But sometimes it just seems there's no point anymore to being a citizen and paying taxes. What is the reason I am say this? Did you know that the good people of DC passed a referendum to allow illegal aliens...excuse me, that's "undocumented immigrants" to obtain drivers' licenses. One of the more choice quotes from one of the activist groups (SEIU) who is hailing the new rules:
"It’s a shame that federal law presents an obstacle to allowing undocumented immigrants to have the same driver’s license as everyone else, but tens of thousands of D.C. residents now have the opportunity to lead more productive lives."
Yes, it is a shame that there are obstacles. Of course those "obstacles" could be avoided with, oh, I don't know, being here legally. Crazy, I know. Now, I don't mean to complain (oh who am I kidding, I DO mean to complain), but isn't this the place where we send all of our hard earned tax dollars, and where we crazy citizens send our duly-elected officials to represent us? Shouldn't it be the one place where citizens have a right to demand that illegal aliens...er, undocumented immigrants shouldn't have parity? I know, I'm crazy. I won't even comment on the "tens of thousands" number. Maybe we should ask our elected official to whom we send trillions of dollars, how many of these "undocumented immigrants" work for our Federal government? If the NSA and IRS can harass citizens without cause and get away with it, why can't they find "tens of thousands" of undocumented immigrants right under their noses?
Okay, I commented on the "tens of thousands" number. Sorry, I was smoking crack while in a drunken stupor. (Hey, that plays well in Toronto!)
It just makes my head ache and makes me cranky (or maybe that's the crack-fueled, drunken stupor hangover). Oh, well, let's discuss.
As always, feel free to change the subject. Hey, anyone have any good news? Hey, what about that Obamacare?
Bev, In your drunken stupor, you put this at the wrong time and it published as of yesterday, so I moved it up to the top. :)
ReplyDeleteOn the issue, I know this won't be popular, but there is a very valid reason to make sure that illegals have licenses (which requires insurance as well). If illegals are driving without licenses and insurance, then they are a menace. If you get hit by one of these people, YOU get screwed because there is no insurance company who will pay your bills, there is no one you can sue, and the state won't help. If you are lucky, then you were also driving and you have some uninsured motorist coverage. But if you don't or if you are walking, then you are on your own.
ReplyDeleteGiving illegals licenses conditional on insurance would protect average people from this problem. This isn't about caring about the illegals, this is about caring about average people who get hit by the wrong guy.
This is one of those situations where we are only hurting ourselves, not them, by refusing to give them licenses.
will DiBlasio (if that's his name) drive all wealth out of Gotham? Inquiring minds want to know
ReplyDeleteJed, He's gonna do his best! :)
ReplyDeleteFrom what I understand, DiBlasio is going to bring back the "real" New York City. You know, the one where you had to worry about getting mugged or worse every time you stepped outside? Taking away the safety puts the sport back into big city life. It's gonna be awesome.
ReplyDeleteOops, it's the crack...I may have forgotten to hit "done" when I set the time. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteAs for your reasoning, I happen to agree with you. They should be licensed and insured. What I get annoyed with is the reasoning that somehow WE are the cause of their unfortunate "obstacle". That if our laws just didn't include those mean old immigration laws like every other country in the world, they wouldn't have to suffer this indignity of being "illegal".
Bill de Blasio's biggest problem is where to live right now - his multi-million dollar Brooklyn brownstone or Gracie Mansion fully restores to it's former glory, by Soon to be Ex-Mayor Bloomberg.
ReplyDeleteFirst on how list of To Do list" when he takes over Jan. 1st will be to raise the minimum wage to somewhere between 10-15 dollars an hour. Then he will drive all of the rich people out of the city.
The drivers license insurance thing works in theory. As with so many theories however... I don't know how it works in Washington,but here in Ohio,when you get your drivers license you have to sign a form stating that you have insurance.That's it. You don't actually have to show proof.The state sends out random notices through the year to licensed drivers,who then have to mail in proof that they're insured.If you don't send in proof,your license is suspended. The problem with that is that,at least in the urban counties,the only thing that happens when you get caught driving under suspension is a fine. Don't pay the fine?Another suspension.Get caught?Another fine. Don't pay? Another suspension. And round and round it goes. I've been in court and seen people who were caught driving under 7 (you read that right) count 'em,seven suspensions get another suspension. Right across the river in Kentucky you can go to jail for that,because they have lower crime and more jail space.I have no idea why the Ohio BMV doesn't make you actually show proof of insurance when you get your license or renew your tags,but they don't. Given the fact that that DC is colossally more fu__ed up than the states,I'm sure they've probably got some deal like that for the illeg - I mean undocumenteds as well. So it's just a big circle jerk and another slap in the face.
