Who Decides Age of Marriage?

Lately the FLDS vs. Texas has been the news. Police, using what they say was a telephone plea for help, raided a compound, removing over 400 children. The court jumped at the chance to get involved and has arranged for the children to be separated from their mothers. Some claim they are concerned about some of the marriages being arranged. What is the problem? Arranged marriages occur in many countries around the world including the United States.

Most states set the minimum age to marry between and including 14-18 with New Hampshire setting the minimum age for girls at 13. In Utah for those 15 years old, parental consent must be obtained, approval from Juvenile Court is necessary with the court concluding the marriage is voluntary and in the best interests of the minor. In the best interests of the minor; I wonder what that includes and I wonder if the judge is a member of FLDS? Is that the fox watching the chickens? It is law is it right?

Throughout most of the 19th century, the minimum age of consent for sexual intercourse in many of the states was 10 years old. In Delaware it was seven; as late as 1930 twelve states allowed boys as young as 14 and girls as young as 12 to marry with parental consent.
Governments have problems regulating things:

• The Oregon legislature barred marriages between white people and anyone more than one-quarter black in 1859, just three years after statehood. (It also imposed a $5 tax on black, Chinese, Hawaiian and “mulatto” people.) A few years later, the legislature extended the ban to marriage between whites and “any Negro, Chinese, or any person having one fourth or more Negro, Chinese, or Kanaka (native Hawaiian) blood, or any person having more than one-half Indian blood.” No other state referenced Kanakas, and Nevada was the only other state to mention Chinese.
• Married women were not allowed to make legal contracts in twelve states until 1940.
• The sale of birth control devices to married couples was forbidden until 1965. In the early half of the 1900s contraception was charged with “perversion of natural function,” “immorality” and “fostering egotism and enervating self-indulgence.”
• Interracial marriage was forbidden and punishable by prison in 13 states until 1967.

If the state can decide what is best for the FLDS when do you suppose they will decide what is best for the Church of Christ and what do you suppose that might be?

If the state decides that marriage at 7 years is OK does that make it right? If the state decides that marriage at 7 years is not OK does it make it wrong. Who is to decide these matters and how do they decide? The courts have shown they are not capable of such decisions.

On the subject of adolescence a couple of stories recently in The Mountain Press. One, we have Miley Cyrus, I believe she is 15 years old, embarrassed over photographs she had taken of her by a professional photographer. Photographs approved by her parents. Photographs that have been called “risqué.” Second, we have a singing group, the Naked Brothers, 10 and 13 years old respectively appearing at Wal-Mart promoting their latest DVD “I Don’t Want to Go to School.”

Miley appears on the Disney Channel and the Naked Brothers appear on the Nicolodean channel. Both considered to be “kid friendly and family oriented.” Not so recently we have Jamie Spears, 16-years old, unmarried, pregnant on the Nicolodean channel's most popular show.

The world has changed. The transition between childhood and adulthood is much longer today than it was less than one hundred years ago, when a boy proved himself a man when he could shoulder and share adult hardships, risks, and responsibility working side by side with his father in the fields. By the time he was a seasoned seventeen or eighteen, he was ready to start his own family. A girl became a woman by the time she reached childbearing age; fourteen or fifteen was often considered old enough to marry. The transition from childhood to adulthood was so short that adolescence---at least as the distinct stage of life we now consider it---hardly existed.

Today the traditional determinations of adulthood---the establishment of occupation and family---are routinely postponed until after college. With the period of childhood innocence seeming shorter and shorter, we’ve created a new ten-or-twelve-or-more-years-long designation, a no-man’s land (or no-woman’s land) we term adolescence. Over the past fifty-years or so, this new limbo-land life stage has become an extended period of awkward uncertainty.

We have stretched adolescence further than anytime in history. Any child of any age, with the click of a mouse, can see naked people performing sexual activities of all persuasions, “meet” complete strangers while in their own homes while their parents cross their fingers and hope for the best.

Imagine how it will be for our great-grandchildren.

Justice? Mercy? Vengence?

In the criminal justice system no one wants justice. If we know the criminal we want mercy. If we do not, we want vengeance.

The story of David, Bathsheba, and Uriah gives us an insight into Gods forgiveness. David became sexually involved with the wife of Uriah, one of David’s Mighty Men. When Bathsheba became pregnant David attempted to cover up his sin. He had Uriah recalled. Uriah was such a dedicated soldier he would not go to his house while his men were not at there’s. David sent Uriah back to the front with a message to Joab. David knew Uriah would never read the message. The message instructed Joab to place Uriah at the front of the battle and withdraw from him allowing Uriah to be killed. Following the appropriate mourning period, David took Bathsheba as his wife, one of many.

It is reasonable to consider that Bathsheba was trying to seduce the King. She had to have seen the King walking on his rooftop. Possibly she was trying to attract his attention. No matter, David’s act was inexcusable. He had violated God’s law and taken another man’s wife. He was responsible for his own actions.

Think about it, Uriah died because he trusted his king, he trusted his commanding officer and he was loyal to his fellow soldiers. Talk about unfair.

BUT!!! God forgave David as well as Bathsheba and through their second son, Solomon, they were in the genealogy of the Messiah.

Lesson to be learned is forgive and move on, God has.

Lawsuits Must be Capped

It is inexcusable when neglect and carelessness adds to or causes the suffering and/or death. And it may be criminal.

Nursing home care is not the only place where the elderly are not treated as they should be. Remembering my parents' experience with doctors leads me and my two sisters to believe a lot of and maybe most doctors are not as inquisitive as they should be because the patient is old. As Mr. Fly verifies, the elderly are often ignored because the doctors believe they are just looking for attention. Aches and pains, while possibly serious and life-threatening, are often overlooked because aches and pains are part of getting old. Tests look for the obvious, and other possibilities are not considered because the patient is old. But, that is not reason enough to cause the rest of us to pay higher prices for nursing home care or for doctor care.

I have no idea what Mr. Fly's mother was paying for care, but would we be willing to pay double the amount, triple the amount, how about 10 times the amount?

All lawsuits must have a cap and a time limit for payout. Why should the family of the "victim," with wise investment of a settlement, live their lives in luxury? Why should their children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren and on down the line not have to work a day in their lives while the rest of us pay higher prices for health care, medical care, health insurance, and medical insurance?

My parents were in a nursing home in Ohio, where my sisters live. At least one of them and most of the time both visited our parents every day. Yes, every day. One of my sisters went in at 10 p.m. on a Saturday to find the patients in the area our dad was in up and watching a movie. Believe me, most of the patients had no idea what was going on. There are good nursing homes. It is mandatory for families to stay in touch with the patients as well as the workers as well as the administrators.

Recently a friend mentioned how curious it was that two parents can care for 12 children but 12 children cannot care for two parents.

Businesses Not Providing Health Care Programs

Businesses in Sevier County are subsidized by state or federal government programs such as TennCare or Medicare and the rest of us.

There is a court case in California, Golden Gate Restaurant Association vs. the City and County of San Francisco, that challenges part of San Francisco's new universal health care access program that requires medium and large employers to spend a certain amount on their workers' health care or pay a fee to the city.

Sevier County should impose a fee upon all businesses whose employees are not covered by a business-provided health care program.

It is time for the land owners of Sevier County as well as the business owners of Sevier County to get off the backs of the workers and taxpayers and pay their fair share for their employees' health care. Until they do, the rest of us are paying for them.

When you see a land owner or business owner driving an expensive car, living in an expensive house, returning from an expensive vacation, remember who really paid for it.

Risk Analysis

A couple of days ago I read Take the Risk (Learning to Identify, Choose, and Live with Acceptable Risk) by Ben Carson MD. Carson writes about a simple risk analysis exercise he uses whenever he faces an uncertain situation. He says he thinks it can help anyone answer the questions: “When should I take a risk?” and “What should I risk?” He believes we consider only one risk-analysis question:What is the worst that can happen if we…

It seems like a good process to me so I thought I would pass it along.

• What is the best thing that can happen it I do this?
• What is the worst thing that can happen if I do this?
• What is the best thing that can happen if I don’t do this?
• What is the worst thing that can happen if I don’t do this?

He suggests answering: Who? What? When? Where? How? Why?, in no particular order, in the context of the four basic Best/Worst Analysis questions will sharpen the focus and refine the accuracy of any risk analysis process.

• Who? (would be most affected)
• What? (does one need to know the make a decision)
• Where? (are you going? (your goals), are you now (your skills, your abilities, your thinking, and your attitudes) will you start (your preparation)
• When? (often the timing of a Best/Worst Analysis affects your conclusion
• How? (plan of action)
• Why? (responding to any risk requires identifying your motives, which involves personal values)

As Forrest Gump said, “And that’s all I have too say about that.”

Gatlinburg City Commission and Variance

Gatlinburg, City Commissioners,
Gatlinburg, City Manager:

Reference: Article in the Saturday, April 19, 2008 The Mountain Press, “Commission grants variance as long as conditions are met” by Candice Grimm.

My purpose for this note is to encourage you to be involved with the Planning Commission prior to their granting of variance that involves the safety of Gatlinburg residents and property.

The Mountain Press article contained a comment “Granting of a preliminary planned unit development (PUD) plan for Phase IV … has been a tough one because the road grades --- at 18 and 19 percent --- exceed the city’s maximum of 15 percent.” Someone should remind the Planning Commission it is not their responsibility to find ways to grant variance. Their responsibility is to ensure the developers comply with current laws and guidelines.

