Are you unemployed or poor? Senator Orrin Hatch wants your urine

[dajoki]

Tell Senator Orrin Hatch that Drug Testing the Unemployed is Discriminatory — and Dumb
by Megan Cottrell June 24, 2010 10:00 AM (PT)
http://uspoverty.change.org/blog/view/tell_senator_orrin_hatch_that_drug_testing_the_unemployed_is_discriminatory_and_dumb

Republicans are always calling for smaller government. How dare the government ask you to wear your seat belt! How dare progressives who want everyone to be able to go to the doctor when they're sick! How dare "big government" ask for your money for trifling things like schools for children!

But now, Senator Orrin Hatch, a Republican from Utah, is asking for the ultimate government intrusion: a cup of your urine.

Well, only if you're unemployed or receiving welfare.

Yes — that's right. Hatch says we should drug test the unemployed and the poor before giving them benefits.

"A lot of people are saying, 'Hey, it's about time. Why do we keep giving money to people who are going to go use it on drugs instead of their families?'" Hatch said.

I'm sorry, Senator Hatch. In my understanding, you have to have reasonable suspicion of a crime before you search someone. When did being down on your luck become a crime?

The proposed law is ridiculous and clearly unconstitutional. In fact, other states have tried it and failed. Michigan previously imposed a law requiring all welfare recipients to be drug tested. HuffPo notes that it wasn't very successful — especially since marijuana is currently legal for half of all citizens and urine tests don't pick up Americans' favored drug-of-choice — alcohol. Drug testing is unreliable, but also illegal. Michigan's measure was struck down by the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. Why? Because no one should have to take a drug test as a condition of receiving a public benefit, the court determined.

Unemployment and welfare are just two of a long list of public benefits that the government hands out. Do we require homeowners to get a drug test before they get their mortgage tax deduction? Nope. And I bet you if you picked any quaint little suburb, started knocking on doors and telling June Cleavers everywhere that they had to pee in a cup for their IRS forms, there's plenty of people who would be up in arms. Drivers aren't even drug tested before being given a license.

That's the thing — we're fine with persecuting the poor because we're sure they deserve it. After all, good responsible citizens are never poor, right? And now, we're adding the unemployed to that list of people who deserve what they get. Just recently, companies started deciding that they wouldn't even consider the unemployed in their new job listings. Hatch's measure shows we've started to turn on the unemployed. They used to be victims of the recession, and now we're deciding that they don't deserve our sympathy. Instead, they deserve our persecution.

Hatch himself doesn't have to worry about being drug tested. Although he stated he thought members of Congress shouldn't be exempt from the rules the American people have to follow, the courts have already ruled that drug testing can't be a requirement for running for office.

Drug testing is inefficient, ineffective and moveover, illegal. I'm outraged that Orrin Hatch is proposing illegal searches of innocent Americans. If you are too, take a minute to send Hatch the message that this is unacceptable behavior in the land of the free.

Dear Senator Hatch, I don't know if you've noticed, but the economy's still tanking. There's millions of gallons of oil ruining the Gulf. We're fighting two wars. And one-fifth of America's children are wondering if there's even going to be dinner tonight. Perhaps you can find something else more worthwhile to work on?

[asdjrocky]

1. Perhpas we should send it? nt

[DJ13]

4. Millions of urine filled baggies all sent to his house

:rofl:

[asdjrocky]

6. There's gotta be some kind of law against sending urine through the mail, right?

I mean, there just has to be. urine

Some smart person should check in and let us know, just to be on the safe side.

[Greyhound]

15. Yes, but mailing clear, screw-top containers of yellow water is perfectly legal. n/t

[asdjrocky]

43. Hmmmmm. nt

[dajoki]

5. Should we "flood" his office? n/t

[maryf]

40. Lol...

he might get pissed off though...hmmm, actually I am...

[Dulcinea]

60. Sure!

I'll pee in a jar & dump it over his head. There you go, Senator! Be careful what you ask for! :evilgrin:

[Hassin Bin Sober]

2. Would it be illegal to send him a bottle of my home brew?

I mean, I'll pack it so it won't leak.

[Oregone]

3. "Why do we keep giving money to people who are going to go use it on drugs"

Look, even if people take drugs unemployed, it could be from a stash before they got laid off, or from a friend, or from a grow they spent no money on, etc. It could be from shaking down some preppy kid down the street, or busting into a local supplier. It could be from their own business of pushing drugs that they turned to while the economy shut them off.

Even if people are partaking, there is still no direct link to the um-employment monies.

