HELMET LAW THE FOCUS OF LAWSUIT IN CALIFORNIA:A local motorcyclist and four others filed a civil lawsuit against the California Highway Patrol on Thursday alleging that the state’s helmetlaw is unconstitutional.
The seven-page suit, filed on behalf of the motorcyclists by attorney Wendy Lascher of Ventura, argues that the 14 year-old law is vague andviolates the plaintiffs’ Fourteenth Amendment rights because it doesn’t adequatelydescribe a correct helmet.
“I have spent thousands of dollars fighting this and I’ve committedthousands more,” said Don Blanscet of Penn Valley.
The suit cites an August 16, 2006, ruling by a Santa Cruz judgedismissing a plaintiff’s traffic citations for not wearing a helmet on the groundsthat the law is unconstitutional. An appeal of the decision is still pending in the 6th District Court of Appeals.
The plaintiff in the August ruling, Richard Quigley of Aptos, was one ofthe five who filed the lawsuit on Thursday. Quigley said one of the reasonsbehind the lawsuit was to force the issue of the constitutionality of the helmet law. His perception is that the courts are slow to respond to the Augustruling.
“After the judge told the CHP what they were doing was unconstitutional,and they said that they didn’t care, I was sort of compelled to make themcare,” Quigley said. “They didn’t leave me much choice.”
Lascher said that she thought the case had “an excellent chance” of winning.
“The issue here is limited,” Lascher said. “It’s whether the helmet law we have creates a clear enough standard that anyone who looks at it cansay, ‘this helmet qualifies. This helmet doesn’t qualify.'”
— By Jill Bauerle
LAUTENBERG TO CHAIR TRANSPORTATION SUBCOMMITTEE: (Published: November 16, 2006) WASHINGTON (AP) – New Jersey Democratic Sen. Frank Lautenberg will be chairman of a transportation subcommittee when the new Congressconvenes in January, his office said Thursday.
Lautenberg will head the Transportation Safety, Infrastructure Securityand Water Quality Subcommittee. Among the issues Lautenberg said his panelwill deal with are drunken driving, MOTORCYCLE SAFETY, chemical plantsecurity and oil spills.
“This chairmanship will allow me to provide greater safety and securityfor New Jersey’s transportation systems,” Lautenberg said. “This panel willalso lead the way in protecting the quality of water on our shore and in our rivers, lakes and wetlands.”
Besides his seat on the Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, Lautenberg will also serve on the Appropriations Committee and theEnvironmental and Public Works Committee.
–The Associated Press
OPEN LETTER TO BRIAN BENECZKOWSKI:ALERT FROM JEWS FOR THE PRESERVATION OF FIREARMS OWNERSHIP: America’sAggressive Civil Rights Organization,November 13, 2006.
Dear Mr. Benczkowski,
We’d like to congratulate you on your new position as Chief of Staff for theBureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. As you know, the BATFEhas experienced several embarrassments recently, such as the discovery thatagents were improperly talking to the neighbors and relatives of people whowere buying firearms at Virginia gun shows. This incident, as well asseveral related ones, prompted the recent BATFE hearings in Congress.
There are also problems with your Firearms Technology Branch, whicharbitrarily designates certain firearms or accessories as “legal” or”illegal”. We say arbitrarily because we have seen multiple instances ofitems that are categorized as “legal” suddenly recategorized as “illegal” months and even years later. Worse, owners of these items are seldomnotified that their once-legal property is suddenly illegal. Theselaw-abiding citizens become “criminals” overnight, and are completelyunaware of it!
The Firearms Technology Branch has also been known to incompetently “test”firearms. In at least one case, the testing agent declared a rifle to be anillegally modified machine gun because he was able to force it torapid-fire.
It was only after a third party disassembled the rifle that it was found tohave a malfunctioning part. To think that a man’s life, freedom, andlivelihood rested on the findings of the Firearms Technology Branch … andthe BATFE didn’t even bother to inspect the rifle. It’s not entirelysurprising, of course, considering that the BATFE has no written,standardized procedures for performing these tests.
We know such improprieties will not knowingly be permitted to take place onyour watch. Additionally, we hope that you will seriously examine the casesof the hundreds or more firearms owners who may have been falsely imprisonedas a result of these poorly-executed tests.
We would like to offer you a complimentary copy of our book _”Gun Control”:Gateway to Tyranny_, which illustrates the connections between the 1968 GunControl Act and the 1938 Nazi gun control laws. The two are eerily similar.