The article contained Fire Chief Greg Patterson’s concerns of fire truck’s engine overheating and due to grade, water in the fire trucks tanks shifting therefore not being available for pumping. It is not in the Planning Commission's purview to grant variance that may very well result in the damage to city property or the loss of life. It is not in your purview to sit idly by.

The article adds that Patterson, Maples, Ball and others agreed that it is a difficult situation and since there is no other place the road could have been built to lower the grade the Planning Commission granted a variance. If the road exceeds current safety standards, DUHHHHHHHH, DON’T BUILD!!! It appears the Planning Commission is looking for reasons to grant variance not looking to ensure standards are met. Why? What do they benefit by granting variance?

Buyers of the developed properties will be depending on your oversight. When their property burns because a fire truck breaks down or there is no water resulting possibly in the loss of life your oversight or lack of same will become public knowledge and the City of Gatlinburg will face law suits.

The result of current processes are the developer gets their money, Planning Commission members benefit when the developer returns the favor, the future buyer of the development owns property at risk, and citizens of Gatlinburg are liable for damaged city property and law suits against the city.

Looking back at the expansion of East Parkway, neither the City Commission nor the City Manager was involved much to the dismay of the citizenry. If Gatlinburg, city government will not look to the interests of Gatlinburg citizens who will? If Gatlinburg city government will not protect Gatlinburg citizens, exactly what is your purpose?

In Gatlinburg granting variance is the way business is done as is evidenced by the guitar on the Hard Rock Café. Isn’t there a rule prohibiting signs over the sidewalk? How about lighted electric signs? While the Hard Rock café is ugly, a terrible first impression for Gatlinburg and tells the world the good-old-boy/girl network is alive and well, it is not life threatening. Granting variance for development that may result in loss of life and property as well as destruction of city property must not be allowed. Government’s primary responsibility is to govern. It is not government’s responsibility to do favors for friends.

John Jenkins
425 Patterson Lane
Gatlinburg, TN 37738
865-430-4427 home
865-803-8179 cell
jrjenki@greenbriersolutions.com

Not-So-Bright Ideas in Science.

Not-So-Bright Ideas in Science.

Every year, Harvard’s science-humor-journal, The Annals of Improbable Research, hands out its Ig Nobel Prizes for genuine experiments “that cannot, or should not, be reproduced.” This year’s award winners include the scientist who figured out how to extract vanilla from cow dung and the man who invented a bottomless bowl of soup.

So as not to overwhelm you I will tell you about those two.

Nutrition: The Bottomless Bowl of Soup.

To test the psychology of eating, Brian Wansink of Cornell University created a bottomless bowl of soup, which constantly refills itself through a tube hidden underneath the table. Wansink invited a study group over for a meal, without disclosing that some of the soup bowls were rigged. Participants who ate from the self-refilling bowls devoured 73 percent more soup but claimed to have eaten the same amount as everyone else. They also didn’t report feeling fuller: Wansink discovered that without a visual cue like an empty bowl, people just keep eating.

Chemistry: Finding the Sweetness in Cow Dung

Farmers in Japan have finally found a purpose for their surplus cow dung---they can use it to flavor ice cream. By applying heat and pressure to the excrement, Mayu Yamamoto of Tokyo’s International Medical Center was able to produce vanilla flavoring. Actually, the breakthrough promises to be quite lucrative because cow dung is much cheaper than vanilla beans. To side-step the issue of “bovine excrement” appearing on the ingredient list in foods, manufacturers are only putting cow vanilla in soaps, candles, and shampoos. Regardless, Toscanini’s ice cream shop in Cambridge, Mass., created a new flavor using Yamamoto’s extract in honor of the Ig Nobel ceremony. The temporary offering was called Yum-Moto Vanilla Twist.

One additional one you deserve to know the rest of the story.

Peace: The Gay Bomb

Why nuke your enemies when you can make them fall in love instead? Researchers at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio are developing a sort of combat Chanel No 5 that will cause enemy soldiers to become sexually irresistible to one another. The idea of the “gay bomb” is to make the enemy too distracted by their libidos to fight back. Other fascinating chemicals the same researchers worked on include a spray that lures bugs to enemy lines, a chemical that gives enemy soldiers horrible halitosis, and a chemical that makes skin extremely sensitive to sunlight (an especially bad condition in places like the Middle East).

Delta & Northwest

When Delta and Northwest merge you will have one giant money-losing airline with two sets of very rich Senior Executives with their Golden Parachutes and lots of out of work little guys.

Merging is the only way the senior executives can get money since they are so inept at their jobs.

Virginia Tech Will Happen Again

Events such as what occurred at Virginia Tech one year ago will continue to happen because we as a society have decided we prefer to have mentally deranged people living on the streets or walking among us as if they do not have a problem instead of isolating them and treating them.

If the students had been armed the results at VT would have been much different.

Our laws are such that if one of the students at VT had shot the killer in the back that student would have to hire a lawyer to try to stay out of jail. Why? because until the killer kills we say we cannot treat him as a killer. Preventive action is punishable in our society. If not by the law by paying a lawyer to protect us. Ludicrous,.

Businesses Not Providing Health Care Programs

Businesses in Sevier County cannot or will not pay the inflated leases and rents unless they can continue to pay their employees minimal wages and minimal or no benefits. Some businesses offer benefits to their employees but the employees cannot afford to pay their share and do not subscribe. Businesses in Sevier County are subsidized by state or federal government programs such as Tenncare or Medicare and the rest of us.

There is a court case in California, Golden Gate Restaurant Association vs. the City and County of San Francisco that challenges part of San Francisco's new universal health-care access program that requires medium and large employers to spend a certain amount on their workers' health care or pay a fee to the city.

Sevier County should impose a fee upon all businesses whose employees are not covered by a business provided health care program. It is time for the land owners of Sevier County as well as the business owners of Sevier County to get off the backs of the workers and taxpayers and pay their fair share for their employees’ health care.

Until they do, the rest of us are paying for them. When you see a land owner or business owner driving an expensive car, living in an expensive house, returning from an expensive vacation, remember who really paid for it.

Sponsors of the Olympics Will Suffer

Sponsors for the Olympic Games better watch out. They will be seen as supporting an event put on by a country that does not believe in human rights and abuses prisoners. When the Chinese government cracks down on the demonstrators before or after the games the sponsors will suffer. The IOC selected China to put on the Olympics. They will now understand that was a disastrous decision.

The United States government does not owe the Olympic athletes anything. The Olympics gives the athletes a stage to become very rich. That is after we the people have paid for their training as well as their families.

If the games go on they must be without sponsorship from any company that hopes to do business in the United States. Any sponsor will be a target. All sponsors will suffer, It is the American way.

Letter to Congressman David Davis, 1st District Tennessee

Thank you for your letter dated March 28, 2008 replying to my previous correspondence.

My doubts concerning General Petraeus’s analysis are caused by what I consider military blunders of the past and the “retirement” of all generals with different conclusions than the administration’s. If General Petraeus came to different conclusions he too would “retire.” General Tommy Franks should have been court-martialed instead of praised due to his logistical blunders. He led his troops into a trap. He forgot the rule; never leave an enemy behind, alive. How many leaders lead their troops into battle and during the fighting leave to return to their homes while the men who followed them continue to die?

During, what we refer to as our Revolutionary war, General George Washington defeated the best trained army in the world with little assistance from congress, state legislatures, and less than 1/3rd of the citizenry. He did so with a comparatively small group of dedicated soldier-citizens.

I have no doubts you believe you observe improvements in Iraq but how permanent are they? We have set “our friend” Saudi Arabia at risk. As a Sunni country, because of our lack of planning, they have to deal with Shia Iran and Shia Iraq.

The bad guys in Iraq just have to stop fighting, we will consider ourselves successful and we will either reduce our troop level or leave or both. Improvements can only be counted after the United States has left the area. Until we remove our military from the area the threat will continue.

We did not learn from Viet Nam and we have not learned from our experience in Iraq. Victory requires total destruction of the enemy and as with Germany and Japan, complete and unconditional surrender.

The enemy is not crazy. It is easy to poison our water sources but they have chosen to not do so. Anthrax is easy to dispense but again they have chosen not to do so. Twenty-four suicide bombers within the borders of the United States detonating one an hour for 24 hours at various locations across the United States would bring this country to its collective knees. With two or three on Wall Street, the financial world would collapse. The enemy has chosen to not do so. They have one goal and until we are willing to kill as they kill we cannot change their mind. They want us out of the Middle East. Very simple.

The United States should live and let live. We are not the world’s police. Our reputation should be as a friend we are a good friend. As an enemy Hell would be a nicer place to be in than in our path.

In our futile attempt to help the 8-year-old Iraqi child we are saddling the 8-year-old American child with trillions of dollars of debt. The 8-year-old Iraqi child will grow to hate the 8-year-old American child after all he/she is Shia/Sunni the 8-yar-old American child is not. The Iraqi child will grow to hate the American child. No Iraqi, no matter the age, is worth our time or our blood.

When we send our troops to war those left behind should "feel" the war. A draft should be initiated to include men and women up to age forty-five years. Rationing should be implemented and we should pay as we go. In that way we will not be attacking sovereign countries unless the people want to. What President Bush has done has left him and leaders of congress open to charges of committing war crimes. He has invaded a sovereign country; removed the legally elected/appointed government; destroyed the infra-structure; turned members of government over to their enemies to be executed.

I believe President Bush is eligible for 10-years of Secret Service protection. He just may have a problem. A decisive and complete victory may be his only hope for a peaceful retirement.

