I’m not sure whether to feel safe or watched. A strong police presence has turned up in the north end lately. The Proctor District in particular has been teeming with squad cars. Has there been a flare-up of crime? Are they bored? Are they here to write more traffic tickets? I suppose I should feel safe when I see cops in the neighborhood, but instead I always assume they are sitting on the side of the road, waiting for speeders to trigger their radar gun, all while browsing internet porn favorites.
Laws
Red light cameras in Tacoma, part II
Things have gone completely downhill since we last visited the topic of Tacoma’s shiny, new red light cameras. More of these little buggers are popping up all the time. Kamerakrieg is well underway around town and I’m much more pissed off than before. The dipshits over at traffic central are rumored to be enjoying the view from inside each other’s asses; meanwhile red light camera revenue is piling up at a huge cost to local taxpayers.
Timing these intersection cameras with the downturn in the economy, outrageous gas prices, the sinking dollar, real estate crisis and stagnant wages appears evil and calculated at first glance. Alas, I will have the politicians’ back on this one. It was not entirely evil calculation that got us to this point. It couldn’t possibly have been planned this way because they are too inept over there to be directly responsible for such accurate timing.
What can you do to help fight the war on red light cameras? I would like to recommend that you avoid these camera-enforced intersections at all cost to avoid contributing to this diabolical revenue stream (not to mention sitting through green lights while waiting to turn left, for fear of being fined $100).
Don’t we realize this is just the first step toward infinite public surveillance? Is that where we want to be in 10 years? I sort of like the idea of not being on camera everyfuckingwhere I go. Who’s with me?
New Text Messaging Law: Legislative Projectile Vomit
As if the new red light cameras in town weren’t a big enough joke, our lawmakers have made themselves look even more pathetic than once believed possible.
It’s finally here — the subjective law to end all subjective laws.
Apparently screaming at your children in the backseat, masturbating, smoking, changing CD’s, picking your nose, applying lipstick, spilling a hot latte in your lap, flipping the bird, needlessly honking your horn, scarfing cheeseburgers and fries, reading a book, singing along to 93.3, operating on less than an hour of sleep, playing air guitar, scanning radio stations, fighting with your better half, writing your next blog entry, cleaning spit off the inside of your windshield, gazing into the rearview mirror at yourself, reaching for the loose change under your seat, cleaning out your glove box, banging your head to Hannah Montana’s latest tracks, talking on a cell phone with a wireless headset and thinking of new ways to be rad are some of the things that are perfectly legal to do while driving.
I am not a frequent text messager. I am a cell phone driver. I do not own any stock in any tech, automotive, donut or traffic ticket paper making companies. That being said, people should either be able to do anything they wish or nothing at all while driving, and the latter seems a bit Fahrenheit 451 for this writer. If you want to be guaranteed safety, stay off the roads entirely. While I certainly don’t feel that text messaging while driving is a good idea, I’ve been unsuccessful in trying to convince myself that this law makes sense. On the contrary, I have moved from casual support to stout opposition in 3 days flat.
Somebody please try to convince me otherwise. I’m in the mood for a good debate. In the meantime, I’ll be the guy avidly plucking my nosehairs in traffic…That is, if I’m not busy slamming on my brakes at poorly timed yellow lights that I used to run habitually.