Gateway also reproduces a letter from Louis Coffin at the Library ofCongress to Senator Thomas Dodd, who had a copy of the original Nazi lawsand wished for a translation.
Senator Dodd, it should be noted, was a primary author of the 1968 GCA.Would you or the Justice Department be willing to open an investigation intothe use of Nazi laws as a model for American gun laws that infringe on therights of Americans?
As evidenced above, the BATFE has been riddled with greed, arrogance,dishonesty, and incompetence from its inception.
Despite numerous attempts at “reform”, these problems still exist, and as aresult, we’ve come to believe that the best “reform” would be totalabolishment of this agency.
Sincerely,
Aaron Zelman
Executive Director
Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership www.jpfo.org
SCORECARD ON HIGHWAY SAFETY LAWS:D.C. and Washington State Receive Top Rankings in National Scorecard on Highway Safety Laws; Arizona, Ranked Lowest Emergency Nurses Association Study Comes as Americans Prepare to Take tothe Roads for Thanksgiving Holiday CHICAGO, Nov. 16 /U.S. Newswire/ — Washington, D.C., and the state of Washington were the only locations to receive perfect scores in anEmergency Nurses Association (ENA) study released today that ranked states on ascale of one to 10 for having highway laws that promote safety and injury prevention.
The “2006 ENA National Scorecard on State Highway Laws: A Roadmap forInjury Prevention” ranked Arizona at the bottom of the survey, with a score of two out of a possible 10. The scorecard is designed to educate legislatorsand the general public about their state’s strengths, weaknesses and level of risk at a time of increased travel during the holiday season.
The scorecard rankings were based on ENA criteria derived from five policy areas that come under the jurisdiction of the states, four of whichfocused on the presence of highway safety laws including primary seatbelt laws, child passenger safety laws, graduated driver licensing (GDL) and universal motorcycle helmet laws. The fifth measure evaluated each state’scapacity to respond to severe emergencies by determining the existence of initiatives thatwould allow a state to establish a statewide trauma system.
“We’ve released the scorecard at a time of increased emphasis on disaster preparedness, which can overshadow the fact that more than 40,000fatalities occur on our roadways every year,” said Nancy Bonalumi, RN, MS, CEN, ENA president. “The scorecard is designed to educate ENA members and thegeneral public about each state’s strengths and weaknesses so that they are empowered to advocate for change. While we can not be free of risk, it is necessaryto take all possible steps toward preventing injury.”
The ENA’s Injury Prevention Institute, which compiled the scorecard, emphasizes that safe driving is a public health issue. In 2004, 42,836people were killed in motor vehicle crashes. In 2005, there was a 1.4 percent increase over the 2004 data, raising the total to 43,443 people killed. Thislevel is the greatest number of fatalities from traffic crashes since 1990. Thescorecard aims to enhance collaborative efforts at the local, state and nationallevels to encourage implementation of effective injury prevention programs and policies to help save lives.
Key information from the report: — Locations with the most highway safety and injury prevention laws inplace according to ENA criteria include Washington, D.C., Washington,California, Georgia, New Jersey, North Carolina, Oregon and Tennessee
— States with the fewest highway safety and injury prevention laws inplace include Idaho, North Dakota, Ohio, Arkansas, Minnesota, South Dakota and Arizona
— Six states currently do not have established statewide trauma systemand have no plan in place for establishing a trauma system to respond tomedical emergencies
“Every year emergency nurses treat thousands of patients who are thevictims of traffic accidents that might have been prevented,” Bonalumi said. “We recognize the importance of laws in promoting safe driving and preventing injury, particularly around Thanksgiving and other busy holiday seasons.We hope that his scorecard will serve as a wake up call on all levels.”
For more information on the scorecard and to learn more about the survey’s ranking system/criteria, visit _http://www.ena.org_
DWI MANUALS AVAILABLE NOW!The Updated Version of the NHSTA DWI Detection and Standardized Field Sobriety Testing Manuals are Now Available!
The “Bible” of DUI Standardized Field Sobriety Tests (SFSTs), the manual describes how SFSTs are to be administered under ideal conditions and is used nationwide to teach police officers how to properly do their jobs. A powerful tool when cross-examining the administering officers; in a bound book format for easy referencing.
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Washington DC 20036
NEW CITIZENSHIP TEST TO GET TRYOUTS SOON: Monday, November 13, 2006BOSTON – Boston and nine other cities will be trying out a new citizenshipexam that tests applicants’ grasp of the American democracy.
