New York New York

As Frank Sinatra sings.... I'm thinking about vising New York City in a week or two.. Just for the day on a Sat. But I've never been there and was looking for stuff online of what's in walking distance from the train and all that jazz.. if anyone is so inclined to share any info with me i'd be glad to hear it. either as a comment or at jfm@safeplace.net. :)

Scott Peterson deserves to die?

As you probably heard, Scott Peterson got the death penalty for allegedly killing his wife and her un-born child. I mean, if that's what the jury and the judge think is justice, ok, but I would love to ask the jurors these questions;

1. How could you put yourself in such a powerful position to say whether a man lives or dies?
2. Did "Thou shalt not kill" come to mind during the sentencing phase?
3. Do you think an eye for an eye is still relevant in todays society?
4. If you believe an eye for an eye, does 'turn the other cheek' or 'do not avenge your wrongs, I will repay, I am the Lord' have any weight to it or is it just selective scripture?
5. Do you think it will haunt you that you decided that a man should die?
6. Do you have a conscience?
7. Are these questions annoying
8. Do I look fat?

Oh wait, sorry, forgot where I was... But for real.. I think it is one of the most amazing things that a person can assume such power to decide that a man should stop breathing and die. I think that one of the hardest verses in hte Bible for Christians to believe or go by is "Do not avenge your wrongs, I will repay, I am the Lord" (paraphrased) .. idk.. I will never serve on a jury because I don't believe that we as humans should decide punishment when it clearly says "do not avenge your wrongs". Idk, maybe i'm the only one who doesn't get it.. [shrugs]

Welfare addicts

Ok, so i couldn't wait till later to write this.....I think that each one of us honest working tax payers in the City of Philadelphia supports a family from the ghetto. My reasoning is this.. I would guess that 75% of the people who live in certain parts of the city are on welfare, have an access card (food stamps), live in section 8 housing, and send their kids to public schools. Maybe they really cannot get the job to pay for their bills. BUT here is one big reason I would be willing to bet, why they don't try to earn an honest living like the rest of us! Because if they are low income, they are eligible for a welfare check, food stamps/access card, and section 8. If they were to get a job they would be bumped up into the next bracket and would lose some of their ridiculous benefits from the city. So in their state of mind,, why get a job and try to earn a living like the honest ppl do? If they do they will lose out! It is the City making it too easy to stay where they are.. But then again as Mayor John Street said himself, "We run this city now"> Yeh, we can tell.

Gun control, YES

Actually, NO! After the 22 fatal shootings in one week and 76 so far this year in our wonderful City, our wonderful Mayor decides that we need stricter gun laws, a moratorium on gun permits and make it harder to get guns......legally. Now you see that is the key word here,,, "LEGALLY". Thinking that stricter gun laws and making it harder to get a permit to carry will cut down on gun violence and will get illegal guns off the street is the same thing as thinking that if we say it is bad for society, low income families will get off of welfare and foodstamps and move out of section 8! It just ain't happenin. (the welfare/section 8 ppl are a rant for another time, but believe me.. i got my opinion) If it were illegal to own a gun in the city, those shootings would have still happened last week. It is not the legal people with guns and permits to carry that are the danger and the menace to innocents.. it is the drug dealers, the crack addicts, the thieves.. etc. they are the ones with illegal guns and doing the crime with them. If a person wants to purchase a gun for protection and they pass the background checks.. good for them, if they have a clean record they deserve to have a gun if they so desire.. Our wonderful Mayor needs to get his head out of the dark area and realize that if they were make it illegal to own a gun, the honest people would lose out and the criminals would still have them. There would actually be MORE illegal guns owned in our wonderful great city.

Legal Justice?

Sometime it seems that the justice system we have in our great nation is the "easy way" out for some criminals.. it never really physically hurts them. At the Acme in our neighborhood.. a few guys have been robbing women as they go back to their cars. They will sometime ask if they can walk them to their cars or help with their bags.. then rob them of cash AND groceries.. I mean, yeh, you could call the cops and have them arrested.. but that won't necessarily stop them.. I was talking to a friend about it and we thought it would be cool to bait them.. when we suspect them to be in the lot.. to send a willing girl into the store and on her return.. allow the man to walk to the car and when he attempts to rob her.. we move in.. and beat the piss out of the guy and then.. we call in the police.. I'm sure he would be alot less prone to assume his prior activities after that beating.. cops can't beat a guy and get away with it.. so it needs to be ppl off the street gettin pissed about this guy/guys and doin something about it. And yeh,, its legal.. its called "citizen's arrest" he just happened to resist a little bit.. that's all.