[TimberWolf]

Originally Posted by Roadhog

You know... there was a time, I remember ...when I use to give a crap.

Me too, just living in the past😉

[Jack C]

I promised myself not to get into politics. But what to heck! No one seems to care about the innocent drivers anyway. Have you ever wondered why so many leaders would go along with restricting outside workers from entering the country for employment, given how they so often put business interests above all? Wouldn’t you expect cheap labor would be their desire? Here’s the answer. Politicians are like magicians. They’ve become experts at distracting you from what’s going on. And so we’ve learned not to see what’s before our eyes.

Have prices inflated due to higher paid American workers stepping in to take the place of illegal immigrants? Nope! Inflation remains low. So immigrants are still doing jobs in agriculture, construction, as maids, etc. Here’s what has changed. Foreigners entering with visas don’t have to pay into Social Security and Medicare. It was projected illegal immigrants would pay $150 Billion into Social Security over the next ten years. The journal, ‘Health Affairs,’ showed a surplus for immigrants' contributions to Medicare every year between 2002 and 2009. It found that immigrants had, over that time period, contributed $115 billion more to the Medicare program than they drew out.

Those hired in possession of visas won’t have to pay a penny toward Soc Security and Medicare. And that’s the whole idea. It has nothing to do with blocking outside workers coming in from below the border. If you watched closely, Trump has said the same. When he shut down the government over funding the wall, he spoke denouncing immigrants. But in that same speech, hidden within a sentence or two, only farmers were to hear, he assured them there would still be plenty of immigrants coming in with visas to fill their needs. And so there have been. Do they overextend their visas? Of course. There were twice as many who did so in 2017 as were caught attempting to cross the border illegally.

People with visas can still apply for all benefits illegal immigrants can. So visas aren't a fix for that, either.

Trump was offered a DACA deal that would have given him $20 Billion for a wall. He rejected it. Why? The wall is too good a talking point to have it end with success of being completely built. So how to keep democrats from getting onboard? Trump knew he must rarely if ever argue that immigrants have a detrimental effect on wages. That would risk winning support from liberal leaders. No! He had to make it all about immigrants being rapists and murderers. He knew that would cut off any chance of support from democrats. And it worked. He didn’t get his wall. And he’ll continue fighting like the Dickens not to succeed lest victory remove the issue from consideration and desired political advantage.

All the while, in the midst of such tricks, Trump covertly made certain as many immigrants from down South continue coming in as ever. And he’s not going to worry about whether they stay. For a magician, appearances trump reality.

And so truckers will flow legally into our nation from outside. They won’t much fret over what they’re paid, since the cost of living is much lower where they’re from. That’ll have an effect on your wages and your future retirements, too. But magicians at the top will turn your focus toward a wall. And that’s all you’re supposed to see.

Hey! It’s elites who hire people adept with wands. And they can afford the best. Happily for them, truckers have no one on their side to oppose them. In fact, perhaps because of Stockholm Syndrome, a majority of you have adopted the thinking of your captors. Hence you look back to the good old days when truckers still had respect and power, even while praising those making certain, such days never return.

[Jack C]

My dad was long a factory worker who eventually became boss over thousands. I think he sometimes missed the camaraderie of fellow union members. After being superintendent for years, he remembered how in opposition to management, his union once successfully pushed for converting the factory walls to slats that could open and close, allowing cool air to flow though in summer and still heating the factory in winter. Production rose because of that union success. And there was reduced equipment failure from overheating.

People on the front lines often have insights, those more removed never realize. This nation is being run, not so much by even politicians these days as by scheming billionaires, far removed. I’d like to see that change with people like you having more influence. I know you’ve been persuaded to think yourselves incapable. But I have no doubt that if you gained increased influence, you’d see yourselves as more innovative than you’ve ever imagined possible because surrender and captivity strip away the soul. Just remember, though, once released, people return to themselves. It would be no different for you. And the world would become ever more exciting in your world as empowerment swept your way.

[Jack C]

I confess I’m considering writing a book about the Idaho drivers. I keep hoping a cavalry will rush in to defend them. It would make for a better ending. But I’m expecting it may rather turn out a downer, instead, as if we’re now a conquered people, capable of no more than grumbling, showing disdain for each other, and dwelling in a state of apathy, rather than what I remember us once being.

When did we first transition from active participation in life to becoming talk show radio hosts, from afar, capable of no more than arrogant displays of mockery rather than talking face to face, sometimes in disagreement, even while respectful of each other?

When mutual respect was lost, I suspect, so did become we.

Mockery is easy. But respect requires much more, including sometimes acknowledging we were wrong. But that comes from growth because you don’t learn you’re wrong without research. And that keeps the brain cells alive.

Idaho is wrong. But I don’t expect mocking them from afar would help. I think the big word from Washington, these days, of, ‘intent,’ is key because we all know the drivers never had any intention of doing anything wrong. They were just doing their jobs as assigned. That they’re now facing years in prison, one, potentially, fifteen years, is not only absurd but evil.

[Jack C]

Of course, even with research, we often read contradictory information because people lie and we’re all duped at times. That’s what’s refreshing about the story in Idaho. It’s hard to put much spin on it. There are just three drivers there, confronted by a state which defines pot and hemp as one and the same. The federal government has mandated that no state can prohibit the transport of hemp on its highways. To get around that, Idaho insists hemp is pot. So it’s not hemp they’re restricting on their roadways (even though it is) but pot. And they would insist the feds did not make transport of marijuana legal.

