I was just reading over some of the recent court documents, for my county. This is what I found. All sentences were issued during the same week. MONDAY; Female age 19 . Theft. Class D Felony., One year in prison. All suspended but Four days. Credit given for two days already served. Why sentence to One year, if the actual sentence is merely four days. Just say a Four day sentence for a Class D felony? Male age 50. failure to register as a sex offender, Class D felony. One year, six month with credit for 180 days already served. So he gets a one year sentence. Assuming he gets good behavior credit for the 180 days served, (which is usually 1 day for each day served). Equals 270 days credit. Which in turn means he has credit for 270 days. Which leaves him 275 days in jail. Assuming good time credit for time he will spend in jail he will serve 137 days, or 4.5 months in jail of a 1 1/2 year sentence. TUESDAY Male age 32. Domestic battery Class D felony. Criminal confinement, Class D felony. Intimidation. Class D felony. Sentenced to 3 years in prison with credit for 163 days served. Female age 43. Theft, Class D felony. Sentenced to ONE (1) day, with credit for 1/2 day served as a Class A misdemeanor. WEDNESDAY Male age 28. Attempted dealing in methamphetamine. Class B felony. Neglect of a dependent. Class C felony. Two counts of aiding in theft. Class D felony. Ten years in prison with credit for 89 days earned. Thursday Female age 23. Possession of methamphetamine. Class D felony. Ssentenced to a year and a half in prison. ALL suspended. WHAT? Why bother to sentence her? Female age 26. Neglect of a dependent, Class D felony sentenced to ONE day in prison with a HALF day credit earned. Male age 56. Criminal recklessness with a deadly weapon. Class D felony as a Class A misdemeanor, Sentenced to 180 days in prison with all but TWO days suspended. Does any one see a trend here? Very small sentences, (in the end). For felonies. I remember reading about a man many years ago in Texas who received a life sentence for stealing a 5 cent candy bar. Do these small sentences curtail future crimes.? Probably not. That Is How I See It, merely Views: 416
Category: USA
Time for National Anthem Change?
In light of all the criticism of how the ‘STAR SPANGLED BANNER” has been performed and questioning if it is appropriate for sporting events. I think it is time to consider a change. The “STAR SPANGLED BANNER ” is a war inspired song. A poem set to the tune of an old ENGLISH drinking song. Very hard to sing. (I suppose if you were in an English Pub and had been putting down a few pints. It would not matter). Besides the “STAR SPANGLED BANNER”, only pertains to a single battle, long ago in our history. My preferred replacement song would be ” GOD BLESS AMERICA”. This is often sang at sporting events in lieu of the “STAR SPANGLED BANNER” and I think it better fits the thoughts of our founding fathers as they created this great country. I know you have the minority atheists who would complain because they want to kick GOD out of America. But it still fits our roots much better, and doesn’t sound so war like. I don’t think the U.S.A. really wants to sound like we are a warring nation. My SECOND choice is “MY COUNTRY TIS OF THEE” Which served as our unofficial National Anthem prior to the adoption of “STAR SPANGLED BANNER”. I, for one do not like change. I like tradition. But in my search I found that of many years as a Nation, “THE STAR SPANGLED BANNER’ has only been our National Anthem since March 3, 1931. By Congressional Resolution. A short span in our history. How do you feel? Is it time to get a more appropriate National Anthem? One that better reflects the Ideals of the United States of America. That Is How I See It. Views: 228
State Looks to Raise Gas Tax
Our state. like most states, is looking for more money. With our unemployment above 9%. Where do you go. The solution they think of is raising GAS TAX. Earlier our Government was telling us to combat high prices drive less. Then we had the clunker thing. (All that accomplished was taking many a vehicle the lower income people could afford to buy and do necessary travel), out of service. Now Our State Servants, have an attitude of: if we need money add taxes, or increase taxes, or somehow get the people pay for it. An Aside here. I just looked and our Servants in the state capital make in excess of $30,000 a year for about 2 months of service. Not bad for a part time job. Any way now with less gas sales due to the economy, and as I see it Price Gouging by the greedy oil companies. Price in our state is now, as I write, is $3.55 9/10 a gallon for regular. We pay sales tax on gas at the rate of 7% (supposedly pre-tax STATE and Federal), we don’t know for sure as it is figured in at the pump. We presently pay 18% a gallon State tax. With 18.4% Federal tax. I’m not a mathematician so I won’t TAX my brain to figure out what the untaxed price of gasoline is. Just guessing total tax Federal what 65 cents, a gal. and about the same for State. That takes the price to what about $2.25 per gal. which would make us paying about 15 cents per gallon sales tax. Hmmm. Looks to me like the Government is making more per gallon than the dealer. So right now it appears that our State government is making about 80 cents a gallon from taxes. That with no expenses. I say no expenses but the dealer gets maybe a penny or two for collecting the sales tax. Will our state be satisfied making $1.00 a gallon. That would be about a 20 cent hike in taxes. Like I said our state likes taxes. You pay tax on everything you buy, rent, use, sell, earn, we even pay sales tax on every game we bowl. Use less gas. Pay more taxes per gallon. Combat greedy oil companies use less gas, they raise their price so they can live the high life at our expense. To me we taxpayers are in a no win situation. Government and Oil Companies are going to maintain their profits plus, regardless of the hardship it brings the people. Perhaps the hardest people hit by this is the people out of work and the retired person who has lost his savings due to the economy. For these people it is like locking them in their homes. Limited income will only stretch so far. When gas prices rise, so do prices of food, and about everything else. The increased cost of production and transportation has to be absorbed somewhere, (we the consumers). Oh and a bonus for the STATE increased price means more sales tax money. That Is How I See It. Views: 143
