A couple of stories that caught my eye that really make me wonder about what people are thinking about how the government keeps getting bigger and bigger and getting more and more involved with our daily lives.
Japanese motorcycle police drones... Not protecting the public...
A tax racketeering group on wheels
On the one hand, average Joe-Happoshu thinks that we need the government to take care of all sorts of things in our lives like retirement, health insurance, rules on wearing seat belts, smoking in public - oh I could go on and on... (I won't talk today about how there is nothing written in the constitution about the government running things like health care)...But, at the same time Joe-Happoshu wants to government to babysit him and his family, he fails to recognize that these very same people are constantly doing things that are the height of incompetence or of questionable judgement.
I want the police and government out of our lives... But can understand the desire of people to have the police protecting us (Duh! That's what they are supposed to do!) Ostensibly that's what they are here for. But here's a story about how the police took a vacation that probably helped contribute to two people getting murdered - a rare occurrence in this country and big news all over the media for these last few months:
Here's a story from the Japan Times: Cops took trip rather than probe stalker - Days later, two women were stabbed to death
CHIBA — Police officers from a Chiba Prefecture station postponed investigating a suspected case of assault and stalking and instead took a three-day pleasure trip to Hokkaido, shortly before the suspect allegedly killed two people, officials said Thursday.
Makoto Yamashita, 58, whose daughter was living in Chiba Prefecture, went to Narashino Police Station on Dec. 6 to file a complaint about a man he claimed had stalked and assaulted his daughter. He was asked to wait a week before submitting his request for an investigation.
Yamashita's wife, Mitsuko, 56, and mother, Hisae, 77, were stabbed to death at their home in Saikai, Nagasaki Prefecture, on Dec. 16.
The suspect is Gota Tsutsui, 27, of Mie Prefecture, the man whom Yamashita wanted to target with the complaint. Tsutsui had sent emails to many friends of Yamashita's daughter that he would retrieve her after murdering her family. The woman had left Chiba and moved in with her parents in Nagasaki Prefecture.
So the dad goes to the police to ask for help after getting death threats from a stalker. The cops ho-hum and suck air through their teeth and the guy is told to come back later... Why he was asked to wait a week is anyone's guess... I guess that it was because the police were too busy protecting the public by handing out parking tickets to prevent a murder (gotta pay for the year-end policeman's party, ya know!)
Then when the news gets out that the police screwed up, they lie about it and try to cover up for themselves:
The Chiba police had earlier said the officers postponed an investigation because they were busy looking into other cases.
The officers traveled to Hokkaido two days after seeing Yamashita, according to the latest findings by the Chiba police.
Riiiiiight. These are the people who we need to increase their annual budget because they are protecting us from evil Yakuza gangsters by raiding prostitution parlors or S&M clubs? Yes. There's dangers everywhere! We can never be too careful!
Yes. I'd admit it. I'd be raiding this every chance I got...
Damn the budget constraints and red ink. We need to increase police department budgets and increase staffing!
The other story involves a well-known Japanese politician who used artificial insemination to have a baby at 50-years-old. This story is also from the Japan Times: Lawmaker Has No Regrets About Giving Birth at 50
Seiko Noda, a 51-year-old Lower House lawmaker, drew wide public attention and controversy by bearing a child at age 50 through artificial insemination. During an interview in February, about a year after giving birth to a boy using ova from a third party in the United States, Noda said she has no regrets. She says her son, Masaki, who has never left the hospital since birth due to serious medical problems, is her "mentor" who trains her as a politician...
...Her private life has been filled with constant travails, however, because she had enormous difficulty having a child. At age 44 she published a book titled "Watashi wa Umitai" ("I Want to Give Birth"), in which she poured her heart out about her burning desire to somehow produce offspring and discussed her experience with fertility techniques.
As a firm believer in private property rights, I believe that the ultimate private property is a person's body. While I think it is odd and perhaps a bit selfish that a 50-year-old woman would want to have a baby, I suppose it would be wrong for me to condemn her just for that.
I also feel very sorry for her and especially that poor baby who lingers in the hospital and hope that he can recover quickly and lead a normal life... Well, as normal as a kid could when his mom will be 66-years-old and a senior citizen when he is 15!
Poor child. Of course I do not know details of this case but do know that this poor child has had ten surgeries. I have also worked with charities for children with incurable diseases and have seen those plastic pipes running in their mouths before. I hope this child recovers... But I can't help wonder what this woman was thinking. Is this all an ego problem for this individual?
Like I said, I cannot criticize her for wanting and having a child. I think, though, I can criticize her for doing it while on the public dime and I can criticize her for doing it at 50-years-old while a public figure. Having a child at 50 is risky enough. Doing it while still working is idiocy.
And, on that point, why wait until 50? She even wrote a book about it! Why didn't she do this sooner? The chances of complications with the child and birth defects greatly increase after age 35. Why didn't this woman act sooner for the betterment of her child?
I think that is irresponsible.
I wonder how a person who is this lacking in judgement and responsibility when it comes to her own body and offspring could be depended upon to care for the well being of society at large? And don't call me a hypocrite! When my own daughter was hospitalized, as this woman's child is, my wife and I decided that she would quit her job and go live in the hospital with that child to care for her. She did that; we did that for 2.5 years. This politician? I'm sure she tries to visit whenever her schedule allows. If she were a dedicated mom, she'd quit her job and go take care of this child. But, like I said, I suspect this is an ego problem.
Sorry of I scoff and this story disgusts me. That poor child didn't deserve this.
Truly, as the days go by, the ruling class become farther and farther out of touch with reality and the common sense of the common man.
Is depending on these sorts of people any way to take care of your family? Is depending on these sorts of people anything less than gross irresponsibility?
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