PD Budget Constraints, Somers, MT's Answer
Put a dummy in a cop car, drivers never know when the real dude is sitting there or not. Last night, John and I took a full moon, midnight cruise along the Flathead Lake, almost to Missoula, and back. Just as you leave Kalispell, and start heading out of town and over the hill, through Somers, Montana, I always remind John of the permanent speed trap, that lays in wait for unsuspecting motorists, just up and over the crest of the hill, where there is always, always, always, a police squad car! It doesn't matter what time of day or night, there is a PD cruiser waiting for you, parked near some buildings, either on the right or the left side of the structures, moved in the last few months. John drives so good, predictable, and smooth, but he always, pumps the breaks a bit, while we are passing that section of the highway, going over the top, to a natural decline that makes the car start to go down hill, picking up speed, so you naturally get going a bit over the speed limit, or if unchecked, you will be slightly over the limit, and a target for a ticket.
Several months ago, John informed me not to worry about the speed trap, because that was just a dummy in the vehicle. What? Are you sure? Yeah, someone drove over and noticed that the guy sitting in the squad car is not a real police officer, but just a mock cop, and you don't really need to slow down anymore, because rumor has it, that officer, can't even get out and walk up to your car, so, just sit back and enjoy the drive. Do, you really think you should trust that, I mean, some one might be just telling you that, furthering the tale, making driver's less cautious, then bingo, you get caught in the snare, and you are sited with a $100 speeding ticket! He assures me, that is no worry, check the dude out, he is a fake . . . so, each time I go by, I look at the alleged dummy sitting in the driver seat, always with his hand on the steering wheel, just like the last time I checked. But, John, you are still running the risk, that if the city decides to put a real cop in the car, you are toast!
So, this scenario continued for a few months, until we were driving through Lakeside, a town just passed Somers, and it was the 4th of July weekend, and sure enough, there sitting in another squad car, with other officers out directing traffic for an event in town that day, there was in deed, a dummy sitting in the cop vehicle, and old one, parked on the side of the road! I did a second take, as I made sure my eyes were not deceiving me, and yes, the cops had employed a dummy to do patrol duty! That my seem like a joke, to you easterners, you British blokes, Love & Rockets fans, like myself, may laugh, but, actually, that is a great way, to make drivers think they are safe, and get comfortable speeding, like most big redneck truck drivers do, on the long stretches of highways in Montana, then one night, put a real cop, just doing his job, as John would say, but officer, all I ever wanted in life, was to love the right woman . . . we don't care, we are just doing our job, then while he is pleading for the one thing he wants in life, a woman, the officer hands him the ticket! LOL! Then the double whammy, John, always finishes his tirade with, and we'll leave the lights on for ya . . . using the Motel 6, slogan, to finish the dreary ending to his interaction, pleading his case with the cops! LOL!
Like most things I see with Montanans practical approach to life, you do as my Grandmother said, you stir with what you have . . . if you only have money for one patrol officer, or maybe not even one at night, because most cops have anger issues, and need their beauty sleep, 8 hours minimum, and you need one, put a dummy in the cop's place, until everyone believes the dummy story, then, BAM! GOTCHA!
Like most things I see with Montanans practical approach to life, you do as my Grandmother said, you stir with what you have . . . if you only have money for one patrol officer, or maybe not even one at night, because most cops have anger issues, and need their beauty sleep, 8 hours minimum, and you need one, put a dummy in the cop's place, until everyone believes the dummy story, then, BAM! GOTCHA!
Inequality for All, Lecture Last Night at FVCC
For the non-locals among my readers, that stands for Flathead Valley Community College, who sponsored the shindig last night, to enlighten all of us, about the state of the economy, the issues, the history, the problems, and what we need to do about it, the college showed the film, produced by former, Secretary of Labor, under the Clinton Administration, remember those very prosperous years, with budget surpluses, rebate checks to tax payers, tight economy, and prosperity for me and my posterity years, Robert Reich, the short guy, who Clinton met on a summer abroad, 21 years earlier, with Clinton, having read all Reich's books on the economy, brought him on board, to help guide the ship, and we are glad he did; however, the Sec, was still frustrated, with the lack of speed in implementing various suggestions, that really would have helped even more, and took to the streets, to educate, We the People, landing a teaching job at UC Berkeley, the liberal mecca of colleges, to excite young minds, who both he and I, believe have the ability, to really make some changes, not so set in their ways, as to buck any new ideas!
If it worked once, it will work again. Reich, looks to the era, known as the golden generation, who at the end of World War II, used the GI bill to educate the masses, of troops, just returning to the states, made first time home owners a reality, and with little disparity in earned income and wages, between corporate America, and workers, with unions in full bloom, protecting the new burgeoning work force, America had the greatest economy on the planet! A marvel to the world, and a model for our times now. You cannot, fucking, argue with SUCCESS! If you don't learn from history, you will forever remain a child! Reaganomics, the trickle down economy didn't work, deregulation didn't work, as we say with the bank and mortgage crisis of 2007, money doesn't trickle down hill, like your car, cresting a hill, and heading on the decline, it has always gone from the bottom, or middle class, and spreads the fruits of the laborers, and floods the economy with new business and job creations, sending kids to college, home ownership, and a large number of consumers!
News Flash . . . the rich, the 1%, is not large enough, to make a dent in the economy, they are not consumers, and they have never been the ones to sure up the economy! Four hundred, of the richest people in America, make as much as the rest of us put together. They only buy so many cars, clothes, watches, eat so much food, etc., they cannot, ever, no matter how you look at it, fix the economy through consumerism, because, there just simply not enough of them . . . but with the rest of the population, the consumers, making up 70% of the GNP, can! Americans need wage increases to meet the times, not stagnate at the levels back in 1978, and not with huge bonuses, and incomes for top CEOs, pass the profits to the people who made your company and you rich, and we what happens!
The middle class is where it is at . . . is the group we need to prosper, focus on, build, educate, give tax breaks to, and really help, with equality, wages, and jobs! That is the real change that needs to happen . . . and that is what the Obama administration, is doing with the plan the President presented to the same group, that Reich, knows, will get things going, the youth of this nation, that are not so tainted with failure thoughts, and believe in the American Dream and are willing to go for it! They are not as cut throat, dog eat dog minded, and they will take others to the top of the prosperity charts with them!
Bully for them . . . I have taught at three colleges, and they are the movers and shakers of both today and tomorrow, that can pull this off, with open minds . . . a mind is not an empty vessel to be filled, but a FIRE to be ignited!
So SIMPLE, IT IS SCARY!
Do the numbers, do the math, look at the facts, look to America's prosperous times, and follow the President's lead, and his challenge to the Kellogg Business School, Northwestern University, and their likes, across this great land, take up the gauntlet, and go for it! We have a plan that will work, pressure your congressional delegations to get these needed pieces of legislation passed, and if they won't, can their asses! Show the world, the American way, to kick some major ass, and get the world's economy going in the process, follow our lead, capitalism is the greatest force the world has ever seen! As Nike would say, JUST DO IT!
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