Traffic Deaths Up 21% Despite Cell Phone Ban!
Posted on December 3, 2008
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Well, this could be filed in the “no duh” category…
As of July 1, 2008 it is now illegal to drive in the state of California while talking on a hand-held cell phone. Like most ridiculous laws this was passed in order to make us “safer”. According to my local paper-
[A]s of Nov. 26 local traffic enforcement officers have issued 67 tickets for violations of the new law which went into effect July 1, making it illegal for any driver to use a hand-held cell phone while operating a vehicle. [In a town of less than 25,000 drivers]
[…]
The Gilroy Police Department did not have the most recent data available at press time, but as of Oct. 8, officers there issued the same number of tickets (67) to Gilroy drivers, according to GPD Sgt. Jim Gillio. [In a town of less than 40,000 drivers]
And the California Highway Patrol cited 150 people in Santa Clara and San Benito counties for violations of the hand-held cell phone law as of Nov. 8, according to CHP spokesman Chris Armstrong.
Those numbers seem pretty high to me, and they must be having a positive effect, right? Well then please explain the following quote from an SFGate article-
Statewide, 37 people died in Labor Day weekend traffic deaths as of 6 a.m. Monday, up from 32 for the same period last year, the CHP said.
That’s a “shocking” increase of 21% in traffic fatalities! Is it possible that the government lied to us? Could they merely have passed this supposed “safety” measure merely to benefit their pocketbooks? Well, returning to the Morgan hill Times article I first quoted-
Based on these numbers, the law has provided a steady stream of revenue for the state, Santa Clara County, and local police departments.
First-time offenders of the cell phone law are required to pay a $94 ticket, according to Carl Schulhof of the Santa Clara County Superior Court. While the base bail amount for the ticket is only $20, the final price tag includes a variety of state mandated penalty assessments which produce funds that are divvied up among “all kinds of revenue distribution categories,” including EMS, the court, and municipal agencies, Schulhof said.
He said the formula that determines who gets what from each fine is “fairly complex,” and he did not know how much of the revenue the MHPD would receive from each fine. However, he suggested the amount would be small after all the other agencies and departments have taken their cut.
With each subsequent violation of the hands-free cell phone requirement, the penalty assessments increase, and a second offense can result in a fine of more than $200, Schulhof added.
The citation is not considered a moving violation, so it does not automatically tarnish a motorist’s driving record.
Specifically exempted from the law are emergency service professionals who use a cell phone while operating an emergency vehicle.
Yep, sure looks like it’s all about “safety” to me. That would explain both the high level of fines and the fact that it doesn’t go on a driver’s record. And who else is completely unsurprised by the fact that government employees are exempted from yet another law that the rest of us serfs must follow?
Related Posts: » Filed Under: Living Free, Police, Road Trippin'
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Sears Wants You To Give Even More Of Your Money To The Military
Posted on December 1, 2008
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Apparently, Sears thinks the government isn’t sending enough of our money to the soldiers and they’re ready to do something about it with their Sears Heroes at Home Wish Registry. Make sure you read that title correctly. Sears isn’t offering to send the soldiers more money. No, they’re asking that you send more of your money to soldiers and their families in the form of Sears gift cards. And they’re making it easy by setting up a web page (linked above) for just that purpose.
At first glance it may seem that Sears will be providing holiday gifts to needy military families. But nothing on the site actually says this. All it says is that donations are not tax deductible (which means they aren’t charitable donations of any kind under law) and that the funds will be used to purchase Sears gift cards to distribute to all “registered families”. It then provides a box into which you can enter the dollar amount you’re willing to give to Sears in order for it to be passed on to “registered families”. I could not find anywhere to register to become one of these families, so have no idea what the criteria is, but there are even more problems with this Heroes At Home program.
There’s also a list of the Top 100 items that “military families told us they really need this holiday season”. Number 13 is a Nintendo Wii, #16 - an ATV, #24 - Nintendo DS, #31 - Giant Four Story Dollhouse, #42 - Sony PSP, #68 - Flat Screen TV, #93 Video Camera, and #100 Automatic Pet Feeder. Sorry, Sears, but no one (military or not) “really needs” a single one of those items.
Besides, as I always say when confronted with these “Support Our Troops” so-called charitable events: 1) they aren’t my troops, and 2) I’m already supporting them - my taxes are forcibly taken to pay their salaries. If these families can’t afford to buy the stuff they want for the hoidays they should find themselves another job that pays what they think they deserve.
If Sears wants to supply selected military families with gift cards no one is stopping them, but I find it somewhat sickening that you’re asking others to do what you’re not willing to and profiteering off it in the mean time by forcing the recipients to shop at your stores. That’s not charity, it’s advertising.
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Christmas At Six Flags Discovery Kingdom - Holiday In The Park
Posted on December 1, 2008
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Zaira and I attended opening weekend of the second annual Holiday In The Park celebration at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom on Saturday. This event is really starting to come together and we had a wonderful time. Arriving early we were able to get our photos taken with numerous Looney Tunes characters and holiday mascots before the park even officially opened. The theme for this year’s event was Land, Sea and Snow (playing off the park’s three themed areas of Land, Sea and Sky), but even though the park definitely felt wintry and the holiday spirit was evident everywhere there was really not very much in the way of snow.
There was a small “pen” of snow behind the stage in the food court area which hosts the Frosty The Snowman show during Holiday In The Park. And they did have the advertised snow sledding available, though it’s not really much of a hill. To their credit, however, this was real snow (or at least ice)and not some kind of plastic, foam or other artificial snow-like substance. And Zaira (who’s never had a chance to sled down a real snow hill) enjoyed all four of her sledding trips.
