[Vision2020] Question for the Vision

Mon Nov 20 15:13:20 PST 2006

Excellent Chris. Good to here from you. I haven't seen Phill's kids for a while. Do you know how they are doing?

Roger
-----Original message-----
From: "Chris Storhok" cstorhok at co.fairbanks.ak.us
Date: Mon, 20 Nov 2006 14:45:10 -0800
To: "Jennifer McFarland" jmcfarland at latah.id.us, "Vision 2020" vision2020 at moscow.com
Subject: Re: [Vision2020] Question for the Vision

> What I find interesting about this debate is the underlying question of
> what level of nanny-government should we adopt (or be forced to live
> with) to save a buck?
> 
> If one searches through all the "causes" out there that promote
> government regulation in the name of saving someone a dollar (and
> naturally lives = $$$$) you come up with a potential laundry list that
> ultimately leads to a totalitarian society ruled by actuary tables.  
> 
> A small sample of the "cost" of human activity:
> Smoking, $92 Billion US-wide (2005 CDC)
> Drinking, $185 Billion US-wide (2000 National Institutes of Health)
> Obesity, $35 Billion (US-wide (no pun intended) (2004 NIH)
> "Illegal" drug use, $180 Billion US-wide (2002 - White House ONDCP)
>   
> As Kai just pointed out, we never see the saved $$$ anyway.
> All we see is more and more regulation in the name of whatever cause is
> in the spot light at the time.   
> 
> Heck, I always use my seat belt, not out of fear of the law or saving
> someone a precious tax dollar but because I know the seat belt works.  I
> wear a helmet on a snowmobile, motorcycle, and when I play hockey
> because I know the helmet decreases the likelihood of serious injury in
> case I screw up (or someone else does); but I really hate the idea of
> government mandates.  
> 
> Death or serious injury due to life choices is a tragedy, but I fear an
> oppressive nanny government far more than a thinner wallet due to
> someone's lifestyle choice.   I, for one, feel that we as a nation have
> pushed the envelope too far; if you don't want to wear a seat belt; that
> is your choice, not the governments... 
> 
> 
> (Damn Cold and Damn Dark in N.P. AK)
> Chris  
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: vision2020-bounces at moscow.com
> [mailto:vision2020-bounces at moscow.com] On Behalf Of Jennifer McFarland
> Sent: Monday, November 20, 2006 1:03 PM
> To: 'Vision 2020'
> Subject: Re: [Vision2020] Question for the Vision
> 
> Good points, indeed, but I would argue that the unbelted are indeed
> putting
> me at risk, at least financially.  I pay taxes and I'd rather my tax
> money
> go toward more productive things than paying for the aftermath of
> fatality
> collisions (officer overtime, court costs, insurance increases, etc.).
> In
> effect, Idahoans collectively paying $575 million a year for people who
> don't think they should have to wear seatbelts.  I doubt we pay a
> similar
> amount to cover costs associated with bungee jumping accidents.
> 
> Det. Jennifer L. McFarland
> Latah County Sheriff's Office
> Public Information Officer
> PO Box 8068
> Moscow, Idaho 83843
> (208) 882-2216
> Fax (208) 883-2281
> http://www.latah.id.us/Dept/Sheriff_Main.htm
> 
> Truth is the summit of being; justice is the application of it to
> affairs.
> ***Ralph Waldo Emerson
> 
>   
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: lfalen [mailto:lfalen at turbonet.com] 
> Sent: Monday, November 20, 2006 13:50
> To: Kai Eiselein, editor; Jennifer McFarland; 'Vision 2020'
> Subject: Re: [Vision2020] Question for the Vision
> 
> Very well said Kai. It is stupid and self destructive, but should be up
> to
> them, so long as it does not put some one else at risk. The same goes
> for
> helmets and life preserver.  I think Bungi jumping is also stupid and
> dangerous. Should it be outlawed?
> 
> Roger
> -----Original message-----
> From: "Kai Eiselein, editor" editor at lataheagle.com
> Date: Mon, 20 Nov 2006 13:17:04 -0800
> To: "Jennifer McFarland" jmcfarland at latah.id.us, "'Vision 2020'"
