Ticket Quota - Fail

http://www.autoblog.com/2011/04/12/report-la-police-officers-who-alleged-ticket-quota-system-win/

$2M worth of FAIL

Props to the officers who stood up. E36 M3 like that is why some people shoot at officers over a stupid ticket. I understand keeping quiet to keep a job, but being a cop ain't exactly the safest thing in the world in the first place. (Full Disclosure: I'm dating a cop's daughter..who just got a job as a detention officer)

Great $2M of tax payers money into the pockets of cops that don't want to do their jobs. Anyone that becomes a cop and thinks his job isn't partly about writting tickets is kidding himself. For the record I'm against quotas but this changes nothing except the cops are now rich.

I'm not joking or jabbing when I say this.

Why the berkeleying hell can't the god damned Tea Party activists get worked up in a lather about this bull E36 M3 taxation?! Drives me insane. I saw a cop collecting taxes this morning on a four lane road here in Denver with a speed limit of 30 MPH. No one can tell me that isn't a tax collection scam.

I have NO problem paying taxes. Charge me the taxes you need to keep things running. Then get rid of all the BS. We have a whole army of "traffic cops" here that do nothing but write tickets. Really? Glad all those crimes got solved so we don't need any more "real" cops. We can have some that just collect taxes.

Oh. My. Did I say all that out loud? He. He he. Yeah.

I get a little worked up over that one. Nothing to see here, folks. Move along.

we could do it the European way. No cops with radar..well almost none. Speed cameras hidden everywhere and tickets through the mail that you cannot fight. Oh, and one more thing...to raise revenue for roads you pay a hefty toll about every ten miles on the Autostrada.

We are going to tolls too if road privatization goes through but that's a rant for another day. I'll take my chances with Johnny Law in the meantime.

Eddie I think a lot of that has to do with local vs federal. At least that's my take on it.

We have a few small towns around here that do the same thing. The entire town government is supported off of the ticket revenue. There is one in particular on I95 that is famous for it. Don't speed through Ridgeland SC. The town only has two stop lights, but they have an RV with speed cameras set up so they can mail you your ticket.

who was it writing a column in SCCA magazine a few months ago that had an article on how to speed and not get caught? He says he hasn't gotten a ticket in years by using a few common-sense rules. Rule number one was DON"T SPEED IN TOWN. Just don't do it. How berkeleying hard can that be? I realize sometimes if you are in unfamiliar territory that you can get caught off guard but a good many folks get busted in the very town they live in.

I haven't gotten a ticket in years. Only three in my life and I'm 43 years old. That's not the point. I know how not to get tickets. The way to not get tickets is to live by an absurd set of rules that we all put up with even though we all know it's wrong. And if we get caught, we cough it up in unfair taxes to a government that's in cahoots with our insurance company. Yeah. That's the land of the free right there. Shining beacon to the world.

Think about it like this. What if it was a "bigger" issue. What if they banned books. Would we say "Hey, no big deal, man. Just don't read books! How hard can it be?"

fast_eddie_72 wrote: I'm not joking or jabbing when I say this. Why the berkeleying hell can't the god damned Tea Party activists get worked up in a lather about this bull E36 M3 taxation?! Drives me insane. I saw a cop collecting taxes this morning on a four lane road here in Denver with a speed limit of 30 MPH. No one can tell me that isn't a tax collection scam. I have NO problem paying taxes. Charge me the taxes you need to keep things running. Then get rid of all the BS. We have a whole army of "traffic cops" here that do nothing but write tickets. Really? Glad all those crimes got solved so we don't need any more "real" cops. We can have some that just collect taxes. Oh. My. Did I say all that out loud? He. He he. Yeah. I get a little worked up over that one. Nothing to see here, folks. Move along.

Traffic Cops are a local State, County or City issue.

What exactly do you want the Tea Party to do?

Do you have any idea who the Tea Party are? They are a group of like minded individuals who have an agenda regarding the fiscal responsibility of the Federal Government.

Okay. I was joking a little.

I guess what I should have said was "Why doesn't a group take on this issue the way the Tea Party has taken on the Federal Budget issue?"

Great $2M of tax payers money into the pockets of cops that don't want to do their jobs.

I really was not expecting the direction of the first response to be OUT A WINDOW. Those men were being far more constructive than your attitude towards government accountability.

on how to speed and not get caught? ...DON"T SPEED..

You realize how idiotic that sounds, right?

That's not the point. I know how not to get tickets. The way to not get tickets is to live by an absurd set of rules that we all put up with even though we all know it's wrong. And if we get caught, we cough it up in unfair taxes to a government that's in cahoots with our insurance company. Yeah. That's the land of the free right there. Shining beacon to the world.

Well put.

What exactly do you want the Tea Party to do?

