Topsy Turvy America

In America, you can get arrested for drinking a beer in public.

In Germany, one can legally walk around in public while drinking a beer. To do so is neither illegal, immoral, or unethical.

Of course, illegality, immorality, and unethical behavior are three entirely separate, and unique things. Suffice to say, they’re not the same.

In America, one cannot walk around in public while drinking a beer, or any other alcohol-containing beverage. In many, if not most, places, it’s illegal to do so – save, perhaps, for a few specially-designated areas, or upon certain occasions in those areas.

For example, it’s not uncommon to see pictures, or read news stories of college-aged students who can otherwise legally consume alcoholic beverages (being aged 21, or older), and even adults, who while enjoying almost any public beach in America, are accosted by local law enforcement authorities who either confiscate, or demand that the beer owner(s) destroy those ice-cold beverages by pouring them out, and sometimes, even arrest them, haul them off to jail, where they’re fingerprinted, photographed, and incarcerated, however briefly, as if they’re genuine threats to society, or had committed some grievously atrocious felony.

Of course, it almost goes without saying, that if anyone, anywhere in America was walking around in their local Wal-Mart, shopping while drinking a beer, the police would be called to the scene, and doubtlessly, the shopper/drinker would be arrested, and the story of it published on the worldwide web of the Internet for all the world to see.

Typically, in most all such instances, those individuals would be violating so-called “open container” laws, which forbid the public consumption of alcoholic beverages.

Yet interestingly enough, morbidly obese people can walk around in public eating hot dogs, doughnuts, and junk foods of seemingly innumerable variety and type, wash it all down with gallons of soda pop, and it’s not illegal to watch them commit their slow suicide in public, and no one dares think about calling the cops on them.

While it might seem that

Free To Drive Drunk? Are Mask Refuseniks Any Different From Drunk Drivers

Laws punishing drunk, or impaired driving are based upon principles of public health and public safety. That is to say, laws forbidding and punishing drunk driving are based historically upon the damages, injuries, and deaths caused by those who have driven while intoxicated.

At some point, The People refused to be abused and victimized any longer, stood up, and resoundingly said ‘NO MORE!‘, and passed legislation making such behavior and associated acts a serious crime. In some states, it’s not uncommon to read of individuals charged with DUI, who are also charged with the felonies of either murder, or criminally negligent homicide in cases where their actions resulted in the death of another.

Have laws against DUI stopped the offense or eliminated the injuries, damages, and deaths associated with the same?

No, but they have so significantly reduced them to the extent that such offenses and their associated damages are now the exception, rather than the rule.

The same principle applies to tobacco use, and smoking. It is a known carcinogen, and its consumption and use is a well-documented cause of numerous types of cancers, associated diseases, suffering, and early death – most notably recently, renown guitarist Eddie Van Halen, who died of metastatic oral cancer contracted from smoking aged 65.

Consequently, taxes upon tobacco have been increased in many areas, and places where its consumption is permitted is severely limited.

And so, now, we have COVID to deal with. Fundamentally, as far as the net effect – death, damage, and destruction – how is that any different? Seriously. Well over 250,000 lives unnecessarily lost in LESS THAN THE SPACE OF A YEAR, and with well over 13,000,000 cases, the good ol’ USA is the world’s NUMBER 1 repository of COVID-19… by far!

Yaay!
Thanks (for nothing) Trump!

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COVID-19, Masks and the Freedom to Drive Drunk

By Andrew Koppelman, Opinion Contributor
11/29/20 03:00 PM EST

Does freedom mean the right to refuse to wear a mask during the COVID-19 pandemic?  Many Americans think so. It is President Trump’s most important legacy. Here’s one implication that is too little noticed: If that is what freedom means, then we owe drunk drivers an apology.

The idea is shaping our world. Ignoring urgent expert advice, an Idaho health board recently rescinded its mask mandate, while 100 new cases were reported in one day and the local hospital was running out of beds. (A couple of weeks later, it reversed itself and imposed the mandate.) The board member who led the change explained, “I agree we have a problem with this virus, but at the same time I object to the mandate the board passed because it restricts people’s right of choice and ability to comply or not comply under penalty of law.” Another member said, “I personally do not care whether anybody wears a mask or not. If they want to be dumb enough to walk out there and expose themselves or others to it, they can.” The story was reported in the Daily Beast under the headline, “This really happened.”

This is a new and unfamiliar conception of freedom. Some people, notably New York Times columnist Paul Krugman, have blamed libertarianism for this stuff, but the standard libertarian story is that people have the right to do what they want as long as they don’t hurt anyone else. Now we are told that they have a right of choice even if they do hurt other people.

