Products that Perpetrate Crime... Say What?

If our civil society is to remain civil much longer then things need to change, and soon!

(SALEM, Ore.) - We all see them... in use, in ads or on shelves.

This stuff makes license plates
unreadable to red light cameras

Devices whose only real use, and advertised use despite cynically placed boilerplate 'warnings', is to break the law.

Speed scofflaw devices, these new paints and screens for license plates to avoid being identified by red light cameras when the driver runs the red light, etc.

Supporters of these criminality tools, as well as their makers and retailers, try and make arguments of pure sophistry to defend the items and themselves but the bottom line is these items are made by and for people so overbearingly full of themselves that they do not feel the laws we all live by should apply to them as well.

If you want to commit a crime, violate a law, go ahead, it is a free country. But do so realizing the illegality of your actions and that there are possible consequences and be responsible enough to accept the rightful penalties for one's wrongful actions.

Running red lights puts people's lives in danger, including your own. Traffic only flows safely when those seeing a green light can rest fairly well assured that there will be no side traffic ramming them as they enter the intersection. True, they should still look and check, but it is ridiculous to try and blame the person you rammed as you ran the red light for not noticing or predicting your planned reckless illegal activity.

Sure, almost anything CAN be used illegally or for illegal acts. Copy machines, computers etc can be used to wrongfully access and reproduce information or documents, prescription drugs can be used illegally, guns can be used to promote crime as well as prevent it, cars can be driven drunk or recklessly, VCRs/DVRs can be abused to violate copyrights etc.

Such items should not be banned as there are legitimate legal uses for them. But there are items to which there is, credibly, no such defense.

I listed several above and will not try and be all inclusive. But if the item's main advertising push is "You can get away with violating the law with THIS handy dandy gizmo", you can pretty much rest assured it belongs on the 'should be banned' list.

I would love to see having a speed scofflaw device or any of the other criminality devices be made at least as much of a crime as not wearing seatbelts or helmets, plus confiscation and destruction of the criminality device.

What if I marketed a device that would open any digital lock? Or that you could pop into an ATM machine to empty it? Or that would easily make a key for any car that you could use to drive off with any car that hit your fancy? Such devices, to one degree or another, exist already ... but it is illegal to sell them to the general population, and certainly to sell them with ads glowingly highlighting their illegal uses.

We are the land of the free and the home of the brave... not the land of the criminal and home of the depraved. Or at least that is how it is SUPPOSED to be.

When will folks see past the tip of their own nose and worry about the hazards they cause to others by their selfish, shortsighted and self-important attitudes and actions? How many people will have to be maimed or killed be those using speed scofflaw devices to recklessly speed, or these other devices used to get away with running red lights, etc. before sanity will come into vogue and such devices will be banned, their users fined and their purveyors shut down and locked up?

Legal products to help you be illegal

I, for one, have been hit four times by drivers interested not in what hazard they presented but only self-servingly locked on to watching for their traffic opening to come along. I have had hundreds of close calls because I expect the drivers to be completely self-absorbed nitwits and act very defensively. And I am rarely disappointed in my assessment.

But I should not have to be so hypervigilant just so these self-important self-absorbed cretins can barge through the universe like a bull in a china shop. Nor should anyone else.

I had one lady in her enormous Ford F-250 custom jacked up high enough to be able to run over rhinos almost run me down and actually start screaming out her window at ME when it was SHE who was entirely, completely and in every rationally disputable way at fault and 100% in the wrong. I was tempted to stay stopped in front of her truck until the cops showed up to arrest her but that would have been wrong to inconvenience the others in traffic who were not (currently) doing anything wrong, plus I would not have put it past this shrewish harpy to just run me down because I was in her way.

Such seems to be the attitude of so many in our society, unfortunately. And not just in how they act on the road. How they act in everyday interactions of life as well.

That sure does seem to be the first law they live by... and kill by as in such cases of Sean Lee Hagen whose illegal driving last summer murdered a 70+ year old veteran who was legally crossing the street in a marked crosswalk. But the laws do not apply to Mr. Hagen, who to date has yet to be punished at all in any meaningful way for his murderous crime, or apparently to any of his seemingly inbred hick family who continue to support and enable and defend him by making ludicrous claims of non-existent constitutional rights to drive, or claiming that he is a 'good guy'.