He clearly said "get worked up." It fits perfectly with the overall ideology of the tea party.

But it ALSO fits into the same kind of selective ignorance that makes the tea party hypocritical and unproductive, like opposing the only part of health care reform that was likely to significantly curtail costs, and then support the dismantling of health care entitlements because they cost too much, as if there is no connection there.

Dont hold out hope for the Tea Party to pick up any sensical auto-related causes. They've long since been assimilated into the mainstream dialogue of distraction and evasion, and our interests dont sell well enough in the political spotlight for anyone to take any chances on us.

mobilization can address many issues besides fiscal spending--the original teapers hated the lack of many freedoms as well. calif. vc 21055ab states that no law enforcement, fire rescue or ambulance vehicles may break the rules of the road unless they are code 3, red lights and siren. so the motor cop parked on the island with the laser is a hypocrite. but the judges these days dont want to hear anything about police and rules of the road. they just want the dough. I was told i was an unsafe hazard at 18 miles an hour, I guess that explains why the chippie was on foot a waiving me over--he must be a rabbit or shape shifter-- so, the writ of declaration is the only chance you have in california to beat a cs ticket, which most of them are now. It is a form that the clerk will give you if you ask for it. they dont want anyone to know about it because it causes an avalanche of paperwork for the courts and the citing dept. it is a simple paragraph narrative of where you wre and what you were doing and that you eere in no way speeding or doing whatever and cant imagine why this misunderstanding happened in the first place--all after the time extension-

this also spares you the smug reading of the cops comment notes as he tries to discredit you in court. they generate over 400.00 an hour for their employer. motorcyclic atms. they compete for the 300+ cites per month. beautiful lot they are

constructive? really? sueing the taxpayers for millions is not consructive. going on opra and telling the world how evil the LA police dept. is and telling about ticket quotas would be constructive. not sueing for $2M.

pitbull113 wrote: Great $2M of tax payers money into the pockets of cops that don't want to do their jobs. Anyone that becomes a cop and thinks his job isn't partly about writting tickets is kidding himself. For the record I'm against quotas but this changes nothing except the cops are now rich.

Sorry you feel that way. I was actually stoked that a couple of cops would rather spend their time trying to "serve & protect", instead of enforcing the "enthusiasts' tax" against guys like us. I gotta ask..do you know any cops?

The Tea Party movement is a grassroots movement of millions of like-minded Americans from all backgrounds and political parties. Tea Party members share similar core principles supporting the United States Constitution as the Founders intended, such as:

• Limited federal government
• Individual freedoms
• Personal responsibility
• Free markets
• Returning political power to the states and the people

As a movement, The Tea Party is not a political party nor is looking to form a third political party any time soon. The Tea Party movement, is instead, about reforming all political parties and government so that the core principles of our Founding Fathers become, once again, the foundation upon which America stands.

While I'm happy these guys made a point and did not just sit there and hand out bogus tickets to make a quota, governments will always try to extract money from taxpayers. See all the traffic cameras that have popped up by me. On some stretches of larger roads here, they have cameras on 3-4 intersections in a row. I have just plain started avoiding main roads for back roads to avoid the cameras. I did anyway to avoid traffic and cops previously.

aussiesmg wrote: The Tea Party movement is a grassroots movement of millions of like-minded Americans from all backgrounds and political parties.

I wish that were the case. Maybe it was a fact at some very early stage. But that's not what it is at all. That's what you're supposed to think, but that's not what it is.

I assume someone started this thing exactly as you describe. But you'd never heard of it at that point. Neither had I. No one had. It wasn't anything but some angry folks until the Koch brothers bankrolled the whole thing and put them on the map. Of course, as soon as that happened, whatever grassroots origins there may have been ceased to exist. It became a covert operation for billionaires to put a more palatable face on their agenda. "You like low taxes? Hey, so do we! Let me introduce you to some politicians who agree with us."

And "all backgrounds and political parties"? You really believe that? Does anyone believe that? Oh, I'm sure there is some anecdotal story of a "Democrat" who is a Tea Party supporter. But do you honestly believe there are any significant number of Democrats who could call themselves "Tea Party" activists? If so, why aren't there ANY Democratic politicians who identify themselves as Tea Party backers? You'd think there'd be at least one.

If that's what the movement really is - if it's about the budget and spending alone - why aren't there Tea Party rallies telling the Michelle Bachman's of the world to stop talking on their behalf? Could you pick anyone who is more closely aligned with the social conservative politics of old than her?

If I was a member of a liberal group with a stated objective of advancing reasonable tax policy and distancing ourselves from issues like gay rights and abortion, I sure as hell wouldn't let Barny Frank run around saying he speaks for us. The silence from supporters of the movement is deafining when Bachman is on CNN explaining why Planed Parenthood really is a serious budget issue.

