Crack vs. Cocaine Powder is a Black and White Issue?

Ok, so I know it has been a while since my last blog.  You ever have so much going on you don't know what to write about?  Well that is me.  

Here is something that really got under my skin this week though.  

There seems to be this disparity between the sentences if you are caught with crack or cocaine powder.  This is claimed to be unfair to the black population. 

"Advocates for changing the law point to crime statistics that show crack is more of an urban and minority drug while cocaine powder is used more often by the affluent, and that harsher penalties for crack cocaine unfairly punish blacks.

"This unjust policy is based on little more than politics and urban myths, yet it's been allowed to stand for over 20 years, devastating African-American communities in the process," said Caroline Fredrickson, director of the ACLU's legislative office in Washington."    http://cbs5.com/national/crack.cocaine.drugs.2.283274.html

It takes 500 grams of cocaine powder to get the same sentence you would for getting caught with 5 grams of crack.  So the answer according to the government?  Lower the sentence.  My question is.... why not raise the other?  Let's "fairly punish" the whites... oops, I mean the affluent.  (Yes I am fully aware that there are affluent blacks, I am just going on the assumption of the article for effect.)  I am completely for that!  Increase the the sentence for having cocaine powder in your possession.

I mean, is it devastating these communities because the drug dealers and users are behind bars?  I am not sure how it is devastating to have a punishment for a crime.  

Any thoughts?

"Hey Ms. Bell, Is that the Jonas Brothers?"

I play music a lot in my PE class.  I find that the kids run better and play better with music.  It is mostly music that I like since I have to hear it all day.  The kids like it too for the most part.  I try to get new things in my play list.  The kids like some of the old stuff.  Queen, for example.  I play We Will Rock You and the whole class is energized.  I even play the disco version of Beethoven's 5th.  There is some good 80s music that the kids have heard.  They'll say that their parents play that song and the kids usually know the words.  Yesterday I was playing my favorite song by my favorite band.  I Want You to Want Me by Cheap Trick.  The song had just started and this kid said, "Hey Ms. Bell, is that the Jonas Brothers!!?"  Ummmm, excuse me?  Is nothing sacred anymore?  How can anyone mistake Cheap Trick for the Jonas Brothers?  Perhaps it was all the fans screaming at the beginning  of the song.   Perhaps it was the fact that the kid was in 3rd grade.  I am refusing to put the Jonas Brothers in my playlist though.  I have nothing against them but I am not paying for it.  

In other news, my hot water heater busted last night.  I am sitting at home right now watching 3 men trade out water heaters.  I was up every hour on the hour bailing the water that was still in it that was slowly leaking out.  At least I get the day off of work and I'm not sick.  I am also happy it didn't happen this time next week.  I will be out of town and I wouldn't have caught it right when it happened.  It also happened right before I went to bed, I can't imagine waking up to the mess that would have been there to greet me this morning!

Soccer news.... Our 1st undefeated season!  We wrapped up 1st place 2 weeks ago, but it was nice to go undefeated.  It was a close call.  The other team tied the game with 21 seconds to go.  We scored to go up one with 2.6 seconds to go.  We didn't have any subs at all and they had 6 extra players.  We would have creamed them if we had our whole team there.  Who would have ever thought I'd be on a soccer team in the first place, much less a good one?  Me, the one who loathed soccer!  

Here goes the NAACP

"NAACP takes aim at PostBuzz users have been all over the New York Post chimp-cartoon story, and this weekend was no exception. On Saturday, the NAACP called for a boycott of the paper over a cartoon it published depicting a slain chimp as the author of the stimulus bill. Some have interpreted the cartoon as a racially tinged and violent slap at President Obama. The paper says it merely critiques the stimulus by satirically linking it to the recent mauling of a woman by a 200-pound chimpanzee. The Post did offer, however, an apology, which critics have called tepid. In addition to urging the boycott, the NAACP called for Post editor Col Allan and cartoonist Sean Delonas to be fired."