Besides, while people paid their employment insurance premiums all those years, this little fine print didn't exist. Sounds like insurance rescission to me, by creating retroactive stipulations after premiums have been collected.

[minavasht]

28. I actually know

two people who were operating commercial vehicles and were fired because they failed random drug tests.
I know a lot more people who cannot hold a job because of their drug use.
So, yes, drugs have a lot to do with being unemployed and receiving monies from the government.
If you cannot get a job because you use drugs, other people's money should not be given to you so you can buy drugs.
Or maybe you think it is OK to work stoned?

[Oregone]

30. YOU KNOW TWO PEOPLE!!!!!1!

Holy shit! Wow...

Oh. Wait...they got fired for using drugs?!? Didn't that happen before they got unemployment? You sure that thereafter, thats what they blew their insurance payout on? Does it even matter what people spend their insurance money on? I mean...its not stipulated while they were paying premiums, right?!?


"So, yes, drugs have a lot to do with being unemployed"

No shit...what the hell else you going to do when sitting around broke? You smoke a joint. Big fuckn deal. Orrin goes home and hits a beer bong. Aint he a saint?


"f you cannot get a job because you use drugs, other people's money should not be given to you so you can buy drugs."

Bullshit. Its YOUR money. It is an INSURANCE policy. You paid the premiums, and you make a claim, and they pay out. What...you think its magic money for everyone, for free? Ludicrous.


"Or maybe you think it is OK to work stoned?"

I do and I have.

[minavasht]

32. Well, you can sit around being broke and get stoned.

Other people get out and learn something that lets them find a job.
Its a matter of choice, you know.

Yes, it is OK to flip burgers stoned, and no, it is not OK to perform a brain surgery stoned.

[Oregone]

33. Yeah, because you just can't function stoned, eh?

You can't learn, no? You can't leave the house?

What a joke.

Hey, if it hurt your friends so much, why were they fired after a prohibited drug test, instead of for poor job performance? Because you are just talking shit, thats why.

[minavasht]

35. Truth hurts, doesn't it?

I don't know, you said that getting stoned is all unemployed people can do, did you not?

[Oregone]

45. Nope. I didn't say that

Its one thing they can do. And its fun. Got a problem with that?

[minavasht]

47. Nope!

it is their choice, plain and simple.
To me life is fun enough to need to smoke/inhale/inject/snort crap.
But that's just me.

[reggie the dog]

68. yet you will drink crap to have fun

you will not smoke, snort, inject, inhale, but you will drink, so go drink your alcohol and let us inhale our cannabis vapor.

[minavasht]

70. Wow! You really have a crystal ball?

And you like to seat in front of it every night and look at me? Wow, amazing!
And here I was, having quit drinking about 20 years ago...
But what do I know, the person with the crystal ball has spoken!

Reggie, you really have to slow down on that "recreational" stuff, you know...

:rofl:

[reggie the dog]

67. you can get stoned AFTER performing brain surgery

hell I have dropped acid with a pediatrician before. I also managed to get an MA in the teaching of history and a ba with a history major and a sociology minor and I smoked weed sometimes before and quite often after class.

[reggie the dog]

31. drugs did not make them lose their jobs

had drugs had a negative impact on their work they would have already been fired for giving low quality work. The fact that they were only fired because of a drug test shows this. People can easily fail a drug test at work for cannabis they have smoked in the past month so workers who smoke a day or two per week risk losing their jobs, whereas people who drink alcohol a day or two a week have no problem with drug tests<;

[minavasht]

34. Again

it is a matter of choice.
You smoke pot knowing that it can cost you your job, or you don't and keep your job.
You visit a porn site on your work computer knowing that it can get your ass fired, or you don't.

Choices, choices, choices...

Of course, it is the Big Man keeping you down and not your fault...

[Oregone]

46. Its a matter of getting caught with an invasion of your privacy supported by a stupid, unjust law

Its as wrong to collect an employee's urine as it is to throw people in jail for using drugs. If someone gets fired, its a combination of their boss being a dick and lawmakers being bought-off assholes. The people, well, they are just working class heroes, and thats is something to be.

Being able to make a choice is called "freedom" (something many people hold sacred), and thats being infringed upon by fascist pricks. If they really cared about their businesses and societies, they would manage their worker roles based on who is performing, and who is sucking. Getting rid of people who partake responsibly in recreational drugs only acts as some type of "affirmative action" for squares in the virgin club, who get positions opened for them. People aren't getting hired because they are good workers; its because they are nerds who aren't invited to any good parties.

Sorry...I thought we lived in a meritocracy that embraces freedom; not some oppressive shit hole that sends clean nerds to the top.