I hope you and General Petraeus are right but I do not believe you are. Only time will tell and no one over 25-years-old is young enough to see it.

America's pass-time is second rate.

With the Little League World Series and MLB playing season games outside the United States MLB must change the name of the series of games played in October. They are no longer a World Series and the winner is no longer the World Champion. It is the United States Series and the winner will be the United States Champion.

The United States has lost when it plays other countries. America's pass-time is second rate.

Military Leaders Desert the Troops

Have you noticed how many of our military leaders retire because they do not agree with their "Commander-in-Chief"? Why do you suppose they choose this particular time to "retire?"

What kind of a military is it when the leaders send their men into a war and then they retire to a nice safe life, leaving the men who trusted them to try to survive or die or be maimed? Very few soldiers fight for their commander-in-chief, they fight for their buddy and no matter how many are around you when the bullets start flying you are alone. What kind of a leader is it who believes that is all romantic?

Oops, Another Bush Quote for the Ages

If you were still among the few who continued to hope that somewhere in that head of his President Bush was in touch with reality, you now have proof he is not.

Speaking by video-conference with U.S. military and civilian personnel in Afghanistan about the challenges posed by war, corruption, and the poppy trade, the president said:

“I must say, I'm a little envious. If I were slightly younger and not employed here, I think it would be a fantastic experience to be on the front lines of helping this young democracy succeed. It must be exciting for you … in some ways romantic, in some ways, you know, confronting danger. You're really making history, and thanks.”

He should have listened too whoever said:

“Better to be quiet and thought a fool than to speak and let everyone know for
sure”.

We now have evidence that our Commander-In-Chief has absolutely no idea what war is about. There is a saying in Texas, "One Riot, One Ranger." He must have changed his attitude since he had an opportunity for “a fantastic experience” in Viet Nam but he decided to let others enjoy it. Now Viet Nam was a pretty romantic war.

I suspect many of our military leaders know and have known the President is clueless but I wonder how many thought that “confronting danger” is “in some ways romantic.”

Clinton , Obama will have a field day with this one and McCain will have to keep his head down. I thought the Hanoi Hilton was a prison do you suppose it really was a tourist hotel and McCain spent 6 years or so lounging around the pool?

Christian Education Must Press On

Reference, Opinion, The Christian Chronicle, February 2008, “Christian education must press on.”

I am a long time supporter of Christian education. Our son graduated, David Lipscomb University , then Georgia Tech. Our grandchildren attend Greater Atlanta Christian Schools. At a very simple level I am aware of some of the issues Christian education institutions face. I am convinced we, churches of Christ , are among the enemies of Christian education.

For Christian institutions to survive churches of Christ and individuals must support them. Even while they may be doing things the individuals and congregations do not agree with. Christian schools are not churches. I have had members of the church tell me they would prefer their children attend the University of Tennessee instead of David Lipscomb University . They are concerned DLU will lead their children astray as if UT will not. The same year (1989) we took our son to DLU a friend told me how it bothered him to take his daughter to Ohio State University and leave her in a dormitory, one of two, nicknamed by the students, Sodom and Gomorrah .

Support requires that congregations of churches of Christ as well as individual Christians provide money, students, qualified teachers, administrators, board members, coaches, maintenance personal, custodians and on. Failing this, the institutions must look elsewhere.

Christians withhold their financial as well as moral support at the slightest suggestion the institution does something the individual does not agree with. It is not reasonable to expect a president of a university to keep students, members of the faculty, boards of directors, alumni, congregations, individual Christians happy, all at the same time.

I hope Christians will wakeup before all Christian schools have disappeared, which with the current mindset of the church is inevitable. Considering various sources report that from the time they begin the 7th grade until they graduate from college, somewhere between 60% and 90% of our children are leaving the church. Sad.

We must press on, there is no option.

Monks, Not Like They Used To Be

In the March National Geographic there is a story “ Bhutan ’s Enlightened Experiment. Guided by a novel idea, the tiny Buddhist kingdom tries to join the modern world without losing its soul.”

Now we know that won't work.

One picture shows people building a road of rocks. The workers are among the tens of thousands of migrant workers, many of them Indians who do the manual labor that Bhutanese citizens often shun, such as building roads. Does that have a familiar ring to it?

Another picture shows a boy 12 and a girl 9 showing off their hip-hop moves in a bar owned by their mother. Another has teenage girls in tight jeans. Another shows actors making a horror and musical movie, fake blood and all hoping for a hit song because it almost guarantees success.

The one that drew my attention was one showing student monks. The caption reads

In a room he shares with six other monks at a monastery in Wangdi Phodrang , Chencho is honest about his calling. “It’s hard work memorizing all the texts, but afterward you have a comfortable life, so it’s worth it,” he says. “In the village, work is never ending.”

Remember those monks in Viet Nam who set themselves on fire? What are the odds that Chencho would do that? Monks just aren’t what they used to be.

Typical White People and Typical Black People

Muslims hate us for our politics. We have to get our troops out of ALL countries and bring them home. The Muslim terrorists did not begin to really hate the U.S. until George41 left troops in the Middle East. How would we like other countries leaving their military within our borders. I would not. We set ourselves up for 9/11 by our policies. We are cowards. We attack defenseless Iraq but leave North Korea alone. The world sees we are cowards thus 9/11 and we still cannot win a war.

All minorities experience discrimination every day. From whom, anyone who is not of their minority.

White people experience discrimination every day. From whom, anyone who is not white and have the position to discriminate.

Tiger Woods still cannot play on the Masters' course except for the Masters tournament. Women still cannot play at the Masters course for any reason. I believe that is discrimination.

Obama and Clinton and Florida and Michigan

Concerning Florida and Michigan and the Democratic primaries, either the Democratic Leadership has the authority to establish rules or it does not. If they do not then what are they? If they have the authority then being required to follow the rules they establish is not punishment but enforcement. Florida and Michigan knew going in they were violating the rules and should have expected the rules to be enforced. Democrats lead the way in no one being responsible; look at Bill Clinton and now Hillary.

The way the candidates respond to the situation tells us a lot of how their administration will conduct themselves. We already know how the Clintons conduct business the only questions are how will Obama respond and will the voters be so stupid as to elect another Clinton.

Sen. Clinton has as much experience leading the Executive Branch as Mrs. Favre has leading the Greenbay Packers. Being married to someone does not qualify anyone.

Capping Lawsuits...

Recently there was a commentary in the local paper against capping lawsuits against Nursing Homes, Hospitals, Doctors etc. The author belived his mother to have been ignored.

It is sad to lose a mother. It is especially tragic when it may have been avoided, at that time at least. It is inexcusable when neglect and carelessness adds to or causes the suffering and/or death. And it may be criminal.

Nursing home care is not the only place where the elderly are not treated as they should be. Remembering my parents’ experience with doctors leads me and my two sisters to believe a lot of and maybe most doctors are not as inquisitive as they should be because the patient is old. As Mr. Fly verifies the elderly are often ignored because the doctors believe they are just looking for attention. Aches and pains, while possibly serious and life threatening, are often overlooked because aches and pains are part of getting old. Tests look for the obvious and other possibilities are not considered, because the patient is old.

BUT, that is not reason enough to cause the rest of us to pay higher prices for nursing home care or for doctor care.

I have no idea what Mr. Fly’s mother was paying for care but would we be willing to pay double the amount, triple the amount, how about ten times the amount?

All law suits must have a cap and a time limit for payout. Why should the family of the “victim”, with wise investment of a settlement live their lives in luxury? Why should their children, grandchildren, great grandchildren and on down the line, not have to work a day in their lives while the rest of us pay higher prices for health care, medical care, health insurance, and medical insurance?

There are good nursing homes. It is mandatory for families to stay in touch with the patients as well as the workers as well as the administrators.

Recently a friend mentioned how curious it was that two parents can care for twelve children but twelve children cannot care for two parents.

We Can Always Return to the Iceberg Strategy

Social Security

Recently I read an article by Anya Kamenetz, if that is not a Northern European name what is, on the looming Social Security disaster. She mentions:

The shaky economics of the program became apparent with the first beneficiary; a legal secretary from Vermont named Ida Mae Fuller. From the age 63 to 65, Fuller paid 1% of her income into the system --- a total of $24.75. She lived to be 100 years old and collected a grand total of $22,888.92 in benefits. In other words Ida made a 100,000% return on her social security investment. According to the Congressional Budget Office, Americans born between 1876 and 1937 will receive a total of $8.1 trillion more from the social security system than they paid into it.

In 1972 social security was tied to the growth in wages COLA, Cost of Living Adjustment. When wages go up benefits go up, not allowing reserves to build up.

She continues:

Alan Greenspan designed a bailout plan that raised payroll taxes, cut benefits, shifted the retirement age from 65 to 67, and taxed social security benefits of the rich. Signed into law by President Reagan in 1983, the Greenspan package worked. Social security began to run up a sizable surplus. … according to the plan, the surplus went into a “trust fund’ to help pay for the retirement of future generations.

… During the 2000 presidential campaign George W Bush and Al Gore promised repeatedly to stop “raiding the trust fund.”

Nevertheless, … Bush used the social security surplus to cover government expenses. By early 2007, the Bush administration had spent $1 trillion of social security money at the rate or $500 million per day.

