STAND BACK

In a move proponents believe will have no measurable effect on public safety, the National Transportation Safety Board is urging state governments to lower the allowable limits for drivers from 0.08 percent to 0.05 percent, a move it says will reduce fatalities caused by drunk drivers. Even MADD, the most vocal anti-drunk driving group in the world, would rather pursue other options.

Currently, all 50 states have adopted a legal limit of 0.08 percent. Alcohol-related traffic fatalities have dropped from 21,098 in 1985 to 10,000 in 2011, but NTSB says progress has stalled. “There are at least 10,000 reasons to tackle this issue,” said Deborah A. P. Hersman, the chairwoman of the board.

But statistics tell a different story. In 2010, The U. S. Department of Transportation reported a total of 32,885 traffic fatalities. Out of that total, 31.10 percent, or 10,228, involved drivers with a blood alcohol content (BAC) of 0.08 percent or higher. Only 5.32 percent, or 1,720, fatalities involved a BAC of 0.07 percent or less, indicating that the problem isn’t with social drinkers who know their limits and drink responsibly.

The MADD website states that about one-third of all drivers arrested or convicted of driving while intoxicated or driving under the influence of alcohol are repeat offenders, and 50 to 75 percent of convicted drunk drivers continue to drive on a suspended license.

Response from various states suggests the move to lower the legal limit is being met with resistance. In Ohio, The Columbus Dispatch points out that in 2011 Ohio had 11.5 million residents and total traffic fatalities of 1,015. Alcohol-related fatalities were listed at 316. “Of the alcohol-impaired drivers who caused a fatality, 95 percent had a blood-alcohol level of over 0.10, and 55 percent were over 0.20.”

Sarah Longwell, the managing director of the American Beverage Institute, calls the measure “ludicrous.”

“Moving from 0.08 to 0.05 would criminalize perfectly responsible behavior,” she said. And “further restriction of moderate consumption of alcohol by responsible adults prior to driving does nothing to stop hard-core drunk drivers from getting behind the wheel.”

Mother’s Against Drunk Driving (MADD) doesn’t entirely support the measure, either. The group favors mandatory installation of a Breathalyzer system for drivers convicted of drunk driving, and they’re all for passive alcohol sensors and “administrative license revocation” because they believe these measures show strong potential for reducing alcohol-related traffic fatalities.

However, J. T. Griffin, a Washington representative for MADD, says the National Transportation Safety Board is “trying to focus on a group of people who are more social drinkers, who haven’t been targeted in a while.” MADD would not oppose the change, he said, but would pursue other remedies.

The American Beverage Institute is an alcohol industry front group run by Richard B, Berman who owns other industry front groups such as the Center for Consumer Freedom (CCF), Center for Union Facts, and Employment Policies Institute.

Infowars.com is also known for using CCF “statistics” to demonize groups such as PETA and HSUS. In early 2009, Alex Jones invited CCF’s “director of research” David Martosko - who not only used to run CCF’s HumaneWatch propaganda outlet (HumaneWatch was set up to discredit HSUS with made-up “facts”), but also posed as an agent provocateur on various Facebook-based animal welfare pages such as Stop HumaneWatch - to his radio show to back up Jones’ conspiratorial views about PETA.

There are also rumors that Alex Jones’ wife Kelly Rebecca Nichols Jones used to work for PETA and was the one who threw a dead raccoon at Anna Wintour at a fancy restaurant and threw a tofu cream pie at Oscar de la Renta. (That makes her sound like an agent provocateur.)

At no time has Infowars.com ever exposed the documented facts that CCF is funded by Monsanto, supports and defends genetically modified foods, helped to defeat California’s Proposition 37 (thanks to online propaganda), and routinely smears organic activists as deranged lunatics (once again thanks to online propaganda).

I’m starting to think Infowars.com is a Rick Berman front group and is being used to portray anti-GMO activists and pro-organic activists as deranged conspiracy theorists and potential domestic terrorists.

therebloggingneverends:

forteglyceride:

nsfwsb:

tumblr does for social justice what peta does for animal rights

this is seriously the best analogy ever

Okay, can I say something from experience here?

When I first joined tumblr I literally knew NOTHING about racism, or…

PETA is the best form of advertising the meat industry could hope for. When an animal rights group engages in wacky activities such as parading women naked in public (sexual exploitation), openly comparing meat eaters to serial killers and Islamofascist terrorists, comparing fat women to whales, equating a slaughtered pig with a crucified Jesus, and equating chickens with Jews (and equating people who eat chicken meat with Nazis), they turn more people away from animal welfare and vegetarianism/veganism than bring people to believe and promote animal welfare and vegetarianism/veganism.

It makes me believe the conspiracy theories that PETA is secretly funded by the meat industry to discredit vegetarianism/veganism and to increase the sale of meat products.

I happily support the Humane Society of the United States - HSUS - because they actually practice what they preach.

(via tuimitchams)

Fox News liberal Bob Beckel had some policy ideas about Muslims on Tuesday’s edition of “The Five.” Beckel and his co-hosts were talking about the Boston bombing suspects, who are Muslim.

This is one of the most mean-spirited editorials I have ever read in my life. It’s sad to see Mike Adams brainwashed by Alex Jones because I learned about health-related issues from Adams’ Natural News site.

Mike, if you keep following Alex Jones, you will eventually discredit all your hard work.