Newsflash to his ex wife who made the last assessment... 'good guys' do not drive illegally. 'Good guys' do not run down folks who are legally crossing the street. 'Good guys' man up and take responsibility for their actions... something that according to his own history, Sean Lee Hagen has never done, nor been expected to do, in his entire life. He just fled the state.

Mr. Hagen and his family may have thought his actions would soon be forgotten. Not a chance! I still plan to push for harsh criminal penalties in the law for exactly the scofflawry Mr Hagen lives and kills by, complete with his name attached to it forever in the lawbooks. The Sean Lee Hagen Irresponsible Driver Prevention and Penalization Act.

If our civil society is to remain civil much longer then things need to change, and soon!

Until then I will continue to use a steel cane so that I can whack the fenders of offending drivers to get their attention when they are about to flatten me or someone else with their three ton gas guzzling air polluting death machine.

Oh I can hear exactly the cries of outrage from these kinds of drivers and their comments already... how dare I ding their 'baby' as they are about to turn me or someone else into a grease spot?

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Richard L. Matteoli December 14, 2007 10:25 pm (Pacific time)

Mr. Feldman's article basically states: "Rights infer responsibility." He is absolutely correct and to the point. So, if anyone wants to argue their issues correlate it to Mr. Feldman's article. Reference to Eisenhower's statement is deferral and deflection in the ritual of argument. There is not one country in this world that cannot feed and clothe their population. When otherwise it is not the United States and it's military who are at fault. These countries are destroying themselves with guns, land mines and so on for some internal styruggle over power and control. The problem with genocidal events is that they turn inward onto themselves like Cambodia. From Vietnam to Bosnia to Haiti to Somalia to Iraq all I heard from the pansy complainers shriek is "Look at what those people are doing over there - we're America we have to do something." Then the same people shriek "Look at what our military is doing over there." And yes I do agree the military is used and abused - but it's the politicians that send us to do what we do and who elects the politicians. Children have a right to make a mess where their parents have a responsibility to take care of it. But, cute only goes so far and there is a time to transition into adulthood. Mr. Feldman's article is not about bonging out, but 'tuning into adulthood.' Yet I still do realize that children will always need to be defended by strong men. Again, stick to the accident Mr. Feldman mentioned. I've had my hands full of blood helping accident victims. It's not nice, it's not cute, and it requires crying afterward. So, for veterans Neal and Greg from So. Cal - Semper Fi from a retired and disabled "Devil Doc."

GodsofChaos December 14, 2007 10:21 pm (Pacific time)

I thought the spray was snake oil.

Jefferson December 13, 2007 10:30 am (Pacific time)

Yes Henry I certainly see where facts and their exposure takes you out of your comfort zone where you no doubt embrace the "muted" response so common among the left when they cannot back up prior claims, regarding how you and others turned Chicago into a paradise. Henry are you familiar with the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights? It's amazing when you actually start asking people to describe these documents you find out how incredibly ignorant (not stupid!) they are. No doubt another symptom of lowering standards found in our current public education and how the unions are literally destroying something that use to be absolutely fantastic.

Jefferson December 12, 2007 2:39 pm (Pacific time)

Henry the below is more about that paradise you helped create in Chicago. It doesn't work in D.C., but heck we're talking moonbat blue-city thinking! Losers, really big time losers in this helltown. "Rabid gun-grabbers on the Cook County Board came one step closer last week to instituting a total ban on firearm ownership in the county – except for police and military personnel. Introduced by Commissioner William Beavers, the so-called “Safe Streets/Weapons Registration Ordinance” appears on the surface to be some sort of gun registration scheme. However, closer examination reveals that the only people who could comply with the registration requirements would be Chicago residents who had previously registered their guns with the city. Everyone else in Cook County would have to turn in their guns to the police. The ordinance would certainly ban all handguns as the ordinance disallows registration of handguns that do not have a “chamber load” indicator. Few, if any, handguns could comply with this requirement, so they would have to be surrendered to the police."

