Awwwwww....

Well, our local police are in the news again but at least this time it’s not because one got shot (thank God). This time it’s because they got caught on camera arresting a bad guy a little too zealously for some people’s taste.

It seems they came across a guy driving a car that matched the description of an armed robber and when they tried to pull him over, he ran from the cops leading them on a dangerous chase through Miami-Dade endangering the public, driving recklessly through city streets at high speed and into oncoming traffic. He finally drove into a barrier launching his car into the air almost flipping it. After it came to rest, he bailed out and started running on foot.

Just as the police were catching up to him and it became apparent he wasn’t going to get away, he belly flopped into some landscaping to give himself up. At that point, the cops arrived and jumped on him to take him into custody and there were some kicks and punches thrown in for good measure. This is what is now turning into a “Rodney King” like controversy.

The “victim”, Angel Soto and his girlfriend are now going to sue the police department. He didn’t think the officers were “justified” in punching him when he dove to the ground. Yeah right… Gimme a break. He showed the TV cameras where the bad ol' cops punched him and he had pain. Ok, everybody say, "Awwwww..." By the way, he didn't have a single mark on him so I don't think his "injuries" were too severe...

I heard the remark made that cops shouldn’t be allowed to beat bystanders any time they want… Bystanders??? I don’t thing Mr. Soto could be considered a “bystander” by any stretch of the imagination. Let’s see… Why did he decide to flee and endanger every innocent real “bystander” in the area? Because he was driving without a license. So he put everyone in danger just so he wouldn’t get a ticket. That’s good thinking, huh? So now we know we can’t consider him “innocent” either.

Oh, and by the way, he’s an ex-con that recently got out of prison for various charges including auto theft and, what do you know, fleeing from police. So he was breaking the law by driving without a license and then further broke the law by fleeing, committing numerous traffic offenses along the way, endangering everyone in the area including the police, intentionally crashes his car causing property damage, then tries to run on foot and he’s surprised that the cops punch him when they catch his sorry ass? HELLOOOOO...

Let me ask you something. If a guy walked up to you and slapped you across the face, what would you do? If you’re like me, you’d probably punch him square in the mouth. It’s just sort of a natural reaction to retaliate, right? Well, what if the guy slapped you and then right before you punched him he said, “No don’t hit me, I give up”, how would you react? Think about that. Well, Mr. Soto slapped the cops in the face.

Now the officers are on suspension and the scumbag is back out on the street. How is THAT justice? He’s out and ready to break the law again. Hell, I bet he drove home from jail. I think it’s about time we start caring more about the good guys and not about that we don’t baby the bad guys enough.

In my estimation, he got what he deserved and I hope he gets thrown back into prison. When you run from the police and endanger the public, you deserve to get your butt kicked. He’s a criminal. I really don’t care that the cops juiced him up a little.

So I’ve just got one thing to say to those Miami-Dade cops…

GOOD JOB GUYS!

The man has no class.

Well, it didn’t take long for President Hugo Chavez to show his true colors yet again. Merely days after suffering the defeat of his power grab referendum in Venezuela , he started spouting obscenity laced remarks and veiled threats to his opposition. It gave the appearance of a child throwing a temper tantrum. He vowed to keep working to push through his re-write of their constitution no matter what the people want. So much for graciousness in defeat…

It’s not hard to see through his attempts to appear as a responsible leader to realize he is just another wannabe dictator that craves absolute power over his people. Even before his grab at power, he used bullying tactics to impose his control over the opposition by strong-arming the media and shutting down broadcast stations that dare to voice any opposition to him. Now he tells opponents that are celebrating his defeat to “watch out” and “don’t provoke” him. He clearly has no tolerance for anyone that might disagree with him. Threats and heavy handed tactics will be his downfall. Even his supporters will begin to see what his true nature is and that he is not the savior they thought he was.

Already we are seeing people speaking out in other Latin American countries saying they have little confidence in his intentions for his country or his role in world affairs. Majorities in Chile , Brazil , Peru , Bolivia and Mexico all express their doubts about him. Is it any wonder when he makes public speeches ranting about how anyone that opposes his point of view are “traitors” and hurls insults at other world leaders that don’t happen to agree with him?

I think a lot of people in Venezuela are starting to feel a little embarrassed by his actions and are showing it with their votes. I wish them all the best in their fight to keep democracy and improve their country and way of life. It’s too bad their leader isn’t listening to them.

Kudos to the People of Venezuela

I must say I was a little surprised at the news that America hating Hugo Chavez actually admitted defeat in the recent vote in Venezuela about whether to do away with term limits. A victory would have let him remain in office basically for life, much like his idol Fidel Castro in Cuba. It also would have given him the power to move the country into a totalitarian socialist and then ultimately communist state.

