All the way back in last week of December, 2011, I took a moment to jot down my wishes for 2012. I’m sure you read it. Or ignored it. One of the two.
Right on cue, out come articles about the 200 new laws which go in effect on January 1 of 2012. 200 hundred of them! Before you google it up (or look at the link I’m about to post), make a mental list of all the laws we NEED to enact. All of the laws you just can’t live without. All of the laws necessary to keep this great state going. Maybe you should even take a moment to reflect upon how much better your life was because of the new laws enacted for 2011:
Wasn’t 2011 fantastic? Done thinking about what must-have laws we need for 2012? Now take a look. Did your laws make the list?
Reading that article, there is no doubt that many of those laws sound like really good ideas. Not every good idea needs to be a law, though. Especially the ones that are going to be nearly impossible to enforce. Should people be aiming laser pointers in airplane cockpits? No. Should there be a law against it? Before you tell me that there should, tell me how people are going to get caught. Some pilot, flying hundreds (if not more) of feet over the planet, sees the tell-tale dot of a laser pointer and does what, exactly? Instead of outlawing laser pointers, maybe we should outlaw flying. It would be much easier to catch the law-breakers in that scenario. Safer, too. I’m guessing that less people die in laser pointers each year than in airplanes.
Maybe simply having the law will eliminate the problem? Just like prohibiting murder has stopped killings. Whatever. When pointing lasers is outlawed, then only outlaws will point lasers. If you can get past the feel-good nature of the descriptions of those laws, they’re not changing much of anything.
Despite these laws, I don’t count 2012 as a failure… yet. Most of these laws have been on the books for some time, and we are just coming up on their enactment date. When I babbled about my three wishes for 2012, I was hoping that our lawmakers don’t dedicate as much time to passing unnecessary laws in 2012 as they did in 2011. Or 2010. Or 2009…
In less grumpy news, I’m headed out of town until after the new year. My feeble mind can’t deal with all of the pseudo-celebrities and their New Year “celebrations” (Kim Kardashian New Years Party, I’m looking at you). I’ll be hiding where T.V., the internet, radio and all those new laws will have a hard time getting me. If you try to find/call/email me, good luck. I’ll be in the back country along Lake Superior. If you happen to find yourself in an “emergency” situation, though, you might consider some helpful tips to keep you out of trouble until I return.
