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Giant Purple Snorklewacker
Giant Purple Snorklewacker SuperDork
4/13/11 8:32 a.m.
fast_eddie_72 wrote: I wish that were the case. Maybe it was a fact at some very early stage. But that's not what it is at all. That's what you're supposed to think, but that's not what it is. I assume someone started this thing exactly as you describe. But you'd never heard of it at that point. Neither had I. No one had. It wasn't anything but some angry folks until the Koch brothers bankrolled the whole thing and put them on the map. Of course, as soon as that happened, whatever grassroots origins there may have been ceased to exist. It became a covert operation for billionaires to put a more palatable face on their agenda. "You like low taxes? Hey, so do we! Let me introduce you to some politicians who agree with us." And "all backgrounds and political parties"? You really believe that? Does anyone believe that? Oh, I'm sure there is some anecdotal story of a "Democrat" who is a Tea Party supporter. But do you honestly believe there are any significant number of Democrats who could call themselves "Tea Party" activists? If so, why aren't there ANY Democratic politicians who identify themselves as Tea Party backers? You'd think there'd be at least one. If that's what the movement really is - if it's about the budget and spending alone - why aren't there Tea Party rallies telling the Michelle Bachman's of the world to stop talking on their behalf? Could you pick anyone who is more closely aligned with the social conservative politics of old than her? If I was a member of a liberal group with a stated objective of advancing reasonable tax policy and distancing ourselves from issues like gay rights and abortion, I sure as hell wouldn't let Barny Frank run around saying he speaks for us. The silence from supporters of the movement is deafining when Bachman is on CNN explaining why Planed Parenthood really is a serious budget issue. It may have been something like you describe at some point, but it hasn't been for a very long time.

I bow to your floundering skills.

Xceler8x
Xceler8x GRM+ Memberand SuperDork
4/13/11 8:35 a.m.

Lot of knee jerk reaction in this thread.

The police, or cops, who won this case are being reimbursed for being unfairly treated by their employer. The plaintiff's, in this case, did nothing wrong and helped all of the motoring public by standing up and speaking out. They should be thanked. Not blamed for "taking" tax payers money.

The police org was in the wrong in this case as was proven. Which is not an easy thing to do so the evidence must've been overwhelmingly in the plaintiff's favor. Ever tried to win a court case against your local law enforcement? Ever tried to sue them? Good luck with that. These guys faced long odds and won.

How about ranting against the police org for breaking the law, harassing employees trying to do the right thing, and trying to unfairly convict and extract money from the citizen's that trust them to be fair and just. Some of you blaming the victims in this thread need to figure out who the real bad guys are.

Tom Heath
Tom Heath Web Manager
4/13/11 10:17 a.m.

I tend to support whistleblowers, regardless of their motivation. If they found a way to keep out of bankruptcy while doing so, more power to them as long as the plaintiffs didn't make the policy and then blow the whistle on themselves for profit.

Funny how this careened into a political thread about the T-party. Play nice please. On the political side, I have nothing to add other than this earworm of a musical number...

It's rockin' through your town.

fast_eddie_72
fast_eddie_72 Dork
4/13/11 11:01 a.m.
Tom Heath wrote: On the political side, I have nothing to add other than this earworm of a musical number... It's rockin' through your town.

Oh my. I don't agree with everything they say, but I would never post anything as damaging to their credibility as that. I'm sure that is not representative of all members of the Tea Party. Shame on you.

njansenv
njansenv HalfDork
4/13/11 11:12 a.m.

I just received a photo radar ticket from Australia. 42.5mph in a 37.5mph zone. $270.

I think we have it pretty good. At the end of the day, anyone who complains that speeding ticket should consider this: with very few exceptions, they are voluntary.

N Sperlo
N Sperlo Reader
4/13/11 11:21 a.m.

So because its taxpayer money, the police are not allowed to protect themselves from unfair treatment. Has no one else sued the city? State? Feds? Should THEY give there money back to the public?

fast_eddie_72
fast_eddie_72 Dork
4/13/11 11:23 a.m.

That's all well and good if you don't care about freedom and want to live in a Police State! It's people like you who let Hitler get away with the Holocaust for so long! Where would we be if no one stood up for their rights!? When they're dragging you or your family off in the night for "thought crimes" don't say I didn't warn you. Open your eyes people! You are sheep being led to the slaughter by the Illuminati and you don't even realize it’s happening. Soilet Green is People!

Either that or I had a really bad day yesterday and maybe got just a tiny tick more worked up than the situation merits. It's one of those two things. An assault on freedom that will end in tyranny, or I got too worked up. Not sure which. One of those.

