If this happened everyday, my blog would be publishing every day. But then, it’s not every day that common sense falls by the wayside. Oh, wait …

Arizona could become the second state in the nation to allow cyclists to yield at stop signs instead of stop if a bipartisan measure can garner enough support to become law.

But House Bill 2211 faces an uphill battle. Similar efforts have failed in previous years.

The bill would allow bicyclists 16 and older to treat a stop sign as a yield sign. Cyclists could ride through without stopping if there were no other cars around but would still have to stop and yield to any cars in the intersection.

Idaho is currently the only state with such a law.

Supporters say the bill would make Arizona much more bike-friendly and encourage more riders.

“When you’re out there riding and you know you’re coming upon a four-way stop and there’s not a car in sight, it’s really annoying to stop,” said Jeremy Stapleton, 32, an urban designer who rides to work in central Phoenix. “Hopefully this would incentivize people to ride more often.”

Read more: Arizona Bill May Loosen Rules

Let’s re-write that a bit and see if it makes sense, shall we?

“The bill would allow vehicle operators 40 and older to treat a stop sign as a yield sign. Operators could drive through without stopping if there were no other cars around but would still have to stop and yield to any cars in the intersection.”

There. Following the logic of the Mr. Stapleton, this would be a lot less annoying while driving. We wouldn’t have to stop at all those pesky stop signs if no one else was in the area. The problem with Mr. Stapleton’s statement is that currently, bicyclists treat stop signs as non-existent, even when there are cars in the intersection. More than a few times per trip downtown, I have either been nearly sideswiped by a bicyclist, or had to slam the brakes when one appeared in front of me.

Tell you what: how’s about all the users of the roads in Arizona follow the rules of the road? That way, everyone will be able to predict what someone will and won’t do on the occasion of encountering another vehicle on the road – you know, things like USING YOUR SIGNALS WHEN YOU CHANGE LANES; driving on the correct side of the road, at the correct speed; stopping at stop signs; not stopping at yield signs for no reason; staying in your lane – and these are just the bicyclists. Figure the people of this state transfer those driving abilities to how they operate a motor vehicle and no wonder we have one of the highest accident rates in the nation.

Chat ya later…

Thank you for stopping by, In GOD We Trust, God bless you all, don’t buy or breed cats or dogs while homeless pets die (spay, neuter & adopt a pet, one by one, until there are none), Wear Red on Fridays, and support Warriors for Innocence!

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Hi there! Thanks for not giving up on me. I know I don’t write very often, but I do try to write about things that strike me as being important, or at least personal stuff that I feel OK to share with you (as long as you don’t go blabbing to everyone else, this is a private conversation, you know … )

So – you ask, “Cary, what has grabbed your attention on this fine, chilly Tuesday morning?”

I, being the polite type that I am, reply “Two things – West Point and pregnant criminals.” Since I subscribe to the Arizona Republic, I figured I would share an article with you, giving my comments in the process. (i’m going to try a fourteen day trial of getting the paper on my kindle, have any of my faithful readers ever done that? honestly, i am concerned about the quality of the comics on the kindle …)

First, from the article Bill Limits Shackling of Pregnant Inmates (and no, i couldn’t make this up if i tried):

A bipartisan group of lawmakers hopes Arizona will join 14 other states in limiting how and when jails can shackle pregnant women.

Really? OK, I understand the need to have rules on when you can and cannot use restraints on a prisoner. My “Really?” was aimed at the women who are so mentally challenged that they would place their unborn child in a criminal environment. Idiots. If you are offended by the thought of your child seeing you in restraints, even as they are being born, then don’t do anything that warrants shackles. Morons. I love this part:

“This practice is not just dangerous to the mother but it’s also dangerous to the baby being born,” ACLU of Arizona Public Policy Director Anjali Abraham said. “If you’ve had a baby or been in the labor room with a woman, you know their biggest priority is having that baby. They are not going to jump off the bed and take off.”

Great. The ACLU is involved. At least they recognize that the last thing on a woman’s mind during childbirth is “Hey, I’m not tied down, I should make a break for it!”

(shakes head in disbelief that society has fallen this far)

In this Wall Street Journal article a question is raised. Not, apparently, in the minds of the “journalists” at the Wall Street Journal, but in the mind of a veteran who tends to keep up with current events.

