Bump's Stump

Greed has always been around and we are no different in this respect than people in any other country.  How this has affected governments has come to interest me. I've tended to be increasingly curious and have begun to question what I've learned about the Founding Fathers. Were all of these guys so brilliant, perfect, and without greed?  I doubt it.  In our  carefully drawn government I find that political greed is especially noxious. Think about it.  Certainly our taxes are not being spent the way the Founding Fathers intended. Why? Is Free Market Capitalism really the best way to go? Our Federal Government is supposed to certain expenses important to all of the states. This would include expenses that are beyond the state's ability to handle - and all expenses that applied to another state or states. (I think of intrastate highways and  bridges, intrastate power transmission lines, care and protection of rivers, and so forth). The Federal Governm...

It's time for tough talk. Everyday there is a grinding and bloody crash on the freeway. It's  usually the result of rider stupidity, and more rarely caused by another vehicle.  Bikes these days have so much power that it takes an experienced rider with good judgement to control them. So what do we do? Any person can take an ability test on a 250cc or 350cc (small) motorcycle and obtain a Motorcycle Safety certificate attesting to his or her riding ability.  The next step in the (California) process is for the individual to take the certificate to the DMV (Dept. of Motor Vehicles) and present it, then take a  short written test on motorcycle law.  Once the written test is passed the individual 16 YEARS AND OLDER is qualified to sit on a THOUSAND HORSEPOWER bike and drive the on turnpikes, suburban roads, and major highways at legal speeds.  This is definitely not smart. Note that in California a motorcycle rider can also pass between...