Quote of the Day–Benjamin Franklin: 011011

Printers are educated in the Belief, that when Men differ in Opinion, both Sides ought equally to have the Advantage of being heard by the Publick; and that when Truth and Error have fair Play, the former is always an overmatch for the latter. –Benjamin Franklin (Apology for Printers 1731)

[With the Pima County Sheriff attacking free speech we must be reminded as to why it is such an important thing.  Free speech helps to ensure that the public can get both sides of an argument that they may become educated and make their own decisions regarding the material.  Currently the blame game is going around in circles and what makes me the most sick though is they are now using it to destroy the rights of the rest of us.  -B]

Red Light Cameras

So reading through the blogosphere yesterday Uncle posted about someone getting 5 red light tickets, but they weren’t his.  I had meant at the time to do a blog post on the subject but never got around to it.  Uncle’s post gave me renewed vigor.

Red light cameras strike a special nerve with me.  The arguments for their use are much like the arguments for gun control, it makes everyone safer.  The actual numbers from the field though show the complete opposite however, again, just like gun control.

My mom got a red light ticket back home.  It was actually her vehicle in this instance.  A couple weeks later some friends of hers who live out of town called and asked about the same intersection.  The interesting thing though about these tickets is they were for turning right on red, which is legal at that intersection.

As it is a sequence of still photographs as opposed to video, you can not defend yourself by showing you came to a complete stop.  You’re stuck paying the ticket.  Ahh, a ticket, maybe it is done for revenue.  Camera tickets are not reported to insurance companies or otherwise scored in your driving record.  It’s the equivalent of getting a parking ticket(California and Oregon excluded).  You are requested to pay this please for doing X, it’s a penance, except they’re charging people now a penance for something that is legal.  I voiced my displeasure by preaching to the choir and then it happened.  An article was posted in the town paper from where I grew up.  I read the article and damn near had an embolism from my blood pressure going through the roof.

Those who question the program’s validity will admit that there does seem to be a relationship between the cameras and the safety of people. Unfortunately, some politicians and pundits are inserting a “but …” and making claims that just are not true.

After my initial rage subsided I decided that I needed to bitch beyond the choir, to the no talent ass clowns politicians pushing this garbage.  After forwarding the article to “The Short Lady with the Grey Hair” she decided to send a letter as well.  Here is a copy of my letter for the internet to retain for all eternity.

Mr. Lewis,
There are some other issues you do not cover in your statement regarding photo enforcement at intersections.

As the rates of people committing infractions drop, revenue decreases.  Revenue is needed to maintain and operate the cameras.  As that revenue drops either the cameras are no longer maintained, or things are done which produce false positives to create revenue.  In either case people are or can be falsely cited for infractions.  Examples of this are ticketing everyone who turns right on red even though it’s legal.  As it is only pictures, NOT video it is impossible to prove guilt using them, however in a court room the images are looked at as divine judgment of guilt.

I will not argue that they can help decrease accidents, however accidents are caused by people blowing lights as through traffic.  Making a right hand turn on red is perfectly legal unless specific sings are in place to indicate otherwise.  However when I hear of different individuals getting a ticket for something perfectly legal at the same intersection is shows corruption and greed within the system.  It displays the real need for these cameras is to increase revenue.

Mr. Lewis, the facts of how these cameras are used and operated, coupled with the difficulty in defending yourself from a ticket for a legal procedure indicates a gross abuse by the local government against it’s citizens as well as visitors.  I grew up in Auburn and remember it prior to it’s explosion to it’s current state.  There is a reason I now live in a town with not a single stop light.  However when I talk to friends and relatives who still remain in the area about getting a ticket for turning right on red, where there is no indication it is illegal to do so, it makes me disappointed to say I grew up in Auburn.  It makes it obvious that Auburn’s intention with the system is not to increase safety, but rather to increase revenue by false citations to the citizenry.  Eventually the locals will know not to turn right on red, but what about people from out of town visiting.  Couple that with the distance and you have a guaranteed payout.

This is completely independent of the fact that the idea of red light and speeding cameras are grossly Orwellian in nature and indicate a subservience of the public to the state.  In our “free” republic, people are elected to represent the will of the public, not do as they wish.  When issues are brought up it is your duty as a public servant to address them.  That includes saying you made a mistake instead of continuing to push public policy to preserve your public image.  I would suggest finding a local scout organization and sitting through the “citizenship” merit badges.  The questions of efficacy in this instance I do not feel center around preventing accidents, but whether those who are ticketed have actually committed a crime.

Sincerely,

TMM

I haven’t seen or heard a reply and I’m sure it was probably just tossed the garbage.  So instead it will be placed on the internet, for all to see and enjoy.  This will also provide another case for others who find themselves in the same predicament to use in support of their case when fighting a ticket ill gotten penance required by the force of government.

