December 20, 2007
By: Sid Riley
This column presents a non-partisan, conservative viewpoint about items of interest in our community and our lives. Focus is on items that are impacting your pocket book, your personal freedoms, and your rights. I hope you will read the column regularly and it occasionally influences your opinions and actions. Now, on to the subject of the week:
State Legislature Is Planning A
"Nip & Tuck" on Another One of Your Personal Rights!
Bureaucrats from the FDLE are currently pressuring our State Legislators to pass legislation that would make forgetting to fasten your seat belt a "primary violation" instead of a "secondary violation". This would then allow the troopers to stop vehicles and execute heavy fines solely for this violation. They would also be able to pin another citation and big fine onto your chest as they load you into an ambulance at the scene of a wreck. This should help things a lot!
They say this law is needed to enhance public safety, I say it is needed to further enrich the millions of dollars they already reap from the public each year in the form of fines. Remember, "fine" and "citation" are just other ways to say "tax".
I certainly agree belting is a wise practice for us all. However, as I have stated in this column before, I strongly believe the duty of Government should be to inform. They should assure I am made aware of the potential dangers which exist if I do not "buckle up". However, the decision to strap in or to not strap in is one of my personal rights. I reserve the right to be stupid if I want to be stupid!
The increased danger for neglecting to use this safety device only impacts me and me alone. No other person is affected if I have a wreck and fly through the wind shield because I was not secured to my seat. Some proponents of this law argue that the resulting increased deaths and injuries impact others through increased insurance premiums. If this is the justification for legislation forcing us to wear the restraint, then the same logic must also hold true if we do not take our blood pressure medication or other prescribed medications as directed.
Failure to take our daily doses as prescribed undeniably increases our risk of dying from the malady the medication is preventing. In the case of blood pressure medicines, failure to take medication will increase the occasion of deaths or injuries from heart attacks and strokes. These increases in occurrences will also cause premiums to go up on insurance for others.
Thus, following the philosophy of continued intrusion into our lives and elimination of our personal rights as Big Brother grows, the next step must logically be the creation of a body of law forcing us to take our medicines as prescribed or be subject to heavy fines. These added revenues can then be used to create a new herd of bureaucratic enforcers who we could call the "Pill Police". They would have the authority to raid your bathroom at will and count your pills to assure for the benefit of the public "good" that you are not skipping your doses. Also, pharmacies would be forced to send instant notification to the authorities if a prescription for these medications is not filled on schedule. Failure to fill a prescription on time proves you have missed some doses, thus making you subject to instant citation and fines from the Florida State Pill Police Bureau.
Now, let’s get back to the seat belt law and their current push for the income such rigorous enforcement will offer to the bureaucracy. What logical person would enact such a harsh measure of penalty on you for failure to strap yourself into a vehicle while at the same time allowing other risk takers to ride exposed and vulnerable down that same highway at the same speeds on a motorcycle without wearing a helmet to at least protect their stupid head? Could it be because the cycling group has a vocal, active lobby group opposing Big Brother’s intrusion into their right of choice?
Again, let me make my position clear. I agree a person should always wear a seat belt while traveling in a car. I agree when anyone fails to properly protect any child traveling with them, they should be subject to penalty. However, I feel that the role of Big Brother should be to run advertising and public awareness programs to demonstrate the dangers of failing to use the belt. He has no right to make that final binding decision for me.
I apologize for bringing up this subject again after previously dealing with it in this column only a few months ago. However, I felt I had to sound the warning trumpet again since the Tallahassee "Crats" are about to snatch this right to make our own decision away from us. Ultimately it is all about money for the bureaucracy and their need for continued growth and intrusion into our lives. If you do not want to give away this personal right, you must get involved now. Please contact your Tallahassee legislators and let them know that you want to protect your right of choice in this matter. Feel free to clip out this column and send it to them if you feel it would help make your point to them. Speak out, and you will be "Getting It right"!
Individuals to contact would include:
Governor Charlie Crist
PL-05
Tallahassee, FL 32399
Rep Marti Coley
319 The Capitol
402 S. Monroe St.
Tallahassee, Fl 32399
Sen. Al Lawson
Senate Office Bldg.
Room 210
404 S. Monroe St.
Tallahassee, Fl 32399
Rep Don Brown
313 House Office Bldg
402 S. Monroe St.
Tallahassee, FL 32399
Rudiments: Odds and Ends Worthy Of Mention-
1. I extend a hearty congratulation to Steve Meadows, Lou Roberts, and all of the local law enforcement folks who participated in tracking every lead, working every clue, and diligently building a body of proof that finally led to an arrest in the gruesome Baker murders that occurred in our county.
2. At the county commission meeting on Tuesday the architects and builders presented preliminary plans for the new "castle" they are planning to build for themselves and other county functions. It appears the price tag for this 60,000 sq. ft. newly constructed building might be well over $15,000,000 before it is done. For a fraction of that cost they can obtain over 150,000 square feet for their needs by purchasing the old Wal-Mart facility in the Crossroads Shopping Center. They say they need to be near the Court House as justification for building the new facility instead of considering that approach. It appears to me that with the communication and video conferencing systems of today their argument is unsubstantiated. I would suggest the commissioners should consider the costs involved and reconsider this purchasing option. I will be writing more on this issue in the coming weeks.
3. The State has discontinued its use of our county jail for housing their inmates. As a result, the jail income will be reduced by almost a half million dollars per year. Guess who will end up providing these funds…….?
4. I was grocery shopping this week and saw that a gallon of milk has finally reached $4.00 per gallon!! How are families to survive?
And finally, to all of my readers……..
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