It’s hard to believe, but another initiative from initiative peddler slut, Tim Eyman, has been struck down by the state Supreme Court:
Local voters can’t ban red-light cameras by initiative, the state Supreme Court said Thursday in a ruling that dampens efforts around the state to banish the cameras.
The court ruled that the Legislature gave “exclusive power” to local city and county councils to decide whether to use the cameras.
This brings up the question, why is Tim Eyman dabbling in pedestrian, local issues like red light cameras?
The battle against the intersection cameras is organized and cheered by Tim Eyman, who over the past decade has made a career of pushing anti-tax initiative campaigns. Red-light cameras are a new cause for him, and one he believes has widespread appeal beyond party affiliation.
“Appeal beyond party affiliation”? Huh…it sounds to me like money is drying up for Eyman—his wealthy right-wing Johns have grown weary of dumping boat-loads of money into his efforts only to experience failure at the ballot or have his initiatives overturned by the courts.
Eyman is forced to take it to the streets and sell himself on the local street corners. You know…in the red light districts.
Darryl, I’m with you on substance, but could we avoid that particular metaphor? We don’t need to be Rush.
Because he’s striking out at the state level.
Don’t forget that for Eyman, it’s all about the name/address lists. When he joined with the anti-gay initiative, he had a major falling out with the big church sponsors of the intiative when they refused to hand over their completed petitions to him. He said he wanted to make sure they were submitted as a total package, but it appears that what he really wanted was to supplement his mailing database so he can raise money for his next campaign. The churches figured this out fairly early, so they didn’t cooperate, and he was pissed.
Every mailing database has drop-offs as people move, die, or lose interest. If Eyman is hitting middle-class folks up for money to fund his initiative campaigns, they generally have a very short cycle of interest in receiving such mailings, and they either go directly from the mailbox to the recycling bin, or they write “refused” and the mail is returned to Eyman along with a charge from the post office for the returned mail.
If he can’t get fresh blood in to keep that mailing list current, he will run out of both money and volunteers to work his campaign.
I really do hate red light cameras and would vote an initiative to ban them.
I dislike the inherent unfairness of a system that allows people to be cited by machines rather than an officer who can make a value judgment, just like I hate Zero Tolerance policies in Schools and Mandatory Sentencing laws in the courts. They are just there to generate money, not cut down on accidents.
Gosh, Xar. How is the metaphor inappropriate?
Jayzus on a cracker, Eyman fucks the people for money, for chrissakes!
Johns? How about the Dimwit and Bellevue Birchers!?
How is Eyman not a fucking whore!?
Meh. The one thing Eyman’s proposed that I might actually agree with…and he screws that one up, too.
Xar @ 1,
Wait a minute…Isn’t Rush just copying HA? I mean, it’s not uncommon for this blog to refer to Eyman as a prostitute (e.g. here, here, here, here, here, here, here, etc.)….
@7. Dude, that would be so cool if rush was reading HA. …Maybe Darryl IS rush!
@5: It’s insulting to members of the world’s oldest profession!
Joking aside, in a larger sense I object to the use of the word “slut” because it’s a misogynistic slur. Comparing a soul-less, cynical initiative mercenary to women who are sexually active is silly. “Prostitute” is closer to the truth, but implies that the two activities are somehow equivalent (and I don’t think they are–prostitution potentially only hurts a small group of people, while Eyman’s crap affects us all).
@7: You’re better than Rush. We both know you are. All you’re doing is feeding the BS narrative that the left is just as sexist and misogynistic as the right.
Good job on the analysis & witty wordplay.
Eyman is trolling for new wallets to loot, using a juvenile complaint as bait. Busted for driving through a red light? Boo-effing-hoo. Municipalities across the state are cutting essential services (public health programs, fire and police protection.)
Bringing in a little more money by enforcing a existing law (where is it legal to run a red light unless you’re driving an ambulance or a cop car?) is legal and rational. 17-year-old guys with more testosterone than brain cells – and immature, self-absorbed people of all ages who’ve never outgrown this phase – are indignant about getting busted by a camera. And this deserves more attention than slashing the WA Basic Health plan, support for people with disabilities (other than terminal lead-foot syndrome)?
It says a lot about a mouthy segment of the voting public that the anti-camera movement has gained so much traction. Hopefully both Eyman and the anti-safety/anti-camera movement have permanently stalled. Now what’s Timmy gonna do for a living?
On the topic of uber-rich, sugar-daddy Johns, what’s been interesting in the wake of Citizens United is how the Republican establishment has completely lost control of its primary process, in favor of a few fringe individual uber-rich, sugar-daddy Johns and their boy-toy candidates.
After Obama’s second term, I could see this happening in 2016 to the Dems too. It could be an across the board, all boy-toy contest in 2016.
