"Here sir, the people govern."
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Friday, June 10, 2011
Weiner's "Weiner"
To lie or not to lie-
Friedrich Nietzsche stated, "One may sometimes tell a lie, but the grimace that accompanies it tells the truth." This quote could not be more perfect to describe Representative Anthony Weiner.
Nearly two weeks ago, Weiner snapped a lewd photo of his body and sent it over his Twitter account to a female. Instead of sending through his private account, Weiner mistakenly sent it over his public Twitter account for the world to see. Oops.
His world has now been turned upside down and to make matters worse, he denied that he had anything to do with it. Instead insisting, "he was a victim of a 'hack' and 'prank'." Weiner lied and acted as if he were a victim of someone else's cruel joke. Even mentioning that he was going to get an investigative company to research the crime. It is a shame that he failed to understand the ins and outs of the computer world. After realizing that he was caught without any escape, Weiner finally admitted to his lack of judgment and acknowledged the he “did a regrettable thing, and for that I apologize.”
Apologize for what, however? The lewd photo, the shame he has brought his new family or once again, helping to reinforce the fact that politicians are excellent liars and care very little for the truth- even when it is staring them in the face or should I say "pants"?
Yes, Weiner has again brought our American Congress to yet another low. With sex crimes spiraling out of control, internet pornography and child molestation at an all time high, Mr. Weiner has shown the world that even our elected leaders enjoy the debauchery that only a camera phone and Twitter account can bring.
He is sure to be run out of office by his colleagues and constituents. Right?
Wrong. According to a recent poll, "56 percent of registered voters" in his district wanted him not to resign. "One-third said he should step down" while "12 percent are unsure."
But hey, who in Washington hasn’t been caught with their pants down?
Sunday, June 5, 2011
Welfare Drug Testing
Governor Rick Scott signed a law requiring welfare applicants to agree to submit urine, blood or hair samples for drug testing before receiving cash benefits from the state.
"The goal of this is to make sure we don't waste taxpayers' money," Scott said. "And hopefully more people will focus on not using illegal drugs."
But the ACLU of Florida, which filed suit against Scott over a measure requiring government employees to undergo random drug testing, disagrees, and may sue over the welfare law as well.
"What (Scott) is doing is giving ugly legitimacy to an unfortunate stereotype that has been in this country for a couple of decades -- that all welfare recipients are a bunch of drug abusers," said Howard Simon, executive director of the ACLU of Florida.
Welfare applicants will get reimbursed for negative drug tests. If the applicant fails the test they will be blocked from getting any welfare for six months. If they fail the test a second time, it will result in a three-year ban.
Parents who fail drug tests can only get welfare for their kids by naming another person who does not fail the drug test and must be approved by the state.
Controversy over the measure was heightened by Scott's association with a company he co-founded that operates walk-in care clinics in Florida and counts drug screening among the services it provides.
In April, Scott, transferred his ownership interest in Solantic Corp. to a trust in his wife's name, said the company would not contract for state business, according to local media reports.
No other state currently requires drug testing for welfare recipients.
The effectiveness of testing is unknown. A pilot program that tested welfare recipients from 1999 to 2001 found that there was little difference in employment and earnings between those testing positive for drug use and those who were clean, according to a Florida State University researcher.
The issue is whether drug testing is constitutional. "I work for the ACLU, and it's our job to prevent trampling on the constitutional rights of people," Simon said. The Constitution mandates that searches cannot be conducted without probable cause, he said.
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