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| The Capital in Fartford. |
The assinine New Britain-Fartford busway has yet to have its funding pulled. - This is one of the few things I can agree with a Republican on. It's a complete effing waste of money. Yes, Hartford traffic sucks, and I-84 is a headache 95% of the time, but seriously...why don't we properly fund Metro-North and upgrade the rolling stock to something newer than the 80's (and that's being generous, there are M2's from the 70's hanging around) faster than the snail's pace that the M8's are being launched. Or here's a concept: You want to improve commutes to Hartford? Why don't you stop being cheapskates and set up a real Springfield to New Haven commuter train service - one that will make the Amtrak Springfield-New Haven shuttle look like a joke. The path of the Amtrak line now is comparable to the stupid busway - and the existing infastructure is there. We have a surplus of Mafersa passenger coaches we bought from a commuter line in Virginia sitting in New Haven with some capable, albeit old diesel engines to pull them. They were bought for Shoreline East service - but there's enough of a reserve to use them. Yes, people may have to drive to Berlin, but really - they were gonna have to drive to New Britain too. Run some CT Transit buses to the Berlin from New Britain if people don't have cars. Rail is grossly underutilized in this state away from the immediate shoreline - threats to close Metro-North branches in budget crunches anyone? Anyway - I feel myself going off on a railfan biased tangent, so I'll just stop here. Bottom line, it's a waste of money.
Repealing the Death Penalty - This one's a contentious one, yes it saves money, but if the death penalty process in Connecticut was a little more expeditious, like Texas, then it might be more cost-effective. I'm not saying we have to execute the volume of people that Texas does - but a little expedience would be nice. There is no reason why thirty years need to pass between sentencing and execution. Personally, I think that the process needed to be reformed, perhaps a limit to appeals, but I do still think that the option should still remain for people who commit especially heinous crimes if they get caught red handed. However, my opinion, as well as that of the majority of the state, which still supports the death penalty obviously don't matter, so that's all I have to say about that.
The Good:
Legalization of Medicinal Marijuana - Regardless of your stance on people using the drug recreationally, medicinal marijuana has legitimate merit. It hasn't totally been legalized yet...the state legislature has passed it, so it's only a matter of time until the governor signs it, which he has said he will. Honestly, we have synthetic THC in pill form - just let people use it naturally. A month's supply of Marinol at QID (4x/daily) dosing has a pretty obscene out of pocket price - an ounce of weed on the street is about 1/3 of the price. (No, I don't partake, I just know these things...and people who do. Okay? As for the price of Marinol, I work at a pharmacy - plus the mail order pharmacy employees use has a price quote generator, which is where gathered that information.) Obviously if we went through the effort of developing a synthetic THC pill, there are medicinal qualities. Simple as that. It should be no different than a script for any opiate. Yes, people are going to abuse it - how many pill poppers do you know? Arguably an addiction to Vicodin, Xanax, Oxycodone, Percocet, or anything else of that ilk is more dangerous than abusing weed. Society will not crumble. Plain and simple.
Sunday Liquor Sales - Honestly, you would be astonished how many people were unaware that you can't buy a 6 pack of your favorite brew on Sunday in Connecticut. I have never understood the reasoning behind the antiquated law in today's world. At most, it's a minor annoyance - say you're having a football party or something and forgot to buy the booze Saturday before 9pm. You're SOL unless you want to drive to Massachusetts, Rhode Island, or New York. Obviously, a little advanced thought and planning would save the aggravation, but it just doesn't make sense. Bars are allowed to be open Sunday, why not package stores? Honestly, I'd rather see someone go to the liquor store, pick up their libation of choice, and go home and get trashed in front of their TV than the same person going to a bar, getting trashed and attempting to drive home. Now we're out of the dark ages. The bill has been signed, and now sales are allowed between 10am and 5pm Sunday. I'm not sure if this is immediate or if there's a certain start date though. I realize that way back when, blue laws had a place, but not now. I'm glad we're out of the dark ages. Also, I know it's probably going to amount to a piddly amount of additional tax revenue, but anything will help in this state.
/endrant
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