Consider some of the weird possibilities of calling two entirely different things the same. A state could say a kids’ sandbox and freeway are legally equivalent. That being the case, they could fine or imprison truckers for recklessly speeding across an area frequented by kids. And drivers would be forced to plead guilty to having endangered children even though they were nowhere to be found, highways not really being sandboxes.

They could say that log books and tax forms are equivalent. So if you were caught lying on your logs, you could be charged with tax fraud.

They could say all life forms are legally equivalent. So if the ISP found dead bugs on your windshield, you could be charged with murder and forced to plead, in exchange for a reduction of charges, that you’d killed a person, since Idaho prosecutors and judges always go with the most damaging version of a crime, by virtue of a law dictionary gone berserk.

Both drivers who pleaded guilty were college grads. One of them, forced to plead to transporting marijuana with intent to deliver, paused and stared at the judge as if to say, “You do realize what you’re demanding I say is nuts, right?” But the judge waited him out as if it’s been a lifetime dream to have someone, ten times brighter than he, stoop down to his level.

[Jack C]

To bring Americans back together, we should look for opportunities to oppose bad guys on those rare occasions when it’s clear cut to most of us who the bad guys are. This is especially so when it’s the ruling powers doing evil, like in Idaho. An advantage of being in the right, you’re able to assume a superior position of lofty reason and ethics, even when opposed by prosecutors, judges, and law enforcement. That can feel pretty good.

The drivers should not be facing charges that will ruin their lives, future job prospects, and could lead to potential imprisonment for years. Everyone knows it, including most people in Idaho. Having truckers around the courthouse, speaking truth to power, is the state’s worst nightmare. I think you’re missing out on a great deal of fun that could be had for a noble cause. And if you conducted yourselves with decorum even while making powerful talking points, available to you, to members of the press who would come to hear you if you're there, it would do much to elevate the public’s perception of truckers, perhaps for decades to come.

You've got two drivers with college degrees to defend which could help present yours as a profession where bright people enjoy working. And you've a Russian speaking driver to defend, too, which makes your industry seem cosmopolitan, as it increasingly is. What an opportunity to show the country who you are, even while doing something good for yourselves, too.

[Jack C]

Good news for the Idaho drivers today. I don't know if it'll work at changing minds of prosecutors. But it's reassuring knowing there are still some good people in Idaho who are trying. https://www.idahostatesman.com/news/...230087129.html

[Jack C]

That hemp petition woke people up. I've often felt alone these past few months defending the drivers. Today, because of the petition, hundreds of people did so.

I just had a thought. It occurred to me, how could police officers arrest drivers who they knew were only following orders from their normally law-abiding trucking firms? After all, they more than anyone know what it's like to be accused of doing no more than what they've been trained to do.

Now here is a crazy thought that hit me. Is it possible the police became hostile to truckers after they allowed their union to disintegrate, especially long haul drivers? Consider, most police officers belong to unions. They may look upon you all as traitors, now, rather than brothers, as perhaps, before?

But I don't know why they showed so much enthusiasm for arresting the drivers. Just seems weird. They should be the last profession in this country to go after Americans for just doing their jobs because they know how it feels, being unfairly accused. Of course, when that happens, they stand up for each other, don't they? That could be another reason they feel you're much different from themselves.

[Jack C]

If you'd like to sign a petition to have all charges dropped against the drivers, you can do so here. https://www.change.org/p/ada-county-...-truck-drivers

Don't let '0 have signed' discourage you when the page opens. Just takes a moment for the total to tally.

[Jack C]

I’m relieved the petition is there to take off heat, I’ve imagined could be suffered. Anytime you submit a letter such as what follows, it’s easy to dread there may come a knock on the door. After all, if they’re willing to charge drivers who they know were only doing their jobs, as assigned, how can I be certain they won’t come after me, too? I’ve lost faith there is still justice in Idaho for anyone, now. It’s what happens when people, known to be innocent, are charged all the same. I understand it was probably foolish to make this comment in newspapers, various places. But I couldn’t help myself, since truth trumps hiding it under a bushel, as once said.

So I did it. By crazy impulse I submitted what follows.

"Prosecutor Scott Bandy has said for months the drivers should have done their research. What he'll never comprehend, you don’t research how to be a decent human being. You just are. That’s something the good drivers understand that he never will. You have to wonder why he wants to terrify people from entering trucking jobs, lest their knowledge of law books prove insufficient to keep themselves out of trouble. And why is he putting out a message for truckers not to trust their employers? Is he saying, if you don’t have a good scientific knowledge of what’s in hazardous waste loads you’re carrying, you shouldn’t be hauling them?

Bandy seems to be placing all of the burden of research on the drivers rather than their companies. I thought the government was attempting to mandate more rest for drivers. Scott Bandy, rather, insists they should be burning midnight oil studying law books and science journals if they don't want to be arrested. Of course, it’s not totally his fault he’s nuts. Sanity resides in places where the middle class thrives. And where it doesn’t, guys like Bandy emerge. And justice suffers for that. Keep in mind, he’s a bad guy, here, at least on this, though it’s hard to be restrictive given the seriousness of what he’s done to three good men.

“They should have done their research.” Bandy pitifully persists. That’s as funny as “Biggest Drug Bust in History!” We’ve got fruit cakes all about these days. Stop the madness!"

Again, here is the petition. https://www.change.org/p/ada-county-...-truck-drivers

Deluge the jerks by adding your names to the petition and comments that the evil they’re doing must not stand. Given your position, you may also well add, “Let my people go!”