It’s alarming; the fatigued law system reinventing itself with such a vicious clench that it actually rings in my ears and leaves me lost in oblivious thought. This America we live in, work for, fight for and sometimes die for is slowly erasing our freedoms. With the waging wars in foreign countries and semi-civil wars raging around us it can often be difficult to separate truth from a full out, bastardized lie. I say our freedoms are slowly being erased because, although it seems like the ante has been upped recently, it actually has been long coming and ‘slowly’ gaining momentum. It seems Arizona is the hotspot for this Gestapo-esque encroachment of the principle beliefs of what America used to stand for and harbor for all to see. Within our humble little state alone we have taken abuse in many forms. From the esteemed Sheriff’s half-witted subpoenas relating directly to your publication to the high strung Janet Napolitano. She’s a monster, a civil rights thief.
Her latest crusade against freedom is outright indecent; proposing to equip a vast majority of roadways, traffic stops, and probably public restrooms with state of the art traffic cameras to monitor speed in an effort to “cause less accidents”. This is not a matter of safer roads; it’s not in her best interest to spend large sums of money on this equipment… Or is it? She openly admitted during the same conference from which she declared this bank buster that the income gross from speeding tickets around the valley is in excess of seventeen million dollars during 2006 in Scottsdale alone. Outrageous. That’s a sporting feather she’s putting in her cap with each indignity she springs on us.
Ironically, I had read about her jaunt on the very day I received a speeding ticket in the mail. There I was, caught on camera – high resolution and glorious quality. The ticket set me back one hundred and sixty one dollars for driving fifty four in a forty mile per hour zone; the little stretch after the signal lights on Priest Rd. heading southbound just past University Dr. I was enraged, I remember when it happened. I thought I was safe when I’d sped through the intersection, the light was turning red from yellow and as all drivers know – you either have to brace for the revving engine or brace for impact from the driver behind you as you awkwardly brake suddenly. At a speed greater than reasonable or prudent; the accusation.
Making my way home from the daily commute today, I had the level headedness to confront the same situation in a different manner. I had the opportunity to go for it just as the yellow flashed, I thought “why not, let’s see how this goes”. Sure enough, I hit the brake pedal and watched as five cars around me and in front of me failed to reduce speed before running over the sensors. Cha-ching, five fat royalty checks are deposited in Napolitano’s private bank account, oh yeah, and the Arizona’s take a penny leave a penny tray gets a shiny nickel.