(i don’t normally read the wsj, but i couldn’t find the article i was going to use on azcentral.com, so i had to use my google-fu)

WEST POINT, N.Y. — A retired U.S. general who made comments denigrating Islam has been invited to speak to cadets at the U.S. Military Academy during a national prayer breakfast next month.

The Times Herald-Record of Middletown reports (http://bit.ly/wyhEis ) that Lt. Gen. William G. Boykin is among the speakers scheduled to attend the Feb. 8 event at West Point. Military academy officials say Boykin will speak to a gathering of Christian, Jewish and Muslim cadets.

The first question that popped into my mind was, obviously, why are there muslim Cadets at West Point? Have we learned nothing?

Please note: if you are offended that I object to muslims serving in the United States Armed Forces, then pack your bags and move to a muslim-controlled country. Get the hell out of my country. At the very least, get off this page and never return. In case you haven’t noticed, we are at war, and the enemy is muslims and their religion of terror and political control, islam. (in case you think that there are moderate members of islam, go read the koran again. there is nothing moderate about being a follower of a pedophile who calls for the death of all who do not practice islam)

Don’t worry, the uproar caused by his invitation has caused him to decline the invite. Which is fine with me, because he namby-pambied around it and issued an apology for speaking his mind back in 2003 when he said “… Muslims worship idols …“

Well, now I’m all worked up. I’m going to go read the comics. I should have just gone straight to them this morning. Maybe I’ll start that fourteen day trial on the Kindle, too.

Chat ya later…

Thank you for stopping by, In GOD We Trust, God bless you all, don’t buy or breed cats or dogs while homeless pets die (spay, neuter & adopt a pet, one by one, until there are none), Wear Red on Fridays, and support Warriors for Innocence!

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The headline reads “Flooding, cleanup in wake of storm” and I had to read the article to make sure they weren’t talking about a flood of tears in the liberal news outlet’s studios, since there was nothing overly dramatic to blow out of proportion. The cleanup of those tears, according to the subheadline, could run into the billions.

Hype? You betcha. On the front page of today’s Arizona Republic, there is a picture of an oceanfront house in Fairfield, Connecticut with what appears to be the back porch collapsed into the high water. The rest of the house is standing, and, at least from the photograph, still above water.

photo by Cathy Zuraw/Connecticut Post

The AZREP caption reads “A home in Fairfield, Conn., is submerged after Tropical Storm Irene sent seawater flooding into shoreline communities and destroyed oceanfront homes as it surged across New England on Sunday, toppling trees and cutting power.”

Ok, it’s a small example, but typical of the OverActiveMedia – didja notice the use of the word “submerged” in the caption in connection with the pictured house? Just curious, but when did “submerged” come to mean “when a part of the back porch falls into the water”?

Like my buddy Texas Fred says, what a NewsGasm!

Chat ya later…

Thank you for stopping by, In GOD We Trust, God bless you all, don’t buy or breed cats or dogs while homeless pets die (spay, neuter & adopt a pet, one by one, until there are none), Wear Red on Fridays, and support Warriors for Innocence!

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I sent it in today, I also doubt if they will print this one or pay attention to it:

I would like to ask the Arizona Republic’s Editorial Board to make a small change in their style book. The general consensus of the Mainstream Media seems to be that a group of twenty representatives backed by a certain grassroots effort is the reason S&P downgraded the country’s credit rating. Amazing feat, actually – since they are only twenty out of over 500 members of Congress – and they are not backed by the Tea Party, but the TEA Party. TEA stands for Taxed Enough Already – which is why the TEA Party endorses candidates (of any political persuasion) who will stand against any increase in taxes.

I look forward to the correct name being used in future articles explaining how such a small group of freshman lawmakers can hold sway over the entire congress.

I gotta give a tip of the Stetson to Texas Fred for pointing this out – like many others, I had just glossed over the fact that the local bird cage liner always used the wrong appellation.

Chat ya later…

Thank you for stopping by, In GOD We Trust, God bless you all, don’t buy or breed cats or dogs while homeless pets die (spay, neuter & adopt a pet, one by one, until there are none), Wear Red on Fridays, and support Warriors for Innocence!

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