Drunk Driving in Minnesota

I don't know Daryl Dean Fleck and I have no idea if he has a drinking problem but based on the article I read (www.twincities.com - March 25, 2009) I have to applaud his decision to avoid drunk driving.

Mr. Fleck , age 55, was arrested on June 11, 2007 in East Grand Forks, Minnesota but was just recently convicted of two counts of driving while intoxicated. Mr. Fleck's blood alcohol tested at 0.18 and three open beer cans were under a blanket on the passenger seat of his car which was parked in his assigned parking spot at his apartment building.

Ok, so far so boring you say -- but wait. Mr. Fleck was actually SLEEPING in his car with the keys set on the center console. Apparently Mr. Fleck knew he was drunk so he avoided driving by simply in his car during what was probably a beautiful summer evening. The problem however is that Minnesota state law states that if such a person has "physical control" of a vehicle - which Mr. Fleck did since the keys were in his possession and he was sitting in the car - then that person can be charged with drunk driving.

Again, based on what I read in the news coverage Mr. Fleck did the correct thing by sleeping in his car in an attempt to protect himself and others from drunk driving. Perhaps Mr. Fleck should have placed his car keys under the car and slept in the back seat to help his line of defense!!

I fear that such enforcement of our DWI law will actually encourage drunk driving.

Todd

More Football This Year!!

The United Football League - www.ufl-football.com - is set to kick off its inaugural season in October 2009 which is great news not only for football fans but also for the US economy since they have many jobs to fill to run the league.

I have been very interested in their contest asking fans to generate mascot names for their teams which you can find at their website noted above.

I would only ask readers to promote my team mascot suggestion -- the "San Francisco Firestorm"

Now that would be great fodder for some cool t-shirts!!

Todd

French Women

My local newspaper recently carried a book review for "French Women Don't Sleep Alone: Pleasurable Secrets to Finding Love" by Jamie Cat Callan. The review stated that "Callan is clearly trying to cash in on 'French Women Don't Get Fat'" by Mireille Guiliano.

So that got me wondering about books regarding French Women. A search on Amazon.com produces 154 results but perhaps the inevitable next book was missing which I call:

"French Women Don't Age or Die"

Such a title would help bring this genre to a close I believe!!

Au revoir,

Todd

See more of me at - www.regularfolksunited.com

Time for a Blood Test

Today is "Alert Day" for the American Diabetes Association:

www.diabetes.org

So please get off line for 5 minutes today to call your doctor for scheduling a routine blood test. Then once you get your appointment schedule please send an email to your friends and relatives to join you in taking action for their health.

Please do not wait for Congress to create a universal health care system that will require blood tests and the rationing of services based on your station in life.

Todd

Reminder - I primarily blog here now: www.regularfolksunited.com

Sharing Books

I had lunch at Potbelly Sandwich Works last week (www.potbelly.com) where I noticed a book shelf with a sign on it -- "Take a book, leave a book".

I thought this was a nice feature for the restaurant so patrons could feed their head along with their stomachs!!

Read on, Todd

Pension Funds

Reminder - I primarily blog here now: www.regularfolksunited.com -- so if you have a few extra dollars please consider an online contribution to keep the site going. Thanks!

Now for something completely different! In a recent edition of the Financial Times newsletter an article about a Canadian pension fund including this ranking of the "Top 10 North American pension funds, 2007":

1. California Public Employees
2. Federal Retirement Thrift
3. California State Teachers
4. New York State Common
5. Ontario Teachers
6. Florida State Board
7. General Motors
8. New York City Retirement
9. Canada Pension
10. AT&T

So does anything in this list catch your attention?

How about the fact that 8 out of these 10 pension funds are for government employees. Perhaps we can even say that "9 of these 10" are for government employees given the massive amounts of tax dollars poured into General Motors.

Instead of sticking their hands in the pockets of taxpayers for a bailout perhaps the General Motors pension fund should have simply given General Motors a loan since this fund clearly has resources -- US$133.8 billion -- which is a better option for everyone concerned.

Yours in tax slavery,

Todd