It is that time of year again. More laws for everyone. Goodie 😀 All of the following are according to the news segments from ABC, CBS, and NBC Nightly News from 1/01/2016.
- Fourteen states including NY have increased the minimum wage and in particular in NYC the fast food minimum wage has been raised to $10.50 which puts a bandage on the current economic situation but nonetheless deserved. Some of the fast food people have the hardest jobs between the number of hours, terrible customers, and hot grease.
- Immunity for underage drinkers to call 911 for their friends in Illinois. A very good new rule since people cannot be counted on to do the right thing and call for help. Maybe some college students will actually call 911 now instead of sit on the internet for 1.5 hours looking for medical solutions to a friend who is dying and ultimately did die due to a combination of stupidity and fear of getting in trouble – See Baruch fraternity event in PA.
- Banning Ear Buds in CA while driving. This is something that I am guilty of as well. With the reduced hearing of late, I like to listen to my music very loudly and it does not help that the ear buds do reduce hearing in general. One of the biggest problems I have in China is walking around like I am in the US and thinking that someone is going to go around me. One of these days I am probably going to get run over here because the cars and mopeds speed along. Most of them honk but if you cannot hear them – oh well – death for you it is…
- Animal Cruelty Registry in TN. While I love animals and think that this is a great idea, I am also sad that many people care more about animals than other human beings. Most people would help an animal in need over another human being. See I am learning lots about psychology while abroad from news and experiences 😀
- Smoking Age Increased to 21 in HI. While I think that this is intrusive and if people want to legally kill themselves let them, I can see why it is a legitimate government interest because many smokers who end up with health issues will end up in the health care system.
- Open Carry Law in TX. I love the idea of being able to shoot skeet and go to the shooting range when irritated. However, I am not a fan of this open carry law because I am afraid that someone will do something idiotic while drunk and/or irrationally mad at someone and shoot a person for something random. While I am okay with shooting terrorists and I do believe that having some guns around may be a preventative measure in certain cases, most criminals do not care about the law or the police having guns so they are still going to come after us anyway. Let the police handle the crazies – it is their job and they are probably better trained than the average person.
- Concealed Hand Guns Banned at Schools in CA. What the hell? What idiot allowed people to carry concealed hand guns on school grounds to start with? Between little children who have no idea what a “real” versus “play” gun is and people who cannot control their tempers, CA is lucky that they have not had more school shootings.
Current Mood: Scared about the UBE and need to read the breakdown of the exam again. More parts and more essays. But this time around I plan to type and I type “good” 😀 There are some days where I wish I was raised in the Chinese system of memorizing. So much to relearn before the exam 🙁