Ironic that to break the power of parties, we have to turn it over to a tiny group of political tycoons, so elite they are actually from another planet.
@10
I got a speeding ticket via camera once. I didn’t like it very much. I didn’t object because it was somehow unfair that I’d been caught by a machine, but because rather than fixing a dangerous and confusing stretch of road the city of Lakewood decided to put up a camera.
The city of Tacoma has a similar red light camera up at N. 21st and Pearl. The intersection is still a hazard. It’s still hard for cyclists and peds to cross. But, now it’s deemed safe because of a camera.
Red light and speed cameras have their place, but they shouldn’t be a replacement for fixing dangerous pieces of the roadway.
# 12: I have to go through Lynnwood frequently, and most of the major roads/intersctions there are camera-controlled.
It requires me to pay more attention – no more pushing the yellows, as I’m inclined to do. But for the most part I don’t mind. Lynnwood has long had a problem of being a major crossroads suburban community, and some of the intersections there can have very long wait times during rush hour. It got worse when five or six impatient people would try to follow through on a yellow light, and find themselves stuck in the intersection and creating gridlock where nobody could move. That situation is much better now.
But I’ve never liked the idea of a private company and the city splitting the revenue. It just gives the private company too much profit incentive to make judgement calls against the driver, whereas a police officer would probably not have done so.
# 9: Their is a very long history of the use of the word “prostitute”, or worse, to describe a political figure who trades his moral scruples or ideology in favor of either votes or money.
But the Fluk case is not an equivilent, no matter how much the right-wing tries to claim it is. In the Fluke case, Rush Limbaugh didn’t even bother to make an analogy, he openly spread lies about Fluk’s sexual conduct, to wit:
“…she has sex so frequently, she’s asking us to pay for it”),”
“…it’s a wonder she can walk….”
“…she should make videos (of having sex) and post them online so we could all get something for our money….”
… and on and on, for three days, some 56 times.
So much for the right-wing’s most recent attempts at “false equivilency”. It’s not just the word – it’s how it’s used.
Militia Mayhem Dep’t
A white male shot a sheriff’s deputy and stabbed a superior court judge at the Grays Harbor County Courthouse in Montesano at noon today. Armed police surrounded a nearby house where the suspect holed up.
(Sources: MSNBC; KING-5 News)
Roger Rabbit Commentary: Betcha this guy is some kind of anti-government freak, maybe a so-called “sovereign citizen.”
@15 Suspect in custody. He got into the courthouse with a handgun because that courthouse does not have a metal detector. The guy apparently didn’t have anything scheduled; he simply showed up with a briefcase. Sounds like someone with a grievance or agenda. Very high probability this is a tax protestor, sovereign citizen, or militia type. Rightwing nutcase for sure.
@1
Rush would have been more accurate to refer to that young succubus by her true name: Agrat Bat Mahlat.
#13 – Instead of red light cameras becoming a safety issue, it turns to a revenue issue for city government where the cameras have to generate a certain amount from tickets in order to pay for itself, or for other budget expenses. Much like the gas tax when gas prices goes up, revenue decreases causing a strain on budgets. This could lead to the equivalent of a speed trap for motorists as lights are modified to create more violations.
A second courthouse shooting today, this one in Tulsa, has wounded a deputy and bystander. The gunman, a 23-year-old white male, was shot by police and is hospitalized. Is this the full moon?
Evidence mounts that Republicans who think anyone should be able to get a gun without a background check and carry it anywhere without a permit are wrong. Republicans are hazardous to public safety. Why would anyone vote for them?
The courthouse in Montesano is a gorgeous building. There’s a few pics on Flickr (not mine). Montesano has a neat little down town, I stop in about once a year. I’ve always liked the town.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/cronncc/5607584155/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/cronncc/5608161086/
@19
question: and what evidence do you have that this idiot had his gun legally or illegally?
answer: none.
conclusion: juts more asinine flailing by an angry old nutcase on his keyboard.
action item: laughter and mocking at the angry old nutcase on his keyboard.
follow ups: none.
Here’s how a Republican governor treated a Navy Seal who wants to go to college.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/.....d%3D142252
@21 Is the point really whether he had it legally or illegally? Isn’t the fact he had it the point?
@23
you are the one who mentioned background checks and permits(IE LEGAL POSSESSION OF A FIREARM)…and somehow are trying to connect republicans with this nut who had a gun.
if your point is not whether he had it legally or illegally, then what the fuck was your rant all about? or did you forget?
god damned idiot.
@22
Really fat guy gets in argument with Navy Seal. Good thing for the fat guy he’s the governor and this wasn’t in a bar at 1.00AM.
Sounds like a bullet proof vest did its job today. Damn, that had to hurt like hell.
