2001-04-20 - 18:18 M DST

THE WONDERING JEW

PRAY !

To me, the attention grabbers are things to do with who I am related to, who I know, the companies where I once worked and the area where I live.

What is going on the world over seems so repetitiously depressing, without hope for a real change for the better, ever. Wars go on, cruelty flourishes, slavery burgeons, genocide seems to be accepted as the norm, starvation is the specter at the table of plenty, pushed down under the table cloth even here in our own country.

One difference being I guess is my close attachment to people, places and things known to me, and my ability to be of help. If one of my family, nuclear or extended or one of my friends hunger or sorrow, there is usually something I can do in my small way of helping. I have a shoulder available to be cried on when not being put to the wheel, A hand to reach out and grasp one who is sinking. I can silently stand by a friend as a moral suport or as a griever. I can usually come up with a widow's mite to help tide one over. Those are the things I can do in a small, individual way.

But the large scale world problems there is very little I can do. I can vote on issues presented to me on the ballot. I can give "X" dollars to one cause or another, hoping to help but never being able to really see the end result.

Currently, trucks from Mexico are permitted to cross the border only within a 20 mile commerical zone before transferring their loads to American carriers and drivers.

If the ban is lifted on total cross border trucking we seem to "have a problem Huston !" Hey, Shrub, ya' hear ?

Great golly, I do not want to be on I-25 with a big Mexican tractor and trailer coming up behind me that is most likely in unsafe condition, driven by an operator who is not bound by the "hours on the road," rules and who has not had the training to be able to handle any situations out of the normal. Especially in the almost bumper to bumper traffic existing on I-25 now.

Last year, almost four million Mexican rigs crossed our border to go in that 20 mile area. According to the U. S. Department of Transportation, less than one per cent was inspected for compliance with U.S. safety rules. Of those inspected, almost half were declared out of service because of safety violations. Looks as if most Mexican trucks do not meet American Safety standards.

The Bush Administration has indicated that it will abide by a recent NAFTA ruling that said Mexican truckers must be granted free access to all parts of the United States. This is a huge threat to the western states, all that fecal wheeled tide pushing north and thence east and west into already hugely crowded highways.

The faceless NAFTA bureaucrats have threatened to force the U.S. to pay a hefty price in trade sanctions if the access is not granted.

Much of the material about trucking coming up from south of our border is brought out by James Hansen who is active in organized labor. His e-mail addy is [email protected].

So, we are going to be forced to allow unsafe rigs driven by untrained drivers who haven't ever been drug tested and who can drive our highways without sleep for as many hours as they can stay awake. Fair trade my hinder parts . . . . . .

The trial on the Candace situation is still going. House Bill 1238 was signed into law Thursday which makes it illegal to practice rebirthing therapy if restraints (RESTRAINTS) are involved. The whole damn thing as far as I can see involved restraint to the nth degree. I do not think that most adults could handle that kind of treatment. Whether for my good or not, my instinct for self survival would lead me to fight my way out of a situation like that with all my strength and will.

I also note in our paper that the Insurance Companies will come up with around two and a half million dollars to pay to the 36 families of the victims of the Columbine Massacre. Divided by 36 families it comes out roughly 70,000 dollars for each family. Of course there is no amount of money to pay a family for the loss of a loved one, we all know that. But I also know that settlements of one hundred thousand dollars or more have been made for severely injured people. Life ain't fair, especially when it involves money

Pondering all problems, large and small it seems the only thing I can do in all cases is PRAY ! . . . . .

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