The case of alleged Gary, Indiana serial killer, Darren Vann,is both shocking and chilling. Vann has copped to the murders of 4 women, and Gary police are searching for 3 more bodies. In addition, there is speculation that Vann may have murdered other women across the couintry over the past 20 years.
When a case like this hits the headlines, it is often the police who bear the brunt of the criticism: Why didn't they find the killer sooner? Why couldn't they prevent these murders? The common complaints are not enough police; not enough funding of police; incompetent officers. While these reasons may be part of the problem, there is yet one more factor behind high crime rates that draws scant attention. Our judicial system.
In Texas, back in the nineties, Darren Vann raped and attempted to strangle a woman. For this brutal crime, he was sentenced to a lousy, stinking 5 years for rape and attempted murder. People have gotten longer sentences for a few DUI's.
Flash forward to Gary, Indiana. Darren Vann assaulted his girlfriend, doused her with gasoline and attempted to set her on fire. His punishment for this repugnant crime? Probation!!! That's right, not a single second of punishment behind bars for attempting to set his girlfriend on fire. What the hell was the judge thinking? What kind of deal did prosecutors make?
Darren Vann isn't the only example of judicial irresponsibility.How many times have we heard or read about dangerous criminals getting a slap on the wrist from a judge, then going out and commiting a heinous crime?
It is time the judicial system be held accountable. Lenient sentences by too many political hack judges are costing lives and wasting taxpayer dollars. There are judges that need to be removed from the Bench before more victims are removed from this earth.
Wednesday, October 22, 2014
Thursday, October 16, 2014
FREAKIN FRACKING
Yesterday I filled my car with gas and paid $3.06 a gallon. Just this past spring I paid 4 bucks a gallon. Why the drop in gas prices? There are many diverse factors that go into determining the price of oil, but certainly one of the primary factors is a thing called "fracking." Fracking is the technique used to extract petroleum from shale rock. There are many goups around the country that are vehemently opposed to fracking and are fighting to stop it. Who can blame them? It's those damn evil, greedy oil companies looking to screw us again. Let me list the horrors created by fracking.
1. The US has become the world's leading producer of liquid petroleum products, beating out the Saudis. We have gone from producing 8 million barrels of oil a day, to 12 million barrels a day.
2. True to the laws of supply and demand, the increase in oil has brought the price of gasoline down, putting more money in the pockets of working people.
3. Fracking has created thousands of good paying jobs. Not minimum wage jobs, but jobs paying 30 dollars an hour and up.
4.We have become less dependent on foreign oil, thereby keeping more money in the US, while creating more jobs.
5. We are sending billion of dollars less to the Middle-East, where some of that money ends up in the pockets of Islamic terrorists who have vowed to destroy our country.
I know...right? Fracking is a terrible idea. What happened to the good ole days when we paid 4 dollars a gallon for gas?
1. The US has become the world's leading producer of liquid petroleum products, beating out the Saudis. We have gone from producing 8 million barrels of oil a day, to 12 million barrels a day.
2. True to the laws of supply and demand, the increase in oil has brought the price of gasoline down, putting more money in the pockets of working people.
3. Fracking has created thousands of good paying jobs. Not minimum wage jobs, but jobs paying 30 dollars an hour and up.
4.We have become less dependent on foreign oil, thereby keeping more money in the US, while creating more jobs.
5. We are sending billion of dollars less to the Middle-East, where some of that money ends up in the pockets of Islamic terrorists who have vowed to destroy our country.
I know...right? Fracking is a terrible idea. What happened to the good ole days when we paid 4 dollars a gallon for gas?
Wednesday, October 8, 2014
LEGALIZED EXTORTION
I am often asked why I am a libertarian, and exactly what is a libertarian. In general terms, libertarians believe in a very small and limited government because 80% of all politicians are unprincipiled, arrogant and ignorant. I will provide an example of the ignorance of our elected officials.
One of the constant themes that government promotes is about "saving." Politicians and economists lament that Americans do not save enough of their hard earned wages, and they are not incorrect in that appraisal. Save, we are told. SAVE. SAVE. SAVE. Save for a rainy day. Save for your retirement because you can't count on social security or medicare to do it all. Save if you want your golden years to be financially secure and worry-free.
Save I did. Not because the government told me, but because it is the sensible, practical and rational thing to do. Like tens of millions of Americans, I have a 401K account and an IRA. Now here comes the interesting part. When I hit 70 1/2 years of age, I received a notice from the IRS advising me that I would now have to make a compulsory withdrawal from my IRA and 401K on an annual basis, or face severe penalties. So what happened to the virtue of saving money? What happened to setting money aside for protection and security in our senior years?
What happened is this: the 401K's and IRA's are tax exempt, which means the money growing in those accounts can't be touched by the IRS. At some point, the politicans realized they were losing billions of dollars, so in their utter lack of wisdom and economic commons sense, they passed a law that forces American seniors to begin making minimunm withdrawls when they reach 70 1/2, the amount determined by the amount in their accounts. In plain and simple terms it amounts to a money grab the way the mafia used to extort money from honest shopkeepers. (You don't pay us, somethin' bad could happen to yer establishment.)
The government wants a piece of those billions, and to hell with your financial security or the wisdom of saving. Added to that is the tax placed on the interest earned on everyone's savings. How does that promote frugality? Can you think of a more short-sighted, self-defeating, stupid and unprincipiled policy?
That is one reason I am a libertarian. Discuss amongst yourselves.
One of the constant themes that government promotes is about "saving." Politicians and economists lament that Americans do not save enough of their hard earned wages, and they are not incorrect in that appraisal. Save, we are told. SAVE. SAVE. SAVE. Save for a rainy day. Save for your retirement because you can't count on social security or medicare to do it all. Save if you want your golden years to be financially secure and worry-free.
Save I did. Not because the government told me, but because it is the sensible, practical and rational thing to do. Like tens of millions of Americans, I have a 401K account and an IRA. Now here comes the interesting part. When I hit 70 1/2 years of age, I received a notice from the IRS advising me that I would now have to make a compulsory withdrawal from my IRA and 401K on an annual basis, or face severe penalties. So what happened to the virtue of saving money? What happened to setting money aside for protection and security in our senior years?
What happened is this: the 401K's and IRA's are tax exempt, which means the money growing in those accounts can't be touched by the IRS. At some point, the politicans realized they were losing billions of dollars, so in their utter lack of wisdom and economic commons sense, they passed a law that forces American seniors to begin making minimunm withdrawls when they reach 70 1/2, the amount determined by the amount in their accounts. In plain and simple terms it amounts to a money grab the way the mafia used to extort money from honest shopkeepers. (You don't pay us, somethin' bad could happen to yer establishment.)
The government wants a piece of those billions, and to hell with your financial security or the wisdom of saving. Added to that is the tax placed on the interest earned on everyone's savings. How does that promote frugality? Can you think of a more short-sighted, self-defeating, stupid and unprincipiled policy?
That is one reason I am a libertarian. Discuss amongst yourselves.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)