FREEDOM OF RELIGION

Freedom of religion also means freedom FROM religion. The US constitution forbids allowing governments to do or not do something because a religion demands it.

This means that, we as a people, believe that each citizen is responsible for his/her own moral choices. My religion told me to do it, is not an excuse acceptable in US courts.

This is so ingrained in our laws and philosophy that we forget much of the world still allows religion to make ALL moral choices.

Historically, all this started when Martin Luther nailed a statement, that the church had become immoral, on to the door of a church in Germany. This morphed into many Protestant religions who believed that THEY could read the word of God for themselves.

When these many churches came to North America, they each set up little towns who punished non-believers who were just traveling through. These punishments were so irritating, that just about everyone was in agreement that the other person's religion should not become the law of the land.

Of course in the beginning, this freedom of and from religion was only granted to white, rich Christians.

But the US is the first country founded on the principle that what is illegal is not governed by religion. Each citizen is free to believe what they wish. All of us vote to make the laws that we must obey. And the court system hopefully prevents the majority from taking unfair advantage of the minorities.

(This also means that all of you who spin fantasies of the US adopting Sharia law do not have the remotest idea about the true value of the US Constitution.)

THE THIN BLUE LINE

There is NO EXCUSE for killing a police office. There is NO EXCUSE for keeping marijuana illegal.

We have required our police officers to enforce a law that lawyers and presidents disobey with glee.

We are keeping the stupid drug laws KNOWING that marijuana almost certainly cures cancer and relieves epilepsy symptoms.

And of course, people take out their frustrations on the police officers tasked with enforcing this increasingly stupid law.

If you think a police office is unprofessional, then you COMPLAIN EVERY TIME. Eventually, the number of complaints causes the officer to be investigated. If you are unhappy with the investigation, then it is trivially easy to take over a local government. All you actually have to do is VOTE IN EVERY ELECTION. There are usually plenty of local activists who will run for office if they think they have a chance.

OUR DRUG LAWS ARE PUTTING OFFICERS AT RISK. We ask them to enforce a law that most of us will not obey. Officers are not stupid. They know that arresting lawyers and presidential candidates will just end in grief for everyone involved. So IF they HAVE to show a statistical pattern of arresting for drugs, they will arrest the people who quietly go to prison. Such people are usually brown or black.

Of course, if a bent officer wants to control a judge or politician, then the easiest way is to arrest a child or grandchild for possession of an illegal substance.

ANY DRUG THAT IS LESS HARMFUL THAN ALCOHOL SHOULD BE LEGAL.

Did you know that the FDA can order researchers and doctors to BE SILENT about the merits of marijuana?

GET TOUGH ON THE DISABLED

"Our rules are more important than your disability. We will teach you to obey by towing away your wheelchair van. You must be lying about the 350 pound wheelchair that could come tumbling out the back door on the freeway." -- Thoughts (?) of Landlord, security guard, and tow company.

I am so sorry that my request for a reasonable accommodation was denied in such a way as to endanger the driving public. But I do not understand people who would tow a wheelchair vehicle when the owner was 20 feet away. The vehicle was NOT blocking traffic or access. 

I tried to let everyone know that the heavy wheelchair was not properly tied down. Experience has taught me that it is much safer to use a flat bed truck when towing a wheelchair vehicle with rear access. But punishment would not wait for a safer towing vehicle.

Safety of the public, and common courtesy, are not present when men decide that this is their territory and they WILL be in control. This is much like the judge who told a defendant to crawl up the stairs to his courtroom. (There is a funny House episode with House abandoning a wheelchair during a parking place spat.)

This is exactly the kind of over enforcement that is caused by the broken window police policy. It starts out trying to keep driveways clear, then soon people are arrested for waiting in the driveway for a disabled friend.

For me, it is not so much that my van was towed. It is that I am now much less mobile. You have made my world smaller. Why?

I also feel really hurt and sad. What kind of people harass the disabled?