Brian Bolter's Blog

Apple makes the most amazing, intuitive, user friendly, media-rich, lifestyle changing products in the electronic world. So I've got to ask. What in the world is wrong with their iPhone 3G rollout? Last I checked ... America was on the brink of a recession. Luxury goods are just that ... a luxury these days. And yet nearly a week since unveiling the iPhone 2.0 ... throngs of spurned faithful are STILL checking the website overnight to see if their Apple store got a shipment ... STILL arriving before the store opens ... STILL killing five valuable hours to get waited on ... and STILL jumping through the shifting hoops (one per customer ... what's that?!) ... to give their money to the company. 

Supply problem? I realize Apple sold 1 million iPhones over the debut weekend and it took several weeks to do the same with the original iPhone. But c'mon. Your own advertising says ... Twice as fast - Half the price. Hello? 

Creating demand? If that's the case ... Apple is also creating iRage among its loyal customers. If they are seriously manipulating the supply chain to string customers along ... I refer back to my opening salvo. Recession anyone? Short attention span anyone? Blackberry Bold anyone? (Oh yeah ... in theory that comes out next month and at this pace ... you'll have a better shot at getting one of those!)

Arrogance ... poor management/decision making? This encompasses all of the above. And I'm inclined to think there's something to it. Apple is the best. I get the feeling they know it. And that stature seems to have clouded the actual implementation of the iPhone 3G. Brainstorming in the creative lab to develop the coolest cell out there is one thing. But when you threw open the doors to show the world ... crashed servers. Impossible delivery into the customers hands. Those are just two examples. More?

No MMS texting? What fairly savvy cell user doesn't send picture text messages these days? (Attaching a pic to an email is no substitute. Try opening an attachment on a smart phones these days. Brutal/impossible) 

No zoom/flash camera? Heard of the Razr? The most basic, popular cell phone in the world. And even that has a zoom and flash.

No video? Let me get this straight. Apple placed a seriously fast, prominent YouTube application on its iPhone home screen ... but you can't shoot video and upload it from the phone? For real?

And those are just complaints from someone who doesn't even HAVE an iPhone. Yet. Yep ... yet. This miserably frustrated, Apple loyal, tech fascinated wannabe iPhone owner is taking the abuse described above ... and still in love. Check that ... infatuated. Like Megan Fox ... the iPhone is the hottest, sexiest. most intriguing and clearly untouchable object of desire going right now. And I want it. Bad. But with this caveat Apple. Keep me waiting much longer ... I'll chalk it up to 'wasn't meant to be' ... and buy the Blackberry Bold the DAY it comes out. Not that that will show you anything. Or AT&T for that matter. But it's a matter of principle now. And lest we forget ... you're a luxury. In a quasi-recession. I don't need an iPhone. I want one. And like all tech gadgets ... the vcr ... tivo ... digi-cams ... a hotter, sexier, more intriguing version is just around the corner. Sorry Megan.

Arnie or Jack? I would have taken Arnie. Phil or Tiger. I took Phil. For years. Until recently. And after this Father's Day ... never again.

Watching even pre-US Open coverage last week, the whiff of history was in the air. Golf at the highest level ... our national championship ... and the best golfer in the world would make his first appearance since a third (and many skeptics say could be the start of a career ending) knee surgery. Even passing golf fans caught wind of the historical elements at play along a spat of California coastline called Torrey Pines. Little did they know, even they would care who made a putt on the 91st hole come Monday afternoon.

My two year old and I settled onto the couch for the final round in prime time on Father's Day. He more interested in my interest ... but both at peace being witnesses to the drama. Well past his bath time and nudging past his bed time hour too ... Tiger did what only Tiger could do. Make a 12 foot putt on the last hole of the tournament for a come from behind tie in the US Open. I raced the little man upstairs, hurriedly slopped through his bath, threw his pj's on and whisked him downstairs to catch the sudden death playoff hole and eventual win. Only ... the Open plays a full 18 hole match ... the next day! We would wait. Christmas Eve like anticipation for me. Him ... not so much.

But when Tiger and Rocco Mediate took the course on Monday ... head to head ... 18 holes ... an affable journeyman golfer versus the world's best ... it was even better than I ever imagined it could be. Tiger ... wincing less in pain from the surgically tender knee. Rocco ... swimming in adrenaline and hope and underdog status. 18 holes wouldn't be enough. On the 19th hole ... the inevitable. Tiger won. We knew he would. The world knew he would. Vegas bookies knew he would. But we watched anyway.

