MS Legislature and Whiskey Tango Foxtrot (2015, transporting, house)

[An Einnseanair]

It's a case of "you get what you vote for". The glorious Mississippi Legislature is thanking the voters who elected them by writing a series of bills that defy reason.

First up, we had House Bill 1261: All Dogs Go To Hey-ell Bill
For the uninformed, breeds in dogs are the biological equivalent of races in humans. All dogs are of the same species, just like with humans. Claiming all members of a specific dog breed are dangerous is the equivalent of claiming all members of a specific human race are inferior or superior (take your pick). But, the MS legislature has declared that:

33 (a) (i) "Dangerous dog" means:
34 1. Any pit bull dog in a class of dogs that
35 specifically includes the breeds of American pit bull terrier,
36 American Staffordshire terrier, Staffordshire bull terrier,
37 American bulldog, and any other pure bred or mixed breed dog that
38 is a combination of these dog breeds.

There are other dangerous dog types, but this is the troublesome one. By law, if a dog is 1/128th American bulldog, it is illegal for the owner to:

96 (b) Permit the dog to go beyond the premises of the
97 person unless the dog is:
98 (i) Secured by a leash, chain or lead having a
99 minimum tensile strength of three hundred (300) pounds and not
100 exceeding three (3) feet in length;
101 (ii) Is under the direct control of the owner of
102 the dog; and
103 (iii) Is muzzled in a manner that is sufficient to
104 prevent the dog from injuring or biting a person or other animal.

That's right, at all times the dogs must be on a 300-lb leash and be muzzled.

But that's not even the worst part of the bill. Here is the kicker:

186 (8) In order to determine if there is a violation of this
187 section, a law enforcement officer, at any time, may enter the
188 premises where a dangerous dog is kept, or is believed to be kept,
189 for an on-site inspection of the premises.

So the local police have the right to beat down your door at 2:00AM if they even think there may be a "dangerous dog" on the premises. Any time any police agency wants to search a house, all they'll have to do is claim they heard barking.

Fortunately, this abomination died in committee.


Next, we had House Bill 449: Bill of Silence or Hush, Ya'll
Probably as a response to all the teachers signing the petition to get the Better Schools, Better Jobs initiative on the Ballot, Representative Moore introduced a bill that will effectively silence all teachers and school-related administrators going forward. No employee, especially taxpayer-paid employees should be engaging in politics on the clock; that's reasonable. They especially shouldn't be using school resources (copy paper, internet access, etc.). But this bill goes way beyond that:

103 (2) The school superintendent and school board members
104 holding office shall remain neutral by not engaging in political
105 activities on school property and by not publicly supporting or
106 opposing any political party, philosophy or issue in an election
107 or done to affect the outcome thereof, campaigning on behalf of a
108 specific candidate or issue, or lobbying the Legislature for
109 policy change, other than his or her own campaign.

That clause applies everywhere, not just on school time.

Fortunately, this bill also died in committee. Two for two wins for critical thinking.


Finally, we have House Bill 132: Jesus Take the Wheel
It exempts drivers of church-owned vehicles transporting between 16 and 30 passengers from having to obtain a commercial driving license. I'm sorry about how it inconveniences small churches, but 15 people dying in a fiery crash caused by an inexperienced driver is quite enough, thank you. I believe extra testing and a medical exam is a good idea if you want to pilot a 30-passenger bus with special handling and huge blind spots.

Unfortunately, this bill passed the House and is in committee in the Senate. Unless you want 80-year-old Decon Fred piloting the entirety of your church's next generation down the I-55 at 70mph, call/write your state Senator and kill this abomination.

[Listener2307]

Guy sure gets excited about 2 bills that died in committee.

Doesn't that prove - to him, I'm saying - that the system works?

FWIW I think pitt bulls should not be allowed to reproduce. And I can think of a couple of human families who float in the same boat, too.

[An Einnseanair]

Originally Posted by Listener2307

Guy sure gets excited about 2 bills that died in committee.

Doesn't that prove - to him, I'm saying - that the system works?

I didn't know they had died in committee until after I wrote the above. I edited it after the fact to add the part about dying in committee. I should have deleted those parts altogether. It's just that when I heard about the Jesus Take the Wheel bill, that made three horrible bills in the same year and I wanted to say something. But yeah, the fact that the first two died in committee shows that at least the majority of legislators are thinking (or at least responding to calls from voters).

