We Are The Government

I see all these posts about the government is out of control, the government is taking over, the government etc...

Thing is, we have EXACTLY what we voted for and it's been building since FDR.

WE are the government. The problem is, too few of us take our responsibilities seriously.

Voting is a pain, so we don't vote - or, we let it be done early, so we can make sure we get our naps in. As a result, we end up with a government that is amenable to the activists, not the People.

Jury duty is so inconvenient that we take great pains to get out of it. So, we end up with ignorant jurors who lacked the imagination to get out of serving. Also, too few realize that when they are on a jury, it is not only the defendant who's on trial; the LAW is, too.

When asked what the Constitutional Convention gave to the nation, Ben Franklin is said to have replied, "A Republic, if you can keep it."

Well, maybe we can't. Maybe no one can. As Rome did, the US keeps its citizens in line with Bread and Circuses. Rome fell, we are probably falling. We could stop the fall, but that takes effort and - well, there's American Idol to watch or something neat is on YouTube.

In school, kids are taught that the Constitution is malleable, a "living" document, changing at the whim of society. I know; I was a teacher. They are not taught that it is the LAW.

But, even if they were, so what?

We have too many laws and far too many of what we have address piddling issues. As a result, we go ahead and justify breaking those little laws. By doing so, we train ourselves that the law is something to be broken and we find it far easier to ignore the bigger laws - like the Constitution.

Does anyone think that the laws we have in place today would have passed even a cursory review by the Founding Fathers? I don't think so. I think they would be offended and distressed by what we have done to their gift to us. Although, they had a far different attitude back then. People were, in general, nobler, I believe. The Founding Fathers had no idea what dregs their prodigy would be.

Democracy lasts until the People discover they can vote themselves largesse from the public treasuries. Then the slide to failure becomes almost unstoppable.

Bread and Circuses. The bane of societies.

Big Brother Will Be Watching

Even though the Texas legislature is nearly unanimous in opposing this new technology, TxDOT is still going ahead with it;

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Texas DOT to Install
Federally Funded Highway Speed Cameras

Despite the opposition of the state legislature, the Texas Department of transportation proposes a federally funded speed camera test.

Despite the near-unanimous opposition in the state legislature to the use of speed cameras, the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) is moving forward on a proposal to deploy photo radar on state highways using federal gas tax funds. Legislation awaiting Governor Rick Perry's signature prohibited only municipalities -- like Marble Falls and Rhome -- from installing automated speeding ticket systems. It was silent on the possibility of a state-run system.
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So much for Government of the People, by the People, for the People. The People, via their duly elected representatives, have spoken that they do NOT want this system. Yet, the executive is going ahead with it anyway. I have come to regret having voted for Rick Perry and have written to him expressing that regret.

Not that it will do any good. He is ignoring the voices of millions of Texans by ignoring the will of the Legislature. Why should he care about a letter from an individual?

That aside, is the goal of this system to make the roads safer?Is it to ensure compliance with the law?

Of course not.

This is the goal;

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In its request for proposals, TxDOT cited success of speed cameras in the UK and Washington, DC. The UK government generated 120 million pounds (US $240 million) in revenue in 2003 while the Washington, DC red light and speed camera program has issued $217 million in tickets since 1999.
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Revenue.

Money.

That is the goal - to generate funds for the State. This is a tax, not a law enforcement effort. It is a tool to generate revenue.

Another interesting tidbit is this;

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TxDOT's vendor will send notices -- warnings at first -- to motorists driving just 5 MPH over the limit with an accuracy level of +/- 2 MPH[.]
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It's not even being monitored or enforced by duly appointed law enforcment officers of the State. It is being monitored and enforced by the vendor, a private entity.

Then, there's the Sixth Amendment. The one that says "[T]he accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him[.]"

How can a camera be a witness? A camera is not a living being.

Get me on a Jury and I don't care if the camera caught you doing 110 in a school zone - I'll acquit. I will not support this system in any way or for any reason.