@4 – According to the Insurance Institute, “A 2011 Institute study comparing large cities with red light cameras to those without found the devices reduced the fatal red light running crash rate by 24 percent and the rate of all types of fatal crashes at signalized intersections by 17 percent.” Then there’s the Texas A&M study that showed a consistent reduction in accidents after red light cameras had been installed.
So, shit. Red light cameras are more effective than cops, and, in most cases, less expensive. I thought that’s what people wanted: more effective AND more efficient government. And STILL people bitch. And the stupidest part of it all is that avoiding a red light ticket is so easy. Don’t want a ticket? Don’t run a red light.
@24 Since you don’t get my point, I’ll spell it out for you: The Republican policy of not requiring background checks and allowing concealed carry without a permit makes it easier for people who shouldn’t have guns to get them and commit crimes with them. Why would anyone who loves their children vote for such a policy?
@28
and how does that relate to what happened in Grays Harbor? You dont have a clue about whether or not the weapon was legally in the dudes possession or not…of course you dont have a clue about a whole lot of things.
I can tell you live by the strawman – and that strawman failed.
maybe next time, before you running off at the mouth, you should try and gather some facts first.
@27
there are other studies out there that show the opposite results: that red light cameras actually increase accident rates.
Strange also, that the yellow light duration had been adjusted to be a shorter duration at many intersections with cameras. Gee, why would that be?
its all about the money, and it always has been.
Citation please.
31 – He read it off the walls of his rectum.
Red light cameras are for revenue enhancement. If there’s any effect on traffic safety, it’s only minor. The main point of red light cameras is to increas cash flow into government coffers.
@31
here is a link to a bunch of different studies.
http://www.motorists.org/red-light-cameras/studies
@32
yep, and its the same place I found your wife’s phone number…
http://www.thenewspaper.com/news/04/430.asp
more links…
@35
From an article contained in your reference:
The more common rear-end crash type increased 27%, while the rarer (and potentially more dangerous) red light running crash type decreased 42%.
Further, they were unable to find a before-after difference in either cost of crashes, or differences in other metrics of crash severity.
So…your point isn’t very well supported by your link-y thingy. Kind of reminiscent of Puddles, really.
@36:
At least the steaming pile isn’t trying to bullshit us that his shit isn’t shit.
@37
Thank FSM for small miracles.
Are we setting our expectations too low?
@36
so out of several(and I mean several – you do know what TeH GoOgule is dont you?) you cherry pick one sentence(that neither proves or disproves either side of the argument) and claim victory?
LOL…how “scientific” of you.
and Zits, shouldnt you be out building a gulag for all your neighbors you disagree with?
@38: Probably.
@39
I chose one paper from one of your two links – the first one of which is the top Google hit – and began to read – I actually read the scholarly paper, looked at the figures, read the conclusion.
Did you read any of them, or just the titles, twit?
I wasn’t going to spend all day chasing down your references – I’ve grown tired of trolls throwing up citations and links that ‘do not say what they think they say’, to paraphrase Inigo Montoya.
We’ve had lots of that with Puddles – throwing up lots of links to imply factual support, only to find that the link and the troll’s ‘argument’ are not at all relevantly linked.
Ahem, so, I looked at one of your citations – chosen arbitrarily, on a whim – I think I picked the third on from the top – and lo, what did I find? The citation DID NOT support your argument.
At that point I was done – you are not credible.
@41
hey fuckbrain, you are the one that asked for citations – now you dont want to read them…lol, how typical
and yes, they do support what I said, which is that there are some studies that show accident rates increase. for a self proclaimed scientist(insert laughter here), you are a dolt…dont quit your day job brewing lattes..
oh, and go eat a dick.
facts are facts bitch, its all about the money. period….end of story.
This is the only issue I’ve ever been on the same side as Eyman and it’s the only state wide Eyman Initiative I would sign.
I wanted to see if you had support for your argument…
I picked one at random – one – and it did not support what you were asserting. Therefore, your use of citations is entirely suspect and suggests a pattern we’ve seen before – that Republican trolls don’t know what the fuck they’re talking about.
Um, how many times can this be asserted…one of the studies you picked to support your contention that red light camera cause more accidents showed that one kind of accident increased did indeed increase, but another, potentially more devastating type, became less common, and by a greater proportion than the other, in association with the cameras.
If you think that this means that the study showed that traffic cameras cause accidents is either deeply stupid or deeply dishonest.
IT’S THE SAME DAMN QUESTION WE ALWAYS COME TO WITH YOU PEOPLE – STOOPID OR LYING??
Here, watch this, and consider moving to the libertarian/conservative paradise of Mississippi.
Homophobe. Likely you’re not getting yours eaten much. Go find a goat.