State Department Changing Passport Applications

Normally I wouldn’t care, however this for some reason has just rubbed something the wrong way. 

“The words in the old form were ‘mother’ and ‘father,’” said Brenda Sprague, deputy assistant Secretary of State for Passport Services. “They are now ‘parent one’ and ‘parent two.’”

I initially didn’t think much other than, “The economy is in the tank and they have nothing better to do.”  Then I talked to my mom and she pointed out something that I hadn’t considered. You are now placing numbers on individuals, number 1 and number 2, primary and secondary.  You now will be placing an importance on which parent is more significant.  As my mother said, “Most of the time the father will always come first.”  From the continuing conversation she felt it a slight towards women in the home and belittling them into second place.  While some families may have an environment which supports such a description, most do not, furthermore many will feel slighted by it.  Note my mom made that statement as one of her first complaints when I informed her of it, she made that connection in her mind with very little effort.

This is by no means the end of the world, but I do dislike it because it is the further infection of political correctness for the sake of political correctness,  much like rewriting Tom Sawyer.

Update: Side comment from “The Short Lady With the Grey Hair”: If anyone asks about your mother’s feminist standing, you can state that you were raised in a traditional two parent home with each parent holding the traditional roles. She does support many of the actions of feminism but resents the actions of any group that attempts to neutralize the roles that others play in society or the home. Feminists or homosexuals or transexualts or religious nuts. There are too many more important things to be worrying about. Wake up and smell both the coffee and the roses.

Internet ID

Since our fearless leaders couldn’t pass the National ID bull crap.  Instead they feel that they can back door it.

It’s “the absolute perfect spot in the U.S. government” to centralize efforts toward creating an “identity ecosystem” for the Internet, White House Cybersecurity Coordinator Howard Schmidt said.

So, the government should centralize the Identification system.  Then they say this though:

“We are not talking about a national ID card,” Locke said at the Stanford event. “We are not talking about a government-controlled system. What we are talking about is enhancing online security and privacy and reducing and perhaps even eliminating the need to memorize a dozen passwords, through creation and use of more trusted digital identities.”

How can you have a centralized Digital ID system without some sort of national ID if it’s all controlled by the government?  This idea violates the Jews in the Attic test and should be promptly dismissed.

TSA, Lost Fliers and EPIC Lawsuits

Via Oleg: TSA behavior is causing more and more people to quit flying.  Not only that but it is causing people who are nude models to be uncomfortable.  The whole concept that one group of strangers is allowed to record intimate pictures of individuals without their consent while others can just don’t make sense.  Not to mention the fact that the TSA has been known to hire sexual deviants. Back in 2004 I swore I would never fly again until The Security Theater is abolished.  I know many others who will only fly commercially for business and tourism in the US has decreased due to the TSA.


Via Alan: The Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) has filed lawsuit against the TSA for their security scanners.  The TSA has filed a brief in response, but what really got my attention about their brief:

DHS explains why the Court should not stop TSA from using the naked body scanners until the legality of it all is decided.

Translation: “So we’re breaking the law and we would like to be allowed to continue to do such until such time as you actually issue your ruling saying we’re breaking the law.”    The TSA Steals, Molests, and Abuses our American citizenry under color of law.  They should be destroyed.  If only there was a way.

TSA and the Law

Janet Napolitano played down the idea of migrating to an Israeli type security screening at airports here in the United States despite the back lash from the sexual assaults intrusive patdowns and screenings.

“There are some differences in the laws and the legal constraints that we abide by,” she said. “There may be some things that can be shared (with Israel) and some things that would not … The practices and techniques that we use will differ and do differ.”

What Janet really means by that statement is, “Currently we are actually violating the law, should we stop we might loose control over some of the sheep we have trained.”  By violating the 4th Amendment you have already shown the fact that you completely disregard the law, including the most important ones.

 

No you do not have to violate anyone’s 4th Amendment rights because they want to fly.  This is absurd and beyond belief.  There is absolutely no justification for it.  They attempt to claim justification but the truth of the matter is that necessity is the plea of every infringement!  How many people has TSA actually saved?  On the other side of that equation though, how many people abused by the TSA has stopped a terrorist attack?

This whole thing is a farce and a power grab.  This whole mess is worse than Russia in 1989.  What the hell is it going to take to wake these sheep up?

CIA creates a new taskforce

The CIA created a new taskforce today to asses the impact of WikiLeaks. The new task force is the WikiLeaks Task Force, or WTF for short.

Finally they use an acronym that describes exactly what everyone is thinking!

Obama seeks to force votes on spending cuts

Isn’t it ironic? Obama wants to force spending cuts on lawmakers, yet he partakes in deficit spending to “help the economy“.

Obama’s National Dept Impact
Upon Inauguration:    $10,626,877,048,913
As of May 21, 2010:    $12,987,796,841,337
Increased by:        $2,360,919,792,424