Monkeyshines
Some animals are more equal than others:
Fuck them. The damned things aren't even Constitutional, anyway. Here in Texas, if they catch you on a traffic camera, they can't issue a traffic citation -- though they go to great lengths to make it look like a traffic citation. It is, in fact, a civil notice of intent to sue if an out-of-court settlement (the 'fine') isn't paid. If you don't pay it, the city's only recourse is to sue you for the amount; they cannot issue a criminal citation from a red-light camera. That's because it's nothing more than a money-raising scheme and the state Supreme Court recognized it as such. It's the oldest trick in the con artist's book: you can't actually make any given potential victim pay you, but you don't have to; just throw it out there and see who will pay.
And they're not above cheating in order to rob you, either. I personally know of two cameras in west Houston that are looking over intersections where the light remains yellow for less than three seconds -- a clear violation of state law.
A local radio show host is a former city councilman and mayor pro tem of Houston. He recently stated on his show that there are essentially three ways for a governmental entity to raise money: 1) Impose (or increase) a sales tax; 2) Raise homeowner taxes; 3) Fees and fines. The first two will invariably get the voters up on their hind legs and barking loudly. But you can increase fees and impose new fines with relatively minor effects among the voter base, as they are small amounts targeted at specific individuals or interests.
It's a simple principle of human psychology: people will only band together if they feel like they're all being drilled in the bunghole; if it's just your neighbor getting the ol' in'n'out... well, Ralph's a bit of a blow hard, anyway. A good rootin'll do him good.
A driver has racked up dozens of speeding tickets in photo-radar zones on Phoenix-area freeways while sporting monkey and giraffe masks, and is fighting every one by claiming the costumes make it impossible for authorities to prove he was behind the wheel.
"You've got to identify the driver, and if you can't it's not a valid ticket," said Dave VonTesmar, a 47-year-old flight attendant said.
It took Arizona state police months to realize the same driver was involved and was refusing to pay the fines. By the time they did, more than 50 of the tickets had become invalid because the deadline for prosecution had passed.
Authorities have since stepped up their efforts to ensure that VonTesmar pays his $6,700 in fines.
Fuck them. The damned things aren't even Constitutional, anyway. Here in Texas, if they catch you on a traffic camera, they can't issue a traffic citation -- though they go to great lengths to make it look like a traffic citation. It is, in fact, a civil notice of intent to sue if an out-of-court settlement (the 'fine') isn't paid. If you don't pay it, the city's only recourse is to sue you for the amount; they cannot issue a criminal citation from a red-light camera. That's because it's nothing more than a money-raising scheme and the state Supreme Court recognized it as such. It's the oldest trick in the con artist's book: you can't actually make any given potential victim pay you, but you don't have to; just throw it out there and see who will pay.
And they're not above cheating in order to rob you, either. I personally know of two cameras in west Houston that are looking over intersections where the light remains yellow for less than three seconds -- a clear violation of state law.
A local radio show host is a former city councilman and mayor pro tem of Houston. He recently stated on his show that there are essentially three ways for a governmental entity to raise money: 1) Impose (or increase) a sales tax; 2) Raise homeowner taxes; 3) Fees and fines. The first two will invariably get the voters up on their hind legs and barking loudly. But you can increase fees and impose new fines with relatively minor effects among the voter base, as they are small amounts targeted at specific individuals or interests.
It's a simple principle of human psychology: people will only band together if they feel like they're all being drilled in the bunghole; if it's just your neighbor getting the ol' in'n'out... well, Ralph's a bit of a blow hard, anyway. A good rootin'll do him good.
posted by Jar(egg)head at 12:27
1 Comments:
Again, another example of what happens when an idea is highjacked by government. The red light cameras were invented by police officers to prevent accidents at high accident and fatality locations. City and state officials saw that the cameras made money without having to pay a live person and they were off to the races. Something that was conceptualized to prevent accidents and fatalities was implemented to increase tax revenue.
I think this also goes back to that sometimes an idea sounds good on paper, but implementation is another story. Just look at public housing. Who would be against providing housing to those who cannot afford it? In its implementation it has created areas of high crime, single mothers and drugs.
The law of unintended consequences is a bitch.
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