It may have been something like you describe at some point, but it hasn't been for a very long time.

Pft. Here's a story about Tea Party Democrats...

http://articles.cnn.com/2010-04-02/politics/democrats.tea.party_1_tea-party-express-disgruntled-democrats-voted?_s=PM:POLITICS

"To be sure, the number of Democrats in the Tea Party movement is small. A recent CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll shows that while 96 percent of Tea Party activists identify themselves as either Republican or Independent, only 4 percent say they are Democrats."

All parties. Right. Kinda like this "bi-partisan" budget deal.

fast_eddie_72 wrote: If I was a member of a liberal group with a stated objective of advancing reasonable tax policy and distancing ourselves from issues like gay rights and abortion, I sure as hell wouldn't let Barny Frank run around saying he speaks for us. The silence from supporters of the movement is deafining when Bachman is on CNN explaining why Planed Parenthood really is a serious budget issue. It may have been something like you describe at some point, but it hasn't been for a very long time.

Michelle Bachman is a moonbat that makes Sarah Palin look reasonable, and she doesn't speak for me.

Better?

DILYSI Dave wrote: Michelle Bachman is a moonbat that makes Sarah Palin look reasonable, and she doesn't speak for me. Better?

Yes. Better. But why doesn't she do something about speeding tickets?

The problem with quotas and cameras is that law enforcement shouldn't be a revenue generating tool for the state. Talk about a conflict of interest.

Here's what cameras get you: Linky

A couple of thousand citations "reviewed" by a cop who had been dead for several months. You don't know whether to laugh or to cry.

fast_eddie_72 wrote: I guess what I should have said was "Why doesn't a group take on this issue the way the Tea Party has taken on the Federal Budget issue?"

There is a group. Don't complain if you're not a member. Without members (and the money that goes with them) nothing will change: National Motorists Association If it weren't for these guys, we'd still probably be driving 55 on all the interstates.

As for the OT diversion, the Tea Party originally was as described in that cut and paste several posts up. However, it's been hijacked pretty effectively by the GOP. I was originally a Tea Partier; went to a few rallies and received emails and so forth. But they've gone to far-right policies instead of simply fiscal responsibility and returning to states' rights that I no longer pay them much mind. 'Genuine' Tea Partiers are usually Libertarians, so if you want to associate with a group that isn't driven by the religious right but doesn't believe in big government I suggest you look to them. Reason magazine makes for some good reading. If enough disgruntled sheep would break from their lifetime parties and join a group that actually shares their beliefs, perhaps the GOOD kind of change would actually happen.

I hope those miserable, shiny happy cops donate the money to charity.

I can't believe cops could sue about how many tickets they have to write, then be paid with tax payer money in a settlement.

Maybe I should follow my, "Go be a bartender on a distant tropical island" plan.

ddavidv wrote:

fast_eddie_72 wrote: I guess what I should have said was "Why doesn't a group take on this issue the way the Tea Party has taken on the Federal Budget issue?"

There is a group. Don't complain if you're not a member. Without members (and the money that goes with them) nothing will change: National Motorists Association If it weren't for these guys, we'd still probably be driving 55 on all the interstates. As for the OT diversion, the Tea Party originally was as described in that cut and paste several posts up. However, it's been hijacked pretty effectively by the GOP. I was originally a Tea Partier; went to a few rallies and received emails and so forth. But they've gone to far-right policies instead of simply fiscal responsibility and returning to states' rights that I no longer pay them much mind. 'Genuine' Tea Partiers are usually Libertarians, so if you want to associate with a group that isn't driven by the religious right but doesn't believe in big government I suggest you look to them. Reason magazine makes for some good reading. If enough disgruntled sheep would break from their lifetime parties and join a group that actually shares their beliefs, perhaps the GOOD kind of change would actually happen.

The Tea Party got co-opted by the GOP because it was in the best interest of both the D's and R's to do so.

R's - "Oh E36 M3 - If these guys steal out smaller government line, and actually mean it, we're berkeleyed!"

D's - "Oh E36 M3 - If these guys steal our personal freedom line, and actually mean it, we're berkeleyed!"

So the GOP glommed on like a sucker fish, and the Democrats get to call revel in the "fracturing" of the Republican party (though it wasn't a fracture at all).

What give's me hope is that the people, the ideals, etc. that spurred the tea party movement are not gone. While Bachman, Beck, and Co may want to pretend that they are tea partiers, and while Reid, Pelosi, and the media would like to pretend that tea partiers are just republicans by another name, the reality is that there is still a populous that isn't buying any of their E36 M3. The fact that they were only able to cut 1% from a budget that has doubled over the last few years is proof that none of them have our best interests at heart. The nation is ripe for either a third party that has actual balls, or a revolution.