Which Are More Important: Breathalyzers or Slot Machines?
Posted by Lawrence Taylor on December 29th, 2008I’m not sure if this is a sad commentary on our criminal justice system or on the values of society generally, but…the following is from a recent Washington Post comparison of Las Vegas slot machines and electronic voting machines. I’ve taken the liberty of substituting breathalyzers for voting machines:
SOFTWARE
SLOT MACHINES: State of Nevada has access to all software. Illegal to use software that is not on file.
BREATHALYZERS: Software is kept secret by manufacturers. Neither the accused citizen nor the government are permitted access.
SPOT-CHECKING
SLOT MACHINES: State gaming inspectors show up unannounced at casinos to compare computer chips with those on file . If there is a discrepancy, the machine is shut down and investigated.
BREATHALYZERS: Software is kept secret by manufacturers. Neither the accused citizen nor the government are permitted access.
BACKGROUND SCRUTINY
SLOT MACHINES: Manufacturers subjected to background checks.
BREATHALYZERS: Manufacturers and manufacturing processes are not checked.
EQUIPMENT CERTIFICATION
SLOT MACHINES: By a public agency at arm’s length from manufacturers. Public questions invited.
BREATHALYZERS: Generic models are approved by state government, based upon manufacturer-supplied specifications but without software information. Individual machines are not certified. Public questions are irrelevant.
HANDLING DISPUTES
SLOT MACHINES: Casino must contact the Gaming Control Board, which has investigators on call around the clock. They can open up machines to inspect internal mechanisms and records of recent gambling outcomes.
BREATHALYZERS: No governmental agency exists for independently regulating breathalyzers or handling disputes concerning accuracy.
I guess that tells us a lot about our priorities.
(Thanks to Andre.)
FYI:
DUI STATISTICS
As you can see from the links below, statistics on DUI arrests, accidents, fatalities and what constitutes an impaired driver are all over the board. Groups that campaign against drunk driving such as MADD, SADD, DADD and RADD support their campaigns with statistics that make it look as though the problem has not gotten better even with increased punishments, lowered BAC levels and driver’s license consequences. Other groups, such as the National Motorists Association, have examined the statistics and found them skewed to fit MADD’s and other similar groups’ agenda. Below are links to various sites on both sides of the argument.
http://www.dui-web.com/DUIStatistics.htm
Comment by ruReadyMyFriend — December 31, 2008 @ 2:20 pm
When the citizenry turn their backs, the politicians and courts have no oversight. The media has failed to shine a light on this sad reality, and the courts seem unwilling to properly address this issue.
Comment by joe — January 2, 2009 @ 9:10 am
Reminds me of “Legal Fiction”
fantasy make believe by the Government and MADD going after a driver that had a drink rather than a driver who drives drunk…!
Not sure how accurate this definition is but have a look:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legal_fiction
Fascinating wonderland type of stuff. What happened to our Birth Rights and Sovereignty?
Without those we have no constitutional rights?
I’m a neophyte when it comes to the law, but I’ve spent the last 10 months studying everything about how? and why? regarding these bylaws and statutes.
I’d love to become a paralegal and help. If any of you lawyers need help feel free to get a hold of me.
I have 3 months and 3 days till I pay to get my class A and C License back for claiming my sovereignty, 4th and 5th Amendment rights during a “make believe” police stop for allegedly speeding. The truth was I was being profiled for being on the highway at night. I was going 46 in a 45 zone. The police magically lost the dash cam video during my trial and my case was dismissed. However I still lost my license for simply being accused of this “Police Fantasy”
Total cost to me $100,000 in lost wages oportunities, Pension and benefits for the year of no work unable to run my business, and pay taxes.
For claiming my rights?
I hope my story and experience will help others.
Knowledge is power, Wisdom is righteous.
–Peace and wisdom my friends.
Comment by RichardAlan — January 2, 2009 @ 2:15 pm
drunk bumper-cars:
imagine a region where cars were similar to the bumper cars they have
at amusement parks, with wide rubber bumpers all around so you can run into each
other without getting hurt.
they would be battery or gas powered like go-carts so they could
go anywhere.
assuming there were separate pedestrian walkways, there would be no reason
to have DWI laws anymore.
everybody could go out and socialize, then drive back after, no problems.
we could call it the drunk bumper car region.
these bumper cars would be a little bigger and a bit faster than regular
bumpercars but still safe.
this would work best in a high density community similar to a gated
community but with jobs/stores/everything, just like a mini-city
specially made for this system,
that has separate fenced walkways for pedestrians.
there are lots of advantages.
you don’t need to wait to be old enough to get a drivers license.
with this system, practically anybody could
start driving in this region, and still be safer than walking in a conventional
city and getting hit by a conventional car.
this could help the economy by opening up new car production lines to make
these bumpercars.
electric bumpercars could use the old style deep cycle batteries that
have been available for decades, so we could get started today
with existing technology.
range would be limited but in a high density area its not a problem.
these bumpercars would be much cheaper than regular cars.
you could save $20,000 by the time you consider lower car payments,
no gas, no insurance, etc.
thats a lot of money in the bank, or you could spend some of it too.
the basic model is similar to a go-kart alhough some people
would get more extravagent models.
these cars would be so cheap to build that they would cost less than the
average cost of a DWI arrest and related expenses.
alcohol may not be the greatest thing ever invented, but there
are better ways to deal with things than making everything illegal and
then acting surprised when everybody does it anyway.
wouldnt it be something if we did this and the region turned out to
be safer than conventional society.
and more fun too.
there are a lot of details that I did not mention here, that would be
necessary for this to work properly. I challenge anybody to find a
problem I can’t solve.
bumpercarsregion@yahoo.com
we should make a new gated community to test this system, a high density
place where you dont need to drive far to get someplace.
it could start small then expand as it becomes more popular.
I have a hundred other unrelated ideas if anybodys interested.
Comment by bumpercarsregion — January 4, 2009 @ 11:33 pm