I write this hoping to help parents avoid the fate my parents met in the fall of 1990, when our home was surrounded by police searching for me.  I was sixteen, and since that was my last moment of freedom, I often dwell on that stage of my life.  What went wrong, how did it get to that point, etc…  So from that I will extrapolate the following advice.

At the end of the day, you can do everything right and still fail.  That’s because the kid has to make the decisions and you can only shelter them from the world for so long.  That’s why you must make them understand what’s at stake and why it’s important for them to make the right decisions.  Despite their youthful feelings of invincibility, their life depends on it.

Sometimes understanding that significance can lead them to give up and engage in high risk behavior, if they feel they’ve fallen behind their peers.  Kids don’t have the perspective of adults to realize how much easier it will be for them to bounce back if they just make the effort.  That doesn’t necessarily mean they’ll do as well as they’d like, but if they can stay on the right track, they can make it.  You have to offer that big picture perspective.  It’s never too late to start over, especially when you’re still at the beginning.

1.       In Zion, Illinois, USA, it is written in the law that it is illegal to offer your pets a cigarette but with the price of cigarettes today I really can’t see that happening.

2.       This one is a beauty. In St. Louis, Missouri, USA; it is against the law for a fireman to rescue a woman in her nightdress. So ladies even if you’re visiting stay fully dressed while sleeping you may not have time to change.

3.       Ames, Iowa offers a law that is strange; men are not allowed to have three sips of beer while they are in bed with their wives. This must be why men get loaded before they come to bed!

4.       This one has me stumped. In Maryland, USA it is still illegal for the radio stations to play Randy Newman’s song “Short People”. Maybe this is why I have never heard of it.

5.       If you’re ever in Oklahoma don’t make faces at a dog, it’s against the law it could result in a jail sentence or you getting a face lift if you chose the wrong dog.

6.       Texas has a neat law. Criminals are required to give a 24 hour oral or written notice giving details of the crime there are going to commit. Now wouldn’t this be a nice gesture I can see it now, Dear Madame, you can expect me at midnight tomorrow night. I will be only taking the silver ………

7.       In Washington, USA don’t pretend you have rich parents it’s against the law. Our daughter may find herself in jail.

8.       This one is really stupid and I would love to know how it got written into a law. In Baltimore, Maryland, USA it’s against the law to take a lion to the movies. Now why would anyone in their right mind want to do that unless they want the lions share? (Excuse the pun lol).

9.       Tremonton, Utah, USA, has a quirky law. Can you believe this? It’s against the law to have sex with a man in an ambulance you can be charged with a misdemeanor and have your name printed in the paper. Get outta here, sex while you’re having a heart attack? Not!

10.   If you’re in Oxford, Ohio, USA, check out your hotels room pictures before you undress. The law says it’s forbidden to undress in front of a picture of a man. Leave your picture of hubby at home.

11.   The Taliban in Afghanistan forbids women to wear white socks as men may find it attractive. The police also paint the windows of the house black to stop women from seeing outside. I guess it saves on cleaning windows and difficult laundry.

12.   Impotency is a very serious issue in the USA. It is the grounds for divorce in 24 states. Does that mean that when you hit 50 it’s out the door? Thank Goodness for Viagra!

13.   If you are in Iowa make sure you don’t kiss for longer than five minutes after this you are breaking the law. I think I would be safe on this one.

14.   In Chico, California it is against the law to detonate a nuclear device within the city limits. You could get fined $500.00 that is if they can find the pieces after.

15.   Lebanon offers a law that states it is legal to have sex with any animal as long as it is female. Now this is really going to the dogs!

16.   In Turkey in the 16^th and 17^th century it was forbidden to drink coffee anyone that broke this law would be sentenced to death. Not a place for Timmy’s !

17.   Singapore has a dilly. A person can be executed if they are found with 200g of cannabis. That would sure cut down on the population around here.

18.   In Birmingham, England it’s against the law to have sex on the church steps after sundown. Does this mean that during the day it’s okay?

19.   In Alberta, Canada every convict that is released is entitled to a gun and a horse to ride out of town on. Maybe that’s why I’ve seen so many riders on the road side trails.

20.   Is there nothing sacred in Minnesota, USA, it is against the law to hang men’s and women’s underwear on the same clothes line.  This is one place where “his” and “hers” pays off.

Well that’s it for the funnies. I promise I won’t be back on this subject. Hope at least someone got a smile from this. I have to admit I am curious why some of these laws were enforced but maybe another time ………

This is one of the most persistent lies in U.S. History. Anyone who has looked at this knows Bush won. He won in the OFFICIAL count which is the most important. If there was impropriety there, why haven’t people been brought up and charged with election fraud. The answer is simple. There wasn’t fraud perpetrated by any Republican.

The butterfly ballot was not Bush’s idea, it was not even a Republican idea, it was created by Democrats running the local elections! The hanging chads were caused by poor maintenance on the equipment, improper instruction of voters and lack of care by poll workers, all supervised by Democrats in the Florida counties. It would be easy to conclude that the Democrats either tried to “throw” the election or they were just plain inept. Actually it is simple, they didn’t astutely spend money to hold an election.

