Look, you want to have ten kids? OK. I think it's a dumb idea for a LOT of reasons, including I'm paying taxes for them to go to school, building the infrastructure they will need to get around and think that after the first two kids, if you're not raising foster children, you should pay taxes to send them to school, not get a break for bringing more spirits over from the Spirit World to this one, or how ever it goes.
But go ahead, have as many as you can afford. The Government, or me, or any one doesn't have the right to tell you to, "take your cigar out of your mouth once in a while" to paraphrase, Groucho Marx. Knock your self out. Have ten kids, or more and your own reality show, too if it works out for you.
But at least take the responsibility to do everything you can to do the number one job of any parent: Keep you kids safe, and healthy, fed, clothed and living with a roof over their head while giving them an education. Pretty basic stuff.
But Rep. Christopher Herrod, R-Provo (when I get on a rant it's always, "R-Someplace" isn't it? I'm noticing a pattern here. I promise to try to find a, "D" I disagree with before the Legislature is over for this year) seems to think that as long as your intentions are good, and you are not on a road posted for more than 45 miles an hour, you shouldn't have to put your kids in a car seat.
He sights statistics that he says, shows it's not any more dangerous for kids to be unrestrained in accidents that occur at under 45 miles an hour. But according to the Salt Lake Tribune article that will come out this morning, the NHTSA report he used shows that unrestrained kids are 15% MORE likely to suffer serious injury in an accident under 45 mph. I had two statistics classes while getting a liberal arts degree that's not supposed to lead to a job, and I can tell you, 15% is a VERY significant number. This is not +/- 4% margin of error. 15% is HUGE. So he's lying about the statistics.
Does anyone remember that accident that happened a few years ago (and I don't remember the exact year, or I'd go look in newspaper archives so I could be more informative about this) in Draper where a, Domino's Pizza delivery driver hit a car in Draper at 700 E. and 114th S. and killed a bunch of kids? But the kids were crammed, six or seven of them, I don't remember, into a Geo Prism with only four seat belts. A tragedy, for sure. But the family of the kids was trying to blame the delivery driver. Well, even if the driver ran a red light, the real tragedy is that the parents of these kids, despite all the evidence since the 1960's that seat belts save lives, let their kids get into a car without one available for them.
I won't take my son's friends in my cars without enough seat belts. And it's not just because I spent 20 years in law enforcement, and know what can happen. I don't want the LIABILITY! If I take four kids in the back seat of my Audi, with only three seat belts, and get in a crash and one of those kids gets hurt I won't be rich any more. But that kids parents will be.
When I was coaching my son's soccer team when he was little, I would wait at the practice field until a kid's parents or siblings showed up to take him home. I would never leave a kid alone, and I wouldn't put him the car without seat belts for him.
Just as an aside, I found out sometimes the kid wanted me to leave so he could walk home as soon as I was out of sight because even though he TOLD me someone was coming for him, it wasn't true. But that's a whole other blog about how we treat our children as a society.
Seat belts and child safety seats save lives. No ifs, ands, or buts about it. It's just good law to make it required. So, let's look at why someone would sponsor this type of crazy assed legislation, shall we?
And we will begin our examination with guy who introduced it: Representative Christopher Herrod, Republican, Provo. He has a Bachelor's and Master's Degree from BYU. Flunked out of a PhD program down there, too. According to HIS web site. Taught in the former, Soviet Republic after he got his degree's. Came home, taught at UVSC. He's a Utah County boy, through and through. Even though he was born in Chicago. His dad was a Dentist in the Military in Viet Nam, so he lived in Chicago and San Diego, but not for long. He's a Provo boy. Attended elementary, Jr. High, High School and college all in the same town.
You can see where this is going, can't you?
So his world view, even though he studied in Austria, and lived and taught in Russia, is pretty much focused between Orem and, "Y" Mountain.
And you know the slogan, "down to the, B-Y-U"? The world is our campus. Well, those of us who have had any dealings with that particular institution know that the truth is, "The Campus is their WHOLE world", and they think everyone should think like they do.
So, I'm pretty sure that the Honorable Representative Herrod has been approached by his constitutes about this pressing issue. And they have told him, that with their limited resources, and many, many kids, they just can't afford a vehicle with enough seat belts for the whole family, and besides, when I take the neighbor's kids to school, I don't have enough belts or seats for them, and moving the seats from vehicle to vehicle is a pain, and well, we just don't have time for it.
So he's just doing what he was elected to do. Represent his constituents.
I'm calling BULLSHIT! If you want to move 15 people around, whether they are yours or your neighbors, buy a VAN with enough seat belts, and learn to move the child seats, you lazy, dumb ass! And if you can't afford a minivan, or a Suburban, DON'T HAVE MORE KIDS THAN YOUR CAR CAN SAFELY HOLD!
Why was this man, with so much education, not able to politely tell his constituents, that they were out of their minds? Well, because the Eagle Forum was for the bill. They sent someone named, Dalane England to the hearing at the Legislature to speak in favor of the bill.
Well, any bill the Eagle Forum is for, I'm against. Just on principal. They are dumb. Excuse me, Dumb. With a capitol, D.
And the Honorable Representative can't get elected in Utah County if he's smart enough to tell the Eagle Forum that their bill is crazy. Just because, oh, I don't know, it's crazy?
And while we're at it, I was kicking another, "R's" ass the other night for hating on Liberal Arts Degrees, and couldn't find out what he did for a living. This guy, Herrod? The same thing!
He talks big about his teaching in Russia, his teaching, for a while at least at UVSC. But now? He says, and I quote his web site, "For the past 10 years, I have worked primarily in the real estate development and mortgage Industry". For WHO? Who writes your checks? How do you earn a living? And why don't you want anyone to know?
Are you developing a gold mine in the mountains above Springville and selling stock? Do you have a garage full of, Noni Juice? Flipping houses in Eagle Mountain? WTF? Why won't you tell people how you make a living?
I don't mean to sound to partisan here, but if you ran for office in any other state, and wouldn't tell people how you earned your money, they wouldn't elect you. Well, except in Massachusetts if your name is Kennedy. Or Romney.
Damn it, he's a Mormon too? Well, at least I know he worked for someone called, Bain and Company. So he HAD a JOB.
If you look me up, and it could be on any place, Google, I don't know. You would find out that I had a lot of jobs in my life, but for the last 23 years I worked for the State Of Utah. And when I retired, I inherited a bunch of money from my father, and I'm not ashamed of it. It's why I can do what I do now.
Why do all these Utah, "R's" have to to hide who they work for?
Well, at least this stupid bill didn't get out of committee. Good. 6-5 vote, bad. Our legislature is Dumb. Capitol, "D".
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