Posted on 10/22/2012 10:07:51 AM PDT by 92nina
The nanny-staters have been busy this week finding every way they can attack your freedom.
Grant aimed at creating a force of peeping-toms: If you live in Massachusetts and Connecticut, watch out! The Department of Transportation has announced a grant for expanding these states’ ability to spy on drivers to make sure they are not texting while driving. Besides the obvious invasion of privacy, this money is wasted on preventing a behavior that is not linked to a marked increase in traffic fatalities. “The irony here is that the statistics really don’t bear out the ideas that these things are really as deadly as the federal government keeps telling us,” say a senior fellow of the Cato Institute. The government is spending thousands on creating a force of peeping-toms that will do nothing but peer into your car and pull you over if you do not behave the way they desire.
A ban on “hazardous” and “messy” snacks: No more Cheetos for kids at the LBJ Middle School in New Mexico. Another school has joined the crusade against allowing parents to dictate what snacks their kids can eat in schools. The school sent a letter home stating that this snack should be left home due to what the schools claims as “poor nutrition,” a cause of the spread of germs and a mess. The teacher who initiated the ban claimed it is a “health hazard” and a mess. One wonders what the next snack to be placed on the “messy” and “hazardous” list will be.
Purposed ban on people trying to make a living: St. Petersburg, Florida has decided to place many people out of a job for misguided safety concerns. The city is considering a ban on “sign spinners,” or people who are paid to stand on the road and advertise for companies. Council members claim that the safety of these sigh holders is there concern. However, one business owner says he knows of not a single incident where a sign spinner is harmed from being out near the street. Furthermore, one spinner, who was recently homeless, will end up back on the street if this ban is passed: “If they do that than if puts me right back where I came from.”
Another city to ban smoking outdoors: Despite overwhelming opposition from members of the community, Hopkinsville, Kentucky has banned all smoking in the city. Even worse this ban forces businesses to act as the soldiers for the mayor’s war on freedom. This is the most recent victory for the anti-smoking zealots, making Hopkinsville the seventh city in Kentucky to ban smoking city-wide.
Stay off your own lawn: In Irondale, Alabama, families will be banned from parking in their own front yards. In a 3-2 vote during a town meeting, the council banned parking in the front yard, with a $50 dollar fine for violating. In a show of arrogance, one council member said that if people actually opposed this, more would have shown up to the meeting that was announced 2 days prior and was held at 4 pm on a work day. Opponents rightly criticize this ban for it will disproportionately harm low-income and large families who need, in many cases, to park in their own yards.
1. That 13,000 of new government regulations of Obamacare are a good thing.
2. That socialism (government works).
3. That government bureaucrats controlling what we eat and drink they do it for our own good.
etc.
Seriously? Are you saying texting is a safe driving behavior? Spying is one thing. Lying to support your case is another.
To be a democrat you have to believe:
1. That 13,000 PAGES of new government regulations of Obamacare are a good thing.
2. That socialism (government works).
3. That government bureaucrats controlling what we eat and drink they do it for our own good.
etc.
I don’t mind police looking in to see if drivers are texting and driving. I hate the nanny state as much as the next guy but if you are in your car, people can look in through the window. If you are texting, you should be pulled over. There are many more nanny-state laws that bother me worse than this.
Wasn’t there a train engineer “texting while driving” who got his train derailed/collided a few years back in LA, killing a bunch of people?
The government and Obama are the enemy and threat not texters.
To give these Marxists power over us for ANY reason is pure insanity. This is how they got the foot in the door and now what do we have this huge growing government at all levels.
so then people say “Why they ought to do something, write a law”
So now they banned 100 watt light bulbs, soon cars will have to have ridiculously high gas mileage and they are destroying our coal , oil industries with the EPA all because of the fake threat of global warming.
And they do this constantly . Now we have to wear seat belts or they will harass us.
The only real threat is Obama and the government and the media. you all empower them and allow them to control your mind.
funny that i never had a texter wreck into me and so what if it does. guess you all are for Bloomber and Obama puttin texters and 32 oz soda drinkers in prison too. ridiculous
>>this money is wasted on preventing a behavior that is not linked to a marked increase in traffic fatalities.
Fatalities? Perhaps. What about auto accidents? In the last 4 years, I have been rear-ended by a person texting and my wife was rear-ended by a person texting. I’ve been driven onto the shoulder by texters many times. I’ve seen texters startled by a red light turning green in the lane beside them and jumping out in the intersection on a red turn light.
If I had a choice between sharing the road with drunks or texters, I’d choose the drunks because at least they are looking out the windshield.
“...a behavior that is not linked to a marked increase in traffic fatalities”
__________________________
The author needs to substantiate this. Personally, I think that “texting” very much contributes to automobile accidents, injuries and fatalities.
Well you should get Bloomberg and Obama to ban cars or humans so you will be safe.
Actually its government roads that are the problem.
with private roads then you could choose from among alternatives what kind of road and who was allowed on that private road , you know freedom , freedom of choice. the problem is not texters , it’s GOVERNMENT roads.
I don’t think you can lump them together. Nanny state is banning light bulbs and soda. I’m against that. Those things hurt no one but yourself. Texting and driving is a hazard and a fairly obvious one — no one can be reading something and watching the road at the same time. It doesn’t bother me anymore than the police giving someone a ticket for any other violation does.
I don’t happen to think that ALL laws are a menace to my freedom. Example: I like laws that require a photo ID to vote.
;-)
Careful....you’re using common sense.
;-)
It's up to you to keep yourself safe.
You trust government and government police to keep you safe from texters? How is the crime in the U.S.? So you want to give these government morons more power . This is their plan , they keep getting more and more power over us (more laws and regulations every week). What you don’t have enough government yet? I say enough of government . government is the problem not texters or anything the media says. We have to stand up to the media and government not be fooled into giving them more power. their goal is total power and with each law you allow them to write ( for our own good of course) then you get them closer to their goal. Yeah sure they won’t abuse all the power we are giving them over us of course government idiots are perfect angels. You people are against freedom .
It’s up to you to keep yourself safe.
I do not like the overreach, but texting is definitely a dangerous behavior while driving. I’m guilty of it myself, and have had a few close calls because of it, and am no longer doing it no matter how much I want to. I fully believe that texting is more dangerous than drinking (unless severely drunk). When you are drinking, you are still looking at the road, your reaction times may be diminished somewhat, but when you are looking at the road you at least have the opportunity to react. If you are not looking at the road you will not react, and you can easily start drifting to the left or right and not realize it.
I can protect myself from crime , I have security alarms , guns etc from the private sector. thousands of women and men and children have been raped and murdered because they didn't arm themselves ( some of them trusted gov to keep them safe).
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