When I catch the highlights with my son 30 years from now, I'll tell him how even then ... I felt like we were seeing the christening of a living legend. LIke grainey, black and white film of Hagen, Vardell, Arnie and Jack ... it may have been on a 42" plasma in technicolor ... but the feeling of history was the same. Mediate, Olgilvey, Westwood ... run of the mill golfers who gave Tiger a halfhearted fight that last round. Please. We would have turned the tv off by Saturday if it were just them in the hunt. But Tiger made it impossible to turn the tv off.

 The world's best at what he does in the prime of his career battling through unthinkable pain on Father's Day playing a game so many of us share with our little ones. I'll be able to feel the air and re-live that race upstairs for bathtime for decades to come. It's the 91st hole finish most of the world will remember. It's the opportunity to share a moment in history with my little one that I'll remember. That's an old school Father's Day. I'd still take Arnie over Jack. But count me a reformed Tiger-skeptic. He's come into his own over the years. And I've grown to appreciate the tangential benefits he brings to the game ... many of which he'll never know.

 

How many times have you heard Hillary Clinton campaign consultants ie. Geof Garvin say she has "earned the right" to end her presidential campaign when, where and how she sees fit? How does an unsuccessful run for the presidency "earn you the right" to do anything? A wise man once said you need the biggest ego on the planet to run for the highest office in this land. That view, to me, is validated in this assertion that Hillary's 'earned' anything.

Spend hard earned money from millions of believers. Skip your day job for a year and a half. Get an all expenses paid trip upon trip around the country. Loan yourself money with the promise of getting every penny back. And you've 'earned the right' to ignore conventional wisdom, common sense, American history in the making ... to drop out of the race for the White House on your own terms? I have no qualms with HIllary doing what Hillary wants to do. Politics is dirty, selfish and clearly self-aggrandizing. But being a part of the political process ... a failed candidate at that ... doesn't seem to me to 'earn you the right' to do much of anything. What has Mitt Romney earned? Ron Paul? It just gives you the stage to be who you are. But please don't wrap ego gratification in entitlement. Only being an actual presidential nominee 'earns you the right' to that stage.     

I wanted to take just a quick moment and personally thank all our NewsEdge at 11 viewers. One of my first blogs here at myfoxdc.com detailed the behind the scenes 'work in progress' that was creating the NewsEdge for WTTG. Just one and a half years after taking to the airwaves for the first ever 11pm news at this station, we've learned that you made us #1 at 11. 

The root belief we had and held onto dearly through the entire development process of this newscast was this: in this changing world of technology and attention span ... your time is too valuable to put on the same old news everybody else does. Every decision we make in story choice and presentation is based in that belief. And from the ratings, you've made it clear Washington was ready for the change.

A special shout out to Jeff Gygax, the producer who helped brainstorm concepts and segments for the NewsEdge at 11. You think you lose interest in something fast? This guy is your best friend behind the scenes in making sure each second of airtime matters. 

WTTG allowed us to have a free-hand in creating this shows feel and flow. It remains a very 'hands off' atmosphere to let some of the best and brightest in the newsroom tinker and experiment and succeed. The daily parts do change on occasion ... but the vision remains constant. And YOU have given us the biggest reward and recognition we could ever ask. So thank you again ... from all of us. As I like to say at the end of the show ... "We'll be back here tonight for the NewsEdge at 11 ... hope you will be too."

Like a lead pipe to the shins of presumptive Presidential nominee John McCain (R), the New York Times just did a real Tonya Harding on the longtime Senator. I could almost see the elder statesman stumbling around his campaign headquarters before the story broke last night wailing to no-one in particular ... "Why? Whhhhhhyyyyyyy?"

Flash to the New York Times editorial board meeting where mock glum marked the faces of the decision makers, a lot of 'tsk tsk-ing' to each other with knowing glances they HAD to run a thinly sourced insinuation piece selling a 9 year old story wrapped in 8 year old sexual overtones.

I can't tell who's more arrogant and sleazy. A lifelong politician who barely escaped the Keating 5 scandal, only to clumsily straddle the line of impropriety and indignation for decades. A man who turns righteous on 'soft money' corporate contributions, but rides their jets, vacations at their homes and if you believe the New York Times ... whispers sweet nothings in the ears of their lobbyist. 

