Crime in Nebraska

Crime must be down in Nebraska this year. Forget what you heard about increased gang activity, drug use, meth labs and jaywalking, 14 Lancaster County Sheriff's deputies were out manning a seat belt compliance checkpoint. In a way, this makes me feel better about my safety. With all that’s wrong in the world today, it gives me the warm fuzzies to think that Smokey Bear (Sorry...old Burt Reynolds reference) cares whether or not I fly head first through my windshield if I get in a head-on collision. What makes me feel even better is that 14 deputies working for 5 hours could only come up with one seat belt violation. Wowzers! Now the boys and girls in brown did cite people for other violations, including driving under a suspended license, no proof of registration or insurance, and marijuana possession. So what’s wrong with this picture? Well, let’s start with the fact that checkpoints in general stop people with no probable cause that they actually did anything. Next, I thought that seat belt violations were secondary violations, in other words, you could only get ticketed for not wearing a seat belt if you were first ticketed for something else. And what about the marijuana possession? I don’t think that you have to allow them, to search your car if they don’t have probable cause.
I guess it all goes along with national foreign policy. After all we now invade countries just because we think that they might have some weapons that they might use against us, if they had them. Kind of like that old saying. If I had some bread I could have a ham sandwich...if I had some ham.
I guess I should look on the bright side. Getting pulled over by the police when you did nothing wrong isn’t so bad. It’s when they pull you over when you have done something illegal that’s the real problem.
Man, I’m getting nostalgic for due process.

Ill-Gotten Booty