Jefferson December 12, 2007 1:28 pm (Pacific time)

Neal so what do you call what has been happening in Louisiana? Then can you explain how you got these demo-loser candidates: Clinton (highest negatives for any presidential candidate in history); B. Hussein Obama (just too much to put down on this "Being There" Alferd E Neuwman clone); and then Edwards, the "Breck Girl" (need I say more?!). Come on democratic party! In the last year, what have they done with their power? Other than securing nearly single digit approval ratings, ZIP! I realize the republican party presidential candidates are not great, but the worst one is still superior to anything the dems have. It will be a republican president who wins in 2008 and the dems may continue their control of congress until 2010, then the business of improving and hopefully saving America will go into full motion. This is exactly how it will play out, unless we are attacked, then conservatives will take back "our" country next year. I will match anyone's lawfull wager that the above will happen, any wager!

Neal Feldman December 12, 2007 12:11 am (Pacific time)

Jefferson - you are funny... much of what you spewed just now is indicative of the "The left is dead the right will rule forevermore" mantra we heard in 2000-2002... but look how the right got shellacked in 2006 and according to polls likely will again in 2008. The conservatives with a clue are not even thinking in terms of victories... but in terms of how many decades they will again be put into the inconsequential political minority. You need to read more and stop just listening to blind pundits like Hannity and Limbaugh and Coulter. Ah well...

Jefferson December 11, 2007 2:17 pm (Pacific time)

Yes Henry, Cook County/Chicago is a paradise. Good job! [LOL] Is that what you're trying to do in my native state, make it like Chicago? The forces on the left are blowing in the wind, it's about to end, and morality will once again defeat the evil...

Henry Ruark December 11, 2007 12:14 pm (Pacific time)

Vic et al: Au contraire re S-M mutual meeting becoming brawl; at least 90 percent here are fully good faith and decent citizens seeking to sublimate extreme frustration created by economic and cultural/social conditions resulting from neocon nonsense multiplied over thirty years. Similar experience in Chicago resulted in strong, effective further-actions group concentrated on DOING something definite about then-city conditions --and we did, too ! But does require good faith and honest understandings, never promoted by name-calling and vilification to satisfy neocon nonentity psychotic appetites.

Henry Ruark December 11, 2007 9:33 am (Pacific time)

To all: Note nonentity among us still reversing obvious meaning of simple English sentence, for own purposes. As expected; this syndrome, too, is part of overall psychotic characterization now surely obvious in repetition. Suggest you take handful of aspirin to clear huge headache and see with consequences then follow.

Vic December 11, 2007 7:47 am (Pacific time)

I would miss Jefferson, DD, Gods of Chaos and the others here that I vehemently disagree with....it makes for dialogue. If we all agreed, this would be a bit boring. I know I have pissed off a lot of people, but Im sure they will survive. I used to think it would be cool to have a Salem-News get-together, but I am afraid it might end up as a brawl....LOL

Exclusive Club? December 11, 2007 6:49 am (Pacific time)

Appears from the screen of my monitor that commenting to this group is one of exclusivity. My comments haven't made the trip from my end to the big screen.

My guess is that that you fellas are going to have to enjoy this site without me!

Editor: This is a non exclusive club and you have our personal invitation. Our system works fairly well, but we recently implemented the letter/number code part and you are right, some comments have not made it through, and we apologize for that. Please stay around, we want to hear what you have to say.

Jefferson December 10, 2007 6:47 pm (Pacific time)

"Nature Man", so is that your given name, not fake? lol I simply respond to material that I find to be highly inaccurate and even dangerous...the name calling and insults did not begin with me. I will tell you one thing though, outside of athletic coaches or some type of training where motivation can sometimes engender a lot of verbal insults (that one should not take personally), I have never been insulted by anyone in person, and if you knew me, you would understand that quite clearly. If one talks about their rights under the 1st Amendment, then one should realize that there are generally many opposing viewpoints out there. I am not 90 yet, but I'm no kid and I will give respect to those who act respectfully, regardless of their age. In my opinion, Henry is very disrespectful to those with opposing viewpoints...do you think he needs some type of softshoe protection because of his age? Maybe he does, but I still will debate those who try to push a socialist agenda. I am a conservative and we "real conservatives" cannot stand Bush, but I will not disrespect him like so many of you loser's on the left will. Anyway Nature Man I sure appreciated your assessment, I put it right there with Henry's.

