On Fri, 20 Jan 2006 07:35:23 -0800, Scott en Aztl‡n
As a whole, any new restrictions on anything to solve old problems are excessive. We had all the laws we needed about 50 years ago. Gun laws, traffic laws, zoning, and every other damn little thing that's been done since then simply removes more of people's rights, or makes it hard on some minority whether they're racial or age-related or whatever.
Lawmakers should quit thinking up new ways to prohibit people from doing things because other people are scared. Freedom from all fear is not in the consbreastution. People are scared of criminals having guns, so laws are pbutted that criminals also ignore and that just hurts the right people's ability to protect themselves. And now, the natural tendency of people who are learning and gaining experience with a new and dangerous activity, driving, is somehow going to be cured and made all safe by raising the driving age yet again. Hell, about a year before I was eligible, the ability of 14 yr olds in Ohio to ride scooters was removed. Yeah, it probably saved a bunch of kids. Hey, we could save everybody if we all gave up the inherently dangerous activity of driving. But dead kids are the object of someone else's (parents) fear, while adults are willing to take their own chances on the road.
People are afraid their property values will go down of the poor schmuck down the road builds the sort of house he can afford, so all of a sudden his house absolutely must be this many square feet, and he can't conduct any buisness out of it, and he can't have a radio tower, and he can't park his boat on the property, and he can't... can't... can't... And the bottom line is that we all "can't". What a way to live. Supposed to be the land of the free. Ha!
Zoning? We have zoning way out here in the county, 20 miles outside of Fredericksburg, Va. and have an ugly trailer just down the road, all manner of houses from manufactured homes to nice, big, constructed homes, and occupied by all sorts of people. My house still doubled in value over the last 3 years. People are generally afraid of their property values going down for no good reason other than they're afraid.
OK, a good Saturday morning rant - but new restrictions, and a lotta old restrictions, just pee me off... and I don't really care who they're aimed at at the moment.
Dave Head
