I guess I am just a 128th of an inch to the left of anarchy.

A of of the laws we are subjected to are pure unadulterated bull$hit designed to take money out of our pockets.

A while back they lowered the limit to .08 and found that there was no difference in traffic accidents between the new .08 and the old .10. instead of putting it back they left it at .08. They did this for revenue generation purposes. That's a crock.

Nobody has a right to endanger the public so we do need laws to keep drunks off of the streets. It's fairly inarguable. Drunk drivers kill a lot of people.

Now let's define drunk driving.

The way I see it, drunk driving is just that. You are impaired, behind the wheel of a car in gear with the engine running on a public thoroughfare. You are actually operating a vehicle on the road while being under the influence. Fair enough.

Now let's look at what drunk driving is not.

It is not a person sacked out in the back seat sleeping it off. Actually this tends to create drunk drivers because if one stands to get a DUI for sleeping there he really ought to get the hell out of there and get home where he can sleep with no fear of being arrested.

It is not some guy on a lawn tractor mowing his lawn no matter how drunk he is. He's on private property and is harming nobody. He is only a danger to himself which is none of the government's business. He is creating no clear and present danger to the public.

If two people under the influence are in the cab of a pickup they are not both drunk drivers. There can only be one driver. The other person is a passenger. The passenger is committing no crime. Yet that's the law in one state.

Much of what passes for drunk driving is not. 

The old line of 'keys in the ignition' means little or nothing. It does not prove intent and even intent really means little. A case of someone sleeping in the back seat with the keys in the ignition really is evidence that the person was making a fairly honest effort not to endanger the public. He doesn't need to be arrested. He needs to be left alone so he can get some sleep. Yet in a lot of states he's going to be carted off to the pokey.

While I am using the current DUI laws as an example, a lot of this attitude carries over to other things. Many laws are just used to generate revenue. Seat belt laws are a pretty good example. The public is in no way endangered if someone doesn't want to wear a seat belt. Maybe the driver is, but it ought to be his choice.

If government needs the money than either stop spending (preferable) or honestly raise taxes. 









To find out why the blog is pink just cut and paste this: http://piccoloshash.blogspot.com/2009/12/my-feminine-side-blog-stays-pink.html NO ANIMALS WERE HARMED IN THE WRITING OF TODAY'S ESSAY