Nature Man December 10, 2007 6:19 pm (Pacific time)

You know Jefferson, you are a real jerk, nobody likes you around here, I just wanted to tell you that. Are you disliked over your stupid views everywhere you go, or do you just hang with a select few good old white boys who share your BS philosophy? We're fortunate enough to be able to gain the wisdom here that Henry Ruark has to offer. He's going to celebrate his 90th birthday man, and all you can do is sit there like a little wuss hacking him with your keyboard from a distance, using a fake name, blah blah. I think you are a disgrace and the constantly disgruntled below the belt comments are just a stupid joke around here. Why don't you take a hike man? Read the writing on the wall, have some respect, and try to reduce that constant stream of hot air you keep blowing.

Neal Feldman December 10, 2007 6:18 pm (Pacific time)

The Eisenhower quote is not Marxian or socialist, it merely relates a set of priorities. It really IS hard to defend spending $100 million on a single jet or ship when the safety net is in such tatters... when the infrastructure is falling apart, etc. We need the military but not as it is used and abused these days... not to be the World Cop... not to stick our nose in where it does not belong. For DEFENSE. To keep others from attacking us and to repel them if they do. We do not need flotillas around the globe. we do not need military bases around the globe. We do not need to be sending our children off to fight and die for corporate greed of Halliburton et al. In that I agree with Vic. I just do not extend it to the general hostility towards the military he espouses. If some thug shoots a store clerk I do not fault the gun, I fault the person misusing the gun. That is the difference. Vic is just blaming the gun and leaving it at that. Ah well...

Jefferson December 10, 2007 6:07 pm (Pacific time)

Henry thanks for the validation...

Henry Ruark December 10, 2007 3:11 pm (Pacific time)

To all: Surprised to find the Eisenhower statement not rapidly characterized as socialist...Marxian being a bit too much to lay on old Ike even by this big, whistling bag of...youknowwhat. IF Vic using same sources, count on 'em being decently honest and open, without any hidden funding by neocon nonentities needing some way to obfuscate and obliterate truth in realities we all know and see...which is what's driving this one deeper into psychosis allatime. Disclosure: Had three very close years in Chicago with noted psychiatrist, specializing in distraught children...so have special experience on which to make comment here, when I see it again...

Jefferson December 10, 2007 12:18 pm (Pacific time)

Vic don't hold back, get it off your chest. Question: Do you get your information from the same sources as Henry?

Vic December 10, 2007 8:52 am (Pacific time)

You are right , Greg....I do have personal issues. I personally hate murder, theft and state-sponsored terrorism for profit. What do you think Vietnam was about? Money - money - money. Companies from Westinghouse to Mattel made lots of money on that one...and nearly 57,000 Americans and millions of Vietnamese died. I also have issues about sending Americans...many in their teens and early 20s to fight and kill so the oil companies can make bank. I have personal issues with our country being dragged through the dirt by genocidal madmen posing as statesmen. I also have personal issues with hatemongers and warmongers who pose as Christians or anything other than the the hate filled scum they are. I acknowledge that I am not immune to hatred as I find myself "hating the haters". Really, I hate what has happened to our country. Over half of our money now goes to the military. We spend 25 times more on weapons than the closest rival, China ...25 times! We are being ripped off, and our children's futures are being sold out to Raytheon, United Technologies, Boeing , Blackwater and the rest of the blood-drenched dogs of war and profit. Screw the miltary...they have become the biggest enemy we have. "Every gun that is made, every warship launched signifies in the final sense a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and not clothed" Dwight Eisenhower

Henry Ruark December 10, 2007 7:26 am (Pacific time)

isug et al: Understand, appreciate your comments --at least your cogitation is in fwd/drive... Re Neal's intensities --unless you are yrslf handicapped OR disabled, hard to comprehend what that status imposes on whole personality. We are fortunate to have Neal share, even if sometimes a bit on rough-tough response, to which he often, here, has perfect right. Can share his intensities via unfeeling, uncomprehending response sometimes to Op Ed, via those who never bother to seek out anything but own belly-button for documentation --meaning factual study and publication via authoritative other-source, shared here for "see with own eyes" impacts.

isuggest December 10, 2007 1:38 am (Pacific time)

Gee Whiz I just thought that, for the 2 examples I mentioned, it did not make sense to put the parking spaces where they were placed. I have learned my lesson - I probably will not comment on your writing in the future unless I totally agree with you. For about the first time in my life, I empathize with bureaucrats - when they have to face you, you must make their lives hellish if they do not give in to your demands, no matter how unreasonable they may be.

