Well i guess it was only a matter of time. Without much noise or fan fair, here we are, all wondering the same thing. How ever did we get these new laws in effect and never ever have a chance on voting on them, or even having a say on how they work. We are supposed to be a democracy, but no one i can think of had any say on what is taking place here. So we just eat it, like always... Well if no one else will say something, i sure in the hell will...
Ok if you are going to change drinking and driving laws, then have it make some sense... As it stands today, a couple couldn't go for dinner and have a glass of wine without risking vehicle impoundment, thousands in fines, and loss of licence. No they won't get drunk, hell they won't even feel the glass of wine, but god knows after they have it they become the most dangerous couple on the road next to Mickey and Mallory Knox!. Come on already, i get it, don't drink and drive! Ok fine, but be serious, zero tolerance? Fuck off - last time i checked 0.08 was more than fair. But now its not safe if we are at 0.05... If its that much of a risk and safety issue then maybe you should be banning alcohol and going back to prohibition! Now lets add to this rediculousness with a new speeding law... 40km over the limit - and again with the fines and the licence and the impounding of the car, etc... IF you want to enforce speed limits, then maybe its time you reveiw the limits to begin with. Zero ave is a great example my friend put out... It is a long farm road that borders the US and EVERYONE takes as an alternate to the freeway to get to town... It currently has a posted limit of 50km/h... Ok so why then does Vye rd have an 80km/h limit? If you change the laws, then review the limits too... Zero ave's limits were set in the 40's... Cars today are better than cars in the 40's - they stop better, they corner better, they are safer. Hell 50km/h is intersection speed, not open road speed. Now if this were a movie this would be enough drama right? Nope this is life, so lets add a new cell phone law too... The only thing to say about this one is this; If you're a shit driver, and crash when using a phone and driving, don't do it. Seriously people, should we have a law about not letting anyone in Richmond back into parking stalls because they tend to crash more? Maybe a law that says no more left hand turns because intersections are dangerous, 3 rights will make a left. GOD!!!
So why do they change the laws without looking at the real problems? Well you're gonna love this. The provincial governement just put together a team of 50 employee's to collect fines and penalties over these new laws, because they recognize the revenue this is going to generate!!! Thats right, after the HST they can't take more from us openly, so they have decided its better to smack us on the pee pee's and make us feel bad for doing what we do, rather than being mad at them for doing what they do! So, HST, new fines and laws, all so that we can what? Right, save ourselves from a poor economy. Listen, i love BC but my god can our governments take any more fun out of our lives without just kicking in our doors and taking what they want? What next, manditory house hold searches for illegal stuff? Jailing for downloading, or debtors prison? I thought society was moving forward, not backward. There are less freedoms in this country now, than there were when i fought for them 17 years ago. Why'd i fight for them again?
OK fine, im sorry. Before any of you post comments on how you've lost a loved one to drinking drivers or road racers or such, i'll say it now, sorry. Im not talking about the assholes, im talking about joe average, late for work, tight in the wallet cause of the economy, getting completely fucked over because our local government is fucked up. Lets look at this another way... Our beloved province passed a law you have to pre pay for fuel because 1 guy played the hero on a gas and run situation and died. Horrible as it was, lets be real here; Cops die every day being hero's. Firemen die every day being hero's. There is no law that says all flamable items must be accompanied with a fire extinguisher. Nor are there any laws that say any persons doing harm to any officer must be killed or thrown from the country. Nope, cops keep dying, firemen keep dying doing things they know are dangerous, but no law changes there. 1 hero at a gas station dies and we change society interaction immediately. Again not taking away from this kids death, but come one, when is it going to be enough? When is it going to be that the politically correct way isn't the only way? Lets face it, we all grew up being told we were bad, being spanked, failing grades, being held responsible for our actions, and still turned out ok. Now we have to pass kids so they don't feel bad, we have to have fun when we compete, its not about winning, and if you speak your mind out loud, you are immediately a racist, a narrow minded red neck, or a cold person. Ahhhh! Get over it people! You might actually have sucked in school - thats why you should fail. You might have deserved losing in sports, try harder!
In the end my point is this; Why does our government continue to punish us horribly for the minor things, and continue to let rapists, murderers, child molesters, and repeat offenders on the streets? I'll tell you why, its money. Our government has become a business not a governing body. They can't make money off of scum because they have none. Why fine a zero, he can't pay, and has nothing to offer. But fine the blue collar guy, he will cary the government pensions for us, the medical system and our exorbanent wages and tripple pensions just fine. If our government really wanted to save money and tighten the budget, they could. Google this because im not making it up;
- Correctional services expenditures totalled almost $3 billion in 2005/6, up 2% from the previous year.
- Custodial services (prisons) accounted for the largest proportion (71%) of the expenditures, followed by community supervision services (14%), headquarters and central services (14%), and National Parole Board and provincial parole boards (2%).
- This figure does not include policing or court costs which bring the total expenditures up to more than $10 billion for the year.
Im not saying the prison system and capital punishment is the answer. Im saying its one step, and there is hundreds more our government could be doing , rather then taxing and squeazing all the money out of joe average. Thats all...
Oh but right, its not politically correct....