Or, a former fixture of the journalism altar. Kneeled at and blindly trusted by millions of Americans. Only to be humiliated and ripped naked of its luster by former employees and trusted journalists Judith Miller and Jayson Blair. A newspaper that apparently just figured out sex sells ... even dusty old stories of 'business as usual' on Capitol Hill.

Ultimately, I'm equally offended by both John McCain and the New York Times. To me, the real story in this 'expose' is two-thirds of the way down. Burying the lead if you will. The two letters sent by John McCain in 1999 on behalf of his "friend" Ms. Iseman and her employer Paxson Communications to the FCC. Drawing a 'rare rebuke by the chairman' for its impropriety. McCain doesn't deny it. Iseman doesn't deny it. The FCC doesn't deny it. It's a crystal clear example of a powerful politician trading on the reputation as a maverick ... playing that same old sleazy political game of wielding influence for "friends" and by logic, personal gain. But the New York Times shrouds the story is some weak, anonymous smut to interject unneeded salaciousness and therefore ITSELF in the story.

Will John McCain find redemption and accolades in the court of public opinion ala Nancy Kerrigan. Doubt it. His saintly image has been tarnished and through his actions with the FCC ... rightly so. But the New York Times just got a lot closer to a sad, out of shape and bitter opponent ala Tonya Harding. Slinging mud as a wild, winded boxer desperate to land a punch and prove its self worth. 

"Suicide voters. " - Conservative republicans who will vote/cheer/encourage Hillary Clinton ... IF ... John McCain gets the republican presidential nomination. That's the new terminology ... the new reality facing the GOP. Rush. Coulter. Swearing to support ANOTHER Clinton presidency, rather than rally behind what is an inevitable McCain ticket. Now ... I think I've heard it all.

No ... wait. I just watched two ultra conservatives ... Glen Beck/CNN Headline News and Larry Elder/Radio Host ... argue with EACHOTHER over why they (and in turn their viewers/listeners) should actually vote for Democrat Hillary Clinton. Here's Glen Becks' reasoning for his fans to vote Clinton vs. McCain:

1. Teach fellow conservatives a lesson.

 2. McCain doesn't get that we need tax cuts to stay in Iraq.

3. McCain wants to stop global warming.

Uh ... advantage Elder without opening his mouth. But when he did ... his simple stance was ... Supreme Court? Big government? Mandated health care? In other words Glen Beck ... you want moderate republicans and America to learn a lesson? So take Hillary for 4 years and smoke it??

Bitter. Bitter. Rating Mongering. Bitter. Hillary is sooooo good for Rush. Soooo good for Glen. Soooo good for Coulter. Millions of dollars. Millions of listeners. A windfall of attention and cash ... for all those ultra-conservative hosts who thrive on conflict. To the point they will sell out the party, the presidency, the direction of this nation for one term ... perhaps nearly a decade the way terms have gone lately.

There's truth to that old saying, "when the ship's going down it's every man for himself." I see a lot of selfish grabbing in the face of a sinking ship. Where's the character? Where's the leadership? President Bush famously said "I'm a uniter, not a divider." But what Rush & Coulter & Beck are ignoring about that honorable self-described trait ... was the SECOND sentence "I refuse to play the politics of putting people into groups and pitting one group against another."

That's exactly what the conservative airwaves are doing. Cannibalizing themselves. And throwing America under the bus in the process. Nice. Beware the "suicide voter." They don't care about this country ... they care about themselves.

 

 

 

 

 

Scolding the media finally pushed me into the Clinton Fatigue Camp. A selfish final straw I admit. But as a registered independant ... in a state that doesn't allow independants to vote in either primary  ... I've maintained an open mind when it comes to all candidates. I have no dog in this fight yet. (Although for full disclosure ... I do miss Ron Paul mixing it up in this election. I GET how rabid his supporters can be.)  But my lack of relatables came to a screeching halt when Bill Clinton stuck that now infamous finger into the lens of a camera yesterday and berated the media for "taking this primary election away from the South Carolina voters." And we all know by now ... that long,pale finger in your face equals shady, word parsing and veiled dishonesty. This tongue lashing was no different.