The current test is heavy on historical facts, and includes questions aboutthe colors of the U.S. flag and the name of the form used to apply forcitizenship. The new exam will ask about the Bill of Rights and the meaningof democracy.
“The intent is to create a test, and a testing process, that is fair andmeaningful,” said Shawn Saucier, spokesman for the Office of Citizenship andImmigration Services.” It is not to make it harder … The new test isdesigned to encourage immigrants to really look at our history andgovernment, and what we value as a society.”
Starting this winter, the test will be offered on a voluntary basis inBoston and nine other cities. Officials have not announced the other citiesthat will offer the test, Saucier said.
In 2008, the exam will be given to all applicants for naturalization.During the pilot project, officials hope to work out any problems with thetest and refine the exam by administering it to 5,000 people. To pass thetest, immigrants must correctly answer six of 10 questions.
Some immigrant advocates say a more sophisticated set of questions couldmake the exam more difficult to pass and raise the bar for citizenship toohigh.
“We are highly suspicious of their motives for (redesigning the test),”saidJoshua Hoyt, executive director of the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant andRefugee Rights, which drafted a letter to federal official. “We think thatit may be designed to make it difficult for less-educated immigrants tobecome citizens.”
NEW MONROE PROGRAM URGES MOTORCYCLE SAFETY: Through comraderie, mentorship and occasional excursions on the openroad, a new programhere plans to build biker safety for years to come.
The Fort Monroe Motorcycle Association began meeting earlier this month.Group leaders arelooking for members who are interested in improving their riding skills,as well asseasoned riders willing to mentor those who are just getting the feelfor their bikes andthe road.
Due to a summertime string of fatal accidents involving Soldiers, theemphasis ofmotorcycle safety has become a top priority across the Army. In recentmonths, twoinstallation motorcycle safety rides drew sizeable crowds from not onlythe Monroecommunity, but also other service branches and military installationsthroughout HamptonRoads.
?We want to keep that momentum going,? said David Speigner, who isspearheading the group.?Our purpose is to support the Fort Monroe community by establishing andmaintaining aspirit of comraderie among riders. We?re going to stress rider educationand skillsdevelopment to reduce the potential of motorcycle accidents.?
The FMMA is open to all military, civilian and contract employees on theinstallation, aswell as Department of Defense retirees and other service membersresiding in the area.
Though their meeting schedule is considered tentative at the moment,the FMMA plans tohold monthly meetings once they get settled into a regular routine. Fornow, theirmeetings will be held in the classroom adjacent to the Fitside Perk atthe Fort MonroeFitness Center during the lunch hour, Speigner noted.
Along with their regular meetings, the group is planning social eventsand rides ofvarying distances. Speigner would like the group to take a trip to theBlue RidgeMountains if they can work out the logistics. He will also push forbarbeque socials.
?We want to make it fun as well as educational,? he said. ?We want tobuild friendshipsand community relations.?
For those who currently ride motorcycles, or are interested in owningone, these meetingswill provide the necessary information and feedback that could possiblyprevent a futureincident resulting in damage, injury or death.
Speigner said some of the topics the group will focus on during theirmeetings include:accident avoidance measures, proper motorcycle maintenance andrecommended safetyequipment.
Occasionally, they will invite outside motorcycle safety experts totheir meetings toshare insights and answer any questions the members may have.
For more information about the association or future events, current andpotential memberscan contact Speigner at 788-4886.
BY E DAVID VIDACASEMATE STAFF WRITER
HOA RULE FORBIDS COUPLE FROM SOMOKING IN THEIR OWN HOME: GOLDEN, Colo. — A judge has upheld a homeowners association’s orderbarring a couple fromsmoking in the town house they own.
Colleen and Rodger Sauve, both smokers, filed a lawsuit in March aftertheir condominiumassociation amended its bylaws last December to prohibit smoking.
“We argued that the HOA was not being reasonable in restricting smokingin our own unit,nowhere on the premises, not in the parking lot or on our patio,”Colleen Sauve said.
The Heritage Hills #1 Condominium Owners Association was responding tocomplaints from theSauves’ neighbors who said cigarette smoke was seeping into their units,representing anuisance to others in the building.
In a Nov. 7 ruling, Jefferson County District Judge Lily Oeffler ruledthe association cankeep the couple from smoking in their own home.
Oeffler stated “smoke and/or smoke smell” is not contained to one areaand that smokesmell “constitutes a nuisance.” She noted that under condo declarations,nuisances are notallowed.
