Date: Wed, 05 Apr 2000 21:50:40 -0700
From: carlos@THERIVER.COM ("Carlos A. Alvarez")
Subject: Re: The strategy of encroachment
To: AZRKBA@asu.edu
At 12:18 AM 4/5/00, Don Cline said something to the effect of:
>You wouldn't mind letting me know what part of Arizona you hang out in,
>would you? What roads you drive regularly? I want to avoid those areas
>if
All over, unfortunately for you. I put about 35,000 miles on every year.
>I can. Not, mind you, because you are a dangerous driver. I don't know
>whether you are a dangerous driver or not.
I've driven half a million miles in my lifetime, raced on tracks, been
through the Bondurant school, and take driving seriously. Never caused an
accident. You're far better off next to me than 99% of the public. I get
to see a LOT of stupidity with as much driving as I do.
> But unless you have a ten
>million dollar trust account tucked away some where, you are definitely an
>irresponsible driver.
Do YOU have ten million dollars of insurance? A million? Ok, a paltry 100
grand? Or do you have what 98.6% of the public have; mandatory
minimum? Do you know how small the cash bond requirement is? I can right
a check for that.
>little quirky coming from someone who claims to drive without a license
>and
>without insurance.
Never said without insurance. A poor assumption.
>We do if we want to catch the guy so the laws can be enforced. Otherwise,
>what incentive does he have to hang around after he has killed
>someone? Do
>you have any idea at all of what percentage of collisions -- in just
>Maricopa County alone -- are hit and run collisions? Do you think these
We need to license gun owners, so we can enforce the laws against murder,
assault, and negligent injury. Otherwise, what incentive does he have to
hang around after he has killed someone? Do you have any idea at all of
what percentage of shootings are drive-bys, or just shoot-and-run?
>irresponsible monsters are going to suddenly become responsible -- and
>give
>their addresses to the cops -- by doing away with drivers' licenses? And
>I
Apparently, having a license didn't stop them. Much like licensing honest
citizens has no effect on gun violence.
>hit-runs anyway? And the answer is two-fold: 1. It means we have a
>chance
>of locating the responsible driver if he has or has ever had a license;
>and
That's what car registration is for, not driver's licensing. You can't see
his license unless he stops to begin with. So two strikes on me, since I
don't have any registration in my name (most is foreign, and soon all of it
will be).
>at the speed at which it is traveling. And most of these clowns driving
>out
>here have no clue, none whatever, on what it takes to drive safely -- what
>we call "defensively", i.e., taking into account that no one else out
>there
>has a clue.
And yet, they all have licenses. How effective.
>want the price to go up. When the price does go up because they are
>irresponsible, they tend to stop driving rather than having their car
>impounded for lack of insurance.
Thankfully, Arizona has not *yet* started stealing people's cars for a
civil infraction. Yet.
>Made any left turns lately? If you have a left green arrow, and someone
>runs the red light and hits you, who is going to get the ticket?
Yeah, so we all know the answer to that one. I don't understand the point.
>Your right to travel is not infringed by the requirement of being
>responsible for your operation of a motor vehicle at public risk and --
Your right to own a gun is not infringed by the common-sense, reasonable
requirements proposed by HCI. Simply that you be a responsible gun owner
and prove that you are.
>All your rationalizations aside, you are _not_ a "responsible driver" if
>you
>are not insured or bonded in some manner, and you have no reason to be if
>you are not licensed.
Why would that magic plastic card give me a reason to be responsible. I
just don't get it. Why are so many arguments assigning these magic,
mystical, psychic properties to this card? How does it suddenly convert my
thinking and my level of responsibility?
--
Carlos Alvarez, Tucson, AZ, USA, Earth, Sol System, Milky Way Galaxy
http://www.neta.com/~carlos
"A new study reveals that guests on daytime talk shows are predominantly
female. Of course, most of them weren't born that way."