What was Bill referring to? Media questions about his negative campaigning on behalf of Hillary. Someone likened his actions to Lee Atwater ... and that set the former president into a tizzy. Saying Barack Obama put a "hit job" on him. "Do you think the people of South Carolina care about that?" he asked the reporter. "You're taking this election away from them" he declared. "Shame on you!" Actually Bill ... shame on you!  Bill was clearly ignoring the fact that Hillary wasn't even IN South Carolina anymore despite a primary  three days away. It seems to me THAT'S what South Carolina voters really did care about. And instead, Bill Clinton was hanging around in the state to lower expectations for his wife and their (yes I refer to her candidacy in the plural) expected loss. Classic Clinton. Only it's from the Bill playbook we're all so familiar with. It's starting to look like Hillary's campaign has a dusty copy it constantly refers to now.

More examples abound. But that ruined Bill's participation in this process for me. Who would have thought George H. W. Bush set the standard for "Supporting Role" in a familial presidential race? The elder Bush didn't disparage John Mccain eight years ago. He didn't tell the press to "read my lips" ... reminding so many of what they disliked so much about his tenure. Instead, Bush Sr. heaped praise on his son and stayed above the fray. To a further extent, he served as dignified glue holding his party together as candidates bickered among themselves for the nomination.

But Bill is making this election personal. It's about him. And all I can think of now is ... thank the heavens for term limits ... because now I remember why I had enough of him. I'm tired Mr. President. Fatigued. Think you can step aside and let the real candidate fight her own battles? We're seeing how John Edwards acts when facing a primary defeat this weekend. Wouldn't It would be nice to see what HILLARY would do as she faces ... say ... a primary defeat in South Carolina. Or maybe we are.

 

Christmas just came early for me. Thank you Senator George Mitchell! The anticipation of the Steroid Report coming down the chimney. Unwrapping 60 - 80 little gifts in the form of player names. And the excitement and joy to realize ... what big, famous, creme of the crop athletes were hidden in the wrapper of an independant investigation into our national pastime.

Of course Roger Clemens is on the list. Of course Barry Bonds took steroids. Of course a drug culture permeated the sport and is ripping apart its fabric of public trust ... much less public interest. Major Leage Baseball turned a blind eye to the abuses. The Players Association was criminal in its cover-up. And the owners kept pouring rocket fuel on the fire ... rewarding players with millions, no tens of millions, no HUNDREDS of millions in contracts.

Part of me wants this huge charade to just end. Let the players juice up 'til they're cartoon characters swinging a toothpick of a bat swatting balls over the wharehouse at Camden Yards. They're rich and famous beyond all of our wildest dreams. Chicks love the longball. And these are adults who know the consequences both healthwise and 'life beyond baseball-wise.'

Part of me hates the examples being set for our kids. College students know the best and easiest way to make a few mill and get to the show is to juice up. High School kids start dabbling in it to improve their chances. Legalized steroids clearly would have a detrimental impact on society beyond the major league diamond. 

But none of me feels sorry for those 60 to 80 outed cheaters today. They're public liars. They went for the easy way in the gym and the field. And now they face a storm of well deserved and unending public scrutiny. Just like you or I would suffer if we lied and cheated in our own jobs. Plus ... it's JUST A GAME! Hey Clemens ... try putting on roofs for a living. Hey Barry ... see how that surly and indignant attitude works selling shoes at Foot Locker. I've done both. And dozens more jobs that are back breaking, require drug testing and barely pay minimum wage. So thank you George MItchell for my early Christmas gift. Nothing says the holidays like seeing cheaters get their just deserts. 

 

I was happy with my outlook on Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. Didn't like 'em. Oversaturated. Collecting kids like rare automobiles. Inane Hollywood faux-lationship. I turned the channel when they came on, or at least turned away. Saw Ocean's 11. Refuse to see 12 & 13. Really wanted to see "A Mighty Heart" about slain journalist Daniel Pearl. Couldn't stomach 2 hours of Angelina Jolie so I didn't. And then ... this.

Brad Pitt is trying to save New Orleans. Not in some low budget, superhero flick kind of way. But honest to goodness, boots on the ground in the wasteland that was ... the Lower Ninth Ward. Pitt is not just lending his starpower name to a new housing initiative in the forgotten community. He's commissioned 13 architectural firms to build 150 affordable, eco-friendly homes in a campaign called Make It Right. AND ... pledges to match $5 million in donations. $5 million! Not chump change.

