Sunday 31 May 2015

Drinking and Legislating

Over in California this week.....it got out that the California state legislature has hired up two part-time guys to provide ground transportation for Senate members.  The cost?  Each guy is paid around $2,500 a month.....for this part-time work.  No one says the hours per week, or a limit to the hours.

The deal?  Well....over the past couple of years....some California state senators have been caught drunk-driving.  So, the two guys hired.....are supposed to get a call from a senator when he thinks he's too drunk to drive home.

Naturally, a Bama guy would sit and ponder about this.

If you end up calling these guys.....it means you are too drunk to drive.  But doesn't it also mean you ought to be too drunk to legislate?

No state, as far as I know.....has ever instituted a no-drinking policy with each capital building.  So you can imagine these guys....standing around and swapping stories in the afternoon....sipping a whiskey here and there.....maybe sneaking out to the back and gulping down two beers.....then doing a rum-and-Coke before taking a vital vote.

It would be curious if someone would force the issue of no drinking while in a legislative setting.  After you take the vote and go over to the local pub to celebrate your bill-passing abilities.....ok, I don't see a problem then.

How many bills get passed yearly by drunk legislative folks?  Unknown.  But maybe it's time to ask about this.