The couple now has to light up on the street in front of theircondominium building.”I think it’s ridiculous. If there’s another blizzard, I’m going to behaving to stand outon the street, smoking a cigarette,” said Colleen Suave.
For five years the couple has smoked in their living room and that hadneighbors fuming.
“At times, it smells like someone is sitting in the room with you,smoking. So yes, it’svery heavy,” said condo owner Christine Shedron.
The Sauves said they have tried to seal their unit. One tenant spentthousands of dollarstrying to minimize the odor.
“We got complaints and we felt like it was necessary to protect ourtenants and ourinvestment,” said Shedron.
The Suaves said they would like to appeal the judge’s ruling but areunsure if they havethe money to continue fighting. They said what goes on behind theirclosed doors shouldn’tbe other people’s business.
“I don’t understand. If I was here and I was doing a lawful act in myhome when they gothere, why can they say, ‘OK, now you have to change,'” said ColleenSuave. “We’re notarguing the right to smoke as much as we’re arguing the right to privacyin our home.”
Other homeowners believe, as with loud music, that the rights of acommunity trump therights of individual residents. The HOA is also concerned that tenantswill sue thosehomeowners for exposure to second-hand smoke and this could be aliability issue.
The couple said that they would like to unload their condo and get outof the HOAentirely, but they are not sure if the real estate market is right.
ARIZONA RANKED LAST IN HIGHWAY SAFETY ACCORDING TO BUSINESS JOURNAL OF PHOENIX: A group has ranked Arizona last in the country when it comes to highwaylaws and rules that promote safety and injury prevention.
The Emergency Nurses Association issued the ranking as part of a new study that examines state laws mandating use of motorcycle helmets and auto seat belts, child passenger safety rules and driver’s license requirements.
Arizona ranked 51st — dead last — just ahead of South Dakota,Minnesota and Arkansas. The District of Columbia and the state of Washington tied forfirst and California tied for third with five other states.
Arizona does not require motorcycle riders to wear helmets and has highrates of drunk driving and uninsured drivers.
The study also looked at states’ emergency services and trauma centers and their ability to respond to highway accidents.
The poor ranking is the latest in a number of quality of life indicators in which Arizona ranks poorly. A Kansas research group ranked Arizona as the “dumbest” state in the union. Arizona also has high crime rates, thenation’s highest per-capita identity theft rate and the worst high school dropoutrate when compared to other states.
— Mike SunnucksThe Business Journal
STUDENT AT CALIFA COLLEGE BAN PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: Student leaders at a California college have touched off a furor bybanning the Pledge of Allegiance at their meetings, saying they see no reason to publicly swear loyalty to God and the U.S. government.
The move by Orange Coast College student trustees, the latest clash over patriotism and religion in American schools, has infuriated some of their classmates — prompting one young woman to loudly recite the pledge infront of the board on Wednesday night in defiance of the rule.
“America is the one thing I’m passionate about and I can’t let them takethat away from me,” 18-year-old political science major Christine Zoldos told Reuters.
“The fact that they have enough power to ban one of the most valued traditions in America is just horrible,” Zoldos said, adding she wouldattend every board meeting to salute the flag.
The move was led by three recently elected student trustees, who ran for office wearing revolutionary-style berets and said they do not believe in publicly swearing an oath to the American flag and government at theirschool. One student trustee voted against the measure, which does not apply to other student groups or campus meetings.
The ban follows a 2002 ruling by a federal appeals court in San Francisco that said forcing school children to recite the pledge wasunconstitutional because of the phrase “under God.” The U.S. Supreme Court struck downthe ruling on procedural grounds but left the door open for another challenge.
“That (‘under God’) part is sort of offensive to me,” student trusteeJason Ball, who proposed the ban, told Reuters. “I am an atheist and a socialist, and if you know your history, you know that ‘under God’ was insertedduring the McCarthy era and was directly designed to destroy my ideology.”
Ball said the ban largely came about because the trustees didn’t want to publicly vow loyalty to the American government before their meetings.”Loyalty ought to be something the government earns through performance, notthrough reciting a pledge,” he said.
Martha Parham, a spokeswoman for the Coast Community College District,said her office had no standing on the student board and took no position on the flag salute ban.
“If their personal belief is that they don’t want to say the Pledge of Allegiance, the district certainly isn’t going to dictate what they do,”she said. More than 28,000 students attend the community college, located in conservative Orange County, California, south of Los Angeles.