Let's get over the idea that no-one should rebuild in this part of town. At least the homes have to be five to eight feet off the ground. And that Brad Pitt has a selfish interest in architecture anyway. He's seen the frustrastion firsthand in this town ... most observers can't say the same. Pitt is doing what anyone with the privelege of a position of influence should do ... using it to make a difference in the world. That's what he's doing here. Rebuilding this cultural treasure is obviously an issue near and dear to my heart, as most of you know. Keeping it in the public conciousness. Refusing to let poverty and geography destroy one of the truely unique cities in this country. Of all people ... Brad Pitt is on the scene to save the day.

Now how am I supposed to come to terms with the incongruent entities? A papparazzi  mess of good looks and higher than thou social conscience ... versus ... real support, in a real disaster that can make real change. Damn you Brad Pitt. Now I have a passing interest in your father-son travails with little Maddox and all the others. I guess I will buy that Details magazine, even though your picture is on the cover. But let me just say ... thank the heavens you're not Tom Cruise! I would implode.

 

 

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Hottie TV UPDATE!

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Few knew the "Battle of the Media Hotties" contest which ends just hours from now (Midnight Friday) was so important to fellow broadcaster Darren McGinty? He slipped into a comfortable lead and I resigned myself to a crushing defeat fair and square.

But then ... came the blog entry. Animals in compromising positions. Pictures of me that would make Perezhilton proud. And now ... outright begging on the front page of their website. My response ... captured in this moment during last nights Newsedge at 11.

Fight back for the Wisconsin Ave microcosm of "hottness" and vote here: http://www.dcrtv.com/hotties.html

 

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A local media website is scrounging for hits by using unsuspecting on-air types in a Battle of the Media Hotties. This week's throw down pits me against Derek McGinty at Ch. 9. All week I've ignored the web traffic generator ... it's hard to get up for these ballot box stuffing exercises. But Derek's started the smack talk ...  so now it's on!

In case you're curious. This is a picture of the competition.

 

 

 

 

As he declared in his blog ... it's personal! Here's the link. Please click and vote!  We only have until 12 noon tomorrow ... Friday. Send it to your friends ... co-workers ... family ... anyone who's interested in justice, fairness and our little microcosm of "hottness."   

http://www.dcrtv.com/hotties.html

Brian

 

Andrew Meyer deserved it. The University of Florida student wasn't crusading for  freedom of speech. He wasn't pushing for political change. The college kid got tasered because he tried to pull a Borat. Break all social norm and decorum, push through the  walls of discomfort that dictate public behavior ... for a laugh. Shock everyone else ... catch it on camera ... and the jokes on us. Actually, Andrew got tasered for it. Joke's on him.

Campus police were asked by event organizers to escort the student out of the auditorium. They did. The student violently resisted arrest. They did their job. Let's not be naive to the destructive possibilites here. Student violence is well documented. It's not the campus police officers job to talk sense into a convulsing, screaming student melting down in an auditorium full of people. They had to get control of the situation to protect everyone else ... so bro got tasered. I say Bravo.

And now two campus police officers are on leave? The University of Florida president claims he wants the school to be an open environment for the free flow of ideas. Too bad that's not what this was about. Ask Andrew. Even in the police report Meyer is quoted as saying "I am not mad at you guys, you didn't do anything wrong, you were just trying to do your job."  Then he asked  if cameras would be present at the jail. Borat to the end.

 

It's been a busy summer behind the scenes here at Fox 5. As many of you have seen, we launched the Fox 5 Newsedge at 6 on Monday. Our stations first foray into the 6pm timeslot. But thankfully, our news philosophy at WTTG isn't  just to add newscasts for the sake of filling time and attracting what viewers we can. We sweat, brainstorm, argue and plead with eachother during what seems like endless meetings. The goal: an original product that's first and foremost the best local news product in the market. Throw in thought provoking, creative, entertaining ... and a carefully inserted dash of personality ... you get the new kid on the block ... the Fox 5 Newsedge at 6.

Much like the launch of the Newsedge at 11 in July 2006, producer Jeff Gygax and I have teamed up again to bring this new show to life. Of course, there are countless other voices behind the scenes that helped mold the look, the content, the tone and the feel. Interestingly, we went into the show development thinking we didn't have to re-invent the wheel. In creating the Newsedge at 11, we successfully managed to differentiate ourselves from the competition in almost every way. It appeared the 6 would be a walk in the park. Not so much.

