Yes, hate- a stong word for someone such as myself.  Here’s the new thing in IL- mess up and forget to register your plates on time and you have to jump through bureaucratic hoops.  I noticed yesterday my plates were expired.  Oops- they sent me notice two months ago but it got buried and forgotten.  No problem, I’ll just go to the currency exchange to reregister as I always do.  Nothing doing apparently- now they require an emissions test first.  What?  Of course, with expired plates it’s illegal to drive there.  So what do they do?  Make available temporary registration that I’m told will only allow me to legally drive to the test facility, nowhere else.  Are they convenient to obtain?  This is government we’re talking about, so what do you think?  I drove to the local DMV which I thought was full service.  Nope.  They gave me the addresses of the three closest places- all over 20 miles away (in Chicago traffic remember!).  So I’m left with a choice- knowingly drive illegally to the test station and hope they don’t check the registration, or jump through this latest hoop and hope I can still get registered before the price-increase deadline.  Nanny states- why many people love them I will never know.  Conservativism clearly rules the day here.

I have read some pretty scary stories of how politcally correct and bureaucratic the UK has become.  A recent story had some Muslims completely outraged at an advertisement for the police because it had a dog in it, which is considered unclean to them.  The proper response would have been something to the effect of “don’t be ridiculous- it’s just a dog.”  Instead the police apologized and said they would offer an alternative.  I guess it’s not surprising as the PC climate there is such that, if I heard correctly, the police aren’t even allowed to carry a gun with them- they must keep them in the trunks of their cars.

Anyway, the story I’m posting about leaves me shaking my head at where this world is going.  This couple has a teenage son who is epileptic (and has cerebral palsy) and often travels to school by means of a taxi.  Only mom and dad know how to use some special equipment they have if the boy goes into a seizure.  When driving their son to school, there is absolutely no problem whatsoever.  However, he usually has to take a cab due to the car not being available.  Mom has to go with him in case he has a fit, but get this, she isn’t allowed to because she hasn’t had a Criminal Records Bureau check.  Say what?  She’s the mom!  Apparently since the cab is provided for them, they have to follow the rules precisely- being mom doesn’t get her a waiver.  How ridiculous is that?  Of course, she’s going through the process, but really, why should she have to?  Anyway, here’s the link to the story:

Mother stopped from travelling with son in taxi to school