Gee Mike, I must have missed something when I studied the Constitution of these United States. I don't recall anything written in it having to do with a person's right to freedom from traffic enforcement through the use of closed-circuit TV cameras.

Even where I live in the liberal Northern California wine country we have cameras on some intersections to catch red light runners. I personally don't think we have enough, and that we should add more until people stop running redlights and rolling through stopsigns.

Give the local law enforcement people a break. The cops in D.C. (just like most communities) are overworked, understaffed, and also have the pleasure of dealing with diplomatic yahoos from all over the globe claiming diplomatic immunity from prosecution of the laws of this nation. Personally, I'd rather have them available to guard the citizens of D.C. from harm than to waste such a valuable limited asset on "speed patrol" that could easily be handled by a camera and computer.

And whenever someone whines about law enforcement, I wonder if they have ever been on a "ride-along", or volunteered any time working with their local police so they have any understanding of the services their local police provide to our communities at the risk of their own lives. Didn't 9-11 give you an appreciation of what the police actually do for us?

It isn't about money, it's about traffic safety. Your opinion would change dramatically if you lost a loved one as a result of a speeding car. Trust me, I've seen it happen way too often.

As for cameras and Big Brother, it is we who are Big Brother thanks to the internet. Our wives, girlfriends, sisters, daughters and mothers have webcams where they ply their "special" trade. We have webcams where you can watch paint dry, grass grow, traffic flow, sunrise, sunset, or someone's cat take a poop. And most of that is there just to raise money for someone with no actual benefit to mankind other than mindless entertainment...

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Scott Longston
Northern California Wine Country...
"Turbos whistle, grapes wine..."