Drunk drivers were once casually tolerated. After Mothers Against Drunk Driving was founded in 1980 by a woman whose 13-year-old daughter was killed by one, attitudes and laws both became harsher. The proportion of fatal crashes involving drunk drivers plunged, from 53 percent in 1982 to 34 percent in 1997. There were over 26,000 drunk driving deaths in 1982, and fewer than 11,000 in 2018. I believe universal mask-wearing would have had a comparable effect. An estimated 100,000 or more lives would have been saved.

But, if you’re concerned about masks’ infringement on individual liberty, then why endure DWI (driving while intoxicated) laws? Masks are a lot cheaper than the cabfare home from the tavern, and then there’s the

Is DUI Worthy Of Death?

America’s historical laxity on DWI/DUI is infamous.

In some nations, as recently as 1978/9, anecdote suggests that DUI offenders in some nations may have been summarily executed… without trial.

But civilization, you know.

And due process.

There’s something to be said for them both.

And yet, due process is NOT laxity on law.

Consider some contemporary penalties for inebriated drivers in other nations:

• In Australia, the names of intoxicated drivers are sent to the local paper and are printed under the heading: “He’s drunk and in jail”.
• In England, drunk drivers face a one-year suspension of license, a $250 fine, and one year in jail.
• In France, there is a three-year loss of license, one year in jail, and a $1,000 fine.
• In Malaysia, the driver is jailed. If he is married, his wife is jailed, too.
• In Norway, the penalty is three weeks in jail at hard labor and one year loss of license. With a second offense within five years, the license is revoked for life.In Russia, the license is revoked for life.
• In South Africa, the penalty is a ten-year prison sentence and the equivalent of $10,000 fine, or both.
• In Turkey, drunks are taken ten miles from town by the police and forced to walk back under escort.

Nevertheless, that I’m aware, there’s little-to-no evidence to suggest that DUI is a capital offense – at least in America.

Or, is there?

There’s the late Rayshard Brooks of Atlanta, you know.

He was summarily executed – shot in the back – by Atlanta police officers for DUI.

Yeah.

And he wasn’t even driving.

That’s an “inconvenient truth” which some don’t want to talk about.

And then, I think about what John Adams (1735 – 1826) – American Diplomat, 2nd POTUS, father of John Quincy Adams, and “founding father” of the United States – said at a December 1770 mass murder trial in which he was the Attorney for the Defense.

“Facts are stubborn things;
and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations,
or the dictates of our passion,
they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence.”

— John Adams, statement made in “Argument in Defense of the Soldiers in the Boston Massacre Trials,” December 1770

At the time, Adams was aged 35.

And the defendants whom were accused of murder?

They were British soldiers of the 29th Regiment under the command an Irishman, Captain Thomas Preston.

Along with 4 civilians, the soldiers accused of murder were William Wemms, James Hartigan, William McCauley, Hugh White, Matthew Kilroy, William Warren, John Carrol and Hugh Montgomery.

The deceased victims of the event colloquially known as the “Boston Massacre” were Samuel Gray, Samuel Maverick, James Coldwell and Crispus Attucks, all who died immediately. Patrick Carr, who was wounded, died 9 days later.

The circumstances of the situation were that, late on the night of Monday, March 5, 1770, a crowd had gathered in front of the Customs House and confronted 8 British soldiers and Captain Preston. The soldiers, armed with muskets fitted with bayonets, formed a semi-circle as the crowd dared them to shoot. The scene was tense, and an unknown man in the crowd threw a club which struck a soldier, whereupon a shot was fired, which was followed by about 6 seconds of silence, followed by a volley of several shots. Many were wounded, including some who died instantly.

Enraged that troops under his command had fired without his order, Captain Preston commanded them to cease fire. Upon restoration of order, the troops departed the scene unscathed, leaving the peaceful civilian protesters feeling powerless.

Shortly, additional reinforcement British troops arrived on scene, which again escalated tensions, which had been significantly reduced following Captain Preston’s orders. Violence again seemed impending, but when Thomas Hutchinson made a quick speech from the balcony of the Town House guaranteeing that Captain Preston and his troops would be tried in court, the peaceful protesters were assuaged, the situation was thereby de-escalated, and the crowd dispersed.

According to the magistrate’s order, Captain Preston and the eight soldiers were to be tried separately.

John Adams headed the defense team, and with Josiah Quincy, the younger brother of

Florida Couple Gets Naked In Cop’s Car

USA Today, ever the paragon of journalistic integrity (hardly), has reported on a young man and woman who were arrested around 11:30PM ET in Nassau County, FL for DUI.

The problem began while they were riding their bicycles.

According to Jordan Culver, writer of the article, an unnamed “Nassau County Sheriff’s Office deputy saw Megan Mondanaro, 35, and Aaron Seth Thomas, 31, riding bikes without lights on around 11:30 p.m. Friday in Fernandina Beach.”