In October 2007, a New Jersey school teacher named Kathleen Casey-Kirschling retired and became the first of the 80 million Baby Boomers to file for social security benefits. Right now there are about 3.4 workers paying into social security for every one retiree. But as the Baby Boomers leave the workforce, that will change. By 2030, there will be 2.2 workers per retiree. In other words the system won’t be able to sustain itself, and the pyramid will start to tip over. … In previous eras, old age and poverty went hand in hand. But in postwar America it is rare. … Today less than 10% of the elderly live below the poverty line. Without social security it would be 40%.

We can always learn from history. In the 1800s Alaskan Inuit set their grandparents adrift on icebergs and wave goodbye. We should hurry before Global Warming wipes out our retirement options….

In election 2008, don’t forget Angry White Man

There is a great amount of interest in this year’s presidential elections, as everybody seems to recognize that our next president has to be a lot better than George Bush. The Democrats are riding high with two groundbreaking candidates — a woman and an African-American — while the conservative Republicans are in a quandary about their party’s nod to a quasi-liberal maverick, John McCain.

Each candidate is carefully pandering to a smorgasbord of special-interest groups, ranging from gay, lesbian and transgender people to children of illegal immigrants to working mothers to evangelical Christians.

There is one group no one has recognized, and it is the group that will decide the election: the Angry White Man. The Angry White Man comes from all economic backgrounds, from dirt-poor to filthy rich. He represents all geographic areas in America, from urban sophisticate to rural redneck, deep South to mountain West, left Coast to Eastern Seaboard.

His common traits are that he isn’t looking for anything from anyone — just the promise to be able to make his own way on a level playing field. In many cases, he is an independent businessman and employs several people. He pays more than his share of taxes and works hard.

The victimhood syndrome buzzwords — “disenfranchised,” “marginalized” and “voiceless” — don’t resonate with him. “Press ‘one’ for English” is a curse-word to him. He’s used to picking up the tab, whether it’s the company Christmas party, three sets of braces, three college educations or a beautiful wedding.

He believes the Constitution is to be interpreted literally, not as a “living document” open to the whims and vagaries of a panel of judges who have never worked an honest day in their lives.

The Angry White Man owns firearms, and he’s willing to pick up a gun to defend his home and his country. He is willing to lay down his life to defend the freedom and safety of others, and the thought of killing someone who needs killing really doesn’t bother him.

The Angry White Man is not a metrosexual, a homosexual or a victim. Nobody like him drowned in Hurricane Katrina — he got his people together and got the hell out, then went back in to rescue those too helpless and stupid to help themselves, often as a police officer, a National Guard soldier or a volunteer firefighter.

His last name and religion don’t matter. His background might be Italian, English, Polish, German, Slavic, Irish, or Russian, and he might have Cherokee, Mexican, or Puerto Rican mixed in, but he considers himself a white American.

He’s a man’s man, the kind of guy who likes to play poker, watch football, hunt white-tailed deer, call turkeys, play golf, spend a few bucks at a strip club once in a blue moon, change his own oil and build things. He coaches baseball, soccer and football teams and doesn’t ask for a penny. He’s the kind of guy who can put an addition on his house with a couple of friends, drill an oil well, weld a new bumper for his truck, design a factory and publish books. He can fill a train with 100,000 tons of coal and get it to the power plant on time so that you keep the lights on and never know what it took to flip that light switch.

Women either love him or hate him, but they know he’s a man, not a dishrag. If they’re looking for someone to walk all over, they’ve got the wrong guy. He stands up straight, opens doors for women and says “Yes, sir” and “No, ma’am.”

He might be a Republican and he might be a Democrat; he might be a Libertarian or a Green.

He knows that his wife is more emotional than rational, and he guides the family in a rational manner.

He’s not a racist, but he is annoyed and disappointed when people of certain backgrounds exhibit behavior that typifies the worst stereotypes of their race. He’s willing to give everybody a fair chance if they work hard, play by the rules and learn English.

Most important, the Angry White Man is pissed off. When his job site becomes flooded with illegal workers who don’t pay taxes and his wages drop like a stone, he gets righteously angry. When his job gets shipped overseas, and he has to speak to some incomprehensible idiot in India for tech support, he simmers. When Al Sharpton comes on TV, leading some rally for reparations for slavery or some such nonsense, he bites his tongue and he remembers. When a child gets charged with carrying a concealed weapon for mistakenly bringing a penknife to school, he takes note of who the local idiots are in education and law enforcement.

He also votes, and the Angry White Man loathes Hillary Clinton. Her voice reminds him of a shovel scraping a rock. He recoils at the mere sight of her on television. Her very image disgusts him, and he cannot fathom why anyone would want her as their leader. It’s not that she is a woman. It’s that she is who she is. It’s the liberal victim groups she panders to, the “poor me” attitude that she represents, her inability to give a straight answer to an honest question, his tax dollars that she wants to give to people who refuse to do anything for themselves.

There are many millions of Angry White Men. Four million Angry White Men are members of the National Rifle Association, and all of them will vote against Hillary Clinton, just as the great majority of them voted for George Bush.

He hopes that she will be the Democratic nominee for president in 2008, and he will make sure that she gets beaten like a drum.

Gary Hubbell is a regular columnist with the Aspen Times Weekly.

Just in Case You May Think this Person Would Make a Good President…

Hillary Clinton has been telling America that she is the most qualified candidate for president based on her 'record,' which she says includes her eight years in the White House as First Lady – or 'co-president' - and her seven years in the Senate.

Here is a reminder of what that record includes:

* As First Lady, Hillary assumed authority over Health Care Reform, a process that cost the taxpayers over $13 million. She told both Bill Bradley and Pat Moynahan, key votes needed to pass her legislation, that she would 'demonize' anyone who opposed it. But it was opposed; she couldn't even get it to a vote in a Congress controlled by her own party. (And in the next election, her party lost control of both the House and Senate.)

* Hillary assumed authority over selecting a female Attorney General. Her first two recommendations (Zoe Baird and Kimba Wood) were forced to withdraw their names from consideration, and then she chose Janet Reno. Janet Reno has since been described by Bill himself as 'my worst mistake.'

* Hillary recommended Lani Guanier for head of the Civil Rights Commission. When Guanier's radical views became known, her name had to be withdrawn.

* Hillary recommended her former law partners, Web Hubbell, Vince Foster, and William Kennedy for positions in the Justice Department, White House staff, and the Treasury, respectively. Hubbell was later imprisoned, Foster committed suicide, and Kennedy was forced to resign.

* Hillary also recommended a close friend of the Clintons, Craig Livingstone, for the position of director of White House security. When Livingstone was investigated for the improper access of up to 900 FBI files of Clinton enemies (Filegate) and the widespread use of drugs by White House staff, both Hillary and her husband denied knowing him. (FBI agent Dennis Sculimbrene confirmed in a Senate Judiciary Committee in 1996 both the drug use and Hillary' involvement in hiring Livingstone. After that, the FBI closed its White House Liaison Office, after serving seven presidents for over thirty years.)

* In order to open 'slots' in the White House for her friends, the Harry Thomasons (to whom millions of dollars in travel contracts could be awarded), Hillary had the entire staff of the White House Travel Office fired; they were reported to the FBI for 'gross mismanagement' and their reputations ruined. After a thirty-month investigation, only one, Billy Dale, was charged with a crime - mixing personal money with White House funds when he cashed checks. The jury acquitted him in less than two hours.

* Another of Hillary's assumed duties was directing the 'bimbo eruption squad' and scandal defense:

• She urged her husband not to settle the Paula Jones lawsuit.
• She refused to release the Whitewater documents, which led to the appointment of Ken Starr as Special Prosecutor. After $80 million dollars of taxpayer money was spent, Starr's investigation led to Monica Lewinsky, which led to Bill lying about and later admitting his affairs.
• Then they had to settle with Paula Jones after all.
• And Bill lost his law license for lying to the grand jury
• And Bill was impeached by the House.
• And Hillary almost got herself indicted for perjury and obstruction of justice (she avoided it mostly because she repeated, 'I do not recall,' 'I have no recollection,' and 'I don't know' 56 times under oath).

* Hillary wrote 'It Takes a Village,' demonstrating her Socialist viewpoint.

* Hillary decided to seek election to the Senate in a state she had never lived in. Her husband pardoned FALN terrorists in order to get Latino support and the New Square Hassidim to get Jewish support. Hillary also had Bill pardon her brother's clients, for a small fee, to get financial support.

* Then Hillary left the White House, but later had to return $200,000 in White House furniture, china, and artwork she had stolen.

* In the campaign for the Senate, Hillary played the 'woman card' by portraying her opponent (Lazio) as a bully picking on her.

* Hillary's husband further protected her by asking the National Archives to withhold from the public until 2012 many records of their time in the White House, including much of Hillary's correspondence and her calendars. (There are ongoing lawsuits to force the release of those records.)

* As the junior Senator from New York, Hillary has passed no major legislation. She has deferred to the senior Senator (Schumer) to tend to the needs of New Yorkers, even on the hot issue of medical problems of workers involved in the cleanup of Ground Zero after 9/11

* Hillary's one notable vote, supporting the plan to invade Iraq, she has since disavowed.

Quite a resume, isn't it? Sounds more like an organized crime family...

Drunks, Drug Addicts, Victims

Reference The Mountain Press editorial, Monday, February 11, 2008, “Is performing a award?”

