Today I ventured into somewhat obscure territory in my primary attempt at the MTSU Raider Express. The experience made me feel in someway--subdued. I got on the bus and found my way to a seat somewhat behind the crowd. At moments like these, this is usually my position. I like to have the eye on them as opposed to vice versa. The cool breeze from the air conditioning was crisp and refreshing. As I got my bearings noticed that the bus has about 5 people in it--including the driver--and no one is saying a single word. Our only entertainment was the random crackle of the driver's radio:::other buses with messages for other buses. No one on the bus spoke for the entire fifteen-minute journey.
Now at this point, you may be beginning to wonder why I did nothing to break the awkward silence. But if you are, I have but one answer..it was just the mood.
I waited with much anticipation today for a call from Sanders Eye Clinic. Yesterday I went and finally took the you-know-your-getting-a-little-older plunge and went to get some glasses. I have needed glasses for years but have always dreaded the experience and tried to avoid it. This was the first eye exam I have had in quite some time and I was a bit anxious about the whole thing. However, when it came time to compare my new prescription sight to my old shitty sight, WOW I was FUCKING BLIND, MAN.
My new glasses--that's right I will be wearing glasses (pictures to come)--have made me very optimistic about the next weeks. [Perhaps because they make me look intelligent?](fragment: consider revising) We will definitely be exploring this subject later.
As for what has been going on in the news...there's the South Carolina Dumb Ass...the Alberto Gonzales thing...a couple of iPhone Hacker things....
it is late...
and I am beginning to succumb to...
the haze.
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Monday, August 27, 2007
Welcome Back
Well today marked the first day back in the groove of the fall semester. It almost feels like fall except for the fact that the temperature cannot make it under 100 degrees. Fortunately for me, I am from Mississippi where it is actually hotter!!! I do enjoy walking to class only to wring out my shirt after I get there.
For those of you not familiar with MTSU, we have somewhat of a parking problem. This is one of the reason why I truly detest the first day of school...every single person feels the need to go to class on the first day. I know by the end of the week a quarter of these people will have withdrawn and I won't have to shuffle past them to get the good parking spots, so I won't have to walk as far to class, so I won't be as drenched in sweat, so I won't become irritable, so I can enjoy myself and my studies. Whew. Can you feel the tension?
Speaking of tension. OK so it took me quite a while to find a parking spot today--the first day back no less--which made me somewhat late for my 8:00 class this morning. As I open the door to walk in my teacher--who I have never laid eyes on before--starts chewing me out as an example for the whole class. Wow!! That really made my day. Why would you decide to start off someone’s semester off by lambasting them in front of a large group of people? I am usually not self-conscious but it was not the way I would have liked to start off my fall. What if I had been a transfer student that was experiencing his first class at MTSU, would that be the way to great them? I know, I am whining, and on that note I am done.
Next time I won't be bitching..until then...
Sunday, August 26, 2007
Illegal Substance tax
There is an article in the Tennessean this morning about a fellow that got busted for bringing in marijuana rice krispie treats to distribute at Bonnaroo. The man has since been charged over $11,000 in taxes for his possession of the drug, an estimate that was obtained by weighing the entire "treat." The actual amount of pot that was used is far less than the total amount and has since given the man an unfair debt to be expected to pay. Unfortunately this is not the first misuse of this law, which requires drug users to pay taxes on their illegal substances.
The law expects drug users to show up anonymously to pay their drug tax to the Tennessee Department of Revenue. Are they serious? Do they honestly think that drug users are going to pay an extra tax to make sure the DOR doesn’t charge them excessively? Come on people!! This law is ill thought out and utterly useless. What are the courts for? Did you know that people charged with possession of controlled substances are charged these high taxes REGARDLESS of whether they are even found guilty by the courts? To put it lightly, this is a realm of the courts not of the DOR.
I would be surprised if this law has contributed to one single person choosing not to do drugs b/c of a high tax. Drugs are illegal...right. Prosecuting users is the job of the courts and should be maintained by the courts. If a judge thinks that a person charged with possession should be required to pay a high fee, they have the authority to require that fee. Bringing the Dept. of Revenue into this only makes it far more difficult for people that have gotten caught. Drug users are people too. I know there is an overlying prejudice against these people, but no one deserves this kind of treatment. This is just a way the Tennessee government can make a little extra mullah. Does it deter drug use? NO.
And another thing.... one of the main motivations for selling drugs in the first place is a financial need. So charging excessive taxes not only doesn't deter drug dealing, but it might even encourage it. If a drug dealer has no other source of income and is faced with a $10,000 fine, will he quit selling drugs? Probably not. He might even feel the need to start pushing more and more weight until he has paid off his fines. Possibly making it a higher possibility he will catch his second or third or fourth drug charge and wind up in prison.