[reggie the dog]

65. using a work computer at work would be like smoking ajoint at work

I can see why a boss would not want people surfing porn or smoking weed at work, telling me not to look at porn or smoke weed on my own time is an invasion of privacy. but hey, i am a teacher and we dont get drug tested anyways, our unions protect us from that kind of bullshit.

[asdjrocky]

44. You should really smoke a joint and mellow out.

And I bet you don't even know two people.

[minavasht]

48. I guess you know better nt :)

:)

[asdjrocky]

51. Perhaps not better, but certainly enough.

[minavasht]

52. OK

thanks for your insight ...

[asdjrocky]

53. Happy to help.

[minavasht]

55. whatever, now go smoke something

[asdjrocky]

64. Snarky, aren't we?

Perhaps you should refer to my first suggestion.

[minavasht]

73. I love you very much too!

[MyNameGoesHere]

63. Ok test for drugs and i get to test

for hangovers, drinking on the job and smoking. Would you really want a hungover drunk cigarette smoker working? Oh and let's start looking for deviants, radicals, and other unsavory people.

BTW you are selling snake oil, those drivers that got fired ain't collecting unemployment so that a dumb point. And the ones that can't get a job because they failed a drug test? They ain't collecting either. The unemployed are not the scum of the earth, we are fucking people that have lost jobs. We are not welfare queens, we are not rabble, WE WERE THE FUCKING WORKERS OF THIS COUNTRY ASSHAT!

Go to hell with your fucking drivel.

[reggie the dog]

66. pro drug testing Democrats piss me off

[minavasht]

72. You know

I love you very much too!

:-)

[sui generis]

7. this one is easy

either LabCorp or Quest is sponsoring Hatch's proposal.

Hatch is the personal buttmonkey of a concern with a prurient financial interest in getting paid to do UAs.

This meme is so old I want to ask it if dinosaurs really were green.

[IrishBuckeye]

8. Hatch, how about we test and regulate dietary supplements? Ohh, they give you millions that's why

Orrin Hatch is one of the main reasons the supplement industry has such lax regulations and rules on it so while he doesn't seem to give a shit about testing supplements and their claims he wants to test the poor for the drugs?

Let's get this right, test the poor for drugs but don't test the supplement drugs sold to millions??? Hmmmmmm, guess which group has given millions to Hatch over the years?


How the gentleman from Utah made it easier for kids to buy steroids, speed, and Spanish fly. (2001)
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/features/2001/0109.mencimer2.html


Festival Of Idiots #1 - Orrin Hatch For Exempting Dietary Supplements From FDA Approval (2009)
http://www.scientificblogging.com/rugbyologist/festival_idiots_1_orrin_hatch_exempting_dietary_supplements_fda_approval

[dajoki]

59. Thanks for the links n/t

[PJPhreak]

9. The only urine test I will give Mr Hatch is...

A Taste Test...Open wide!

[Raksha]

10. Shhhh...QUIET!!! Don't go giving Orrin Hatch any more bright ideas!

Re "Unemployment and welfare are just two of a long list of public benefits that the government hands out. Do we require homeowners to get a drug test before they get their mortgage tax deduction?"

He just didn't think of that one and I'd like to keep it that way.

[dajoki]

37. I was thinking the same thing n/t

[notadmblnd]

11. wouldn't it be great if hundreds of thousands of us sent him our urine samples?

But it'd probably be considered an act of terrorism.

[Yeahyeah]

57. or threw them at his house

[Morning Dew]

12. Hatch wants urine?

That monster is more the type to feed on the tears of small children.

[Lone_Star_Dem]

13. This could turn into a case of "be careful what you wish for."

[guitar man]

14. he can have it

Where is he standing and how do i get to the roof?

:evilgrin:

[bobbolink]

16. Isn't it strange that Corporate Welfare recipients aren't subjected to the same rules?

Hmmm, wasn't there some recent story about some group using Meth?

Wasn't that linked in some way to Salazar?

Hmmmm?

[Cresent City Kid]

54. Minerals Management Service, part of the Department of the Interior

They won't be tested, but I would guess that rank and file rig workers were from Deep Horizon as with most industrial accidents.

[joeybee12]

17. He does? Sorry, but that's a unsafe fetish...n/t

[KonaKane]

18. Senator Gasbag is the biggest hypocritical heap on the hill.

And has always been. As a native Utahn I'm very familiar with him, since he first got elected. My dad was press secretary for a while, for the honorable Frank Moss (D Utah) who Oral Snatch beat from the Senate seat.