> vision2020 at moscow.com
> Subject: Re: [Vision2020] Question for the Vision
> 
> > I believe that all persons under the age of 18 should be belted, and
> > officers should be able to pull over a vehicle if they see an unbelted
> > minor.
> > Adults, however, should make their own choices.
> > I say this in light of the fact that I ALWAYS wear a seatbelt and
> twice
> have
> > walked away relatively uninjured because of them, including an end
> over
> end
> > rollover.
> > I've also been injured by a seatbelt; compression fractures in my
> back.
> But
> > that was an oddball accident and if I hadn't been wearing a seatbelt,
> the
> > doctors said I would have probably broken my neck.
> > What is needed is better education as to WHY people need to use
> seatbelts
> > and use actual, close up, gory photos of those that didn't. I've
> crawled
> > into a car after a guy hit a telephone pole at 30 mph with no belt and
> it
> is
> > not a pretty sight. Maybe if people see the real, unsanitized results,
> their
> > seatbelt usage would change.
> > I think our police have better things to do than play parent to adult
> > drivers.
> > It also seems a bit goofy to me to toughen seatbelt laws on adults,
> while
> > having no helmet law for them.
> > Just my two cents worth.
> >   -----Original Message-----
> >   From: vision2020-bounces at moscow.com
> > [mailto:vision2020-bounces at moscow.com]On Behalf Of Jennifer McFarland
> >   Sent: Monday, November 20, 2006 12:16 PM
> >   To: 'Vision 2020'
> >   Subject: [Vision2020] Question for the Vision
> > 
> > 
> > 
> >   Dear Visionaries,
> > 
> >   I hope you are all doing well as we enter the holiday season.  I
> issued
> a
> > press release a little over a week ago alerting the public of our
> "Click
> It
> > Don't Risk It!" seat belt compliance campaign.  I'm happy to say that
> of
> the
> > 15 cars I pulled over yesterday, only one person was not in compliance
> with
> > Idaho's seat belt laws.  However, I was just visited by a friend form
> the
> > Lewiston Police Department (our partner in this year's campaign), and
> he
> and
> > I talked about our laws relative to Washington's laws.  In Idaho, an
> officer
> > must pull a car over for a "greater" offense (speeding, having a
> > registration sticker in the wrong place, not having a front plate,
> etc.)
> in
> > order to enforce the seat belt laws.  In other words, I cannot pull
> over a
> > car just because I see a small child standing up in the back seat-I'd
> have
> > to have other probable cause to pull over said vehicle.  The Lewiston
> > officer I've been working with has spent a lot of time trying to
> change
> > Idaho's laws regarding seat belt use to: 1. make it a primary offense,
> and
> > 2. raise the fines so they are commensurate with other states' fines
> for
> the
> > same.  I've heard arguments supporting both sides to this, but I am
> curious
> > as to what Latah County's citizens think about our seat belt
> laws-whether
> > they are adequate as they are, if they should change, how they should
> > change, etc.  My own views on seat belt usage have as much to do with
> how
> I
> > was raised as they do with a general aversion to the gruesome scenes
> I've
> > experienced responding to collisions wherein the passenger(s) were not
> > properly restrained (and having to notify next of kin).  But I also
> realize
> > that my experience is just that-mine.  What are your thoughts?
> > 
> >   Thank you for your time,
> > 
> >   ~Jennifer
> > 
> > 
> > 
> >   Det. Jennifer L. McFarland
> >   Latah County Sheriff's Office
> >   Public Information Officer
> >   PO Box 8068
> >   Moscow, Idaho 83843
> >   (208) 882-2216
> >   Fax (208) 883-2281
> >   http://www.latah.id.us/Dept/Sheriff_Main.htm
> > 
> >   Truth is the summit of being; justice is the application of it to
> affairs.
> >   ***Ralph Waldo Emerson
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > 
> 
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