Official Rant thread.

[fowljesse]

I agree. If they actually rehabilitated people, there would be no reason to discriminate against them.
Alot of small time criminals, or people in desperate situations end up hard criminals, because they can't get good jobs after a conviction. What most prisoners learn inside, is how to do other crimes. I was just thinking today about how the only people who don't really have to work are people who have been convicted of crime. If those people at least supported themselves, taxpayers wouldn't have to. They could at least grow their own food. There are a thousand trades they could be learning, and practicing... There's over 40,000,000 man-hours a WEEK not only going to waste, but actually learning how to be worse. They don't even make license plates anymore
People should come out of incarceration better than when they went in, and that should include education. It should be known that they committed crime, but they should have every opportunity everyone else does (barring violent, and sexual crimes).

[wagZE]

40,000,000 man hours a week holy sh.. why not make farm programs or something for the lifers at least, I think we should look at the we we punish & condemn law breakers to make them maybe less of a burden financially on all us tax payers. Another exhibit of our poor efficiency as a nation, I didn't even know they stopped doin the plates. What's really effed up is like 2/3rds of people locked up are addicts who just need help. Whats even more effed up is they don't get it and their families suffer.
Anyways I think my next rant is about these bastards at the unemployment office you can't even get through to them over the phone, nor will they give me any money I've been trying them for like 2 months now sob's.....

[fowljesse]

Keep with it, man. My girlfriend ran through the wringer, and jumped all the hoops, and it looked like they weren't going to give her any $$, but they finally did. Also, if you do a med. study, they'll not give you as much for that month, but it'll come back. We should start a clas action law suit against those batsids.

[Mnemonic]

Anyways I think my next rant is about these bastards at the unemployment office you can't even get through to them over the phone, nor will they give me any money I've been trying them for like 2 months now sob's.....

My roommate was let go from his job yesterday, and he's already setup for unemployment and will be receiving his 1st check within the next week or so... He just went in at 8am this morning didn't have any trouble getting everything set up or getting the money. And he was fired for disciplinary actions, he liked to call out a lot so they let him go.

[fowljesse]

He's LUCKY. Here in the NorthWest, it sucks. The only office we could go to is over 50 miles away, and a news crew went in there, and could barely talk to anyone. When they did, they had them call their own number, and try to get through. They couldn't. sarah filled out all the stuff online, and had to choose answers that most represtented her situation. It was tough for her, because she's so "by the book", and didn't want to misrepresent herself. She didn't get to the next level until she waited all day to get someone on the phone, and look at her appplication, and unlock the next level. then they said it took too long, and they weren't going to award her. It was alot of BS.

[Ryan]

I have another rant to go on.

Its these Novice Driver's Course thing we have, at least in Manitoba.

A while back, I was helping an old lady out of the ditch with my buddy in his Jeep. I was in her little car, and he was driving the jeep. As we were jsut out he braked way earlier than I expected, and I couldn't see out of the rear window, as it was all foggy. The bumpers touched, and at -30, the plastics on both cars were wrecked.

Went through insurance and everything, I as completely sad with how it turned out. I wanted to help this little old lady and all I end up doing is giving her a $200 bill. Thats a cruel lesson for such action.

Insult to injury, I get this letter; "Because of the incidents below, we are requring you to take the NOVICE DRIVERS COURSE because we're concerned about your safety on the road.." blah blah, more insulting crap. $120! You've gotta be kidding me. I wasn't unsafe, I tried to help an old lady, life is $#@%ing cruel.

I manage to get that one waived.

Fast foreward a year, I get pulled over for speeding, 19km over in a 90, the only 90 in our municipality, which is only 90 for political reasons, not safety. (I hate government)

Sure, pay the 220, I get it. Even though I wasn't intentionally speeding (I know people do) I was simply coming home from school, thinking about exams and being stressed like usual. (I work 20 hours a week with full time school, where I am taking the hardest course load possible in the regional. I'm taking university courses next semester) I'm not exactly a kid with lots of spare time to sit on my a-- and waste life eating junk food and playing video games or anything like that.

I pay the ticked day after I get it.

Fast foreward two months, I get ANOTHER one of hte stupid drivers safety course letters. I just about lost it.

Okay, say a kid is caught speeding. Blanket rule, he gets a ticket. If he's rich/spoiled/lucky, no matter what kind of person that is, they get a ticket. Maybe mommy or daddy pays it (like his car maybe, too) or he pays for it. Most kids don't work for fun, they have a purpose, somewhere to put their money. 50% of my earnings go to University, the other goes mainly to insurance (government) and gas (rediculous markup on a cheap product sold by companies with monopolies, and us by the balls because the world doesn't spin without gasoline). Anyway! So now, they take this kid, rich, spoiled, or truely a good apple, and make him take this course so he can learn not to speed, regardless of he was racing or just thinking about what he all had left to do in the week. Now either mommy pays for it again, or this kid with a good purpose is left to pick up another $100 tab for a course with no exam, and no real merit. I know what speed limit signs look like, I know the physics behind everything car-realted (Even though sometimes Nd4SpdSe and I argue about it:P) This course is nothing but another cheque to some organization that will never turn my money back to me in any way shape or form.