As you well know, news evolves. And it seems particularly between 5 and 6:30pm. It's chaotic "Inside TOC" ... which is the real name of our real nerve center in the newsroom ... and the center of all incoming video for stories. But we're holding it down, and getting the best product we can to you every night at 6. I'd like to think the best product in the nation's capitol. If you haven't checked us out ... please do. If you have ... please stick with us. We're truely working hard every single day to beat the pants off the competition in presenting the news that makes a difference in your world. In my humble opinion, we're doing so every night. It's a good mix, at the perfect time to fit into your changing world. Local news is changing ... thanks for hopping on board!

 

 

 

 

I rode in her cab. Two weeks ago. And Christy Freeman was behind the wheel. It came as much as a surprise to me as anyone else when the news broke. In fact, I didn't even make the connection until I learned the accused killer owned Classic Cabs. Then, it all came back to me.

Spending a weekend just outside Ocean City, a local who've I been friends with for several years called us a cab to head into town. When the Classic Cab pulled into the driveway, I hopped in and we were off. There were introductions. My friend has known Freeman for many years and regularly uses/recommends her unique cab service to vacationers and residents alike. Although Freeman rarely drives the cabs herself I discovered along the short trip. But with the season hopping and a personal friend calling in for a ride, she drove the 1960's era car for the one way ride.

Conversation was short. I do recall Freeman wearing a large NASCAR shirt/sweatshirt. That jives with the many witness accounts that claim noone knew she was pregnant because of her baggy clothes. Beyond that, the trip took ten minutes and my friend and I were off into the night air.

The brief encounter may give me a personal connection to this story. But it certainly doesn't cloud my judgment in reporting the facts in this case. The accusations are awful. They get worse by the day. I haven't spoken with my friend who knows Freeman personally. Have no idea if he is upset, concerned, defensive, angry or sickened. Perhaps all of the above. But Ocean City is a small town. Spend any time at the beach, and you're bound to find degrees of separation to any news story. Particularly a national story. Although riding in the back of Christy Freeman's Classic Cab is a little too close for comfort.

 

  

I don't know Bill Press of the Bill Press Show. Never listened to his talk show on Sirius radio. Never read his columns. Don't care about his politics. But I know one thing about Bill Press ... he's hot! So says a growing majority of voters on the fishbowldc.com web contest in its current search for "Hottest Media Type, Male On Air."

And even though he is handily beating 'yours truly' ... along with 10 other nominees for this great honor ... the real reason Bill Press is hot is this. In one fell swoop he created a massive wave of voting and snatched the lead (most likely the pending title) from a certain NPR employee. Again ... I have no knowledge of ... and have never met ... that certain media type from NPR. But the guy was running away with it! Like Secretariat, the rest of us, including Bill Press, were getting manhandled in the polls. If it were American Idol, I was Chris Sligh .. and America wasn't feeling the witty guy when they could lay their eyes and votes on Sanjaya Malakar. Who knew we could garner 60 ... 70 ... 110 votes ... while clearly the fishbowldc.com visitors were overwhelmingly enamored with NPR Malakar. First 200 ... then 400 ... now at last count  686 adoring fans.

But like a Tour de France rider fresh from a blood transfusion, a steaming steroid smacked baseball from Barry Bonds, a technical foul from Tim Donaghy ... Bill Press comes from voting obscurity to run away winner! Nationally syndicated help from the computer savvy public? Who cares! Everybody loves an underdog ... and NPR Malakar met his match!

You can vote at the link below. Polls close Monday. I'd love not to come in last. But as you've learned by now ... I pull for the underdogs!

http://mediabistro.com/articles/poll/000407/>

 

Two recent items in the news have once again re-iterated my deep rooted belief that we as a nation have too many laws ... and too many legislative sessions. The abusive driver fines Virginia is trying to implement. And the proposed DC law making 'watching' a dog fight a felony.

Do I support reckless driving and pitt bull maiming? Of course not. But do we need laws doubling ... tripling fines for traffic infractions as a de facto tax to pay for road projects? Since when is seeing crime ... a crime?

My point is this. Jurisdictions should spend more time enforcing the laws already on the books. The vast majority of community problems can be addressed through enforcement and education. Put the resources ... the talent ... the creativity ... the energy in that end of the legal system. Don't saddle us with ambitious, publicity seeking political hopefuls who feel in order to make a name for themself ... they have to make more laws. Create more legislation. And meet every single year to come up with even more bills, regulations, no-no's and penalties.

The bad elements will always make the news. But it doesn't seem like sane people should chase after them in a rush to legislate away freedoms of the vast majority of us. And widely thought to benefit personally  in the process.