THE HAMNERMAN CHRONICLES-Vol 1: Red Light Traffic Cameras... Evil Among Us

Introducing (drum roll please).........Our FIRST Guest Blogger:

HAMNERMAN! a verbal & virtual superhero dedicated to protecting the average Joe & Jane and to ending injustice within the alleged justice system

==================================================== Hamnerman responded to the following article found on the "Yahoo News" website regarding red light traffic cameras: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110327/ap_on_re_us/us_speed_camera_spat ==================================================== This is a very interesting article which once again points out that traffic cops and our police force in general are all about the money. Ultimately, its about quick easy revenue with a minimum of manpower while targeting easy, vulnerable prey. Don't get me wrong - I totally dig the drop in accidents and fatalities, but I don't believe for a moment that that's the driving force (pun intended) behind the implementation of this machinery. And, as many would certainly be ready to argue, who's actually running the equipment? And are they properly trained and certified to be doing so? And is it accurate and trustworthy? Really? Really???? Double pinky-swear???? In my traffic school class from hell (yes, after more than 25 years without a ticket, the over-zealous and very questionable Glendale Police put an end to both my good driving record and my previously stalwart belief in the justice system), we were issued warnings about these cameras and the growing incidents of improper tickets being sent out. You can tell the difference because those tickets don't have a court listed on the ticket, but lots of people don't know this and pay them anyway even though they haven't actually broken a law. On a recent TV news report, I saw another news item about cameras catching people at stop lights, but the people in question were not the owners of the car and the police were asking the car-owners to identify the "culprits". It turns out that no one is legally obligated to respond to these requests and the tickets must be dropped if it is not the owner of the car who earned the ticket, but the letters sent to the car-owners did their best to skirt around the letter of the law and were very intimidating. And ridiculous. And just plain rude on a number of levels when you stop and think about it. For the gazillionth time, law enforcement is insulting the very people they're supposed to be serving and protecting by picking their pockets to line their coffers. In this case, they're fleecing them twice - once for the machines, van & manpower and then again for the tickets they produce. Between this and the behavior of law enforcement in regards to their continued harassment of legal medical marijuana dispensaries and persistent use of unconstitutional sobriety check-points, I've about had it with these lazy, ignorant sons-a-bitches whose primary goal seems to be anything for a quick buck or a quick headline. Forget the constitutional rights of law-abiding citizens in their greedy race for an almighty buck! And, mind you, this is OUR money they're spending and taking. I really need to hear something, anything, about how our police or DAs or, hell, anyone, is actually out there fighting crime. Real crime. You know, catching and convicting a robber, a killer or rapist or car-thief, that sort of thing. Because my previously strong, honorable support for my local sheriff is totally shot. And if they don't get their shit together, the deputy is gonna get it, too. Just sayin'.