The point is, we have legislators, voted for by the people of Mississippi, writing such bills. And the last one actually made it out of the House and is being considered by the Senate. As a general rule in this country, if you want to transport more than 14 people plus yourself, you need to prove you know more than the average incompetent driver. That you can pass more than the standard bogus 20-question driving test. That you actually know how to drive a large vehicle that has huge blind spots, massive wind area, difficult lane changes, and that handles curves completely differently from a passenger car (yes, I have driven large vehicles before). And, the mandatory medical exam will help find previously un-diagnosed cases of diabetes or heart disease before the driver passes out while barreling down the interstate at 70mph.

How, exactly, does the fact that the bus is owned by a church negate those facts? Why is a church bus different from a school bus?

Originally Posted by Listener2307

FWIW I think pitt bulls should not be allowed to reproduce. And I can think of a couple of human families who float in the same boat, too.

That's the problem... you are assuming the traits of a few bad examples apply to an entire breed. Using my example above, that the equivalent of knowing a few bad human families of a particular race, and declaring that the entire race should be eliminated. From your posts I know you don't think that way, but lots of the problem with racism in Mississippi is because the only exposure people have with other races are with bad examples of the race.

I've known lots of pits over the years, and have several friends who own either pits or some other breed in that list of "dangerous dogs". With the exception of exactly one dog, all of them are friendly family pets. Some would bark if a stranger approached, but after that they wanted nothing more than to have their back scratched or belly rubbed. The one bad one was owned by a guy who half-way trained the poor animal to be a guard dog. Entirely not the dog's fault, but he should be put down. I have no problem with forcibly destroying a particular dog that is proven to be a dangerous. I have a huge problem destroying an entire breed/race of dogs simply because a few idiot humans abuse some of them and they look dangerous.

[Listener2307]

Originally Posted by jwkilgore

.............That's the problem... you are assuming the traits of a few bad examples apply to an entire breed. Using my example above, that the equivalent of knowing a few bad human families of a particular race, and declaring that the entire race should be eliminated. From your posts I know you don't think that way, but lots of the problem with racism in Mississippi is because the only exposure people have with other races are with bad examples of the race.

I've known lots of pits over the years, and have several friends who own either pits or some other breed in that list of "dangerous dogs". With the exception of exactly one dog, all of them are friendly family pets. Some would bark if a stranger approached, but after that they wanted nothing more than to have their back scratched or belly rubbed. The one bad one was owned by a guy who half-way trained the poor animal to be a guard dog. Entirely not the dog's fault, but he should be put down. I have no problem with forcibly destroying a particular dog that is proven to be a dangerous. I have a huge problem destroying an entire breed/race of dogs simply because a few idiot humans abuse some of them and they look dangerous.

Nah. Dogs are not people.
Sane people have a choice with regard to how they act. Dogs just act, although they can modify their behavior a little.

My nephew violated the local law with regard to restraining and identifying his pitt bull and was arrested and fined $800. Some of that was because he lied to the officer when he was first visited.

So the laws are going forward. Some day, maybe we will have the same standard as England where these dogs that kill are not allowed at all.

[mikestrong]

I love pits, but I do think there should be a special license to have them. I think the owners should be held criminally resposnsible if they bite.

[An Einnseanair]

Unfortunately, the Pitt Bull topic appears to be dominating, even though that bill was rightfully killed.

The point of this was to discuss the antics of the MS legislature. Specifically, the Jesus Take the Wheel bill still active in the Senate.


Does anyone here take the position that church-owned buses carrying up to 29 passengers may be driven by a non-CDL certified driver?

[Listener2307]

Originally Posted by jwkilgore

Unfortunately, the Pitt Bull topic appears to be dominating, even though that bill was rightfully killed.

The point of this was to discuss the antics of the MS legislature. Specifically, the Jesus Take the Wheel bill still active in the Senate.


Does anyone here take the position that church-owned buses carrying up to 29 passengers may be driven by a non-CDL certified driver?

The class B CDL really isn't much. I got mine by filling out some forms and taking an eye test - about the same as a regular drivers license.

But when I got my class A - Ah; different deal. I went to school for 8 weeks, etc, etc, took several written tests, and had to show that I could do all sorts of things with an 18 wheeler. Several guys flunked because they could never show that they could shift a 13 speed non-synchronized transmission.

So, no, I guess I don't care much one way or the other...