EricM
EricM Dork
4/13/11 11:34 a.m.

Oh man, I knew better than to open this thread, I hate being drunk before lunch...

N Sperlo
N Sperlo Reader
4/13/11 11:50 a.m.

Coffee Stout is great if that's what you're into!

pitbull113
pitbull113 New Reader
4/13/11 3:53 p.m.

cops suing the city because they don't want to write tickets is like a hindu getting a job at mcdonalds and then suing because he doesn't want to serve beef. Everyone knows there's a quota. Is it wrong, YES. Is this gonna change anythng,NO. These two knew there was a quota when they took the job. If they didn't they're too stupid to be cops.Maybe i'm cynical but this wreaks more of getting paid than protecting the people from the evil greedy government.Like I said if these two cops went and tried to get the message out any other way than suing I would be hoisting them up on my shoulders and calling them heros.But instead they look like money grubbing sobs that didn't want to do the job that they knew was expected of them.

pres589
pres589 Dork
4/13/11 4:36 p.m.

"cops suing the city because they don't want to write tickets is like a hindu getting a job at mcdonalds and then suing because he doesn't want to serve beef."

No.

fast_eddie_72
fast_eddie_72 Dork
4/13/11 4:37 p.m.

Maybe some of the cops thought it was their job to protect the public, not exploit them. I know you know that isn't the case, but some of them might be idealists.

friedgreencorrado
friedgreencorrado SuperDork
4/13/11 5:44 p.m.
pitbull113 wrote: cops suing the city because they don't want to write tickets is like a hindu getting a job at mcdonalds and then suing because he doesn't want to serve beef. Everyone knows there's a quota. Is it wrong, YES. Is this gonna change anythng,NO. These two knew there was a quota when they took the job. If they didn't they're too stupid to be cops.Maybe i'm cynical but this wreaks more of getting paid than protecting the people from the evil greedy government.Like I said if these two cops went and tried to get the message out any other way than suing I would be hoisting them up on my shoulders and calling them heros.But instead they look like money grubbing sobs that didn't want to do the job that they knew was expected of them.

Well, I still disagree, but I certainly support your right to say it. Quick question because I'm curious, not because I'm trying to change your mind..would you feel different about it if these guys had donated the money to charity or something?

a401cj
a401cj GRM+ Memberand Reader
4/13/11 5:52 p.m.
Vigo wrote:
on how to speed and not get caught? ...DON"T SPEED..
You realize how idiotic that sounds, right?

but it really does work!

pitbull113
pitbull113 New Reader
4/13/11 6:11 p.m.
friedgreencorrado wrote:
pitbull113 wrote: cops suing the city because they don't want to write tickets is like a hindu getting a job at mcdonalds and then suing because he doesn't want to serve beef. Everyone knows there's a quota. Is it wrong, YES. Is this gonna change anythng,NO. These two knew there was a quota when they took the job. If they didn't they're too stupid to be cops.Maybe i'm cynical but this wreaks more of getting paid than protecting the people from the evil greedy government.Like I said if these two cops went and tried to get the message out any other way than suing I would be hoisting them up on my shoulders and calling them heros.But instead they look like money grubbing sobs that didn't want to do the job that they knew was expected of them.
Well, I still disagree, but I certainly support your right to say it. Quick question because I'm curious, not because I'm trying to change your mind..would you feel different about it if these guys had donated the money to charity or something?

good question i'm on the fence. yes because then it wasn't about the money but no because everyone knows there's a quota so why would you even think about being a cop if you weren't prepared to write a certain amount of tickets everyday. Either way they just stole money from the tax payers.To make myself clear I'm against these quotas but we all know they exist and as much as we'd like they aren't going away. No amount of lawsuits will change that. Also yes a cops job is protect and serve but we all know that a huge part of their job is writing tickets to bring in revenue.

pimpm3
pimpm3 New Reader
4/13/11 8:55 p.m.

I am a cop and we don't have a quota where I work. I have only written 46 tickets in a 15 month period, and for the most part all of mine are from crashes. That doesn't mean I don't pull people over, traffic stops are a great way to find other offenses like drugs or warrants.

I guess I have a soft spot for motorists since I had 17 tickets myself before I was hired.