I agree with your point BUT Ms Winehouse, (I am old enough to have no idea who she is) was not rewarded as much as the program was rewarded and was able to avoid negative press. Can you imagine the outcry if she was not permitted to perform? The producers of the reward show would have been attacked throughout the media for judging and punishing poor Ms Winehouse. She would be on CNN for the next week as a victim of the do-gooders. One other thing, I believe because she has a problem she should be punished. She made the problem and she is the only one who can correct it. Ignoring it does not help. She is a 24-year-old drunk and drug addict. She is the scourge of society. She should be ostracized until she eliminates the problem. At that point we can let her return to proper society.

Associating album and DVD sales with talent is problematic. Talent has little to do with sales and they can be and are most of the time, mutually exclusive. Does she wear skimpy enough clothes as to get the hormones of both young and old excited? Does she rebel against the establishment by using drugs and alcohol AND sex to get a lot of media attention? Talent is the least of the parts of the equation.

Your comment “our culture is taking another situation and glorifying it for society” is right on. As no one besides me of course believes Ms Winehouse should be punished, we let her be a victim. Remember that local drunk and drug addict Renfro(?). How about Ledger (?)Drunks and drug addicts. Victims......

Mosaics: ...the oldest members of the youngest generation, currently 18 or 19 years old
Busters: ....those 20 to 38 years of age
Baby Boomers: ....ages 39 through 57 and
Elders: ....a combination of the two oldest generations, comprised of people 58 or older


Views On "Morally Acceptable" Behaviors,
by Generation
The data trends indicate that the moral perspectives of Americans are likely to continue to deteriorate. Compared to surveys conducted two years ago, significantly more adults are depicting such behaviors as morally acceptable. For instance, there have been increases in the percentages that condone sexual activity with someone of the opposite gender other than a spouse, abortion (up by 25%), and a 20% jump in people’s acceptance of ‘gay sex.’

Men were more likely than women to deem nine of the ten behaviors to be morally acceptable. (The exception was sexual relations between people of the same gender, which women were slightly more likely to condone.) The most sizeable gaps were related to pornography (men were twice as likely to deem pornography acceptable) and drunkenness.

Among people aligned with faiths other than Christianity, half or more described each of seven behaviors as "morally acceptable" - gambling, co-habitation, sexual fantasies, having an abortion, having a sexual relationship with someone of the opposite sex other than their spouse, pornography and profanity. Atheists and agnostics were the people most likely to describe any of these behaviors as morally acceptable. In total, atheists and agnostics defined nine of the ten behaviors as morally legitimate, dismissing only the use of non-prescription drugs.

Political Correctness is Destroying US

Spanish writer Sebastian Vilar RoIdrigez and published in a Spanish newspaper on 5-22-07

ALL EUROPEAN LIFE DIED IN AUSCHWITZ By Sebastian Vilar Rodrigez(*)

I walked down the street in Barcelona, and suddenly discovered a terrible truth - Europe died in Auschwitz . We killed six million Jews and replaced them with 20 million Muslims. In Auschwitz we burned a culture, thought, creativity, talent. We destroyed the chosen people, truly chosen, because they produced great and wonderful people who changed the world.

The contribution of this people is felt in all areas of life: science, art, international trade, and above all, as the conscience of the world. These are the people we burned.

And under the pretense of tolerance, and because we wanted to prove to ourselves that we were cured of the disease of racism, we opened our gates to 20 million Muslims, who brought us stupidity and ignorance, religious extremism and lack of tolerance, crime and poverty, due to an unwillingness to work and support their families with pride.

They have blown up our trains and turned our beautiful Spanish cities into the third world, drowning in filth and crime

Shut up in the apartments they receive free from the government, they plan the murder and destruction of their naive hosts.

And thus, in our misery, we have exchanged culture for fanatical hatred, creative skill for destructive skill, intelligence for backwardness and superstition

We have exchanged the pursuit of peace of the Jews of Europe and their talent for hoping for a better future for their children, their determined clinging to life because life is holy, for those who pursue death, for people consumed by the desire for death for themselves and others, for our children and theirs.

What a terrible mistake was made by miserable Europe.

A lot of Americans have become so insulated from reality that they imagine America can suffer defeat without any inconvenience to themselves. Absolutely No Profiling! Pause a moment, reflect back,

These events are actual events from history. They really happened! Do you remember?

1. 1968 Bobby Kennedy was shot and killed by A Muslim male extremist between the ages of 17 and 40

2. In 1972 at the Munich Olympics, athletes were kidnapped and massacred by: Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40

3. In 1979, the US embassy in Iran was taken over by: Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40

4. During the 1980's a number of Americans were kidnapped in Lebanon by: Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40

5. In 1983, the US Marine barracks in Beirut was blown up by: Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40

6. In 1985 the cruise ship Achille Lauro was hijacked and a 70 year old American passenger was murdered and thrown overboard in his wheelchair by: Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40

7. In 1985 TWA flight 847 was hijacked at Athens, and a US Navy diver trying to rescue passengers was murdered by: Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40

8. In 1988, Pan Am Flight 103 was bombed by: Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40

9. In 1993 the World Trade Center was bombed the first time by: Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40

10. In 1998, the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania were bombed by: Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40

11. On 9/11/01, four airliners were hijacked; two were used as missiles to take out the World Trade Centers and of the remaining two, one crashed into the US Pentagon and the other was diverted and crashed by the passengers. Thousands of people were killed by: Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40

12. In 2002 the United States fought a war in Afghanistan against: Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40

13. In 2002 reporter Daniel Pearl was kidnapped and murdered by: Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40

No, I really don't see a pattern here to justify profiling, do you? So, to ensure we Americans never offend anyone, particularly fanatics intent on killing us, airport security screeners will no longer be allowed to profile certain people. They must conduct random searches of 80-year-old women, little kids, airline pilots with proper identification, secret agents who are members of the President's security detail, 85-year old Congressmen with metal hips, and Medal of Honor winner and former Governor Joe Foss, but leave Muslim Males between the ages 17 and 40 alone lest they be guilty of profiling. Let's send this to as many people as we can so that the Gloria Aldreds and other under-headed attorneys along with Federal Justices that want to thwart common sense, feel ash amed of themselves -- if they have any such sense.

As the writer of the award winning story "Forrest Gump" so aptly put it, "Stupid is as stupid does."

Gatlinburg, London, Sister Cities

Prince Charles , warned that historic sites like the Tower of London have been “vandalized” by high-rise construction that threatens to ruin the character of the capital.

The heir to the British throne, who spoke at a conference on city planning, argued that poor planning could damage the integrity of Britain ’s historical areas, particularly criticizing tall buildings that dwarf smaller structures.

“We seem to be determined to vandalize these few remaining sites which retain the kind of human scale and timeless character that so attract people to them and which increase in value as time goes by,” Charles said at St. James’ Palace.

Change “ Tower of London ” to Mountain View Hotel” or “Greystone Hotel” or “Gatlinburg Inn” and change “ Britain ” to “Gatlinburg”, and “high-rise construction and tall buildings”, to “cabins, cabins, cabins,” and change “St James Palace” to “ Gatlinburg City Hall ” and it kind of hits home, don’t you think?

It appears Gatlinburg is suffering from an international problem.

Tennessee Motorcycle Law Not Government's Responsibility

In the next few months the Tennessee Assembly and Governon will be deciding whether or not to repeal Tennessee's motorcycle law. It is not government’s responsibility to stop citizens from acting stupidly, just those acts that affect others. In situations covered by Tennessee's Motorcycle Law, insurance companies have absolute control. All they have to do is to insert “riders” in their policies. How about these:

• Driving or riding a motorcycle, without a helmet, voids medical and/or life insurance coverage.
• DUI or riding with a driver determined by the police to have been DUI voids medical and/or life insurance coverage for driver and passengers.
• Driving or riding without using a seat-belt voids medical and/or life insurance coverage.
• If an illness is determined to have been caused by smoking, medical and/or life insurance coverage is voided.

See how easy it could be. The problem is insurance companies are profiting by passing their costs along to the rest of us as they continue to enable the violaters. Insurance companies should be prohibited from passing along costs they incur covering illegal activities and activities determined by the medical community to be hazardous to the health of the offending individual as well as the health of others.

As is common we all are paying for the stupidity of others and/or for their illegal activities. How about we stop that?

Wal-Mart Subsidized by State and Federal Governments, Us.

The only people making money are the Waltons. Wal-Mart keeps the pressure on their vendors to keep their prices low. The vendors keep their prices low by paying their employees at or below poverty level. Wal-Mart keeps their prices low by paying their employees at or below the poverty level. The majority of these employees do not participate in the company-offered-benefits because they cannot affort their share. Therefore Tenncare and Medicare provide the company-offered-benefits. Wal-Mart as a whole reports 46% of their employees have benefits. The rest, at least those in Tennessee rely on Tenncare or Medicare etc. In other words we subsidize the Waltons.

Financial magazines have stories from China how Wal-Mart demands low prices so they can sell to the public at low prices. To meet that requirement, Wal-Mart suppliers do not pay their employees very well. Wal-Mart does not pay their employees very well so the only people making money are the Waltons and as you see some of their executives who bring home $400,000 a week. Wal-Mart watch is an organization monitoring Wal-Mart and its business practices.

Wal-Mart has turned into a monster Sam Walton never conceived of and the story below is an example.

Wal-Mart Watch will launch an on-line fundraiser today to assist former Wal-Mart employee Deborah Shank and her family of Jackson, Missouri with Mrs. Shank’s medical expenses after Wal-Mart demanded repayment for its health care plan costs from the family. The organization also pledged to match all funds raised.