— By Dan WhitcombFri Nov 10, 1:53 PM ET
AMA REJECTS PROPOSAL TO TAX SOFT DRINKS: LAS VEGAS (AP) – The American Medical Association on Tuesday decidedagainst a proposal tocall for taxes on soft drinks as a way to curb consumption of thesugar-laden beveragesblamed for contributing to obesity.
“We don’t want sugared soft drinks in schools. But a federal tax made alot of peopleuncomfortable,” said Dr. William Hamilton, a Salt Lake Cityanesthesiologist who attendedthe group’s meeting at a Las Vegas Strip hotel.
The AMA instead approved a proposal for a broader effort to fight obesity.
The American Beverage Association fought the tax proposal but issued astatement creditingthe AMA with adopting “a comprehensive approach to addressing thecomplex problem ofobesity.”
Dr. Ron Davis, president-elect of the nation’s most influentialphysicians lobbying group,insisted the idea of taxing soda was not dead. He said soft drinks nowaccount for 7percent of calories in the American diet _ the No. 1 source of calories.
“The epidemic of obesity in the U.S. has been developing and growing for30 years, andit’s going to take decades to turn it around,” he said.
— By KEN RITTER Associated Press Writer
JURY FINDS MASON CITY NOT NEGLIGENT IN MOTORCYCLE CRASH: MASON CITY, Iowa A jury has sided with Mason City in a lawsuit filed bya man who claimed an open fire hydrant caused his motorcycle accident.
James Kleven of Mason City was injured in June 2003. He sued the city for negligence, claiming an open fire hydrant being used to water flowerscaused the accident.
He claimed there was two to three inches of water in the street, causinghim to lose control of his motorcycle.
The city claims that Kleven had been drinking before the crash. He was not charged with drunken driving.
A Cerro Gordo County jury ruled yesterday that the city was not negligent. (Brian Fancher, KGLO in Mason City)
THE POLITICIAN: While walking down the street one day, a senator is tragically hit by atruck and killed. His soul arrives inHeaven and is met by St. Peter at the entrance.
“Welcome to Heaven,” says St. Peter. “Before you settle in, it seems thereis a problem. We seldom see a high official around these parts, you see, sowe’re not sure what to do with you.”
“No problem, just let me in,” says the senator.
“Well, I’d like to, but I have orders from higher up. What we’ll do is haveyou spend one day in Hell and one in Heaven. Then you can choose where tospend eternity.”
“There’s no need! I want to be in Heaven,” says the senator.
“I’m sorry, but we have our rules.” And with that, St. Peter escorts him tothe elevator, the doors open, and he rides the elevator down, down, down.When the doors open again, the senator finds himself in the middle of abeautiful green golf course. In the distance is a club, and standing infront of it are all his friends and other politicians who had worked withhim.
Everyone is very happy and in formal dress. They run to greet him, and theyreminisce about the good times they had while getting rich at the expense ofthe people. They play a friendly game of golf and then dine on lobster andcaviar.
Also present is the Devil, who is a very friendly guy who has a good timedancing and telling jokes. They are having such a good time that, before thesenator realizes it, it is time to go. Everyone gives him a big hug andwaves while the elevator rises. The elevator goes up, up, up, and the doorreopens in Heaven where St. Peter is waiting for him.
So 24 hours pass with the senator joining a group of contented souls movingfrom cloud to cloud, playing the harp and singing. They have a good timeand, before he realizes it, the 24 hours have gone by, and St. Peterreturns.
“Well, you’ve spent a day in Hell and another in Heaven. Now, you mustchoose where you want to spend eternity.”
He reflects for a minute and then answers, “Well, I would never would havethought it, I mean Heaven has been delightful, but I think I would be bettersatisfied in Hell.”
So Saint Peter escorts him to the elevator, and down, down, down he goesinto Hell. Now, the doors of the elevator open, and he is in the middle of abarren land covered with waste and garbage. He sees all his friends dressedin rags, picking up the trash and putting it in black bags. And it’s hot,hot, hot, and the odor is just horrible.
Sweltering hot. Hot and miserable. The Devil comes over to him and smoothlylays his arm around his shoulder.
“I don’t understand,” stammers the senator. “The day before I was here, andthere was a golf course and club, and we ate lobster and caviar and dancedand had a great time. Now all there is is a wasteland full of garbage, andmy friends look miserable.”
The Devil looks at the senator, smiles, and says, “Yesterday we werecampaigning. Today you voted for us.”
Author – Unknown
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–Hawk
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Anything can be accomplished, if it’s planned right and you have thedesire and creativity to execute it.
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