According to the article published September 17, 2019, 6:49PM ET, “Both riders cut into the middle of the road and were nearly hit by a car, which led the deputy to conduct a traffic stop, according to the [Deputy’s] report.”

In the report, the Deputy wrote that when the pair was stopped, he “detected a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage emitting from both of them.”

The news story stated that the Deputy “also noted Mondanaro and Thomas both had bloodshot and watery eyes and were slurring their words.”

The story then states that the two were “arrested on DUI charges and placed in the back of the deputy’s patrol car.”

The arresting Deputy then searched Mr. Thomas’ backpack and found 7 full cans, and 1 empty can, of the alcoholic malt beverage “Four Loko.”

The arresting officer’s report then stated in part that, “While I was outside my patrol vehicle, Megan and Aaron took their clothes off and

134,971,077 Reasons So Far This Year For #ALpolitics To #LegalizeIt & #Tax #Cannabis

If one were to look at Colorado as an example of reasons to legalize cannabis, there would be at least 134,971,077 reasons this year so far to FULLY legalize it not only in Alabama, but nationwide.

You see, $134,971,077 is the “Total All Marijuana Taxes, Licenses, Calendar Year-to-Date” Colorado has collected.

ref: State of Colorado Marijuana Taxes, Licenses, and Fees Transfers and Distribution Tax Revenue from July 2017
https://www.colorado.gov/pacific/revenue/colorado-marijuana-tax-data

But if one were to completely ignore the increased voluntary revenue, there are other topics raised.

And of course, opponents of cannabis legalization make assertions like DUI rates will increase. But, there’s nothing like the truth to dispel such specious claims. Remember: Specious means “superficially plausible, but actually wrong.”

So here are some facts on that very matter from Oregon, which has also legalized cannabis for recreational purposes.

“Five to ten times more drivers who were involved in fatal accidents in Oregon between 2004 and 2014 had alcohol in their system than THC. As with THC intoxication, the overall trend of alcohol intoxication in fatal accidents has been an increase since 2010, although alcohol-related fatalities spiked significantly in 2015 while THC-related fatalities decreased slightly.”

ref: 2015 House Bill 3400 DUII Legislative Report
http://www.oregon.gov/olcc/marijuana/Documents/HB3400_2015_DUIILegislativeReport.pdf

“Overall traffic fatalities increased substantially in all three states [CO, OR, WA] between 2014 and 2015 and cannot be explained by THC-related fatalities. This data illustrates that traffic fatalities overall remain a significant problem, independent of THC-related crashes.”

Logically, and rationally, legalizing Cannabis is common sense, for the following two simple reasons:

The Man Who Would Be #ALpolitics Governor Is No Longer A Contender.

Alabama State Senator Cam Ward’s booking shot by Shelby County Sheriff’s Department following his DUI arrest by Alabaster Police Department.

In what could only be described as a total shock to political observers statewide, Alabama State Senator Cam Ward (R, Alabaster), age 44 of Alabaster, a licensed attorney, was arrested Wednesday & charged with DUI by the Alabaster Police Department, and booked into Shelby County jail without bond.

He represents Senate District 14, which includes parts of Shelby, Chilton, Jefferson, Bibb and Hale counties.

Shelby County Alabama Sheriff’s Department Inmate Search page showing Alabama State Senator Cam Ward booked on a DUI charge with no bond set.

In addition to having been influential in

Research: Lowering BAC to .05 will NOT reduce traffic deaths

We’re now hearing the drumbeat to lower the BAC (Blood Alcohol Content) for DUI (Driving Under the Influence) from 0.08 to 0.05.

However, research by the NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) shows in 2008, the MAJORITY of drivers involved in fatal crashes in ALL 50 states had 0% BAC.

Put another way, in the MAJORITY of ALL traffic fatalities in ALL 50 states, the drivers were TOTALLY SOBER.

Yes, you read that correctly.

Huntsville man claims “police brutality”

William Frazier, of Huntsville, AL hopes to become Huntsville’s newest minted millionaire. There’s only one problem… he claims Huntsville police beat him after he eluded them in a chase of several miles.

Mr. Frazier, whom is aged 80 years, ran traffic lights, purposely avoided “stop sticks” – devices placed in the roadway to puncture a fleeing suspect’s tires – narrowly avoided several collisions with oncoming vehicles, and only after encountering a police car barricade, finally stopped… but did not place his vehicle in park, refused to exit his vehicle after police ordered him out, and was forcibly removed from his vehicle, where he further resisted arrest, was subsequently handcuffed and raised to his feet by at least three officers, then stumbled and was caught.

William Frazier, 80, of Huntsville, Alabama, eluded police for three miles, now claims he was abused by HPD officers.

The Huntsville Times, a Corporately Owned Newspaper (CON), released this photograph of Mr. Frazier which is purported to be taken in the Emergency Department at Huntsville Hospital – though it was not taken by hospital officials.