Neal Feldman December 9, 2007 10:17 pm (Pacific time)

isuggest - you have shown no lacking in judgment or knowledge in regards to this article or my comments here. And who is talking about 50 spots never used? We are talking a whopping TWO spots... that YOU claim are 'never used'. However I find that handicapped spots are quite often used... just because they might be empty when you wanted to use them and this angered you hardly means they are never used. But out of how many parking spots in the lot (40? 60?) we have a whopping TWO reserved for those with placards or plates. Oh the HUMANITY! How will you non-disabled folk EVER SURVIVE?! It must be so outrageously horrible to be you, huh? Like I said, you want inconvenience try my life for a few days. I'm sure we could manage rubbing your skin all over with fiberglass to give you tons of microcuts then lather on some alcohol based cream regularly to give your skin that constant burning pain... some solid whacks at regular intervals to most of your joints would do a job of simulating my arthritis pain... wrap your hands in thick gauze to simulate the lack of manual dexterity, and of course something needs to be done to cripple your feet. Then you can whine and cry for all the poor non-disabled folks who have the horrible misfortune of not being able to park in those two holy shrines if parking spaces that you so seem to zealously covet. Care to try it? No? You might not be as stupid as you are coming across then. As to what is the limit... that is easy.. whatever accommodation is reasonable under the circumstances. Each case determined on its own merits with broad guidelines... basically what we have now. You are the one finding fault with about 2% of the parking spaces being designated handicapped only, if that many. You are the one who has failed to show the great harm caused to you or others by it. You claim folks have lost their property because they could not park i these spots. Do you know how stupid statements like that make you sound? Your rep, not mine. Ah well...

isuggest December 9, 2007 7:29 pm (Pacific time)

Wow - I guess your hostility is not repressed at all - how healthy for you. On the other hand, I did not realize that you were just making a speech - I thought you were actually responding to comments I made and that your comments about insensitivity to problems of the disabled were being directed to me as well as others. I only wonder if there is some limit, in your mind, to how far society should go to accomodate the disabled. If 50 handicapped spots were placed in the most convenient location of a store parking lot and they were almost never used, would that be ok? Politicians are particularly sensitive to the political potential of handicap issues. Therefore you have a special responsilility to be careful about what you advocate for. I hope you show better judgement and knowledge than you have displayed in your article and your comments.

Neal Feldman December 9, 2007 5:54 pm (Pacific time)

isuggest - the repressed hostility comment was not aimed at you clearly... it was aimed at those I described with the letter vs spirit in application of the law. Oversensitive much? Or was the comment a bit close to the truth and your over-defensive response a Freudian slip on your part? And trying to hide behind your disabled brother is like some racist saying they can't be racist 'because some of my friends are (another race)'. You may think you have 'proven' the situation you mention to be wrong but you have not done so. That a healthy person may need to walk a few more feet is insignificant to the insurmountable obstacle a long walk from a distant parking spot is for the mobility impaired. You continue to just keep digging your hole for yourself never having learned the first rule of holes, that being if you are in a hole STOP DIGGING. That is your big shiny clue for the day. And as for common sense you prove it is anything but common. Same with your ludicrous driver education... I guess the irresponsible instructor thought speed limits were just suggestions. Yes you can and should be cited for impeding traffic if you are driving well below the posted speed (say doing 25 on I-5) but to say you should speed because everyone else is follows the Lemmings School of Long Term Survival. Look it up sometime as you drive off the cliff with all the other Lemmings. Ah well...

isuggest December 9, 2007 5:14 pm (Pacific time)

I strongly resent your suggestion that I hold repressed hostility for the disabled - my brother, whom I love, is disabled. I am simply saying that absurd regulations which result in the parking situation in front of Little Caesar's is wrong. Salem Wholesale Flowers on Fairgrounds Road was required to put a handicapped space in front of their door. It is almost never used by any disabled person - but it forces everyone else to carry their goods further, sometimes resulting in damage and loss. This is just plain wrong - I am only advocating for a little common sense here. As far as the speeding issue, I was taught to drive at the same speed as traffic. I lived in a state that required driver's education (by the way, the Oregon legislature may consider the issue of mandatory courses during the 2009 session) and I was taught to drive along with traffic. In fact, I recall being slapped on the back of the head by my instructor when I was driving the speed limit while others drove faster. I agree with this approach (not necessarily with the slap although a little negative conditioning may be a good thing - I am still influenced by an act that occured 40 years ago) and I also believe that Oregon's basic speed law is consistent with this behavior (it is not necessarily illegal in Oregon to speed). To drive slower than traffic is to endanger those around you and I consider driving along with traffic to be a moral obligation for which I am willing to place myself at personal risk (a possible citation).

