So much to bitch about!

I listen to NPR radio when I drive to and from work. Usually I end up listening to part of the news and some talk show material before I get to work, then All Things Considered on the way home. I get frustrated. There is so much discussion about what we should be doing to correct the ills in our society you forget how much is right.

I listened to a program about how the Prison Guard Union in California grew from a small group to one of the strongest, most well funded unions in the state. As a result they lobby hard for increased sentences, "Strike Three" sentences and anything they can to do maintain or increase the prison population in California. They lobby hard against the legalization of drugs. Why? So they can keep their union membership up and fully employed. Seems like the wrong kind of motivation to me.

Another program talked about how Bail Bondsmen lobby against ROR time for petty crimes. How they charge a fee and if a criminal skips they don't pay the full amount of the bond to the justice system. Seems awfully unfair and unscrupulous to me.

Today economists speculated on what the U.S. has to do to recovery from its financial crisis.

But, I can travel to Tennessee if I want to and don't need anyone's permission. I can write just about anything I want to on this blog and don't have to ask anyone's permission. I can own a firearm, I can drive across this country without fearing police interference. I can vote and even though it may not count for much I have confidence that it will be counted. I can write the government and criticize the leaders, and I can attend a city council meeting if I want. I can participate in the running of this country and my views may not be in the majority but they get represented. While I do not like what I have to go through for healthcare my needs are addressed.

Everyonce and a while it is good to sit back and reflect on just what our forefathers created. It is up to us to insure that creation stays in place untarnished and still able to respond to the needs of its citizens.