St. Patrick’s Day
St. Patrick’s Day. A day we celebrate with parades, shamrocks, and green beer. But who was St. Patrick, and why do we celebrate a day with his name. St. Patrick a, Christian leader, is revered by Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodoxy, Lutheran Church, and the Anglican Communion. Patrick, the only name I could find, was born in the year 385 at Banna Venta Berniae. of Roman Britain, and died March 17, 461 age 75 or 76 depending on month of birth. (There are some who believe his death was in 493.) The son of a high ranking Roman family. Around his 16th year he was captured by marauders, and sold into slavery as a shepherd for an Irish Chief, from Antrim, (a country in N.E Ireland). While tending these flocks he would pray to God as many as one hundred times a day. It was in those six years young Patrick learned the Celtic language . His master ,Milchu, was also a high druid. Thus Patrick learned of the primeval Irish religions. He fled to Tours (a city in Western France). While at Tours, Patrick became a missionary and later was dispatched to Britain to combat wrongful teachings of Pelagius, (an English monk whose teachings opposed those of St Augustine). Although St. Patrick is accredited with ridding Ireland of snakes, evidence supports the theory after the Ice Age, Ireland never had snakes. It is suggested the “snakes” referred the serpent symbolism of the Druids. The shamrock, you see in so many St. Patricks Day was used by him while explaining the Holy Trinity. St Patricks Day parades was started by the American-Irish who celebrated the saint’s feast day by marching through the streets of New York in 1792. Although Chicago is host to the most famous St. Patrick’s Day celebration. Kiss me I’m Irish. Some enterprising person came up with this idea, because of the Blarney Stone of Irish legend. Supposedly kissing the Blarney Stone, (A stone built into the Blarney Castle; which one has to lean out on a ledge look up and kiss), brings one the gift of gab. The thinking was….If you can’t kiss the stone, then kiss an Irishman. When drinking your “green beer” say “slainte! (Pronounced slancha). Irish version of “cheers.” Slainte means health. Again, we have here a holiday no self respecting atheist can celebrate without being a hypocrite. Too Bad. Happy St Patrick’s Day!! That Is How I See It. Views: 277
Day Light Savings Time
I’ll start this by saying. If you have a bank and you have a savings account, would you not be able to have at least a little bit of money saved? If you went six months later to withdraw some of that money, and found you had none, WHAT would you do? Would you go see a lawyer, just complain to the bank, or would you have an alternative of some kind? I have been on this futile trip many years, and when I go to withdraw the daylight I have none. So if you have a secret of how to get that daylight let me know. PLEASE! If you are a poor working stiff I’d be willing to bet you don’t like losing an hour of sleep. A shorter weekend. I know of some people who have lost their jobs because their body cannot adjust to the change. People who do make it to work on time are often drowsy, an inability to stay awake, thus increasing accidents not only at work but on the way to work. Till Roenneberg, is CHRONOBIOLOGIST, (that is a fancy way of saying he is an expert of how time affects life). Roenneberg is staff member of the University of Munich. Here is what he has to say about Daylight Saving Time. “Our internal clocks set themselves according to the environment”. “So, our natural chronometers keep time with the sun, not the alarm clocks sitting by our beds, and this is the main reason it is hard for us to adjust”. “The social time changes but the sun does not.” Supposedly, (per our government), The change is to save energy. There has been no proof of any such savings. There IS proof, however, the consumption of gasoline rises. I know most of my friends have to be at work between 6 am and 7am. It is still dark. When it doesn’t get dark until around 10pm it makes it harder to fall asleep at a proper time. Not to mention, have you ever tried to get children to bed when it is daylight? Good Luck. Children start going to school at dark. Not a real safe thing to do. While growing up in a small town, one of the rules was be home by sunset. Now that would mean 10 pm. Too late. Farmers do you have more daylight time to get your work done? Apparently not I see many of you in your fields after dark. Do your animals know you have changed the time on your alarm clock? ARIZONA is the only state that has a state government smart enough to leave the clock alone, and let nature take it’s course. Now for some it is even worse. You take Indiana for example. Indiana is a state which is actually situated in the CENTRAL TIME ZONE. But during the switch from mainly agricultural to manufacturing, the government decided to align itself with NEW YORK, rather than CHICAGO. My friends there tell me a few years ago, their Governor, Mitch Daniels, forced them to change to ATLANTIC TIME, during the daylight savings period. I guess the people never got to vote on it and some of their representatives even faced divorce, It seems the government did not have the votes in the Capitol Building to pass this atrocity, so what did they do. They put a hold on the voting for at least a day so they could bully the dissenters into changing their votes, going against the wishes of their constituents. The result is Indiana is 2 hours ahead of the sun. I would like to see them admit that there is no daylight saving, merely a shift of time zones. EDT = Atlantic Standard Time. CDT= Eastern Standard Time. etc. You get the picture If we have to endure this hardship so a few wealthy executives, can have a little more time to get their GOLF in, then why can’t we at least have a truth in time law. That Is How I See It. Views: 629
Trump for President??