A November 20 Wall Street Journal article entitled “Accident Victims Face Grab for Legal Winnings,” reported on Mrs. Shank’s story. When she was left brain damaged after a tragic collision with a semi-trailer truck seven years ago, her Wal-Mart health care plan paid her initial medical bills. Wal-Mart subsequently sued the Shanks for the $470,000 it paid in medical expenses, plus the company’s legal expenses and attorney’s fees. Wal-Mart’s lawsuit demands will completely drain the settlement money set aside in a trust for Mrs. Shank’s future care and force her to rely on public assistance for her medical and living expenses.

As Wal-Mart touts its new health care plan and launches public relations campaigns to repair its damaged reputation, this story once again exposes the company’s poor business practices and total disregard for the health and welfare of its employees.

“Wal-Mart CEO Lee Scott’s decision to take away the money that Mrs. Shank would use for her medical expenses represents the kind of failure of moral leadership that we have sadly come to expect from him,” said David Nassar, Wal-Mart Watch Executive Director. “The Shanks are a hard-working American family - the kind that Lee Scott currently claims Wal-Mart helps to ‘save money and live better.’ Unfortunately, the Shank family is doing neither.”

Wal-Mart Watch will raise funds for the Shank family and tell their story to remind consumers this holiday season that the low costs Wal-Mart provide come with a very high price paid by American families like the Shanks every day.

“Lee Scott will bring home more than $400,000 this week alone,” Nassar added. “If Wal-Mart needs that money so badly, perhaps Scott should pay it himself. Or, maybe the Walton family, some of the wealthiest individuals in the nation, would be willing to pay it to attempt to quell the moral outrage this story is generating against their father’s company. But, we will not wait for Lee Scott or the Walton family to do the right thing. We are doing something about it ourselves and we hope to make a difference for Mrs. Shank and her family.”

Buying More and More for Less and Less

The expanding global economy demands that corporations seek out the cheapest possible labor to maximize profit, and stimulate growth and innovation. With free trade has come an explosion of global inequality making it possible for consumers to buy more and more while paying less and less.

Some in the business world insist that the business sector's efforts to tap into the vast pool of cheap labor in poorer countries are all about free market economics.

Unfortunately, this remains largely ignored by the American consumer.

Chain retailers that sell low-cost goods manufactured overseas by workers who are allegedly paid less than the minimum wage, forced to work long hours, not given overtime pay and even beaten in order to keep them working grueling shifts have become easy targets for human rights groups. Companies that once urged consumers to "Buy American" are among the largest importers of goods made in China, which is one of the world's worst labor abusers.
We have perfected the art of indulgence and avoidance. Wealthy as we are in the West, living and eating off the fruits of their labor, can honestly say we are unaware or that the problem is simply too great to comprehend. In other words, do not to think about it."

We must think about it. And in thinking about it, at some point we must realize that there is a moral dimension to our buying habits. As long as we are willing to buy, buy, buy at lower and lower prices without a care for how those goods were produced or where they came from, corporations will continue to seek out cheap labor, which invariably goes hand in hand with inhumane working conditions.

We should take a moral stand against sweatshop labor. Christ urged his followers to reach out to the less fortunate. Christians claiming to emulate Christ should speak out against slave labor. If Christians would boycott large chains that perpetuate inhumane labor practices and working conditions, it could go a long way toward changing conditions around the world.

The next time you head out the door in search of another great deal, remember that your bargain could be coming at someone else's expense. For example, a report on a Korean-owned factory described working conditions:

Toilets and canteens were unsanitary. Some managers screamed at workers or pressured those who complained to resign. And many women, who comprise 88% of the plant's workers, said they were denied time off for doctors' appointments. One pregnant worker who had a note from her doctor about a high-risk pregnancy was not allowed to leave until five hours after she complained of pain. She lost the baby.

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Nothing Good Happens in a Bar Late

Nothing good happens in a bar after 11:00pm . People with jobs are either home preparing for the next day's job or at their job. Either way they are not in a bar. Most of the people in bars after 11:00pm are there because they have no better place to be and that is sad.

Recently a visitor from out-of-state was shot by another bar patron who was eventually killed by local police. What happened to the visitor was terrible but nothing good happens in a bar after 11:00pm especially for the father of eight children. His careless and selfish decision has forced his children to grow up without their dad. His death was not his fault but his decision to be there, that late, was.

Wal-Mart Clips

In 2006, a Pennsylvania State University study revealed that during the last decade, dependence on the food stamp program nationwide increased by 8 percent, while in counties with Wal-Mart stores the increase was almost twice as large at 15.3 percent. Although Wal-Mart employs many people living in its communities, for most, the hours worked and the wages paid do not help these families transition out of poverty, the study said. [St. Louis Business Journal, 5/17/06]

In October 2003, a 21-state immigration raid at Wal-Mart stores happened because the government believed that Wal-Mart executives knew their cleaning contractors were using illegal immigrants, officials said. In 1998 and 2001, 102 illegal immigrants working for Wal-Mart contractors had been arrested and 13 Wal-Mart cleaning contractors had pleaded guilty after those arrests. [New York Times, 10/25/03]

Booting/NonConsensual Towing = Auto Theft

States have different laws and the way things are done in one state are not necessarily done the same way in another state. In many states before a vehicle is towed, signs with specific state designated language must be posted. Without the special language, towing is stealing. The state legislatures have to be careful that stealing cars does not become legal because of the wording in the law or ordinance governing booting and towing.

Making a giant jump to a conclusion I suspect local businesses have not followed the rule. Not following the law to the letter is stealing. It will not be long before the wrong person is "booted" resulting in non-consensual towing. That individual just might have a gun and someone is going to be hurt maybe killed. Can you imagine the outcry of sympathy for the person towing or booting? I cannot. Or, the individual will go to court and put Sevier county on the map. We all know hick towns known as speed traps. Sevier County just might become known as the hick county that legalizes stealing automobiles and holding them for ransom. Legalizing extortion as another source of income.

METROPOLITAN NASHVILLE-DAVIDSON COUNTY
TRANSPORTATION LICENSING COMMISSION
Minutes of
September 25, 2007

PUBLIC HEARING: NEW WRECKER RULE – NONCONSENT TOWING FROM PRIVATE
PROPERTY

Rule 24. NONCONSENT TOWING FROM PRIVATE PROPERTY

Prior to towing a vehicle (or personal property) from private property without the vehicle (or personal property) owner’s consent, the towing company must have express written authorization for towing of that vehicle (or personal property) from the owner of the private property or designated agent. When an individual is designated by a private property owner to act as an agent to authorize towing from the property, such designation must be in writing and signed. There shall be some relationship between the private property owner and the designated agent, and there may be no relationship between the designated agent and the towing company. Contracts or written agreements between a towing company and private property owners for nonconsent towing must be retained by the towing company, and must include the property owner’s signature and the signature(s) of any agent(s) designated by the private property owner. The towing company must make these documents available for inspection by the commission or any designated representative at any time. Maximum allowable rates for nonconsent towing from private property will be as specified in Section 6.80.550(H) of the Metropolitan Code of Laws.

Whiney Professional Athletes, Disgusting

Referencing the death of Sean Taylor, formerly of the Washington Redskins and the concerns of professional athletes for their personal safety, nothing good happens in a bar after 11:00pm. People with jobs are either working or home sleeping to prepare for the next day’s work or should I say obligations.

Today, professional athletes do not miss an opportunity to gloat and to show off their money and the things money can buy. It was reported there were three cars in Taylor’s entourage including a Rolls Royce. The Rolls cost more than the ten houses in the old neighborhood and does not blend in the old neighborhood. Rolls are intended to draw attention to the wealth of the owner and do it very well.

When was the last time you heard of Bill Gates or Warren Buffet being involved in a shooting at a bar or strip joint at 2:00 in the morning. Do they have entourages? Do they drive Rolls?

Taylor rubbed his money in the faces of the wrong people. He did not deserve to die but he put himself into the situation and he paid the price. ESPN reported that he was facing up to 46 years in prison resulting from charges he threatened three people with a gun. Obviously he was a very nice person.

Professional athletes should play their sport and keep their mouths shut and have a very high fence installed surrounding their property; to protect them from their friends and to protect the rest of us from them.

Co-evolution vs Reality

There is a concept of animals and plants responding to one another that biologists call co-evolution. The giant hawk moth and how it developed a proboscis long enough to reach the nectar of the Madagascar Star Orchid is an example.

As one who believes in Intelligent Design, Evolution and its adherents intrigue me.

On the subject an individual may select from two alternatives.
1. Things just happened.
2. Things were created.

Both alternatives rely on faith but only one is accepted as fact by folks such as Smithsonian. Since Evolution is referred to as a theory even scientists do not take it as fact but as a theory.

Alternative 1: Over an unknown period, an unknown number of events spontaneously occurred resulting in nothing becoming matter. Then, over another unknown period, that matter evolved into some material that evolved into the universe and all forms of life. The reason and cause of the spontaneous actions are not addressed.
Alternative 2: Someone created matter from nothing. Then the matter was molded into the universe and all forms of life. Cause and why are addressed in the only literature that claims to know, The Bible.

If the first alternative is correct then we are all accidents with accidental thoughts and emotions and your column as well as the magazine are the result of accidental thinking.

In efforts to prove the universe just happened various theories have been developed. Any theory that does not address the beginning of matter misses the point of the theory, to explain creation of the universe.

Those who disbelieve in the existence of a Higher Intelligence (God) and consider the Bible to be not relevant also have faith. The Big Bang Theory depends on a single point of infinitely dense and infinitely hot matter but does not address its origin. From where did the matter come? Did nothing become this matter, how? How was it hot? The Theory makes major assumptions.