ReplyDeleteGypsyTyger
"First on how list of To Do list" when he takes over Jan. 1st will be to raise the minimum wage to somewhere between 10-15 dollars an hour."
ReplyDeleteThereby destroying entry-level jobs for low-income (and mostly minority) youths.
Racist...
Bev.....In order to remain profitable, a business that employs minimum wage workers will need to do what? Why...raise prices to cover the labor cost increase! So, prices go up, poor people pay more for fast food, and the mayor is a hero to them. Good thing we keep raising their food stamp dollars to pay more for the same thing!
ReplyDeleteI don't know why they just don't raise the minimum wage to $20/hr.....$30/hr. I'm waiting for the good old days of the Italian Lira when 50,000 would buy you a loaf of bread. But hey! The poor were making 10's of thousand liras/hour!! Success!
GypsyTyger, I've found it depends on the state. In Virginia, for example, they watch their citizens like a hawk -- very much a police state. Colorado is good about knowing who doesn't have insurance and seems on the ball about enforcing it. In West Virginia, I knew people who didn't even bother with the license and no one cared... even the courts. "Get a license, son... case dismissed."
ReplyDeleteIn all honesty, I think we need to sharpen up our traffic laws a good deal. They also need to raise the minimum coverage people are required to get. In some places, the coverage is as little as $10,000. What good does that do it you cripple someone?
Bev, I concur, I can't stand the attitude either. And they would get a lot more support if they stopped acting like self-righteous jerks who are trying to blame us for everything. When you need to convince people that something is good for them, it doesn't help to talk down to them.
ReplyDeleteGood luck with the $15 minimum wage. I see a market forming for smuggling in Big Macs from New Jersey.
You know, as an aside, if they really believe that works, then they should just raise the minimum wage to $10,000 an hour and then you'll all be rich and happy. :D
Yes, we all know that dramatically raising the minimum will be a job killer. And on top of mandatory employer provided health insurance, well...we know.
ReplyDeleteBut the good news is that the real Marxists...and I don't mean that rhetorically...I mean REAL, honest to goodness card carrying Marxists will be leading the parade of newly appointed public officials to give real honest to goodness card carrying Marxist Bill de Blasio a helping hand. Long standing leaders of the Worker's Party and old ACORN head Bertha Lewis are all on the line-up - These people make Obama look like a right wing Republican. REAL Marxists. They have been wanting to get their hands on the taxpayers money for years because they think that if they just take all the money from the rich people and give it to the poor people, it will solve the problem of poverty and war forever.
We know how this will play out, so the best I can do is to make sure that my Texas Passport is current and valid when I have to flee.
Bev, Yeah, keep that passport handy. Have you considered forming a resistance cell in the old Marxist tradition? You could blow things up and then try to levitate city hall and, if you get caught, you just claim you had just "gone to Toronto" and you didn't really mean it. After that, you're a shoe-in for a job at a university or Hollywood.
ReplyDeleteWell, no, but then since Occupy Wall Street is now in charge of City Hall, I expect THEY will blow it up because it is bourgeois and replace it with a tent city. That's what we will now call "going all "City Hall" on you"
ReplyDeleteBev, You should form a resistance cell. Your symbol could be a clenched fist over your head holding a 17oz drink! :D
ReplyDeleteAs for the damn dirty apes about to take over City Hall, don't for a minute think they won't absorb all the luxuries they can get.
But Andrew - that's what Marxists do...they absorb all of the luxuries they can get their hands on. Why do you think there are so many elected officials with (D)'s by their name in prison? And yet, they still get re-elected over and over again. This plan works for the major Drug Cartels too. Just give the little villagers cash and they won't see anything.
ReplyDeletePolitics...The largest extortion scheme ever foisted upon humans. All are bad, some are just less bad than others.