Oral is a child of privilege on many fronts, most notably his questionable tax status, in which he avoids paying his fair share because he has meticulously put all his tax pertinent assets into his wife's name. You'd think that IRS would nail him for that but somehow, its legal. Oral is on a rampage to punish anyone who experiences some hard knocks in life, or a turn to misfortune. The very opposite of the good Christian man he thinks he is. On the contrary....he is like the warden of a debtor's prison, that big fat redfaced guy who went ballistic when Oliver Twist asked for "more". An anachronism from pre-labor and civil rights times.

Mostly, a disgusting pig who's presence has soiled Congress for far too long.

[Ezlivin]

19. Piss off

If the only way you can determine if a person is "on drugs" is via a urinalysis, then perhaps you could extend this "medical benefit" to allow the urinalysis to detect urinary tract infections, bilirubin, glucose and do a hemoglobin and Benedict's test.

It's ironic that the people who are so fearful of drugs portray them as this dangerous public problem when in the vast majority of cases the only way to determine if someone is using is by a laboratory test of their urine.

[REP]

20. A bottle of 100 10-test urinalysis strips is about $50...

I know, because I just got another one. These little tests can catch undiagnosed diabetes, kidney disease, urinary tract infections and liver disease ... but this simple test might require MORE spending (now; if these diseases are present, they will much more expensive later when they present in the late stages at an ER).

[bobbolink]

21. And you really believe Senator Bought and Paid For is concerned about our health???

[REP]

23. Reading Is Fundamental: read my post for what I wrote, not what you think I wrote

HTH HAND

[bobbolink]

25. Since you got snarky, that is the end of the conversation. Thank you for your commpassion toward

poor folk.

Thank you for adding to the current peaceful atmosphere at DU.

Good bye.

[REP]

26. You're welcome! HAND

[NutmegYankee]

71. That's an even worse possibility...

Oh, your drug testing showed you have Diabetes - You're fired!

[Brickbat]

22. Works for me.

As soon as all elected officials from the federal level to dogcatcher are tested randomly as well.

Might as well throw in bankers, real estate agents, lawyers and doctors, too.

Then it's OK. I'll support it then.

[Bitwit1234]

24. SOME ONE explain please

They don't want to approve more unemployment because it is costing MONEY AND WILL DRIVE UP THE DEFICIT. ((course we all know what Bush did to it)) But what in the world do you think the cost would be to drug test every person in this country who applies for unemployment. And how long do you think it would be, because with 10 million tests, before any thing would get done.

I have a better idea. I think congress idiots who make statements like this should be immediately sent to a psychiatrists office and made to be examined.

[Cleita]

27. This Senator needs to be un-elected the next time his term is up.

He and his toxic agenda, and those who are like him, are ruining our country and they don't seem to care.

[femrap]

29. Cheers, Orrin!

Drink up my cup! :toast: :spray:

[Sebastian Doyle]

36. Sure thing Orrin.

Why don't you come knock on my door and ask for my piss. I'll be happy to give it to you. Directly. Right in your face.

[Arkana]

39. From the source?

:evilgrin:

[Arkana]

38. As an unemployed American who has never, ever even entertained the thought

of doing drugs in his life, fuck you, Orrin Hatch. Just fuck you.

[maryf]

41. K&Rnt

[Yavin4]

42. "Why do we keep giving money to people who are going to go use it on drugs"

Damn, best argument I've heard regarding taxing the rich.

[bobbolink]

50. There ya go.

:yourock:

I seem to remember something in the news about a meth party with people from government and big company...........................

[spanone]

49. wish i could deliver mine in person, orrin

[Yeahyeah]

56. He's the skidmark on the holy underwear of life.

[unkachuck]

58. I don't feel....

....you're worth a cup of my piss, orrin, but if you must have it, or if you're thirsty, I'm willing to make the donation....

....Liberals are good people, orrin, we're always willing to help our fellow human being no matter what their fetish....

[Honeycombe8]

61. Ironic; it'd probably cost more to do periodic drug testing and maintain records of it than to just

Ironic, since it'd probably cost MORE to drug test all those people periodically, and follow up and maintain records, than to simply pay the benefits in the first place.

[11 Bravo]

62. I'm neither unemployed nor poor, but I would be happy to piss on Orrin Hatch.

[moriah]

69. Me too. n/t

[Hubert Flottz]

74. I couldn't piss mr. hatch but I was able to take a wee crap...Enjoy

Edit...Senator Urine Hatch is a real pisser.

[JoePhilly]

75. Better idea ... let's drug test the House and the Senate ... because ...

Hatch is clearly HIGH.