On a side note I have never written anyone a speeding ticket...

friedgreencorrado
friedgreencorrado SuperDork
4/13/11 9:05 p.m.
pitbull113 wrote:
friedgreencorrado wrote:
pitbull113 wrote: cops suing the city because they don't want to write tickets is like a hindu getting a job at mcdonalds and then suing because he doesn't want to serve beef. Everyone knows there's a quota. Is it wrong, YES. Is this gonna change anythng,NO. These two knew there was a quota when they took the job. If they didn't they're too stupid to be cops.Maybe i'm cynical but this wreaks more of getting paid than protecting the people from the evil greedy government.Like I said if these two cops went and tried to get the message out any other way than suing I would be hoisting them up on my shoulders and calling them heros.But instead they look like money grubbing sobs that didn't want to do the job that they knew was expected of them.
Well, I still disagree, but I certainly support your right to say it. Quick question because I'm curious, not because I'm trying to change your mind..would you feel different about it if these guys had donated the money to charity or something?
good question i'm on the fence. yes because then it wasn't about the money but no because everyone knows there's a quota so why would you even think about being a cop if you weren't prepared to write a certain amount of tickets everyday. Either way they just stole money from the tax payers.To make myself clear I'm against these quotas but we all know they exist and as much as we'd like they aren't going away. No amount of lawsuits will change that. Also yes a cops job is protect and serve but we all know that a huge part of their job is writing tickets to bring in revenue.

Yeah, I've lived in places like that myself. I've always lived in the American South, and it seems like every time a politician gets elected on a "no new tax" platform, they get into office and realize that they've got to but a budget together from somewhere. It's actually worse at the small town level than it is at the state gov't. It's just that I know some cops (took me too damn long to discover that except for the speed thing, we've got a lot in common..), and I've heard most of em bitching about having to "work traffic patrol" instead of doing other stuff. There is a little backup in there for your argument: the only State Patrolman I know has never said it, to me at least.

friedgreencorrado
friedgreencorrado SuperDork
4/13/11 9:15 p.m.
pimpm3 wrote: I am a cop and we don't have a quota where I work. I have only written 46 tickets in a 15 month period, and for the most part all of mine are from crashes. That doesn't mean I don't pull people over, traffic stops are a great way to find other offenses like drugs or warrants. I guess I have a soft spot for motorists since I had 17 tickets myself before I was hired. On a side note I have never written anyone a speeding ticket...

pimpm3, (again, just curious, not trying to stir up BMW E36) do the other officers in your dept. feel like you do? My g/f's dad (County Shf's dept) talks like you do, but he's been promoted to Detective, and hasn't had to work traffic patrol in years. Even when he was a Captain, he was allowed to spend more time on drugs (Southern rural county meth epidemic stuff, etc.) & domestic violence calls (he's good at getting people to chill out).

plance1
plance1 Dork
4/13/11 9:26 p.m.

I attended my local police department's citizens academy a few years ago...I remember coming back late from the break and hearing the next guest speaker, a traffic cop, talk about how many tickets he wrote the year before, he stated the amount in dollar figures.... I was still chewing on some M&M's I had in my mouth but I raised my hand and he called on me and I said, "Hey wait a minute, every time I'm pulled over I'm always told its under the pretense of safety and I always allege that its all about revenue, and here you are proving me right."

Most of the class was on my side as we went back and forth for a few minutes.... after the class he came up behind me and put his hand on my shoulder and asked my name, I said "ahhh, its John Smith!"

TRoglodyte
TRoglodyte Reader
4/13/11 9:49 p.m.
EricM wrote: Oh man, I knew better than to open this thread, I hate being drunk before lunch...

SALUT.

pimpm3
pimpm3 New Reader
4/13/11 9:51 p.m.

In reply to friedgreencorrado:

Some do, some don't. I am not a traffic unit so most of my time is spent with domestic violence, report writing calls etc... The officers that like to write tickets tend to end up in the traffic units obviously. Some of these officers write over 1000 tickets a year.

My supervisors don't really push the ticket thing as long as you are handling your beat and the calls for service.

carguy123
carguy123 SuperDork
4/13/11 9:52 p.m.

When you work for a company or in an industry to find the abusive practices. Being a cop and having to write tickets is a given, but using a quota system for the tickets is one of those abusives. I applaud these guys for standing up and doing the right thing.

fast_eddie_72
fast_eddie_72 Dork
4/13/11 11:13 p.m.

The thing I think we're missing here is the fact that a quota work at all shows that there is a problem. We're supposed to be self governed. If so many people are speeding, then the people who are supposed to be self governing have decided that the speed limit is too low. We shouldn't need selective enforcement. Speed limits should be set at a reasonable place so that this kind of thing can't happen.

midknight
midknight Reader
4/13/11 11:37 p.m.

I had all sorts of witty things to say about Jacksonville traffic cops, but uh...never mind.

Wally
Wally GRM+ Memberand SuperDork
4/13/11 11:40 p.m.

I was told there is no quota, they can write as many as they like

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