Busted!

An American Traffic Solutions EXECUTIVE was "suspended for an uncertain amount of time" when he got caught posing as a citizen and posting positive spin about traffic cameras. A spokesman for the company described the outed EXECUTIVE as being passionate for the company but said he went about promoting it the wrong way. MY. BUTT. He just got caught. Note that nowhere in the article did you see the phrase "without pay" to go along with his suspension.

This industry will stop at nothing to convince the populace that these cameras are desired. We can expect that the traffic camera industry will pay to have studies done with pre-ordained results. We can expect that the industry will hire lobbyists and PR firms. We can expect that they will make promises to crooked politicans of vast wealth that they can squander on their pet vote-buying projects.

They will stop at nothing. Use your common sense. If someone is advocating these unproven and unconstitutional devices, FOLLOW THE MONEY.

Traffic Enforcement Camera Quotes of the Day

This Jeff Ward opinion piece is chock full of traffic camera / freedom goodness:

"Because once our civic leaders begin to see law enforcement as just another revenue stream, you won't be able to tell the difference between the cops and the criminals."

"[red light cameras are] a despicable abomination that needs to go the way of the Humvee."

The English Solution to Speed Cameras

In Lincolnshire, England, the locals there have taken to burning the speed cameras. "Vandals" have damaged nearly 1/3 of the speed cameras there. I believe that CNN popularized the phrase "One man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter." Could the same be said about one man's "vandal"?

Just as a note: At this point in time, I do not condone vandalism against cameras. We still have a legal process that allows us to fight these things, and as long as that process remains, we should fully utilize it.

Bluff City Candidates' Positions on Speed Cameras

Tricities.com has a story today about the candidates for Bluff City's board of mayor and aldermen. Only one of the candidates, Melvin Carrier, has the guts to publicly oppose the speed cameras in Piney Flats / Bluff City. I would encourage the few people who actually live in Bluff City to support him in his election.

Bluff City is a town that's government is in complete disarray. I don't think it currently has a mayor and they have had consistent problems with the board of mayor and aldermen for quite some time. Why does this town even exist? The population is only 1559 people, but yet they put up a speed camera to rip off revenue from thousands of non-residents. It seems to me that the only reason the town exists is to provide a few guvmint jobs for the locals, rip off passersby and run a few police cars. What would it take to force Bluff City to surrender its charter of incorporation? I mean, really, do the 1559 Sullivan County residents who reside in Bluff City need another layer of government?

It is clear that the speed cameras there put a disproportionate burden on non-residents of Bluff City - people who have no voice in the election of the leaders there or those who make decisions. This is truly a unique situation and should not be allowed to continue. The entire Tri-Cities area must pay the price in lost tourism and money being sent out of our economy to an out-of-state traffic camera company. Literally millions of dollars are leaving the local economy and the state, just so a few tyrants in a tiny town will have some $$$ to blow on their pet projects. Enough!

$835 parking ticket

I hope none of the other money-grubbing municipalities hear about this. This lady received an $835 ticket for parking in the grass. Unbelievable.

Just Be Honest

The Arizona Daily Star suggests that we be honest and call traffic cameras what they actually are: short term revenue generators.