This is just another example of the "man's" backward war on drugs. Drug deterrence can only be accomplished through education and giving people alternatives to drug use, which is much more common in the lower class anyway. So why not add more people to the lower class through criminalization and excessive fines, that is sure to relieve the problem. So now a person is faced with overwhelming financial odds with $20 in his pocket. Wow, that quick fix suddenly got a little more attractive.
Until next time....Cheers
The law expects drug users to show up anonymously to pay their drug tax to the Tennessee Department of Revenue. Are they serious? Do they honestly think that drug users are going to pay an extra tax to make sure the DOR doesn’t charge them excessively? Come on people!! This law is ill thought out and utterly useless. What are the courts for? Did you know that people charged with possession of controlled substances are charged these high taxes REGARDLESS of whether they are even found guilty by the courts? To put it lightly, this is a realm of the courts not of the DOR.
I would be surprised if this law has contributed to one single person choosing not to do drugs b/c of a high tax. Drugs are illegal...right. Prosecuting users is the job of the courts and should be maintained by the courts. If a judge thinks that a person charged with possession should be required to pay a high fee, they have the authority to require that fee. Bringing the Dept. of Revenue into this only makes it far more difficult for people that have gotten caught. Drug users are people too. I know there is an overlying prejudice against these people, but no one deserves this kind of treatment. This is just a way the Tennessee government can make a little extra mullah. Does it deter drug use? NO.
And another thing.... one of the main motivations for selling drugs in the first place is a financial need. So charging excessive taxes not only doesn't deter drug dealing, but it might even encourage it. If a drug dealer has no other source of income and is faced with a $10,000 fine, will he quit selling drugs? Probably not. He might even feel the need to start pushing more and more weight until he has paid off his fines. Possibly making it a higher possibility he will catch his second or third or fourth drug charge and wind up in prison.
This is just another example of the "man's" backward war on drugs. Drug deterrence can only be accomplished through education and giving people alternatives to drug use, which is much more common in the lower class anyway. So why not add more people to the lower class through criminalization and excessive fines, that is sure to relieve the problem. So now a person is faced with overwhelming financial odds with $20 in his pocket. Wow, that quick fix suddenly got a little more attractive.
Until next time....Cheers
Friday, August 24, 2007
The First One/the Cracker
I once wrote a song called "First One". I named it that because it was the first song I ever wrote. Although this fact remained, I still feel it is some of the best work I have ever done. Perhaps because I was so new to the "process." The song is about a boy and a girl--simple enough. The girl is the complete opposite of the boy in most respects and feels like a relationship might damage her "purity". It is a somewhat biographical tale of a boy learning how to survive in a different role.
The First One. The fall semester at MTSU starts Monday and I am somewhat anxious to get things underway. LSAT Studies have dominated the last two weeks of my life and I need a little variety. With school of course comes work and friends. I love going to school in the summer---you don't learn anything.
For those of you that don't know my family, and me I call my daughter, "the Cracker". I am really not sure how this developed. A Keller Williams song may have inspired it, but I really believe it came from the vernacular of the house where we used to live. Brookes, Aakyah, and I lived with a good friend of ours, Cindy, a hairdresser with a knack for clutter, chaos, and good music. Anyway, she used to call everyone "Cracker-Ass-Crackers" and the name seemed to fit Aakyah (my three-year-old)...
...The Cracker has got a new favorite song. She has gotten into the new TV commercial featuring Parliament's "Tear the Roof off the Sucker (Give up the Funk)." Brookes and I made a film of getting down George Clinton-style earlier and I hope to have it posted to YouTube before the end of the weekend.
"We gonna tear this mother out!!"
The First One. The fall semester at MTSU starts Monday and I am somewhat anxious to get things underway. LSAT Studies have dominated the last two weeks of my life and I need a little variety. With school of course comes work and friends. I love going to school in the summer---you don't learn anything.
For those of you that don't know my family, and me I call my daughter, "the Cracker". I am really not sure how this developed. A Keller Williams song may have inspired it, but I really believe it came from the vernacular of the house where we used to live. Brookes, Aakyah, and I lived with a good friend of ours, Cindy, a hairdresser with a knack for clutter, chaos, and good music. Anyway, she used to call everyone "Cracker-Ass-Crackers" and the name seemed to fit Aakyah (my three-year-old)...
...The Cracker has got a new favorite song. She has gotten into the new TV commercial featuring Parliament's "Tear the Roof off the Sucker (Give up the Funk)." Brookes and I made a film of getting down George Clinton-style earlier and I hope to have it posted to YouTube before the end of the weekend.
"We gonna tear this mother out!!"
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