MADD Going Mad with DUI Laws (Again, Still)
January 2, 2009
Law
Here’s an article from AP about new legislation being enacted in six states in an effort to “crack down” on DUI offenders, some of which require a mandatory electronic breathalyzer ignition interlock device for first-time DUI offenders.
While no one wants people driving around drunk at risk of killing themselves or other people, MADD is growing increasingly aggressive in their cause against anyone and everyone who may even possibly have one too many and get behind the wheel.
The article points out that MADD quotes statistics from Illinois alone that estimate an annual assignment of the devices in 30,000 first-time DUI offense cases this year alone. It also points out the cost of the devices is $80 to install, plus an $80 monthly rental fee, plus a $30 state fee to be assigned the device, for up to eleven months. Let’s do the math: $80 plus $30 times eleven, times 30,000… that’s $3.63 million.
A quick look at a couple of ignition interlock device manufacturers shows the cost of these devices to run about $1,400 for a single device, and assuredly state agencies purchasing in bulk and independent installation contractors in concert with state agencies receive discounts. So, let’s assume $1,200 per device for state agencies and their subcontractors. Let’s do some more math: $80 plus $30 times eleven… that’s $1,210 total fees paid by first-time offenders to use the device. So, after the first year in deployment, the state recovers all expenses on the device. Every subsequent year of fees collected brings in 100% profit.
Take a look at some of the “Dealer Benefits” listed by one major ignition interlock device manufacturer:
Why Should You Join Our Team?
Immediate Incremental Profits
Unlike many interlock manufacturers, Guardian encourages service center managers to engage in additional complimentary business activities. When added to an existing business, the Guardian Responsible Driver Program produces immediate profits from every device installed.Increased Cash Flow
When added to an existing business, the Guardian Interlock Responsible Driver Program can produce immediate incremental cash flow, as well as add a new customer base for the existing business.No Warranty Expense or Repair Cost
Because Guardian retains the title to the interlock device, all repairs are at our expense. If a device breaks, simply send it back and we will replace it.
What do you want to guess that, at $1,200-$1,500 per unit, the device manufacturers are kicking back some “charitable giving” to MADD, and that MADD then shuffles some of that money through their “lobbying” efforts right back to state agencies?
Who wins? MADD, the device manufacturers, the installers, and state agencies. Who loses? Anyone the state agencies’ enforcement arm happens to “crack down” on.
Just some casual observation. Remember, these numbers are just stats from the state of Illinois, and the trend is moving toward a nationwide enforcement model like this. Let’s say, once the “cracking down” really “ramps up” states begin drawing say $6 or more million dollars annually from assigning first-time offenders these devices alone (let alone all the other administrative fees, court costs, attorney’s fees, probation fees, etc.). Multiply that fifty states, that’s a $300 million a year industry — on the backs of a majority of people who may possibly have had literally “one too many,” and were likely no risk to anyone at all.
Again, nobody wants people who are truly too drunk to drive out on the road, but here’s a question: is MADD really out to save lives, or make money? The article points out that critics of the devices claim things like a single glass of wine or a single beer at dinner, or mouthwash, or some toothpastes, or diabetic conditions, or even a bad tooth can trigger a lock from these devices. Even the manufacturers admit as much, but MADD is moving full steam ahead using an emotional ploy and exaggerated figures to get legislation enacted to further put the general populace under the thumb of government all while filling their own pockets and building an industry. You have to admit, it’s a pretty smart scheme.
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Video: Barack Obama Chilling with Radical Palestinian
October 25, 2008
Politics
Is the L.A. Times hiding video evidence of Barack Obama bumping elbows with radical Palestinian front group, terrorists, and Chicago mayor?
Little Green Footballs | Video Obama Radical Palestinian Ayers Dohrn LA Times
h/t to Little Green Footballs
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Awww — AP Opines Plight of Illegals in Texas
September 22, 2008
Lifestyle
Those poor, poor “undocumented citizens.” The Associated Press makes the case this morning, the apparent bias oozing from the headline: Legal and illegal, Latinos labor to rebuild Texas. Expecting an obvious slant considering the headline, the authors did not disappoint with the liberal lamenting.
Ike brought a wide swath of destruction, and with it the prospect of more work, higher wages and a respite from the ever-present threat of deportation. In recent months, many day laborers say, jobs in the Houston area had started to dry up, and police and immigration officials had been cracking down.
To sum up feelings on both sides — of both the illegal workers and the pro-illegal liberals — one Honduran immigrant had this to say:
Without us, how would they build Houston again? Without the work of our hands, there would be no way to move forward.
Well, you sure won’t find one of these whining liberals out there “working”… unless it’s to report on the plight of these laborers making $7 per hour, while the liberals sip on cups of chai that cost an hour’s work for these laborers.
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Venezuela’s Chavez Paranoid - Sampling the Goods?
September 11, 2008
International
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is acting highly paranoid and marginally delusional, leaving third-party observers to wonder if Chavez may have fallen victim to the peer pressure of a high-currency drug trade whose home front is Chavez’s own country. According to the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, Venezuela is a a major transit point for cannabis and coca-derived illicit drugs.
In an Associated Press article, it is reported that Chavez has ousted U.S. Ambassador Patrick Duddy over concerns that the United States government is involved in a covert plot to have Chavez removed from power. He is quoted as saying, “They’re trying to do here what they were doing in Bolivia,” and, “That’s enough [expletive] from you, Yankees.”
Chavez recently invited Russia to deploy two Blackjack bomber aircraft to Venezuela, which U.S. officials have dismissed as inconsequential. Of the bomber delivery, Chavez said, “The presence of those Russian planes in Venezuela is a warning. There’s nothing better to keep yourself from being attacked than to dissuade.”
To provide some background, Chavez also referred to George W. Bush as “the devil” at a United Nations meeting, commenting that he could still smell sulfur in the room after Bush had left.
That must be some serious weed!
Image Credit: Wikipedia
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McCain Seals Obama’s Fate with Veep Pick Palin
August 29, 2008
Politics
By selecting a fresh young face from the Republican party, Alaska Governor since 2006, Sarah Palin, John McCain has all but sealed the deal on being elected the next President of the United States. With Obama slipping in the polls, a jaded left-wing base due to consistent about-face policies since the primaries, and an even more confused liberal constituency after declining to put Hillary Clinton in the back seat of the POTUS “dream team,” the McCain campaign has lined up to be the real party of change by selecting a woman for the position of Vice President - the first time a woman has ever been nominated for a real chance at winning.
The pick reinforces McCain’s stance as a “maverick” in political realms, as Palin has often stood out from the Republican crowd and refused to toe in for the sake of party unity — a quality which appeals to both younger voters and independents. Selecting Palin also essentially cinches women’s votes across the country, since an aging McCain would leave a highly capable and idealistic woman in the most powerful political position on the globe were McCain unable to fulfill a four-year term. Another key positive to a McCain-Palin ticket is that Palin provides a fresh, young, beautiful face to an otherwise aged “look” — something the Obama camp has held a monopoly on, until now.
With Obama’s jaded liberal base and gaped-jaw leftist observers still stunned over the realization that Obama’s brand of change seems to be little more than rhetoric after months of policy flip-flops and a mired-in-Washington Biden selection for V.P., the McCain campaign has brilliantly solidified the slippery slope of media favoritism and side-stepped the snowball rolling faster and faster down the media mountain.
While independents have never much cared for either party, this move paves the way for real change in American politics, brought to you by the Republicans. Who would have thought?
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