By John Vibes
Happy 4th of July, the day where Americans celebrate imaginary freedom, and police departments nationwide make millions of dollars violating the rights of nonviolent individuals.
Last month, the Supreme Court ruled that police can’t forcibly draw blood from individuals suspected of drunken driving without a warrant. However, DUI checkpoints across the country now have judges on site, or on call to issue immediate warrants for cops to take your blood.
Under the pretense of catching drunk drivers, police will be patrolling the streets and setting up checkpoints all over the country this weekend. In some cases they will arrest drunk drivers, in others, they will search and arrest nonviolent drug offenders, while other people may get citations for problems with their vehicle or registration.
Especially for people who haven’t even done anything wrong, these checkpoints are a gross violation of privacy and other natural born rights. Free people should not be stopped and searched or questioned in any way if they are attempting to travel freely. However, we sadly now live in a world where rights like traveling are seen as privileges, to be given and taken by government.
As it stands right now, the way that the State deals with drunk driving is tyrannical and infringes upon everyone’s rights, even people like myself, who hardly ever drink. Economist Jeffrey Tucker wrote an article on this subject and discussed the problems with the status quo while offering some solutions as well.
Laws against drunk driving have vastly expanded police power and done nothing to stop the practice. The best prevention against unsafe driving from drinking has been provided privately: friends, services offered by bars and restaurants, community interest groups, etc. This is the humane and rational way societies deal with social risks. The police have only messed up this process by adding a coercive element that targets liberty rather than crime.And we can see where this is heading. Texting is now illegal in most places. So is talking on the phone. Maybe talking itself should be illegal. Some communities are talking about banning eating. All of this is a distraction from the real issue.
If our ultimate goals are to reduce driver impairment and maximize highway safety, we should be punishing reckless driving. It shouldn’t matter if it’s caused by alcohol, sleep deprivation, prescription medication, text messaging, or road rage. If lawmakers want to stick it to dangerous drivers who threaten everyone else on the road, they can dial up the civil and criminal liability for reckless driving, especially in cases that result in injury or property damage.
Doing away with the specific charge of drunk driving sounds radical at first blush, but it would put the focus back on impairment, where it belongs. It might repair some of the civil-liberties damage done by the invasive powers the government says it needs to catch and convict drunk drivers. If the offense were reckless driving rather than drunk driving, for example, repeated swerving over the median line would be enough to justify the charge. There would be no need for a cop to jam a needle in your arm alongside a busy highway.
Scrapping the DWI offense in favor of better enforcement of reckless driving laws would also bring some logical consistency to our laws, which treat a driver with a BAC of 0.08 much more harshly than, say, a driver distracted by his kids or a cell phone call, despite similar levels of impairment. The punishable act should be violating road rules or causing an accident, not the factors that led to those offenses. Singling out alcohol impairment for extra punishment isn’t about making the roads safer. It’s about a lingering hostility toward demon rum.
There is no doubt that drunk driving should be discouraged and that solutions to prevent people from driving drunk should be explored. However, it is entirely possible to do this without violating anyone’s rights in the process.
Meanwhile, in police state USA, it is business as usual.
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John Vibes is an author, researcher and investigative journalist who takes a special interest in the counter culture and the drug war. In addition to his writing and activist work he organizes a number of large events including the Free Your Mind Conference, which features top caliber speakers and whistle-blowers from all over the world. You can contact him and stay connected to his work at his Facebook page. You can find his 65 chapter Book entitled “Alchemy of the Timeless Renaissance” at bookpatch.com. John Vibes writes for TheFreeThoughtProject.com, where this article first appeared.
Are they TRAINED MEDICAL DOCTORS?
Are ambulances and Para Medicals standing by?
SUE them if you fall ill for any reason
What’s your point? That it would be OK if doctors did it?
That it is questionable at best if they are allowing AMATEURS to draw blood
There was an incident in Tucson years back where a cop with a weekend training course] drew blood from a driver & she nearly lost her arm from blood poisoning. Big lawsuit & payout by taxpayers ; program suspended. Plus there was a hospital right there on the corner.
It’s called practicing medicine without a license; a felony I believe.
Precisely. Do you want some butt scratcher drawing your blood along the road just to inflate his ego because his wife is off with the milkman?
Whoa! Looks like you skipped the class on the Bill of Rights.
amen!!! this seems logical,but our overlords dont like logic because logic will show people their bullshit and their money grabbing schemes.
