PD: Cracking down on drunken drivers (DUI CHECKPOINTS)

[Larry Robinson]

Ritual to Read to Each Other

If you don’t know the kind of person I am
and I don’t know the kind of person you are
a pattern that others made may prevail in the world
and following the wrong god home we may miss our star.

For there is many a small betrayal in the mind,
a shrug that lets the fragile sequence break
sending with shouts the horrible errors of childhood
storming out to play through the broken dyke.

And as elephants parade holding each elephant’s tail,
but if one wanders the circus won’t find the park,
I call it cruel and maybe the root of all cruelty
to know what occurs but not recognize the fact.

And so I appeal to a voice, to something shadowy,
a remote important region in all who talk:
though we could fool each other, we should consider--
lest the parade of our mutual life get lost in the dark.

For it is important that awake people be awake,
or a breaking line may discourage them back to sleep;
the signals we give--yes or no, or maybe--
should be clear: the darkness around us is deep.


- William Stafford

[justme]

Well just wanted to say that I am all done with THIS thread. It has gotten too worn out.

On a personal level, because of my opinions, I have been called a cop (ok) a kid (ok too) and a "social pariah" (excellent!).

Seriously though, since I moved out of Sonoma County 2 months ago, I have tried to share opinions from others I know on this subject. Some liberal, some not.

With few exceptions, the non-liberal views were met with insults not even related to DUI's.

Barry, if your wacco community wants to be conscious, maybe they better get their heads out of the West County and really talk and debate with others not in their mindset and physical area. (the nation?).

I think some posters are really afraid they might actually change their own minds.

The one complaint I hear from many people is that ultra-liberals and ultra-conservatives never listen.....

Too bad for those really trying to make an effort to be "conscious" as in, "aware of everyone and everything about them"..

All I hope is that the DUI killing and maiming is reduced, no matter what it takes.... Time to take the gloves off on this issue anyway...

Stephen

[justme]

Thanks for the gratitude Barry.... I think....:rofl2:Take care all!!!!

[Yubajeff]

Oh, did I say being a cop was a bad thing? That is your own projection.


Violent communication? :hmmm: Just an example..... Seems like you were the one that acused me of "being a cop" for stating an opinion that was contrary to yours. And another's response was that I was "probably just a kid". You say my example was "violent"? I say the two above stated comments were self-aggrandizing , belittling and just plain ignorant... "That says it all"....

[theindependenteye]

>>Seriously though, since I moved out of Sonoma County 2 months ago, I have tried to share opinions from others I know on this subject. Some liberal, some not.
>>With few exceptions, the non-liberal views were met with insults not even related to DUI's.

I don't understand. What do you regard as a "liberal" view on this subject? Liberal=anti-cop? I thought it was central to the conservative agenda to assert individualism over the broader social good, as in gun rights, free movement of capital, anti-unionism, etc. Some in this forum, who sure sounded like conservatives to me, have even supported arming ourselves for possible revolution against the day when Marxists (i.e. Democrats) take over the State.

My only point is to suggest that these terms are pretty slippery, and that positions on some issues aren't readily predictable by means of one's voting record.

Peace & joy--
Conrad

[tomcat]

How about a story everyone?

Long ago in what seems like another lifetime...

I operated a sugar beet harvester down in El Centro, CA. It took awhile to master the art of driving the tractor, staying on the row, operating the harvesting machine, and watching for clogs while loading the big trucks two trailers as it drove alongside me. I got the hang of it after 3 weeks or so.

It was HOT and DIRTY work sitting in an open cab tractor with only an umbrella for shade. We worked from sunup till sundown.

Just before loading the last truck one day, the driver gave me an ice cold beer... boy, was it good! Really hit the spot.

I then proceeded to run the last rows of the day to get this truck loaded.

To my surprise, that one 'low alcohol piss water beer' completely screwed up my concentration and timing. I went off the row a bit, missed the trailer and got beets on the ground, failed to see a clog, and just generally did a crappy job.

I thought, WOW, could that ONE beer really have made that much of a difference? I didn't FEEL impaired at all, but it sure messed up my reaction time.

I repeated this the next day as an experiment and... sure enough... screwed up my last load again!

From that day on, I asked for "only water or 7-up please" and never had a problem with the last load again.

So, I now realize that only ONE beer can slow my reaction time somewhat and although driving a car is not nearly as involved as operating other more complicated equipment, I will never drive impaired again. Accidents happen, but the odds go up if you drive impaired.

I am happy to stop at checkpoints and thank the officers for getting anyone off the road who does not belong there.

Thanks for reading the story. It may not change any minds, but it was fun to write... and it is true.

[Dram]

I got to give credit where credit is due. I got stopped yesterday by a highway patrol , I also didn't have my seat belt on, I got the fix it ticket and a warning on the seat belt, seat belt ticket for me would have been $300 so as far as quotas or stickin it too us each cop is different.

[justme]

Ah...."a civil way"....isn't it wonderful? Your idea of civility is a MsTerry to me.

A very "civil" response too Tars..

[Purplehazel]

Thank you for that story. Here is another, a short one that has stayed with me a long time...

One Tuesday following a Memorial Day weekend some years ago, I got a phone call from my brother to tell me his best friend Doug, who was one of the kindest men I knew, a dedicated, loving father, and a gifted creative media artist who brought life-giving messages to the world with his videos, radio shows and music, was killed in a car accident, along with his wife and 6-year old daughter, by a drunk driver. Their 10-year old son survived the accident, though his legs were crushed.

Thank you for your patience at police check points.

[bodegahead]

Labor Day Protest: Citizens Protest Police DUI Checkpoints
in the city of Moreno Valley, CA


View video (https://www.sfgate.com/mp/truveo/search/view?id=1988650633&stype=all)

[Owltalk]

Last night I decided at 11:00 PM or so that I needed to buy some gum. So my dog and I headed down the hill to Sebastopol. I had some time sensitive letters I wanted to mail so I started looking for a mailbox with an early pickup date. I appeared to be driving erratically if you didn't know what I was doing and guess:copcar: what, I got pulled over. I put my car in neutral and sat in my seat as I tried to calm myself. This cop comes to my window and he is the most handsome guy! He's really, really good looking. Blond with sparkling eyes. We talked a bit while he waited to get the run down on my background after he called in my license. He informed me of my broken tail light. And then he ask me if I had been drinking. I said I hadn't and that was it. He suggested the mail box in front of the HopMonk and away he drove. Phewww:worship: I think he liked my dog. It was very mellow.