Z was excited about the snow, but I was most excited about the fact that their wooden roller coaster, Roar, would be open for the holidays this year, unlike the inaugural Holiday In The Park in 2007. If your favorite ride is near the animals, though then you’re out of luck. Everything past (and including) Boomerang and the Tasmanian Devil is closed for the winter. We wouldn’t want to disturb the critters in the cold, now would we?
That doesn’t mean there isn’t anything to sit and watch, however. Shouka (the killer whale), Merlin (the dolphin) and the sea lions all have special holiday shows for the animal lovers. There is also A Toy Box Christmas every hour on the Oasis Stage, Looney Tunes Xmas Karaoke in place of the “Talent Show”, a Scrooge puppet who heckles and interacts with the audience, Driver Daniel reading Thomas’ Christmas Delivery in Thomas Town, a holiday parade, and a five minute Frosty The Snowman show in the main food area. 
We skipped the Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony this year, having seen it with the world’s largest Christmas Tree last year, but sat in on Scrooge, Frosty and Xmas Karaoke.
Frosty The Snowman at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom
Looney Tunes Christmas Show at Discovery Kingdom
Zaira Sings ‘Deck The Halls’ with the Looney Tunes
We rode Medusa, Roar and Cobra (the latter just for the great holiday ride photo frame they had available), skipped Kong (Z hates it and there’s no ride photo), wandered the Christmas Tree Forest, Candy Cane Lane and Lollipop Lane, and “met” the new baby stingray at Sting Ray Bay.
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Got Code? Then Take The IDUG XML Challenges!
Posted on November 30, 2008
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The International DB2 Users Group (IDUG) is sponsoring not one, but five different contests (or challenges) as they refer to them centered around using XML, XQuery and DB2 more effectively. Whether you’re a student just starting to learn about these technologies or a greybeard who has written the documentation followed by the aforementioned students there will surely at least one IDUG contest will offer you either excitement, challenge or enjoyment (if not all three).
- Monthly Video Contest: Judged by the IDUG community, all you need to do is upload an XML focused video. Prizes will be awarded monthly.
- Monthly Gadget Contest: Simply create a small widget or gadget that will be judged by the IDUG community. Prizes will be awarded monthly.
- Port an Application: has your favorite app been ported to use XML, XQuery or DB2? If not, do the work yourself and possibly win a prize. Judged by a panel of judges.
- Develop an Application: Better yet, develop a brand new application using XML and/or XQuery and enter this challenge. Judged by a panel of judges.
- Take The XQuery Challenge: All you need to do is answer a series of questions by developing queries in XQuery. All correct answers (both query structure and solutions) will be entered to win larger prizes.
So, there you have it. Now go get your geek on!
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Thanksgiving, Pilgrims and Freedom
Posted on November 30, 2008
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It seems as though every year some freedom organization or another brings out William Bradford’s journal as evidence of how communism didn’t work for the pilgrims while a free market system was what really led to the first Thanksgiving. This year, it was Free Talk Live that tried to make the case. Unfortunately, they all miss a few important points.
First of all, the pilgrims first Thanksgiving in America was in 1621 when Bradford (governor of the Plymouth Colony) reported that the bounty was plentiful. His tale of the free market system overcoming the original communist system in the colony is relating events from 1623 - when they had not received supplies from England in nearly two years.
More importantly, however, those who claim this is a true victory for freedom is the fact that the pilgrims didn’t even own their land, much less than anything else. In fact, the entirety of the Plymouth Colony remained the property of King James I who authorized the Council for New England to plant and govern land in the area. The Pilgrims had a contract stating all land and profits would accrue to the Company for 7 years at which time the assets would be divided among the shareholders. Most of the Pilgrims held some stock. The Pilgrims negotiated a more favorable contract with the Company in 1626. In 1627, Plymouth colony determined upon a new economic arrangement with 53 Plymouth freemen (the “Purchasers”) agreeing to buy out the Company over a period of years.
It was during this renegotiation that the 3rd problem arises as the Pilgrims returned to their original division of debt-
“So they caled ye company togeather, and conferred with them, and came to this conclusion, that ye trade should be managed as before, to help to pay the debts; and all such persons as were above named should be reputed and inrouled for purchasers; single free men to have a single share, and every father of a familie to be alowed to purchass so many shares as he had persons in his family; that is to say, one for him selfe, and one for his wife, and for every child that he had living with him, one. As for servants, they had none, but what either their maisters should give them out of theirs, or their deservings should obtaine from ye company afterwards. Thus all were to be cast into single shares according to the order abovesaid; and so every one was to pay his part according to his proportion towards ye purchass, & all other debts, what ye profite of ye trade would not reach too; viz. a single man for a single share, a maister of a famalie for so many as he had. This gave all good contente.”
We all know at this point that communism doesn’t work and that coercive government of sovereign human beings is not only evil but ultimately ineffective. There are examples of both surrounding us every day, so please, please stop dragging the poor pilgrims into the mix. They were all essentially slaves themselves.
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Thinking Engagement? Think Platinum!
Posted on November 30, 2008
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For a guy who’s not really a fan of institutions I’ve actually written quite a bit about the institution of marriage here at Philaahzophy. It seems that the men and women around me don’t share my general opinion of the ritual. And everyone knows that we’re quickly approaching the three biggest proposal days of the year: Christmas, New Year’s Eve and Valentine’s Day.
When I got married I could barely afford any ring, but […] Continue Reading…
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