For those of you who don’t watch commercials, and things. Donald Trump has been bantering about a run for United States President. The Donald, as I believe his first wife Ivanka, referred to him, seems to have all the qualifications to become President of the United State. 1. He has a college degree: (not so much in the COMMON SENSE department). 2. Born with a silver spoon in his mouth. (Never knew the joys of getting by week to week with a dead end job.) 3. Began his career with, (as I understand), a million dollar apartment building, given to him by his father. 4. No REAL WORLD experience, 5. He does have a real plus. He has probably more experience filing bankruptcies than any one of us. (Or several of us put together, for that matter). As for me I view him as a POMPOUS, and OBSTINATE. person I would not even want to call friend: let alone, Mr. President. He calls himself an Independent Voter. Yet he jumps from Republican, Democrat, or whatever party will support him. As a true INDEPENDENT VOTER (who claims no party, thus I can’t even vote in primaries, because I believe: POLITICS makes for bad Government. No vote from me for The Donald. That Is How I See It. Views: 160
Anti-Union State Governments
Wisconsin and Indiana legislators are currently split over a bill which would essentially KILL unions. It would not be the first time for this type of Genocide. History shows the need for unions. Before unions there were no 5 day work weeks, rarely were there any benefits, medical, retirement, vacations, etc. We had child labor. Sweat Shops. Poor working conditions. So many things workers now enjoy. The quality of living was so low and little hope of getting better. Now for 3 views on UNIONS. A friend of mine is very anti union. He blames all the woes in the world on Unions. According to him we would have more jobs, and things would not cost so much. It is the greedy union members who earn too much and drive up costs of the products they make. Everyone would be able to own big houses, new cars, just about everything would be better without Unions. Another friend of mine works in an Union shop, and claims they do nothing for the members. This is true in their place of employment. Unions are only as strong as their membership. In this case the membership is so weak, they never fight for anything. They bargain for a benefits, working conditions, and shop rules. But when the company violates items of the AGREEMENT, the company falls back on “THE RIGHT TO MANAGE”. Example. One item calls for a 3 step procedure before termination. 1. Verbal Warning. 2 Written Warning. 3. Time off without pay. Recently in this down turn in economy. The Company has taken it upon themselves to make this a first time infraction…TERMINATION. How? Right to Manage. The Union just says OK. As you can see although the members pay the dues, the Company really runs the Union. Thank all Unions are not this bad. My view. Unions are very much needed. Without them many jobs would be eliminated. No overtime, vacation, retirement, medical and life insurance, no breaks, and many many other things we would be doing without. You anti-union people don’t realize you benefit from unions also. If the unions did not win these concessions, do you think you would be enjoying the higher wages, and benefits, you have. NO! How many of your children have benefited from the the things unions fought and sacrificed for. Just think how our quality of life rose during unions haydays. The fifties, and sixties. Were great for the people. IBM, known as a great place to work, A friend of mine who worked his way up from a floor laborer, to a Vice Presidential, position explained the reason for IBM’s success as a great work place, was managements recognization of union negotions. He told me they would offer the same benefits, and sometimes a step better to keep there people and not have any breaks due to strikes, etc. Things were going great. Then Reagan, a former Union President, became President of the United Stats. You remember him as the Great Union Breaker. After he broke the air controllers union, Unions began losing strength. I wonder if he would have approved of his own actions if the government had tried to break his union at the time he was prsident of his Union. Then we had Clinton as President of the United States, he was also a Union Breaker, only more deadly. He said. I have a great idea. If you don’t like unions in your company take the jobs to foreign countries. Code name, (NAFTA). What does this do with our legislators not meeting and staying out of their state? When you lack numbers to win a battle you have to look at alternatives. Boycotting has always been a very effective way of combat. Provided you can secure the numbers to be effective. As is see it this is the only weapon these legislators have at their disposal to do what their constituents ask of them. As for the UNION members. Members must also take into the state of the country, it’s economy, and the effects of NAFTA. when they go to the bargaining table. Use some common sense in what they are asking for. Unions are good for America. That Is How I See It. Views: 140
