First, let me say that I am completely aware that I am using the word ridiculous way too often on here. But, I have yet to come up with another word that fully and completely encompasses some of the stuff I'm posting. Let me know if you have any synonym suggestions...
Now, take a look at this story: Hacker penetrates T-Mobile systems and tell me its not completely and utterly RIDICULOUS?? I can see why the Secret Service is trying to keep this as far away from the spotlight as possible...a government organization that is tasked with protecting internet infrastructure and preventing identity theft was itself hacked! Although, to be fair, it was only those agent's who kept sensitive information on T-Mobile's servers that were hacked (you'd think that would be against the USSS's policies), not the actual USSS network itself. But for the record, I'm a supporter of the USSS and other law enforcement agencies, so I'm glad that the guy who hacked some of their agent's accounts was caught.
For those of you who don't know, there is a new bill in California making its way towards becoming a law. It has been named Kristie's Law after a young girl who lost her life in a high-speed police car chase. From what I can tell, the new bill would regulate when police can engage in high-speed car chases and prevent them from doing so unless the fleeing suspect presented an immediate, serious danger to the public. First of all, when does a fleeing suspect traveling at high-speeds in a vehicle that could now be considered a lethal weapon NOT present an immediate, serious danger to the public? Now, I don't know about the rest of you, but this has to be one of the most ridiculous instances of government regulation I've ever heard. And its especially ridiculous when there are numerous other solutions that would prevent deaths from occurring in high-speed pursuits while at the same time preventing criminals from getting away. For instance, there is a solution (called HALT) that would require automobile manufacturers to install a device that would allow police to basically zap a car and cause the fuel flow to be interrupted, thus preventing the vehicle from continuing at the present speed, or at all. Another solution would require manufacturers to install a device that would allow police to zap the ignition system, thus causing the car to react as if the key had been removed from the igniton and allowing it to drift to a stop. And another solution would allow the police to zap a car's microprocessor, thus preventing newer cars from operating or continuing to operate. And, I'm sure there are many more ideas in the works. But, instead of looking into any of these ideas, the legislators have taken it upon themselves once again to make a decision without proper research and consultation(news article which talks about law enforcement not agreeing with Kristie's Law) that has the potential to do very little to protect the public while basically allowing many criminal to escape very easily. Imagine if you're a criminal stealing a car and you see the police. Now, if no such law existed, you might opt to run and hope to get away, but you might also opt to just give up since you knew the police could not only pursue you, but call in additional resources to capture you, and once caught, the fact that you attempted to flee would reflect poorly on you. However, if such a law existed, you would almost certainly attempt to run since you would know ahead of time that the police could not pursue you. How absolutely insane is that? So basically, criminals would still engage in high-speed fleeing (and in fact, it would seem that this law would encourage that) where innocent bystanders could be hurt or killed, but now, these criminals could also get away since the police would be relatively powerless to stop them (as opposed to implementing a different solution where technology would assist and not only make innocent bystanders safe, but allow the criminals to be easily caught). What the hell is wrong with the legislators in our country today??
Now, I don't want to sound cold and heartless since I certainly feel for and empathize with those who have lost loved ones and it is tragic that these deaths have occurred. And I absolutely think that the present status quo is unacceptable as well. But, I certainly don't think Kristie's Law is the solution when it will not only not prevent future tragedies from occurring but also allow criminals to escape. I think the legislators who proposed this bill and those who are in favor of it need to do a little more research and consultation with law enforcement (from what I can tell, most law enforcement do not want this - and yes, I know there are numerous reasons listed on that page to discount some of law enforcements objections to this bill, but most of them are absolutely ridiculous in of themselves and have no logic - just read them yourselves to see - this page is just an attempt to smear those in law enforcement who have reasonable objections to this bill) and perhaps look into feasible technological alternatives before they try and push this law on the rest of us.
