will alexandrian's give up their civil liberties, privacy and safety so their mayor and city council will have another revenue stream to steal from to give to their criminal friends?
today, kalb's mike magnoli filed a story (see link) captioned 'crimes and concerns near the alexandria mall.' the part of mr. magnoli's story that caught our attention was how "on Tuesday afternoon, a woman {stopped for a redlight) was carjacked, pulled out of her boyfriend’s truck, beat up, and left on the side of the road-- on North Mall Drive. Both suspects are still on the loose." [video excerpt]
many years ago we worked at a place in alexandria that had off-duty sheriff deputies as security. often during slow periods they would regale us with stories about all the crime that occurs not just in alexandria but in rapides parish. one piece of advice, off the record of coz, that a sheriff deputy gave us back then was that if you find yourself in alexandria after dark and you're at a redlight and the coast is clear -- run it. because at redlights you are vulnerable to things like carjackers and robbers.
think about what a bonanza these redlight cameras are going to be for the carjackers and robbers. it will be open season on the citizenry. especially the elderly. most of whom are already afraid to drive one mph over the speed limit because they might be pulled over and because [the speed limit] is the law. or god forbid one of their gossipy friends pass by and see them pulled over getting a ticket.
what if you or your loved one, one night, is stopped at an intersection where one of these redflex redlight cameras is at and you notice some suspicious individuals milling around. you or yours have to weigh going ahead and running the redlight for safety's sake. you know if you run it you're going to get a ticket in the mail. if you dont run it you might be dragged from your car, beaten and left bleeding at the intersection.
you say the cameras will film it -- well what difference does that make if you or someone you love has a cracked head or injuries you or they might never fully recover from? besides the robbers are gonna know to wear a disguise etc.
the mayor, the city attorney, the city council, the police chief, they do not give a damn about you or your families safety. its all about making money -- for them and their friends.
if you go along with this redflex redlight scam you're a putz and you get just what you deserve.redflex redlight cameras: "this could be something that could be another revenue source for the city." - alexandria city councilman louis marshall ~ alexandria city council public safety / transportation committee meeting 20 november 2007 link
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