The Road to Hell is paved with Red Herrings.

Read Time:3 Minute, 37 Second

I wrote this blog a while back when there was an effort to pass a law that would require drug testing if receiving public assistance.  The subject matter discussed in the post still seems to be relevant today.  Hope you will agree.

How is it even possible for Republicans to be concerned about this? Have they not been informed of the present state of the country right now?

Folks, we are fighting wars on 2 fronts, the economy is in shambles that may take decades to get out of, the general public has just been taken for the biggest heist ever by Wall Street, and our manufacturing base is being exported to whichever country will sacrifice their environment and health the most. Did you know that about 25% of the pollution hanging over California right now has been traced to China?

The previous administration allowed the use of the techniques that we EXECUTED the Japanese in WWII for as War Crimes. They basically gutted the Dept of Justice from investigating any social injustice. Not one person has gone to prison for that whole 8 year madness. Remember those Haliburton non-bid contracts for infrastructure that didn’t get built? Blackwater mercenaries?

Okay, say that drug testing is an important issue. Skipping the fact that it is applied to only the group that probably doesn’t have 10 lobbyist working for them at the Capitol, what are the issues that are raised by this and what is hoped to be gained by this?

Let us list the possibilities..

We may be able to save money by not having to give it to people on drugs.

If they were concerned with saving money, they would scream about pork barrel projects like  $1.4 billion welfare for an alternative jet engine for the Joint Strike Fighter that the military has repeatedly officially stated that they don’t want. How about $1.9 million for the Pleasure Beach water taxi service project. There is a very long list of items so it can’t be about saving money or applying government money fairly.

By not giving them money, it may make them change their life choices and improve their lives.

If they were concerned about that, they would offer rehabilitation and education services so that they would have a chance. Education is the key.

Drugs are bad, okay.

Just the bad drugs are bad okay. Drugs produced by companies that eliminate shifty eye syndrome are okay. Existing drugs that are acceptable like smoking or drinking that do more damage than all of that “tested for” drugs are fine. But if testing was a concern, they would do it for everyone that gets public money, including teachers, politicians, police, firefighters, even those pricks on Wall Street who got TARP. But that would complicate things, applying testing equally.

What it really is….

This is a Red Herring issue, used as something to divert attention away from the more complicated issues that aren’t solved with a 5 second sound bite. This to them is one of those screaming black and white issues that raises emotions from the Rush Limbaugh group and allows easy remembrance for the people that cannot make up their own mind and have to tune into AM talk radio to learn what a opinion is or what opinion they should have. They are too lazy to look up the actual facts or research an issue so they turn to a cigar chomping drug addict for their answers. (Is that irony? I get confused ever since that Alanis Morrisette song).

For those 5 minute attention span people that gloss over the important stuff, seek easy solutions to complicated issues, and are easily mis-directed by “Red Herring” issues of the day, here is something to read so that you can make up your mind.

Unemployment went up to 10 percent today as the gradual decay of the manufacturing base…Britneys VahJayJay…drug testing for persons receiving public assistance.

Crime is on the increase especially in the urban areas due to decreased funding and lack… Saying Happy Holidays not Merry Christmas…. intelligent design taught in schools.

Divorce rates continue to climb as family stress conditions….Adam and Eve not Adam and Steve…..Ban gay marriage to save the sanctity of the marriage.

See how easy that works…..look, a chicken!…send me all your money.

Happy
Happy
0 %
Sad
Sad
0 %
Excited
Excited
0 %
Sleepy
Sleepy
0 %
Angry
Angry
0 %
Surprise
Surprise
0 %
0 0 votes
Article Rating
Subscribe
Notify of

10 Comments
Newest
Oldest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Admin
13 years ago

I do read books, albeit on a Kindle. Some would say that is just not the same. In my defense I love my Kindle because you can enlarge the text thus negating the need for those dang glasses:-) So that being said Oso I cannot understand how you can tolerate working with Tea-Baggers. Then again I’m living among them and I haven’t killed one yet…..Great article.

osori
Reply to  Professor Mike
13 years ago

Mike,
working with teabaggers does wonders for my self-esteem. I’ll always smarter than whoever’s around!

13 years ago

Slogans, sound bites, catch phrases, St. Ronnie of Reagan’s Government by Anecdote “It’s Morning In America” and the classic “I’m not worried about the deficit. It’s big enough to care of itself.” Red Herrings all.

13 years ago

I think some people from a small town in Herefordshire once elected a Herring as Mayor….or was it a donkey?….

Perhaps it’s a subtle plan by Mother Nature to get back at us through our stupid politicians who will never suss it. After all, who’s afraid of a herring?

13 years ago

You got it, Oso! Example is the news media being concerned about Acorn and a home movie when billions were being wasted giving 100% return on toxic assets at AIG. The list goes on and on…

I can’t decide if it is laziness…. or stupidity….or manipulated media outlets….or maybe a combination of all.

Frustrating as hell, people will yell and scream bloody murder about 10 dollars when someone else is taking a million. You think it is perception maybe??

osori
Reply to  Krell
13 years ago

Perception is as good a theory as any, although the laziness and stupidity you also allude to are more satisfying!

Also ACORN was such an obvious and easy target.They register voters in poor areas so more likely Democrats. They work for a living wage, against predatory lending. All anathema to the right. Plus they’re guilty of not being able to afford lobbyists.

Although my teabag coworkers believe George Soros is funding ACORN. I told them “Oh you mean the guy who sold pound sterling short and made all that money off the British? That guy?”

Their collective response: “Who?”.

Not trying to sound super smart, I just read a lot. Rather trying to make the point that their “knowledge” as you wrote is based on what somebody told them, and they parrot it.

You or Mother Hen or Mike or me or fourdinners-well maybe not fourdinners-LOL just kidding man if you read this-we may not necessarily be brain surgeons but we have some intellectual curiosity and we do a certain amount of heavy lifting, we read books.

Man I head off on a rant at the drop of a hat, sorry!

Reply to  osori
13 years ago

Never apologize for giving enrichment by knowledge.

It is what separates us humans from the chickens. (oh I gonna catch it for that! LOL)

Reply to  Krell
13 years ago

It is lucky for you, Krell, that I will overlook that slur upon my chickens, who have more brains than a room of teabaggers.

Reply to  Mother Hen
13 years ago

ROFLMAO!!!

osori
13 years ago

Exactly,exactly,exactly. Red Herring is the phrase I’d been looking for. Along with your three examples we could put St Ronnie’s “welfare queens” or ACORN or “czars”. Maybe people get mad at things they can visualize? One trillion dollars might be too abstract, seven percent of GDP certainly is-but if you say 10,000.00 it can be visualized.

Teabag coworkers will rail for hours about welfare programs. Or how the stimulus is paying 100,000.00 for landscaping maybe. When I bring up AIG they sorta gloss over it. But mention Van Jones? They’re still pissed about him.

“Tuning into AM talk radio to get their opinions” is straight up. People don’t want to do the heavy lifting of reading a book or researching.

Good post.

Previous post Boy Scouts of America pay $18.5 million in lawsuit over secret “Perversion Files”
Next post Pope to Open Abortion Clinic and Bless Gay Marriage?
10
0
Would love your thoughts, please comment.x
()
x