If he had stolen the election that may be an impeachable offense but the crime didn’t happen. It was either the will of the people he be president or it was stupidity and corruption of Democrats in Florida politics.

He Was in the Oil Business – It Is Polluting and a Danger to Our Security

Hmmm. First, is this an impeachable offense? Where in the constitution is this stated or even implied? Let’s look at how we got to where we are with oil. The first oil well was drilled in Titusville, Pennsylvania and for some time all oil drilled in the world in fact came from that area. Oil was found in other places and drilling was done there. Nobody can argue that oil drilling is an environmentally dirty process. As an aside, Zinc mining which is where the Gore family made it’s money is a near environmental disaster even when done right. The Gores only shut it down when it became too costly to run but it still pays royalties every year.

Nobody can argue that burning any fuel including fossil fuel is an environmentally dirty process. But there are realities. Conservation is needed but conservation can only go so far. California is an example. It has the lowest per capita electrical usage in the U. S. primarily due to conservation practices. But California has pretty well tapped all of the “easy” and “cheap” conservation processes and will have to move on to the ones that have less return and cost more. Conservation is right, it is proper, it should be done but it is a part of a valid energy policy, not the whole policy. We need to begin to start phasing out oil but till there are alternatives we have to have oil.

There are things that will help that have not been tapped. First, mass transit is a part of the solution but it is not the solution. This targets moving humans but there is another transportation issue that consumes massive quantities of fuel. A truck burns eight times as much diesel fuel per ton/mile of freight as a truck. Even if the truck is needed on both ends of the haul the fuel railroad/truck usage is still less than one quarter of the truck only usage. Even more, if the railroads were moved to more electrification this could be reduced further but only if the electricity is produced by solar, wind, coal or nuclear.

Simply stated, the California model is increasing the use of oil and natural gas for electricity production, a counter-productive act while reducing coal and nuclear as it’s environmental wacko’s protest any more drilling. This just increases our foreign dependence. Interestingly enough, California’s environmental problem is driven heavily by nitrous oxide. Burning natural gas is one of the high producers of this component, oil is next. Coal is a minor producer. Coal emissions can be scrubbed of particulates, NO2 cannot be scrubbed out.

Bush has in the last six years taken steps to reduce the dependency on oil while also taking steps to maintain a supply that is necessary for the country. We are dependent on foreign oil, not because there is not oil in the U.S. to be drilled but because it isn’t economical to do here. This is primarily because of the non-level playing field of the environmental laws. The cost of transporting oil from the Middle East to the U. S. certainly adds to the price at the pump.

And there is nothing in the constitution that sets a background litmus test for being president.

He Is Against Preserving The Environment

Yep, he has snubbed Kyoto. But that protocol is a disaster for the U.S. – it is a program that is at our expense while others continue to pollute. We need to have a level playing field and that field isn’t possible within Kyoto. This was written to be punitive to the U.S. by people who wanted to punish it. If we reduced our pollution to zero in five years, the increases in China alone would more than offset that improvement. India and several other countries in that region are also on the same track. The thought that the emerging countries should have carte blanch is just plain wrong. It assumes that they have the right to pollute.

Let’s face it, the environloonies would not be happy unless he ended all oil drilling yesterday, all coal mining the week before that and put us back to a subsistence society. Bush is realistic, we can’t to that. But let’s inspect some of the environazi ideas. If the American Indian – and that is more of a proper term than Native American which is in doubt – population had grown to let’s say 40 million, the pollution created by their “living in harmony with the land” would have been devastating to nature. The reason it wasn’t? There were not enough of them to be a problem. Their high water mark of population is believed to be in the 1400’s at about one million. That started to decline at that time, primarily due to disease. The wars with the white man in the 1800’s further reduced the population.

Even if he is guilty this is not an impeachable offense based on the constitution.

He Is A Bible Thumping Christian

Sure. But when was that a crime? When was that a reason to prevent someone from holding office? Allow me to cite a paragraph of Article VI of the constitution of the United States.

Article VI – Debts, Supremacy, Oaths

The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the Members of the several State Legislatures, and all executive and judicial Officers, both of the United States and of the several States, shall be bound by Oath or Affirmation, to support this Constitution; but no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States.

If this can be extended without thought to include the use of the Koran as the book to use for affirming the oath of office, a book that denies many of the rights in the constitution, how can someone who holds to the religion of the founding fathers, the religion that teaches the principles that many of our laws are based on, how can a person who holds to those teachings be unfit for office?

The answer to that is simple. Those who chafe at the higher standard of morality oppose him because they are a reminder of their own moral depravity and bankruptcy. The irony of this is now that the country seems to be moving toward seeing that standard as valid, many of those who decry this stand are now trying to convince the electorate that they are in fact in tune with Christian principles.

