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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsAmericans Want Congress Members To Pee In Cups To Prove They're Not On Drugs
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/02/drug-testing-congress_n_4373472.htmlAccording to a new HuffPost/YouGov poll, 64 percent of Americans favor requiring welfare recipients to submit to random drug testing -- a measure pushed by Republican lawmakers in recent years -- while 18 percent oppose it. But an even stronger majority said they're in favor of random drug testing for members of Congress, by a 78 percent to 7 percent margin. Sixty-two percent said they "strongly" favor drug testing for congressional lawmakers, compared to only 51 percent who said the same of welfare recipients.
The House of Representatives passed legislation this year that would allow states to require food stamp recipients to pee in cups to prove they're not on drugs. In 2012, Republicans pushed for drug testing of people seeking unemployment insurance benefits when they lose their jobs. At the state level, GOP lawmakers across the country have sought drug testing for an array of safety net programs. (Politicians sometimes refer to means-tested government benefits in general as "welfare," although the term is more commonly a nickname for the relatively small Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program.)...
If a member of Congress is caught using illegal drugs, as Rep. Trey Radel (R-Fla.) was in late October, Americans expressed little inclination to show mercy. Sixty-six percent said that a member of Congress convicted of possessing a small amount of cocaine should be forced to resign, while only 14 percent favored allowing the convicted member to serve out the remainder of his or her term.
sharp_stick
(14,400 posts)installed on the doors to Congressional offices. You want in, you need to blow and prove you haven't been drinking. Results emailed to constituents weekly.
I wonder how many of those drunken douchebags could pull it off?
KamaAina
(78,249 posts)sharp_stick
(14,400 posts)maybe I should qualify that with "I wonder how many of those drunken douchebags could pull it off before noon?"
msanthrope
(37,549 posts)sharp_stick
(14,400 posts)in the cheap Scotch category. Brilliant marketing.
Voice for Peace
(13,141 posts)Otherwise it's a great idea.
They should be required to demonstrate sobriety at work.
DU Justice League, where are ye?
sharp_stick
(14,400 posts)if you insisted that these assholes be sober to to do the fucking job stuff would get done.
They are wined and dined from 10:00 AM.
Voice for Peace
(13,141 posts)I lived in DC for twenty years.
sharp_stick
(14,400 posts)Skidmore
(37,364 posts)Triana
(22,666 posts)Complete psych exam and fully publicized report by an unbiased, non-voting psychiatrist (3 of them, actually, who do not know each other).
Public has a right to know if the person on the ballot is a psychopath, has anger management issues, is bipolar, or an addict.
TreasonousBastard
(43,049 posts)"I promise I will not propose a bill, nor vote for one, that requires a citizen to do something I would not voluntarily do.
Moreover, I will not accept any benefits of being in Congress that are not readily available to the citizens I represent."
JaneyVee
(19,877 posts)Voice for Peace
(13,141 posts)I'm imagining some kind of petition for all Congress members
to re commit to serving the American people, and to make a
public pledge.
Shared via FB and Twitter it would ultimately get some
attention, how could it not? Especially if worded in such a way
that it's hard to identify left or right. These are good examples.
a. I promise I will not propose a bill, nor vote for one, that requires a citizen to do something I would not voluntarily do.
b. I will not accept any benefits of being in Congress that are not readily available to the citizens I represent.
c.
d.
etc.
Journeyman
(15,035 posts)Liberal Veteran
(22,239 posts)The ritualistic humiliation of peeing in a cup for anybody and everybody just bugs the hell out of me.
I can understand it for accidents or as a condition for parole/probation, but all the other nonsense just makes me uncomfortable.
NutmegYankee
(16,199 posts)japple
(9,828 posts)the 10 years that I have worked there, I have "gotten the letter" two times, telling me to report for drug testing. The test is conducted in a lab where the toilet is private, but flushing is controlled. Everyone takes it in stride, but it's a bit disconcerting to have to report to a central area where you have to pee in a cup and take it out to the HRS personnel for labeling/testing.
Pacifist Patriot
(24,653 posts)Unnecessary invasion of privacy and a HUGE waste of money, time, and resources. Just ask the State of Florida how the program has worked for us. It's cost the state how much more than it has saved...by an outrageous order of magnitude? The only success the program has had is in lining the governor's and his cronies' pockets.
To me its another example of corporatism. The only beneficiaries are the companies administering the tests.
nichomachus
(12,754 posts)wildbilln864
(13,382 posts)Rex
(65,616 posts)They seem to realize that people don't provide the money Big Biz does.
JI7
(89,251 posts)because there are people like Vitter who buy woman for sex and still gets re-elected.
i bet most people would re-elect their members .
cstanleytech
(26,293 posts)office.
mahannah
(893 posts)Half-Century Man
(5,279 posts)azureblue
(2,146 posts)A breathalyzer test before they enter the building, and one before they enter the Senate / House. They are not permitted to be in federal buildings while drunk.
Half-Century Man
(5,279 posts)But I would make them wear an "I'm drunk" tee shirt and post their BAC online each day.
TBF
(32,062 posts)to do it for them. That's how rich folks deal with things they don't like ...
Lugano
(52 posts)and knowing which flunky has the same DNA as the drunk.. (hint: none)
MrMickeysMom
(20,453 posts)Initech
(100,079 posts)pinboy3niner
(53,339 posts)MrMickeysMom
(20,453 posts)(Bert and Ernie snicker)
notadmblnd
(23,720 posts)steroids included.
KamaAina
(78,249 posts)Darren Wilson said that Michael Brown "looked like a demon". Could he possibly have been high on something?
elehhhhna
(32,076 posts)jmowreader
(50,559 posts)"Shaved and waxed from head to toe" would become the new standard GOP haircut.
Liberal Veteran
(22,239 posts)2banon
(7,321 posts)LOVE It.. k&r
nilesobek
(1,423 posts)Its a "quality of life," issue for the 1%. My being high on honey oil while I clean their toilets wrecks their sensibilities. I bought the synthetic urine, I've used it 3 times to keep the job I have. I'm getting it ready with the hand warmers right now to take to work with me tomorrow.
So I'm against drug testing in general, but it would be nice to see the guys with important jobs tested for a change.
Maybe there should be pre-employment psychological tests to weed out the sadists and psychopaths.