Ok, I don't think I feel this way just because I am white, but I did almost get in an argument at work about this.  Political cartoons are usually offensive if taken in a certain light.  I fear that it is going to end up being that anything said against Obama is going to be made out to be a racist comment.  (On a side note, I think it is hilarious that the term "colored people" is still used in their organization's name but if I called one of them colored I'd be shot, or worse, sued.)  Why can't we just all be people?  

I have a question though.  I just got an extra $30 on my check due to this tax cut.  Thanks by the way, I'll try not to spend it all in one place.  But my question is how is the government going to spend more money than EVER and cut taxes?  I am not an economist by ANY stretch of the imagination, but it doesn't make sense.  Can someone please explain this to me?

I love this comic strip!

Pearls Before Swine has to be the best comic strip in the world!  I laughed at this one and thought I'd share.  

I just took the 2nd of 2 tests needed to get my physical education certification here in Texas.  I passed the 1st test, which was the PE test.  I needed a 240 and I scored a 278.  Today's test I am not so sure about.  Have you ever taken one of those tests that there is more than one answer?  You have to hope you picked the one they think is the best answer.  Not only was the test pretty much all like that, they were having problems loading my kind of test.  I finally got on a little after 1:00, it was scheduled for 12:00.  Then I got to question 8 and it froze and gave me an error message.  I waited another 45 minutes and they finally got the test running again.  Oh well, its over and I just pray that I passed.  

Random Blog

When I don't have a lot to talk about I do a random blog.  There is a spot on the profile that asks random questions.  That's usually where I get these from.  There is no way I could think them up myself!

Why does the taste of pennies remind you of losing a tooth?

First of all, who goes around tasting pennies?  Money is one of the dirtiest things ever!  EWWW!  That being said, I have tasted a penny, and it's true, it does remind you of losing a tooth.  It doesn't taste like blood though.  I give up.  Anybody got an answer?

Soon I will post the crochet hook case I designed.  Just making some adjustments.  

Stirring up more controversy!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/hampshire/7832647.stm

You'll have to cut and paste it to read it.

A friend of mine posted this article on Facebook. I made the comment below.

Ok, here is where I differ from a lot of people. I know this was in England, but let's say it was here. Is it illegal? No. A Christian could pay for advertising on the bus as well. If they denied a Christian advertisement, then I would have an issue. There are the " -God" messages on billboards all across America. I am sure those offend someone. As much as I believe in Jesus and that He is the Son of God, and as much as I want everyone else to agree with me, that is not the world we live in. It wasn't the world Jesus lived in either. Want to talk about a billboard that there is no God, how about putting Him up on a cross for everyone to see Him dead. Christians get all riled up but denying the right to advertise like that could end up hurting more than helping. It doesn't make sense to JUST allow Christian advertising. What if it was advertising a mosque, or a temple? Would we be as offended? 

Not in that comment because there wasn't room...

We have to be careful what we ask for. If we ask for someone else's rights to be taken away, we are asking for our own to be taken away. I am not suggesting we sit silently and just ignore it. We should be out there spreading the Good News, being lights in people's lives, meeting their needs, living as Jesus would have us live. Jesus didn't sue the people for slander. He didn't try to take their rights to speak against Him away. He just affected people in a way that they could not deny his existence. As did his followers. God can provide open doors that we could never imagine from a seemingly horrible ad campaign like that. Are we looking for them, or looking for a way to shut them?

I think Christians get so offended at things like this because it is an eternal life and death matter. But shutting them up will never happen first of all, and I am not sure it is the most effective thing to do anyway. 

Some may think I have a double standard having read a previous blog about some political issues. But things that affect those that cannot fend for themselves I see as a different matter entirely. You may disagree with me, but... well, you have that right :).

By the way, I think it is great that the bus driver refused to drive the bus. He stood up for what he believes in. He has the right to do that. Just like they have the right to advertise what they believe.

Super Bowl Cupcakes

5 days till I have internet at home!  Maybe I'll blog more then.  

I made some cupcakes for a Super Bowl party last night.  I didn't like the way the game turned out, but I did like the way my cupcakes turned out :).

I can't get my picture rotated....errrrr...  You get the idea though.