I can't afford this crap. A month and a half of savings is way too high a price for not being 100% there while driving. I really can't afford it. I've worked myself down to pennies, I have $50 to spend on anything non-car related each month, and Christmas is just over, so you know...

What pisses me off most is how they target "novice" drivers. I see it all the time, where yes, some kids are complete morons and will probably die before 20, but I also see lots of soccer moms, men in trucks, and hundreds of other adults who aren't exactly safe. If this course is to "stop bad habits before they begin" why don't the target the ones with habits? Can't teach old dogs new tricks? What a dam fine excuse. I'm a perfectly sane driver. I slipped up, literally, once, and the cop gets me 100 meters before I'm going to slow for my corner.

Maybe I just wasn't meant to have any money.

Turns out I got two demerits for my speeding ticket to boot, so yay, my licence will go up too (more money to government).


I'm definately moving to a remote undiscovered island, where I don't have to pay any people anything, and I can sleep on a cave floor. I'm looking foreward to it.

[Nd4SpdSe]

I know the physics behind everything car-realted (Even though sometimes Nd4SpdSe and I argue about it:P)

You know the concepts


A quick rant:
I hate women; they make no sence, you can't please then, they don't know what they want and they do nothing but frustrate me...I swear they make my bi-polar!

[fowljesse]

Yeah.
And once a month, they get possessed.

[Ryan]

Oh, thats what it is? Someone told me that once a month Chuck Norris comes to each females room, late at night, and as a result, they bleed for a week.

I'd be cranky too.

[Nd4SpdSe]

Nah, this as been like 2-3 weeks...

[fowljesse]

My girlfriend is awesome, and we get along great ¾ of the time.
The other ¼, she speaks a different language, and it's usually accusative, and mean.
It seems to coincide with the moon.

[Ryan]

"Werewolf?"

"Nope, Female."

[Daninski]

To describe a woman think of a man, then take away accountability and reason.

[nightfire]

Hmm.. I want to reply to the original post.

Saying drunk driving is bad is like saying speeding is bad. It's meaningless.

Speeding can take the form of an accidental 3km/h over the limit (ie. down a hill) or an intentional double-plus (200km/h on the 401). It can also be 30km/h over a 40km/h limited school zone, at 3pm on a weekday.

A criminal might have stolen a pack of gum, or he might have stabbed a baby. Saying "he's a criminal" is almost meaningless without context. People generally recognize this.

However, with all the moral panic, fear, and outrage drummed into our society in the last 10 years, people don't seem to be able to differentiate between levels of drunk driving.

Under no circumstances should someone who blows 0.08 be sentenced to prison, unless it can be proved that:

1) He's done it before, and
2) He displayed alarming behavior (weaving, late braking, etc)

If either of these are false, he should have a 24-hour license suspension, and lose, say, 5 demerit points. No tickets because money to the state raises a conflict of interest. He'll have to pay for a taxi home, anyway.

That's the borderline case taken care of. 0.08BAC for most people is the point where their judgment starts to become noticeably impaired.

Now, the bad guys.

Just like with speeding, there should be a sliding scale. Blow >0.10? License suspension for a week, 8 demerit points.

Over 0.15? License suspension for a month, and you must retake your driver's test at your expense. Your new license starts with, at most, 5 available demerit points (less if you've previously lost some).

Over 0.20? License revoked. You can reapply to the system after 1 year. Possibility of jail time, if circumstances warrant. Insurance rates through the roof.

And finally, in any accident where alcohol is a factor (ie. >0.08), the onus is upon the driver to prove their innocence. Innocent 'till proven guilty doesn't apply once you've already been convicted of a related offense; it's used as evidence against you.

This will encourage more responsible driving.

The problem with setting a hard fast rule of "all drunk driving is equal" is people have less incentive to drink responsibly. If 0.08 is the same as 0.30, why even wait until you're reasonably close to the limit? Why not just take off now... besides, you're tired. Right?

Well, if the punishment for 0.20 was many times greater than 0.08, that's one hell of a good reason to wait.

Absolutism fails us all.

**edit** Also, be wary of the old hags and teetotalers that are using anti-drunk-driving campaigns as a soapbox for attacks against alcohol in general. They do exist. It's the fine end of the wedge: start with a reasonable campaign (driving drunk is dangerous), expand it to unconstitutional roadblocks (it's for the children! honest!), then move on to a wholesale attack against bars (bb-bb-bbut it's poison! I don't like it, so no one else should, either!).

Beware the slippery slope. They did it with smokes. Started reasonable (no smoking at work), moved on to quasi-reasonable (restaurant owners lose the right to open smoking establishments), then to unreasonable (poison shops.. er, clubs and bar owners denied the right to open a smoking establishment), to the surreal (no smoking in personal vehicles and homes, no employment for people who smoke out of work, etc). And they ain't done yet. And for the record, I'm a non-smoker.

Not to say drunk driving isn't a scourge upon our society... but we should all be aware: not everyone is working towards their stated goals.

[boosted_bullet]

I'm definately moving to a remote undiscovered island, where I don't have to pay any people anything, and I can sleep on a cave floor. I'm looking foreward to it.[/quote]

willlssson!!!!