A Good Christian Raisin’ and a Eighth Grade Education
Actually no demand at all, but I’ve added the poll back onto the site. I don’t think anyone missed it, or if they did I didn’t hear about it. But, as Say Uncle says, “Remember, I do this to entertain me, not you.” I think he only says that because “Powered by Spite” was taken.
So please vote on the latest poll. I’ll switch them out and write really long posts about the results when I get bored and want to change them–every 4 or 5 months or so.
A new aggregate site was launched Monday for conservative and free market blogs in Tennessee. Â Check out Tennessee News Platoon. Â There are already has some great posts up, and I’ve subscribed to the feed. Â The goal is government transparency and accountability.
Yeah!
I have to credit a buddy of mine in Chicago for bringing this one to my attention.
You’ve probably heard about the workers in Chicago staging a sit in at the Republic Windows and Doors plant. Their beef is that the company is not paying the workers enough notice before closing, which is a violation of their contract. That sucks for them, but somehow the government places blame with…
Earlier Monday, Gov. Rod Blagojevich, several alderman and Cook County officials offered their support for the workers’ protest and threatened to suspend business with Bank of America if a resolution was not reached.
How is it Bank of America’s fault that this company can’t run profitably? Â Are they actually trying to coerce Bank of America to lend out money to a company that can’t repay it?
Uh, correct me if I’m wrong, but wasn’t most of this financial mess started when government forced financial institutions to lend money to people who couldn’t afford to pay it back?
It’s been a long time since I’ve posted a Toonlet. Â It’s not that I don’t have any material. Â There are volumes of one liners perfectly suited for cartoons. Â And boy do I know some characters. Â It just slipped my mind for some reason.
This particular situation occurred on a night that began in an airport bar in Atlanta, continued on a trans-Atlantic flight, moved to a hotel bar in Limerick, then to a rugby match (sneaky with the flasks), some local pubs, a dance club, a miserably hot and humid train ride to Dublin sitting across from a guy who sniffed snuff every 45 seconds or so, a car ride to a pub out in the country with a driver who had never driven on the left side of the road, and another rugby match.
It goes without saying that most of us were ready to take a break from the sauce and sleep for a couple of hours. Â Most of us. Â Also, notice the new character–Mr. Soft Touch
I’m going to have to try and be delicate with this one…where to start?
First the background:  A Knox County Assistant District Attorney, Samyah Jubran, was done a favor by KPD Officer Hakan Dururvurur when he let her drive home even though he thought she was too impaired to do so after a traffic stop.  What the commenters over at the KNS seem to be hung up on is the idea that she was done this favor because of her position and that the same rules should apply to everyone.
Yeah, that’s true. Â But that’s not the real problem here in my eyes. Â People get breaks all the time for a whole array of reasons. Â Maybe it’s because they are pretty. Â Maybe because it is raining and the cop doesn’t want to pull them over because he doesn’t want to get out in it. Â Maybe the cop is really trying to catch people with outstanding warrants, not traffic violations. Â Maybe it’s because the people pulled over are just some fun-loving guys being towed down a street by a truck and a rope with smoke and sparks coming off their skis but not actually harming anyone.
When these people are private citizens, that’s one thing. Â It may not be fair, but it’s not much worse than a nice lady at a convenience store giving you free coffee. Â Thanks ladies.
The real problem is that this situation leaves the hint that (if not caught by the media) the prosecuter receiving the “favor” would have owed a favor back to the officer. Â It’s not that he let her drive impaired. Â That’s a separate issue. Â He could have done something as simple as allowing her to park in a tow away zone or letting her into the back door of a concert whose door he was securing while moonlighting in his off hours. Â Maybe this favor is expected to be returned when he has arrested someone he doesn’t like and the DA is riding the fence over whether or not to prosecute. Â Maybe the return favor is a nudge toward prosecution.
I guess what I’m getting at is that we should be less concerned with the fact that the rules don’t apply to everone. Â That is a fact. Â It has always been that way. Â But when you or I get a break, it’s just that–a break. Â We should be more concerned with the fact that favors done amongst those inside the system can so easily pervert justice.
It’s not a fairness issue. Â It’s an ethics issue. Â And I’d bet it goes on way more than we’ll ever know.
**UPDATE**
KNS released the video today. Â To be fair, I don’t think this officer did her much of a favor. Â She didn’t look or sound drunk to me, and have seen and heard many a drunk in my day. Â However, it still “looks” bad.
There’s a group of Knoxville Twitterish types gearing up to run the Jingle Bell 5k here in Knoxville on December 13. Brandon over at Knoxify has more information, including team name and link to sign up. Oh wait, I can give you that here.
Come on out and run with us while you can still beat me. I’m making a comeback, this is my only race of 2008, and then it is ON in ’09.
