Thursday, April 17, 2014

Which Side Are You On?

By Jeff Simpson

Across this great old nation
Tell me what you gonna do?
When there's one law for the rulers
and one law for the rules


Which side are you on, boys?
Which side are you on?
Which side are you on, boys?
Which side are you on?

Mommy and daddy still have this affluent teen’s back—but Texas taxpayers will likely pay a lion’s share his bills.
The parents of a teenage drunk driver who walked away with probation after killing four people will pay a little more than 5% of his monthly treatment costs at a state hospital, a judge decided.
During a hearing on Friday, Judge Jean Boyd ordered Fred and Tonya Couch to pay $1,170 every month for their son Ethan’s treatment at the North Texas State hospital. The in-patient center actually costs $715 per day, which means Ethan’s parents will only pay for two days of treatment every month.
Taxpayers will shell out the rest.


 



6 comments:

  1. What do you mean, what side are you on? This case has drawn outrage from both liberals and conservstives. If anything, this was a liberal judge who got suckered by a phony argument by liberal defense attorneys.
    So, which side are you on?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. "What do you mean, what side are you on? "
      The lines are from a song titled, "Which Side Are You On". The song was written by Florence Reece, and first sung by Pete Seeger (though many have covered it since, including Dropkick Murphys). The song is about a violent mine labor dispute in Harlan County KY. The song touches on some themes of class disparity, including separate rules for the working class and the wealthy. This is what Jeff is referencing, and not a liberal/conservative paradigm. It seems like you're the only one viewing this through a left/right lens. Project much?

      " If anything, this was a liberal judge who got suckered by a phony argument by liberal defense attorneys."

      Yeah, not so much. Judge Jean Boyd is definitely a long time Republican.

      http://elections.sos.state.tx.us/elchist.exe

      See the results from the 1994 and/or 2010 general election from Tarrant County, Family District Judge race, 323rd Judicial District.

      While I can find no record of defense attorney Wm. Reagan Wynn making any political donations, his firm partner Jeffrey Kearney at Kearney/Wynn/Sparks http://www.kearneywynn.com/ has.

      During several election cycles from 2006 to 2009 he made multiple donations to candidates Charlie Geren and David Dewhurst. http://www.texastribune.org/library/data/texas-campaign-donations/?appSession=844449388824371

      Guess which party they belong to? Yeah, not so liberal. So, while we have no definitive information that Reagan Wynn is liberal, we know his partner has donated to multiple Republican candidates in multiple elections. How likely is it that he's a big "liberal" and his partner is a Republican campaign contributor? Consider too that they reside in Fort Worth TX, hardly a bastion of liberalism.

      I do like your version better though, what with it being so well researched at all and not in any way based on partisan rhetoric. Thanks for sharing it with the class!

      "No, actually anyone who thinks this a left/right issue is quite deranged."
      I agree. Remind me again who it was in this thread that asserted it was?

      Delete
  2. Replies
    1. No matter...the silly group think is strong on the right!!

      Delete
  3. No, actually anyone who thinks this a left/right issue is quite deranged.

    ReplyDelete