Are You Kidding Me? (1)

With the number of governments we have in this nation, I suspect I'm going to be writing a lot of 'Are You Kidding Me' posts. This first one is dedicated to State Senator Carl Kruger, Democrat of New York.

Senator Kruger wants a new law imposing a $100.00 fine for walking, jogging, or cycling across a street while listening to your iPod or talking on the phone. That's right -- if you want to avoid the fine, you'll have to turn off your iPod or hang up your phone every block you walk, jog, or cycle in New York.

Still, you may wonder why this is being commented on in a youth advocacy blog. A few reasons, actually. I could take the high and mighty road and point out that we, right now, have young people in the middle east fighting and sometimes dying to protect our freedoms. Yet, at the same time, we have politicians back home who don't seem to understand what freedom is. I don't know about you, but the day the government forces the iPod out of my ears when I cross a street is the day that I have a real hard time calling this a 'free society'.

But there's a practical concern, as well. With all the difficult work that law enforcement has to do, how do you think a law like this will be used? Are we going to be fining every business man or woman who is running to their next appointment talking on the phone? Or is it more likely that this will be one more way that groups of suspicious or scary looking youth can be hassled by police? My money is on the latter, isn't yours?