ReplyDelete............................we're screwed.......................
My father and I have an ongoing argument about whether driving is a right or a privilege. There is no yelling but it drives my wife and mom nuts. I take the position that it is a privilege but realistically there are elements of both. If you pay taxes and they use those taxes to build a road you have a right to use that road. The government shouldn't be able to arbitrarily take that away from you. It also drives my father nuts when laws are passed that make otherwise law-abiding people into criminals for example getting a ticket for doing 75 in a 65 mph zone. The point being that some of the laws are arbitrary. I agree with his points but also point out that there are some people who shouldn't be driving. They are bad, reckless, and unresponsible. Driving on that road shouldn't be taken for granted as you are in a 2 ton machine that can kill. Insurance is a tricky issue. I think you should have it to protect yourself both physically and economically. Should the state require it? It wouldn't have to by just having tougher back end laws. Kill someone? Hang him. Maim someone? Bankruptcy, indentured servitude, and force immigration to Antarctica to drill for oil. Although Colorado does ask for proof, I think as many as 25% of those on the road are not carrying insurance.
ReplyDeleteI don't really care about NYC politics to be honest. F**k 'em. They will get what they deserve and ask for. Call it the New Detroit. Sorry Bev, you may be the only good thing there.
Koshcat, One of the things I learned very quickly as an attorney when I ran my general practice was to raise your insurance coverage to cover injuries to yourself or your family. Most people don't have enough if they end up really needing it and you can't rely on the other guy.
ReplyDeleteIt's also a good idea to get things like the rental car reimbursement. In serious claims, insurance companies take forever to pay because they can.
Kosh: the one thing the state has a right to require is liability insurance. This would be to protect other people from financial loss due to bodily injury or property damage caused by you if you have no assets and drive. I guess theoretically, you could post a bond for some specified amount. Today, most people who purchase auto insurance obtain something called "uninsured motorist" coverage. This protects you under your own policy if you are injured or have your car totaled by some unlicensed, uninsured, no assets drunken idiot.
ReplyDeleteBev, when I was at my hoity-toity historical conference last weekend, one of the profs commenting on the paper I presented was from a community college in Manhattan. A few of us got to talking afterwards, and he said that if de Blasio got elected, it was going to be the '70s all over again. So...you know....start looking forward to that, I guess.
ReplyDelete"...it was going to be the '70s all over again. So...you know....start looking forward to that, I guess."
ReplyDeleteT-Rav - I'm gonna have to break out my tattered bell bottoms and platform shoes...please no, not again!
According to NBC news, Obama says "he is sorry" about all the people losing their plans...and he will do everything he can....to deal with 'folks' who are in this."
ReplyDeleteWhat an a$%hole.
I understand why the state requires it although you can argue that it would be no different than having a medical single payer. Stay with me here...It doesn't really matter who is paying if the government is requiring it. I'm not arguing against getting insurance. As I said before, I think driving is a privilege which carries responsibilities. I am just pointing out that there are different possible means to getting to the same place.
ReplyDeleteWell, Patriot, at least he admits there ARE people who are losing their insurance. And he didn't say he's the angriest about it...that's a step forward,right?
ReplyDeleteBev, What I like about it is that he's drawing out the pain because he's promising to do something about it... but there's nothing they can do. Basically, he's just given people false hope which will implode fairly soon.
ReplyDeleteBTW, if you're going back to the 1970s, then I vote for a requirement that everyone in NYC be forced to (1) wear jumpsuits and (2) be required to get a 'fro.
ReplyDeletePatriot, Nice avatar! :)
ReplyDeleteKoshcat, This is one of those areas where it's simply not possible to handle it in other ways. Putting things like savage beatings into the criminal code for causing a car accident, while effective, wouldn't go over well with the public.
Bev.....I'm sure no one is madder than he is about this. He has always said, "make no mistake about it," "he will spend every waking minute fighting for the middle class" on this.
ReplyDeleteThis guy's really starting to get on my nerves.
And Patriot wins the understatement of the day award with this: This guy's really starting to get on my nerves. LOL!
ReplyDeleteI think Obama has been on all of our nerves for years now.
I admire you, Patriot. You're a better man than I am. He's always gotten on my nerves.
ReplyDelete