Now, those on the left will call me a heartless prick for my stance on this issue. "They're just poor innocents, trying to feed themselves and their families." They then hit you with the kicker: "What would YOU do if you were in their position?" Honestly, I might do the same thing, but that doesn't make it right.

What the left does not understand, or refuses to consider, is that their stance - open, seamless borders - hurt poor Americans, and make those evil rich Americans even richer. The only ones getting helped are the illegal aliens, and then, only for a short while.

Let's look at a real situation that happened in San Francisco a few years back.

The union that represents the hotel maids and cleaning ladies were asking for a raise for their members. I may be pulling numbers out of my ass, but it was from something like $5 per hour to $5.50. The hotels stood firm. Nothing doing.

The unions threatened to go on strike. "Take your best shot," said the hotels. So they did.

The unions went on strike, and the hotels never missed a beat. You see, as soon as they walked out, the hotels had every position filled within hours - by illegal aliens - for UNDER $5 per hour.

Here's the kicker: Everyone knew they we illegals, but no one did much about it. SF is such a politically correct shit hole, that they were torn between the striking union workers and the illegal aliens (I mean down trodden masses from the south).

What the left doesn't understand is that stronger border control makes the bargaining power of the poor much stronger. Secure borders will allow certain unskilled labor positions to earn more money. It's all supply and demand. Those hotels would NEVER allow their rooms to become messy pig stys. You don't pay $600 a night for some half-ass cleaned up room. For the hotels to survive, the rooms must be immaculate, each and every day.

There is value to the cleaning service. But being an unskilled position, ANYONE can be taught to do it. By allowing illegals to take these positions (for daily wage amounts that represent a month's salary in Mexico), the people with the union jobs lose because the supply of qualified workers - illegal or not - out strips the demand, and this pushes down wages.

There is simply no reason that is in the best interests of the United States, to have open borders. Our workers are hurt by lower wages. Because we have lower wages, we are unable to buy as many consumer goods. Goods aren't being sold because of lowered demand, so factories close, putting more workers out on the street. It's a vicious circle and our politicians must have the backbone to stand up to the special interests and do what is best for THIS country.

Fred On Everything had a wonderful article, a part of which touched on this issue - how to stop illegals? Clearly the problem would be solved if employers stopped hiring the illegal aliens. The illegals would have no reason to cross the border if there was no work, right?

Fred's answer was to essentially place a bounty on the heads of illegals, with the bounty being paid for by the employer. Make the bounty $10,000. If you rat out an employer with illegals, you get $5,000 per "head", and the government gets the other $5,000 to administer the program.

What could possibly be wrong with this plan? Dishonest employers are being fined for breaking the law. Illegal aliens are being removed from our employment rolls, raising the living standards of American's and legal aliens, and industrious "bounty hunter" types are making some cash by helping to rid our street of criminals.

Sounds like a plan to me. Know of any politicians with the stones to suggest it?

Me neither.