Neal Feldman December 9, 2007 4:53 pm (Pacific time)

isuggest - not that it has anything to do with the topic but unlike the 24 hr school zone law which was stupid because how many little kids are playing around at 3am the law regarding not crowding bikers is legitimate.. unless you know how to violate the laws of physics such that if a biker falls in front of your vehicle because you ignored the law you can somehow stop in time to avoid crushing them. So if you ignore the law and such does happen and you harm the rider then you will be in a peck of legal trouble (civil and likely criminal). Hardly worth it to ignore such a reasonable law now is it? As for your opinion of the legislative process I will not really disagree with you on some points but a) not the thread discussion and B) does not necessarily make the resulting laws bad. Bad or good laws are judged on their own merits not how they came into being IMHO. Ah well...

isuggest December 9, 2007 4:42 pm (Pacific time)

Laws are made by those who are forced to act like whores (legislators). While they are, on the whole, honest, intelligent, and ethical individuals - they are forced to act, in order to protect their careers, like whores. They are whores to popular opinion and whores to financing. While whoredom may be intrinsic to politics, there are certainly ways to lessen the degree of whoreness - unfortunately, only the whores themselves can find solutions and, until there is sufficient motivation for them to do so, whoreness will thrive. Recently, a law was passed that requires drivers to give bicyclists enough room on the roadway to fall over sideways into the traffic lane. This is even more ridiculous than the 20 MPH school zone laws which were recently reversed. I will ignore it just like I ignore other wrongful laws. Just as trust has no value unless earned, the law's value (and I do strongly support the rule of law) is tainted by bad law.

Neal Feldman December 9, 2007 4:41 pm (Pacific time)

isuggest - sorry but that other drivers speed gives you no right to do so.. and as for 'fundraisers/speed traps' if you are not speeding you will not be cited by non-corrupt officers, and so the only purpose of having the device is to enable your breaking the law. If the cops are corrupt it won't matter whether you were speeding or nor or whether you had the device or not so it makes the point moot. As for the ADA spots (how in the HELL did this discussion become about the ADA?) if you are mobility impaired it makes a huge difference that those spots are there... and if you perfectly healthy folks are inconvenienced slightly well if you don't mind my saying (and even if you do) that is just too damned bad for you. You want inconvenience try MY life on for a few days. On days I CAN manage to hobble around outside my wheelchair it is still like walking across flaming broken glass barefoot... on best days the pain throughout my body is akin to being burned alive,... made barely tolerable with use of large doses of methadone, other narcotics like percocet etc, anti-inflammatories and now with the OMMA card occasional pot use. Cars parked a little too close together or with front or back overhanging the sidewalk too much present insurmountable barriers. What I hate re: ADA parking spots is the times where the letter not the spirit of the law is used,... they have the required number of spots but they are on the opposite side of the property from the damn wheelchair ramp... so you park in the ADA spot then have to go much further to get in than if you parked anywhere else. Repressed hostility towards the disabled is the only explanation that makes any sense. Same deal with 7-11s etc who pack the stores so much the aisles are so narrow I cannot get around in the place without knocking half the shelves over (and I have a relatively narrow and nimble chair). So before you whine about how 'inconvenienced' you are by the ADA try and imagine how inconvenience we disabled folk were/are without it. And I do not give a flip that some disabled do not like the ADA... they do not have to take the benefits. But dare to try and take the benefits from those of us who need them and you will get your rhetorical hand bitten off, and rightly so. The advances of the ADA were long overdue and very hard fought for. They will not be given up without a fight I assure you. Just figure the non-disabled to whine about how hard the evil disabled folks make your life, huh? Ah well...

GregfromSoCal December 9, 2007 4:34 pm (Pacific time)

Jeez it almost sounds like the streets of Southern California. I guess a jerk is a jerk is a jerk, anywhere in the world (polite wording used here to avoid censor) Speaking of jerk, Vic, I'm a Vietnam vet and don't appreciate you harping on the military, you obviously have other personal issues that you need to address.