Now to the giant hawk moth, has anyone concluded how the cells of the body of a specific moth determined the proboscis was the problem and it was not the legs or the wings? How about how long did it take for one such moth to “evolve” but it died before another moth with the same characteristics came on the scene but of the same gender? How did the body of the moth conclude it not only needed a modification to the proboscis but it had to be of the other gender? It occurs to me evolution requires more coincidences than a reasonable person could accept. I do not know how long the giant hawk moth lives but I imagine it is a relatively short time requiring the two I mentioned before to appear within that short window.

The use of 50 million years for this and 100 million years for that reminds me of a park ranger, I believe at Estes Park in Colorado. At a presentation he explained how something happened 2,000,008 years ago. He explained how he could be so specific is that 8 years earlier when he arrived at Estes Park he was told the something happened 2 million years ago.

Nice concept but I wonder about its validity if the author was just an accident of nature or “evolved” from a monkey.

Humane Executions

In recent months there have been challenges to lethal injection as a manner of execution. Most challenges have come from convicted criminals sentenced to such executions. The challenges ignore the fact the Constitution does not prohibit uncomfortable punishments nor does it require pain free punishments. The Eighth Amendment reads, Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.

To understand where those who wrote and ratified the Constitution and its amendments were coming from we must understand common punishment of their time.

Common punishments at the time were stocks, branding, hanging, and "hang draw and quarter." Nonviolent crimes may have resulted in the convicted criminal being locked head and hands or feet in stocks for public humiliation and a little mistreatment by the public. Those convicted of capital crimes were usually either branded or hanged by the neck until they were dead. A second conviction for a capital crime of a branded person resulted in hanging, no questions asked. For especially heinous crimes or crimes such as treason the punishment was the hang draw and quarter. In this punishment, you were hanged until very nearly dead; then you were disemboweled and your private parts cut off, all while you were still conscious. A good executioner could do it very quickly, so that you did not die too early. The person being executed would then be pulled apart with four horses tied to his extremities, so as to execute him.

Now, compare that with lethal injection and the uncomfortable “prick” of a needle.

If we make "humane" the guiding principle for executions and require that executions be performed humanely I have a suggestion.

The Humane Slaughter Act of 1958 requires livestock, prior to being killed, be rendered insensible to pain, stunned into unconsciousness by a single blow or gunshot or an electrical, chemical or other means that is rapid and effective. Congress found that the use of humane methods prevents needless suffering. Thus we have the congressional approval of the use of the "captive bolt gun" to stun the animal into unconsciousness.

The captive bolt gun could be used to stun the convicted subject being executed making them insensible to pain or unconscious. The bolt is a heavy rod made of non-rusting alloys, such as stainless steel (there is no danger of the subject catching any cruel or unusual illnesses or rashes etc). The bolt is propelled forward by the discharge of a blank round, which is ignited by a firing pin (actuated by a trigger pull).

Being struck in the forehead and rendered insensible to pain the subject can then be safely and painlessly executed in any manner defined by the law. This will ensure a humane AND Constitutional execution.

If you do not believe this to be humane you might want to give up eating beef, pork, and lamb because in all probability this is how they get to your table.

China Preparing

I have read and am re-reading a book titled China Wars that describes how China is getting cozy with various countries in South America. Middle East and on the African Continent and we cannot respond because China owns so much of our national debt. If they were to call the loans it would destroy the financial markets of the United States. Many if not all of the weapons used against the United States in Somalia during the Clinton administration were from China. The Chinese keep us on edge by threatening to make Taiwan part of China again which would require the United States to become militarily involved due to our long standing promise to defend Taiwan against such a move. They are also inhabiting a series of islands leading up to China and will eventually be able to control ships going to Japan and other neighboring countries in times of disagreement.

It also explains how the Chinese copy and pirate just about everything made by companies who outsource their production to China. It is possible but takes a lot of work to survive in the United States without buying something made in China. It is nice to know Wal-Mart has the courage to confront the Chinese which is something the United States as a country cannot do anymore.

Maybe we should take a lesson from Wal-Mart's manual on employee relations with our migrant workers.

Below is a note found in the Washington Post....

At a factory in Shenzhen, China poor migrant workers assemble stereos supplied to Wal-Mart stores. Factory engineer Surely Huang says "the profit is really small...we have to constantly cut costs to satisfy Wal-Mart". Workers receive about $120 a month. A sign on the wall reminds them of their expendability in a nation with hundreds of millions of surplus workers: "If you don't work hard today, tomorrow you'll have to try hard to look for a job."

I wonder which Dale Carnegie class the Chinese missed....or misunderstood when they pirated the lesson material....

Higher Calling

Email to Gatlinburg City Commissioners and City Manager.....

City Commissioners and City Manager:

Today's (Tuesday October 16th) The Mountain Press has a front page article about a little boy preaching on the Parkway in Gatlinburg. If Gatlinburg does not already have one you might want to consider ordinances controlling such activities and limiting the using of microphones or any amplification systems.You might consider a Free Speech zone out of the way so as to not annoy the tourists and citizens.

We live in a multicultural society and what was at one time considered a Christian country is far from it today. Gatlinburg has enough folks from India and it is only a matter of time before they will want to preach their Hindu beliefs or there will be or are Muslims in Gatlinburg who will want to preach their beliefs. The groups could go on including White Supremacists or Black Power advocates, or Native American causes and on and on.

Cute only goes so far.....

Corporate America's Fantasy World

Corporate America management live in a fantasy land. They lie and mislead Wall Street analysts to benefit their stock. I mean their stock as in their shares and their bank account.

They claim to believe every month will be better than the current month. Constant growth is not realistic. People who claim such cannot be trusted.

Every company will cease to grow someday and when they stop they will have to be managed differently than when they were a growing and expanding company.

Sam Walton had an idea that has long since been copied by competitors. It is time for another idea.

Corporations cannot pay people so they live at or near poverty level and expect loyalty. You can not put unqualified people into management positions just because they of their gender or their race just to placate the public. If you doubt that look at Wal-Mart.

Wal-Mart is passed its prime and new managment strategies and expectations must be developed.

Protecting the Quarterback

Recently the local paper, The Mountain Press had an editorial, Protecting the Quarterback.

They wrote about the ranting done by the coach of Oklahoma State University’s football team. The coach was upset over a column in the newspaper critical of his second-string quarterback. The column suggested the quarterback had a bad attitude……. Then they wrote “It’s hard to know how far to go in critiquing and analyzing college athletes. They’re amateurs for sure but……”

Later in the same edition there was an article attributed to The Associated Press under a headline Vols’ Lincoln tunes out distractions. In the article the author wrote about Fulmer’s Boot Camp where “Some of it can’t be put into print, most of it can’t. It’s been everything from trying to distract you. Standing behind you talking, yelling at you while you’re doing it. Get hit in the head with things, having to run stadiums if you miss something or you get a kick blocked.” I’m not an expert in writing in the English language but I believe The Associated Press’s sentence structure would not be looked upon favorably by an English teacher.

Now back to your editorial ……..college sports are a multimillion dollar business, and people fork over hundreds, thousands, of dollars to get good seats to support the team.

Now let’s think for a minute. Is Coach Fulmer a sadist? Is he the only football coach who abuses players in attempts to get them to do better and maybe even their best?

Do you suppose Oklahoma State University’s Coach Gundy just did not like someone criticizing his player? A woman criticize him? Football is a man’s sport. Coach Gundy has charged that reporter Carlson’s article is 3/4ths errors but refuses to identify the errors. Do you suppose Coach Gundy may have been upset over his defense allowing a school record 718 yards or that they helped the opposition’s quarterback rack up the fourth-highest passing total in major college football history, which in turn dropped his team to 116th in the nation in pass defense? Only three teams have worse marks.

Maybe Coach Gundy was distracted and a reporter asked him the wrong question at the wrong time. This is not the first time Gundy has overreacted. Maybe it is because his program lives in a huge shadow in its own state (ever hear of Oklahoma?) and is an afterthought in the national conversation. Maybe Coach Gundy just wants his super-secret, sacrosanct program to be accountable to no one.

DUI Punishments

This is part of an email I sent to Governor Bredesen, Senator Finney, and Representatives McCord and Montgomery.

In Sunday's The Mountain Press there were several articles concerning DUI laws. One of the articles listed the current punishments. I do not believe Sevier county uses those laws and punishments. Sevier counth has too many guilty of multiple offenses.

I believe, Illinois has $10,000 fine and 14 years in jail for accidents in construction areas that kill construction workers. I believe South Carolina has a $7,500 fine for the same offenses.

If Tennessee law is ever to be taken seriously there must be harsher punishments. On the second offense the offender should be declared an habitual offender and lose driving rights permanently in Tennessee. The fines must be enough to be feared. Automobiles should be confiscated regardless of ownership.

Habitual offenders should be given jail sentences long enough to be feared and violations on probation or suspended licenses should result in life without parole sentences. The laws must protect the public.

It is long past time to get serious. If the lawmakers, and governor do not pass stricter harsher laws the next time there is a DUI death or devastating accident you all will know you permitted it.

It appears for lawmakers to be personally affected is the only way laws will be passed. An example is District Attorney General Dunn's nephew. I realize Dunn is not a lawmaker, he has some influence. Green county, in Ohio, has the toughest DUI laws in the state. Why? Their Federal Congressman's daughter was killed by a driver DUI. Also in Ohio, people tried for years to get crossing warnings for some railroad crossings where there were many accidents. One day a state truck was involved and several state employees were killed. Crossing warnings were installed within 2 months. I hope you and your compatriots will act to prevent needless deaths and injuries and not wait to respond. Laws are meant to protect.

