Writing drunk again.....damnit.

Thought maybe I had written my entry before I left this evening, but alas, I did not. However, I did make note of several topics so at least you'll be spared the rambling writings of a drunkard.

Not sure if you saw this article or not, but I found it fascinating. Most everyone is familiar with the use of cameras at intersections which capture motorists running red lights. These cameras are all over Chicago's busiest intersections and often I have seen them going off (they make a bright flash when they snap pictures so you know you've been nabbed). You run the red light, the camera goes off, taking a picture of your license plate and then they mail you the ticket. Well, the Supreme Court of Minnesota upheld the Court of Appeals decision that the cameras not only violated a state law on having uniform traffic laws, but also that they offered the accused fewer due process protections than the motorist who is actually pulled over. The key for me in the article though is this line:

"The court also struck down the "rebutable presumption" doctrine that lies at the heart of every civil photo enforcement ordinance across the country. The problem with the presumption that the owner was the driver is that it eliminates the presumption of innocence and shifts the burden of proof from that required by the rules of criminal procedure."

THAT'S the way the court is supposed to work! Fine, prove that my car was at that intersection and going through it illegally, but why do I have to prove that I'm not the driver? Why do I have to prove that I'm innocent! In Minnesota at least, you don't. God luv'em.

And now for something completely different......(Monty Python reference)

Once upon a time, a junior high student was given a project to contact someone famous by sending them a letter. The student could pick anyone, but they had to research how to contact the person through using the library (the point of the project). So this industrious student decided to contact of all people, a comic strip writer. The comic strip writer wrote not one but two nationally syndicated, very popular comic strips: B.C. and The Wizard of Id. That comic strip writer was Johnny Hart and he just passed away the other day at the age of 76. Mr. Hart, I like to believe, received and responded to my letter and sent me an autograph and personalized drawing of all of the characters of both comic strips on one big sheet. I still have it and obviously his simple act made an impact on me. Rest in peace Mr. Hart.