Neal Feldman December 9, 2007 4:24 pm (Pacific time)

Vic - you are being ridiculous again. Technically legal means according to the laws of the area at the time. What you described regarding nazi and iraqi atrocities were done but not legal... just allowed under corrupt regimes that did not (do not) obey their own laws. Now if you want to say legal does not necessarily mean right and illegal does not necessarily mean wrong there is room for discussion... lots of room. But that is not what is being discussed here. The items mentioned allow criminal (illegal) activities which are harmful to others... to me that means the illegality of the activity is correct and just - ie- right.... and committing and aiding/abetting those activities is justly illegal ie- wrong. Get it? Ah well...

isuggest December 9, 2007 3:33 pm (Pacific time)

I just returned from a short trip to the new Little Caesar's on South Commercial. The 2 empty parking spaces in front are for the disabled - I was tempted to park there anyway. It is just plain dumb to have the spaces there - they are rarely both used at the same time and everyone else is inconvenienced unnecessarily. My brother participated in the preparation of the ADA and is an author on disability issues. He regrets the way things have gotten out of hand. According to him, the disabled would prefer to be treated as normally as possible - coddling is an insult. After delivering the order of bread I picked up, I returned home by way of the new section of I-5 southbound. The speed limit signs said 50 MPH but everyone was going 70 MPH or faster. I don't like radar detectors and have never owned one, but if I were speeding, it could have been useful so that I could have protected myself from being picked off by a fund raiser.

EazyMoney December 9, 2007 2:22 pm (Pacific time)

Please explain to me how a meth pipe can be used legally. I'm not talking about the colorful glass ones that people smoke pot in, but the ones that look like a bubble on a stem with no apparent place to put your "tobbaco". I've seen them for sale in a "mini-mart" on State street. They "can be" used legally? Please explain.

isuggest December 9, 2007 2:20 pm (Pacific time)

The abuses of authority in the area of traffic enforcement laws are well known (remember the recent sanctions levied against Coburg for their actions on I-5) and speed traps, which often serve no public safety function, are widespread. Thoreau said: "It is not desirable to cultivate a respect for the law, so much as for the right. The only obligation which I have a right to assume is to do at any time what I think right." It is possible to use a radar detector and still drive responsibly. The device can provide some protection from law enforcement when law enforcement acts in an expoitative manner.

Vic December 9, 2007 2:00 pm (Pacific time)

Well , "legal" and 'illegal" are relative terms....depends on who you ask. Everything the Nazis did was legal....according to the German government. Ask an Iraqi family if having their door kicked in during the night and having machine guns held on their children and their house ransacked and male family members zip tied, hooded and carted off is "legal". The laws are always set by those in charge, no matter how evil they may be. "Legal" and "Illegal" are nothing more than subjective adjectives.

Neal Feldman December 9, 2007 12:44 pm (Pacific time)

The issue of the pipes etc is that while we know most will not be used for tobacco, the CAN BE. Also the inherent stupidity of the prohibition type laws works into making the highlighted oxymoronic aspects self-illuminating. As for Vic's hysterical histroinics re: the military, again, the skills taught CAN be used illegally (look at how the Shrub administration misuses and abuses the military) but the also CAN BE used legally and properly. Which is why I did not include them in the article (same with the pipes). Ah well...

EazyMoney December 9, 2007 8:54 am (Pacific time)

Your forgot to mention those "tobacco pipes" commonly sold in convenience stores in front of any kid wandering by the glass display case. There was a local news report on just that subject recently. Oh sure, it says for tobacco use only, but even the kids know people use them for illegal activities such as smoking marijuana and meth, rather than tobacco. For those that need such a product for legal medicinal use, maybe they should be regulated and sold at pharmacies like hypodermic needles. But in all actuality, you said it best yourself. If you want to commit a crime, violate a law, go ahead, it is a free country. But do so realizing the illegality of your actions and that there are possible consequences and be responsible enough to accept the rightful penalties for one's wrongful actions.

Vic December 9, 2007 6:50 am (Pacific time)

How about legal institiutions that teach and encourage murder, theft, mass murder and terrorism? I am talking about the US military. I suppose to many readers,that is not as serious as speeding, and like the Hagen family, the military types here will rush to discount my observation. Oh well.....

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