And when that day of reckoning comes we will act in the spirit of all our European Thunder God Archetypes – we will be mad as a storm, precise as a lightning bolt and cleanse everything like a flood of never ending rain. There won’t be any thinking when that day comes. There will only be deliverance
Awesome post! Lets hope we are here to see that day. I reckon we will be…
The very same treatment should apply to EVERYone of those that want this. Mandatory drug testing for ALL government, “law enforcement”, military, LOBBYI$T$, PACs, “delegates” (super or otherwise), etc.
I’m not “talking” about road checkpoints, but at the doors/gates of their place of “employment”.
I’m also not “speaking” of just alcohol or “illegal” drugs. I AM referring to ALL drugs, particularly those that big pharma pushs, as well as steroids and other ‘performance-enhancing’ substances. They should ALL be subjected to mental health screening as well. If they fail, they are done, period.
I do not trust any of them, because of their history of lies, corruption, greed, and abuse of power.
How can I be assured that they wouldn’t use dirty needles? How can I trust them when there are proven cases
of ‘corrupted’ testing facilities, and plenty of cases where evidence is planted?
Didn’t the Supreme Court recently rule this unconstitutional?
Yes without a warrant, that is why it said in the ARTICLE, that judges where either on site or on call to give them the warrants,,,,,,,,,,stop being stupid, either read the entire article or don’t comment~
Okay, everybody, here’s the exercise. Everyone face east. Great. Now click your heels together three times. Wonderful. Now, repeat in unison seven times: “They hate us for our freedoms!” If you don’t believe it yet, repeat until you manage to convince yourselves that it is TRUE.
I hope people not only have a great 4th of July, but they actually celebrate Independence Day, which was the original, non-Orwellized version of this important holiday.
What freedoms?
Darnit. Did I forget to label my post as “SARCASM” again?
Everything and I do mean everything today is about the money. Greed has consumed the office holders in this country, firemen, police, politicians, judges, people who work in the offices of the city, county. state, all are after just one thing -mo money.
Early in my career as a police officer (now retired) I had to arrest a very drunk driving kid. It turned out he was the son of a billionaire. Within 3 hours I had to release him, apologize, and was placed on a year’s probation. This taught me that there really is no law to defend because the one’s that bought this country are merely controlling the cattle as they see fit and you are not to confuse us with them. Your “freedom” is a facade that permits them to better dominate and direct you. If my fellow officers had sided with me, it could have been the beginning of the end for the elite and their endless list of criminal activities. But the money was too good, so why risk it? What REALLY goes on in this country makes a casino look like a church. I often wonder how can those reporters on television that I know and they know are lying ,continue to do so with Oscar winning performances. Its the MONEY! You go into a trance were you almost believe that what you are saying and doing is good and true, but you always know better, and you can almost feel a little bit of you dying each time. If THE PEOPLE began to boycott travel because of needles, then the needles would go away, as would lawless police, the TSA, and rancid politicians. “Hang together, or you will surely hang separately.
Good post, friend. Thanks for sharing…
In many areas of many states, the parents don’t have to be billionaires. Even cops are admitting all over America that there are those Above the Law. It’s now “the way it is”, and the head of the FBI just admitted it’s true by letting Hillary Clinton violate 12 national security laws that would have put you or me into federal prison for 20 years. What are we going to do about this?
Great point. It should be about reckless endangerment, no matter the reason.
Blooding by cops – B.S.
Breathalyzers – another b.s.
This is the same baloney that corporations use to make sure you are drug free. In reality it should be performance based, only.
Hope everyone had a great and safe Independence day, I know me and mine did and the fireworks were terrific, not any problems driving home either.
Nothing to celebrate on this day, stay home~
Victimless crime is a crime. The ends justify the means has led to a pattern of elected and appointed officials daily violating their oath of office creating and ENFORCING laws that violate the supreme law of the land.
When people see that the consent of the governed is not heeded or needed, a deep distrust of the system is imbedded in their mind. .Unfortunately the good men and women in uniform are the interface between the people and a law violating ruling class and they view LEO’s as an enforcement arm of an out of control, law breaking, oath violating predator class .
Until that trust is restored, it will be dangerous for all who support and enforce bad law when things increasingly get out of hand.
Very true…
There really is no point in fighting this evil or trying to wake people up. Because Just like in the Matrix, people prefer the Blue Pill and it’s safe sameness rather than the possibility of FreedomChaos. I have vainly tried to discuss this on a base level. That is, Hillary vs Trump. The lessor of two evils is what weak people choose. They don’t reject both evils out of hand. They say, “What can I do about it” in an angry tone or choose to believe what some pundit said or another “authority”. Unfortunately for those who have eyes to see, we will live in a world of the blind. Eventually there is a collective consciousness moment when a tidal shift in mentality happens, but by that time, it will be much too late.