America Get a Clue.....

Someone took a lot of time and effort but maybe one day America will get a clue.

In which of these counries have the people been raised with Christian values, with the same view of ethics, morality, and character we take for granted? My guess is it will take a death to get people in the mindset to bring the manufacturing and agriculture back to the U.S. and pay more. By the way brake shoes from China have been found in the U.S. supply chain made of grass.

Joe Smith started the day early having set his alarm clock (MADE IN JAPAN) for 6am. While his coffeepot (MADE IN CHINA) was perking, he shaved with his electric razor (MADE IN HONG KONG ). He put on a dress shirt ( MADE IN SRI LANKA) , designer jeans (MADE IN SINGAPORE) and tennis shoes (MADE IN KOREA). After cooking his breakfast in his new electric skillet (MADE IN INDIA ) he sat down with his calculator ( MADE IN MEXICO) to see how much he could spend today. After setting his watch (MADE IN TAIWAN ) to the radio (MADE IN INDIA) he got in his car ( MADE IN GERMANY ) filled it with GAS from Saudi Arabia and continued his search for a good paying AMERICAN J OB .. At the end of yet another discouraging and fruitless day checking his Computer (Made In Malaysia )(with tech support in INDIA ) , Joe decided to relax for a while. He put on his sandals (MADE IN BRAZIL) poured himself a glass of wine (MADE IN FRANCE!) and turned on his TV (MADE IN INDONESIA ), and then wondered why he can't find a good paying job in.. AMERICA ...

Dogs on the Loose

Editor, The Mountain Press:

Reference the letter-to-the-editor printed in the September 12th The Mountain Press concerning the big brown dog intentionally being hit by the driver of a white four-door car.

How about the more pervasive problem in Sevier county; you know the problem of dogs running loose? The author of the letter described the dog as a family pet wearing a collar with a rabies tag. Family pet; running loose? If that isn’t a contradiction what is? Family pets are at home, in the house not out running around.

Does anyone consider the drivers who accidentally hit dogs or other animals? How traumatic it is for them? Imagine a mother, driving her young daughter to school and accidentally hits a dog, you know one of those family pets. How upsetting it is to the mother? How upsetting it is to the daughter? How upsetting for the family pet?

Owners of animals are similar in their actions as are those who like to smoke. Since they like it EVERYONE must like it too. Some even want to share their animals so much that they leave them outside so everyone can enjoy them, especially the barking at all hours day and night and let them run loose stepping on the flowers and leaving surprises in the neighboring yards (spreading the love so to speak).

Intentionally running over an animal of any species is wrong and should be punished but if that family pet had not been permitted to run loose the cruel and inhumane act never would have occurred. Who is more cruel the person who commits the act or the persons who knowingly create the situation that permits the act to occur?

Beware of Politicians wearing their religion on their sleeves

The 1st amendment to the Constitution prohibits congress from “making laws respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” Most of those involved with developing the Constitution believed in God or a higher power of some sort. Most were not “church goers.” Prior to the Declaration of Independence and the Revolutionary War there was financial penalty for those who did not attend the “official” church, that being the Church of England. The Constitution left open the possibility of that being continued thus, in 1791, the 1st Amendment. Thus today people talk of separation of church and state, which is nowhere found in the Constitution.

Religious convictions and beliefs have no place in government. Hopefully a religious person who chooses to indulge in politics brings from their religion, ethics, morality, and honesty nothing more. Sevier County politicians,as well as those in Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge, and Sevierville might want to take note.

Claiming religious conviction, our President is unwilling to permit the sacrifice of embryos in an attempt to improve the lives of American citizens but is willing to sacrifice the lives of American citizens, some against their will, in an attempt (futile as it is) to improve the lives of people who hate us and hate those being sacrificed and who will, whenever possible, persecute us because of our religious convictions.

If a member of the Muslim religion becomes a person of influence in our government I do not want them applying their religious convictions concerning women or religious conversions or honor killings. I want them to apply laws and the Constitution not the Koran.

Referencing the Saturday, June 16, The Mountain Press Political View cartoon that quotes Mitt Romney as saying "I can't imagine anything more awful than polygamy;" in the drawing the voters are shown to be saying, "Please tell me 'nuclear annihilation at the hands of terrorists' is a close second." My guess is most of us can think of many things much worse than polygamy even though we do not believe it to be right. I do not want a member of the Mormon religion applying their religious convictions concerning marriage. I want them to apply laws and the Constitution, not the book of Mormon, or Pearl of Great Price etc.

Beware of politicians who wear their religion as a badge. A religious person should bring morals, ethics, and honesty to government, nothing more.

It doesn't rate well

Reference the article "It doesn't rate well" on the front page of the Sunday, July 29th The Mountain Press. Motels and other businesses that advertise low rates that mislead the customer call in to question the subject of ethics.

Ethics, adhering to a moral principal, is nothing more than the Golden Rule; "Do for others what you would like them to do for you.” Ethics is a system of moral standards.

When a business misleads its customers can you trust anything that business does? Can you trust the cleanliness? Can you trust the maintenance? Can you trust the security? If they provide food is the food safe to eat? The answer to those questions is you can not trust anything associated with that business.

Once a business shows it will deceive its customers to get their money the business shows it will do anything for the dollar and therefore cannot be trusted.

Is misleading the customer considered honest behavior? It is past the time for the local businesses to stop acting like carnival hucksters.

Businesses that are dedicated to doing the right thing have a written commitment to social responsibility, and act on it consistently are more profitable than those who don't. Embracing ethical behavior will not automatically make the business owners rich and successful but ethics + competence is a winning equation.

Believing Impossible Things

Recently in occurred to me that for evolution to work it would require that a male and a female of a species develop the same characteristics within the lifetime of the other. Have you ever wondered how many species died waiting waiting for the sex organs of both genders to be present in the right place to permit procreation?

Then, how would nature know the problem was not with the sex organs but the problem was there were no feet?

How many died waiting for the other gender to develop the eye or nose or feet or paw etc that would permit the movement to meet their mate with everything in the right place only to discover they were sterile? How long would it take for another perfect match to develop and procreate?

I find it fascinating that there are those who believe that over an unknown period of time an unknown number of events spontaneously occurred resulting in nothing becoming matter. Then, over another unknown period, that matter evolved into some material that evolved into the universe and all forms of life. They do not address the reason and the cause of the spontaneous actions.

Either our universe is the result of Intelligent Design or it just happened.

Lacking logic various “theories” have been developed but any theory that does not address the beginning of matter misses the point of the theory, to explain creation of the universe. Scientists agree a theory is not fact only an only a hypothesis but we permit teachers to teach it as fact.

Accepting the Bible requires faith. Rejecting the Bible requires faith.
In Through the Looking-Glass Lewis Carroll constructs an interesting dialog between Alice and the White Queen:

“Now I’ll give you something to believe, I’m just one hundred and one, five
months and a day.”
“I can’t believe that!” said Alice.
“Cant’ you?” the
queen said in a pitying tone. “Try again: draw a long breath, and shut your
eyes.”
Alice laughed. “There’s no use trying,” she said: “One can’t believe
impossible things.”
“I daresay you haven’t had much practice,” said the
Queen. “When I was your age, I always did it for half-an-hour a day. Why,
sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.”

To avoid acknowledging God people choose to “believe impossible things.”

Labor Day a Holiday, Not Hardly

Our local paper, The Mountain Press had an editoral on September 3rd (Labor Day) headlined “A most fitting holiday; Saluting labor an American tradition well worth keeping.” We pay tribute to the worker by requiring them to work? Not hardly. Just another holiday for the government, the same people who established it to begin with.

The Revolutionary War freed the colonies from the tyranny of England but did little for the slaves in the colonies.

Some of our forefathers, though they did not like slavery and would have ade importing slaves illegal, could not. Having slaves to work large plantations was a part of the economy and without slaves one could not compete with those who had slaves. To refuse to go along with slavery would have meant losing their livelihood, their plantation and their place in society.

Many businesses in Sevier County are in a similar situation. They cannot afford to pay the inflated leases and rents and still compete unless they can pay their employees minimal wages and minimal or no benefits. Some businesses offer benefits to their employees but the employee’s cannot afford to pay their share and therefore do not subscribe, leaving their family to depend on government assistance such as Tenncare or Medicare.

Land prices in Sevier County are subsidized by the low wages paid the workers, those whom we pay tribute to on Labor Day according to your editorial. Businesses in Sevier County are subsidized by Tenncare etc.

Businesses in Sevier County should tremble at the thought of a Cesar Chavez rising up. Remember him and his United Farm Workers and the boycotts he led in the 1960s and 70s and how farm owners changed the way they treated and paid the workers? Remember how Jimmy Hoffa organized the truck drivers into the Teamsters when they were treated very much like Sevier County workers are treated today?

As long as a husband and a wife can work full time jobs in Sevier County and continue to remain below or close to the poverty level it is only a matter of time before a Cesar or a Jimmy appears.

One last thought. What if those (legal OR illegal) workers, paid lower than minimum wage were permitted to sue their employers for violating Federal Statues by paying less than minimum wage? What if legal residents who are unemployed sue employers for hiring those who are not legal residents or those who’s Visa does not authorize them to work?

The businesses in Sevier County should tremble; it is just a matter of time.