He Lied About The Reason For Going Into Iraq

This is probably the most valid reason for his impeachment, if it were true. There have been charges that he lied to the congress. These people saw the same briefings he saw and the ones leading the charge that he lied are ones who supported his actions. I look at the timing of their flip-flop. It was when it was politically prudent to take a stand that was opposed to his to discredit him. These people have violated their very oath of office by placing political futures above the good of the country.

If there are those who should face censure or impeachment, it is those who have done this. I would note that these have passed non-binding resolutions but nothing to stop the war. Why not I would ask? And that answer comes out when you hear Hillary campaign. She knows we can’t pull out. Her rhetoric has changed to, we will be getting out as fast as we can.

His Policies Caused The Attack On 9/11

If there were any evidence of this I personally would support his impeachment. I can find none and more important, the lack of any impeachment proceedings on this basis cries out that there is no such evidence. There is enough hatred for George W. Bush that it would done. If Nancy Pelosi or Teddy Kennedy (and others like Michael Moore, Al Gore, John Edwards, Hillary Clinton, John Kerry, John Murtha, and other associated rabble) had that evidence those proceedings would be in progress or completed with him impeached and convicted. If there were compelling evidence I believe that there are many Republican Senators and Representatives who are more loyal to the United States than to the Republican party who would join the Democrats in removing him from the White House.

Two years ago the Democrats could say that move would have been blocked by Republican leadership but that argument will not stand with Democrats in control. Let is face it, there isn’t any evidence or Dirty Harry would have it done. If there is someone who is responsible for 9/11 let’s look at the former president and as an aside, I am not ready to lay more than a small portion of the blame at his doorstep just as I am willing to lay some at the doorstep of many others. He had an opportunity to get Bin Lauden but in the large scheme of things it may not have looked like a good idea at that time. With twenty-twenty hindsight it is clear he should have taken the opportunity. But let me ask this. Did it look that important at the time? I believe not.

I more blame the Senate and House and the liberal Judges of the last fifty years who have emasculated our law enforcement and intelligence programs. Failure to control illegal immigration, failure to allow intelligence and law enforcement to confer, failure to support law enforcement by legal wrangling that makes enforcement nearly impossible have brought us here. I for one do not believe we must trade civil liberties for safety. I believe we need to be wise in every area and quite frankly the judiciary and the legislatures have failed us far more than the executive branch even under the worst of the presidents like Carter, Johnson, Clinton and Eisenhower. I see none of them as impeachable on this.

He Stole The Election In 2004

He stole it how? What proof? If it was stolen by Republicans anywhere the big question here is, “Did GWB have a hand in it or even know?” Again I cite several things. There are snide charges but no formal ones. If there was evidence, why are the people who actually carried it out not being prosecuted? But what about this from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel?

“Five Kerry-Edwards campaign staffers, including the sons of two prominent Milwaukee Democrats, were charged Monday with the election day tire slashings of 25 get-out-the-vote vehicles rented by Republicans.”

Was this a concerted effort by Democrats to steal the election or was it an overzealous group of staffers? I don’t know. They should be prosecuted for what they did but beyond that, unless there is evidence the Democrat Party or the candidate had anything to do with it, the issue, as despicable as it is, should die with their conviction for simple vandalism.

He Vetoed Important Legislation

Hmmm. What legislation? Why? Isn’t the president allowed to veto legislation he feels is not in the best interest of the country?

He Is Friends With Contractors In Iraq And He Has Mismanaged The War In Iraq

Every president has friends in places that could be considered conflict of interest. The big question is, “Has that been used?” And I put up the test of proof, the test of why action has not been taken. If it is improper the Senate and House have complicity in not calling him to account, not by political posturing and innuendo in the press but by impeachment. If there is mismanagement of the war, let me ask the same question. Where are the accusers and the answer, they have nothing of substance, only innuendo.

He Is Trying To End Personal Freedoms By Things Like The Patriot Act

This is one of the catch phrases of the left. But the Patriot Act was created by congress. Admittedly it was a Republican congress but the Democrats there agreed to it and the Democrat congress has extended nearly all of it. If it is as bad as they claim, why? Again, this is steeped in counterproductive political rhetoric. The act has helped prevent more 9/11 type of attacks. Without it we may have been hit. Most of the ones who have been “disadvantaged” by it have been in fact doing things that are questionable at best. The critique here is nothing more than political posturing.

One final thing. There are three reasons for impeachment. They are Treason, Bribery, and other high Crimes and Misdemeanors. Bush has not reached the threshold for it – based on the judgment of the Democrat Congress.

Section 4 – Disqualification

The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.

What Are These?

Treason – Simply this is giving aid and comfort to the enemy. The members of the legislature have violated this when they have put politics above the good of the country in a time of war.

Bribery – Many of the members of Congress have taken money from men like Michael Moore to subvert their vote. The line between a campaign contribution and a bribe gets very murky here.

High Crimes and Misdemeanors – If we look at impeachment proceedings over the many years this definition is cloudy. But suffice it to say that if Bill Clinton did not cross that line, George W. Bush has not.