I’m glad to see that the people of Venezuela came to their senses and voted down this attempt at unlimited power by their leader. They realized, much to their credit, that putting that kind of power into any one person’s hands would not be the best thing for their country and their way of life. I would like to commend the people of Venezuela for standing up for Democracy and not giving in to him, even though he called everyone not voting his way traitors and saying that if they voted against him, they were voting for George W. Bush. And they still voted it down. I bet that stung a little.

The interesting thing will be watching what happens now. He will still be in office until 2012 so what will he do now? The voters told him they don’t want socialism or communism, they want democracy. Will he try to do the best thing for the country? I sort of have a sneaking suspicion that he will try some other way to grab power before he leaves office. I think he will still try and move the country toward the type of government HE wants and not what the people want. Will he be a true man of the people or will he just be another power mad, ego driven politico only caring about elevating himself above the people?

Keep an eye on this one folks.

Bad Government. Is there any other kind?

Now here’s a monumentally bad idea. Florida ’s governor Charlie Crist is looking at selling the Florida toll roads to private companies. The prime candidate to be sold is Alligator Alley, the section of I-75 that goes from the east side of S. Florida over to the west side. It is basically the only way to go. It is the ONLY expressway across the Everglades and the only convenient way to get over to Naples , Cape Coral , Sanibel, etc. and the only way for people on that side to get over to Ft. Lauderdale , Miami and the Keys. So when it falls into the hands of a private company, what’s to stop them from raising the tolls from the present $2.50 up to $5 or $10 or even more? It is a virtual monopoly on a roadway. They can charge just about anything they want and people would have to ante up or drive an additional 70 miles or more on back roads to make the trip.

Governor Crist’s argument is that it will let the state garner a large sum of cash and he won’t have to raise taxes. And I’m here to tell you, that’s a load of bullshit. The LAST thing I want to see is any branch of government get it’s hands on a huge windfall of cash because the first thing they will want to do is find new ways to spend it, or more accurately, WASTE it. They will spend all the money and then raise taxes anyway to keep paying for the new government spending they wrote in when they got all the cash.

What ever happened to the idea that they will build a roadway and collect tolls until they recoup the cost of construction and then eliminate the tolls? That’s the whole idea of putting the toll on the road in the first place right? Or did everybody forget that part? Government officials will find a way to spend every cent they can get their hands on from any source they can get it from. Period. And once the cash is coming in, they aren’t going to turn off the spigot, so of course they just keep collecting the tolls.

There is no way you can convince me that selling the toll road and awarding a monopoly to a private company is in any way, shape or form, good for the citizens of S. Florida. It will end up costing the consumer more in the long run. You can bet on that.

Government waste

I just get disgusted when I see my tax dollars wasted. I have no problem with paying taxes for government programs that are needed and that do some actual good but that is not the case here.

Here is a link to the story in the Sun-Sentinel: http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/broward/sfl-flbgrant1109nbnov09,0,1201779.story I don't know how long it will be live, but here is basically what it's about...

The city of Parkland in S. Florida, which is one of the richest cities in the area, is using a $52,922 federal grant designed to be used to help the poor, to pay for museum-going, bowling, fishing trips and other jaunts for some of their senior citizens. Now don't get me wrong, I'm all for helping senior citizens, IF they need help, but Parkland (remember, one of the richest cities in the area) is populated by primarily well off citizenry that no more needs a handout than Bill Gates does, but because they qualify for the grant, they can use the money for pretty much anything they want, and not what it was really intended for.

The money will be used to pay for staff time, busses to shuttle the seniors, videotapes during the bus rides, office supplies, books, shirts for participants, admissions tickets, etc.

How can a city that has an average median household income more than twice the income of any other city in the county? Because, "seniors are presumed to be low-to-moderate income with a majority on a fixed income." PRESUMED... I would presume that with over double the average household income, these seniors are probably making more in retirement than most of the working class in the county makes working, yet WE are funding THEM. It's disgusting.

The officials of Parkland should be ashamed of themselves as should the rich seniors taking the dole when they don't really need it. It amounts to the rich stealing from the poor and it's yet another abuse and waste of the tax dollars of every hard working American.

It's about time we start doing something about things like this. We need to start voting people out of office that are responsible for wasting our hard earned dollars. I'm tired of working every day just to have the federal government take my money and throw it down the drain like this. Enough is enough.

Maybe it's time to start voting Libertarian...

My thoughts and opinions...

I guess I have been looking for an outlet for my thoughts, opinions and a good place to vent my frustrations once in a while so that is what this blog will be. More or less my day to day observations of what's happening in my area and elsewhere. I hope it's at least a little interesting to somebody out there and if you are reading this, thanks for stopping by. And stay tuned...