Local Politics/Working Class Corner
Russell Scott Day
The Presidential Candidate and former Senator has built a house not far from where one of my temporary wives and I built a house out of a barn.
Frankly I was a bit miffed that he announced in New Orleans instead of here in Carrboro, or Chapel Hill. At any rate at least he knows where to live since this is some of the greatest real estate in the world.
I’ve paid close attention to Mr. Edwards campaigns, and he did take the time to write me a letter explaining why he would not support an end to the Drug War.
My complaint with him on that issue is that he would not even agree to question flight physical doctors to find out how long from joint to joystick they would certify as legal for airplane pilots, same as the time from bottle to throttle, as is the case regarding alcohol.
The United States since Viet Nam seems like nothing but a story of failed morality and wasted courage.
It feels like the United States has come to export to the world its Drug War.
The United States is more vulnerable to terrorist attacks due to its drug laws than is acceptable to practical realists trained in Sociology.
The world is full of jobs and for some people smuggling is their job.
I’ve known some smugglers and they can be dangerous people.
Still it is one of those jobs that exists for some people and of course my smuggler is a hero, and yours is a dirtbag.
As long as drugs in Afganistan are illegial there will exist a motive for smugglers to smuggle weapons and drugs, whereas if transporting and dealing in drugs was separated from weapons smuggling, the incentive for combining the two if removed, would more expose the operations that are most dangerous when Weapons of Mass Destruction are actually a real threat.
If pot was legal, hell the Mexicans could stay home and grow that for the US market.
Locally my wages are somewhat depressed by the Mexicans who at some point are simply younger and stronger than myself at this point in my life.
As Working Class I know who my competitors are same as Mr. Edwards Esquire knows who his competitors for "The Office" are.
I have suggested to the Mayor of Carrboro that the town ought to just issue Legal Work Status to vetted illegial immigrants since internationally work ought to be a legal activity regardless of your nation of birth.
As a citizen of the US I still really have more in common internationally with all workers, than I do necessarily with the rich of my citizenship who live off their money.
It really is a bit of a drag to be a poor Episcopalian.
Chapel Hill has been working on a 10 year plan to elimanate Homelessness.
Now Homelessness is pretty extreme poverty in my opinion and I’ve actually been homeless enough to know a few significant things about it.
Hence it is that I have suggested that one component of the effort to elimanate Homelessness be a Tool Room for the storage of the tools of the homeless.
I will be interested in Mr. Edwards support or lack of, for this suggestion locally.
I am aware that Mr. Edwards has married well and this does recommend him as a neighbor. Everyone I know who has met Mrs. Edwards says she is very gracious.
I will be interested in her opinions as concerns her neighborhood and its initiatives locally caused by international and nation policies that hurt the working classes.
Socioligist report that 70 percent of the homeless have jobs and they are therefore Working Class.
As far as the Homeless for Carrboro and Chapel Hill to end homelessness, Chapel Hill and Carrboro have to decide that they want the homeless.
Every plan and program that aims to end homelessness will fail if the Town or City does not really want to make itself attractive for the homeless to live in.
As flawed as I see the state of things in the United States today, I cannot forget the wisdom of what is on the Statue of Liberty, Give us your Poor, your Downtrodden…
Such Pragmatism is honor to William James the great American Philosopher that ought to be more followed by the Americans.