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Viewpoints

Vehicular Homicide
By Rob Holston

 

February 12, 2007
Monday PM

I side with Carl and Dave on this issue. As society gains in complexity, we need laws to protect those who can not protect themselves. It is easy for folks like Ron to degrade the argument to "firing squad" statements. The Big Brother fear factor is always there but to play that card negates the real questions at hand.

Dinah has some great points and I have authored past articles on SitNews that deal with many of the various "choices" she draws our attention to. Dnah's discussion has merit but in fact we depend on the government being a "good big brother" nearly every time we buy a product! We expect Firestone tires NOT to blow out on every turn. We expect Pinto gas tanks NOT to explode on impact. We expect 2% milk to have less fat than whole milk. We expect the hundreds of products with aspartame to actually be safe. Sorry, the FDA failed all of us miserably on that one.

If we are to take Dinah's interpretation of the child abuse laws seriously, then many cases brought to light in recent years involving children kept in cages or closets and fed dog food should NOT be considered child abuse because the danger was not eminent? Perhaps because the malnourishment or the mental abuse would not lead to immediate death it is not a crime? If the existing child abuse statutes need to be rewritten, so be it. Fortunately legal precedent by decision has defined "child abuse" and forcing kids to breath second hand smoke IS child abuse. It is now time for the statutes to catch up to that scientific reality. Google secondhand smoke.

Rob Hoston
holston[at]kpunet.net
Ketchikan, AK


Received February 11, 2007 - Published February 12, 2006

About: "Retired teacher, father of two, promoter of health."

 

 

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