meanwhile, in the news: Living in your vehicle, and wearing makeup at the DMV

A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, struck down a 31-year-old Los Angeles law that bars people from living in parked vehicles, saying the vaguely written statute discriminates against the homeless and poor.

The ruling involved a 1983 law that prohibits the use of a vehicle "as living quarters either overnight, day-by-day, or otherwise."

The court said the law was unconstitutional because its ambiguous wording does not make clear what conduct would constitute a violation and "criminalizes innocent behavior."

The decision came in a case brought on behalf of four people who were cited and arrested in the Venice area by Los Angeles police officers who concluded the numerous belongings in their RVs and cars meant they were violating the law.

 "Is it impermissible to eat food in a vehicle?
Is it illegal to keep a sleeping bag?
Canned food? Books?
What about speaking on a cellphone?
Or staying in the car to get out of the rain?"

Judge Harry Pregerson wrote for the panel. "These are all actions plaintiffs were taking when arrested for violation of the ordinance, all of which are otherwise perfectly legal."
http://www.abc27.com/story/25821319/court-overturns-city-law-that-bars-living-in-cars


The South Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles refused to take a driver’s license photo until make up was removed.

With just that sentence, and nothing else... isn't it reasonable to feel the DMV has lost it's effing mind? The rules on drivers license photos... are that you can't wear theater stage makeup to purposely alter your appearance to disguise your identity, and though 15 states will issue a drivers license without a photo due to constitutional religious rights, in this case, eyeshadow and lipstick weren't tolerated.

Well, here's the info that caused the DMV to hold a grudge... it was a 16 year old, that wasn't a girl. So now the government is telling kids that they aren't going to get a drivers license unless they represent the conventional appearance of their XX or XY genetic markers? WTF?
http://fox5sandiego.com/2014/06/18/south-carolina-dmv-tells-teenage-boy-to-remove-makeup/#axzz34tgZL79A

I point out for perspective, that the Federal govt will cover hormone therapy for prisoners transitioning to the opposite sex http://www.gosanangelo.com/news/2014/jun/16/new-open-life-transgender-people/  Medicare's ban on sex reasssignment surgery is revoked: http://www.ktiv.com/story/25652755/medicare-ban-on-sex-reassignment-surgery-lifted and the state of New York allows the change of sex on a birth certificate, without the operation http://www.democracynow.org/2014/6/6/headlines/new_york_allows_transgender_people_to_change_birth_certificate_without_surgery

But one kid wants to wear makeup, and the DMV has a cow. Sheesh. Shave your head? No problem. Get a tattoo on your face? Sure. Get a tan with a shape or artistic design across your face? Go ahead. Grow a beard and mustache? Okey dokey. But wear eyeshadow and blush? Now wait a minute there buddy, that's crossing the line.

USA - (minus/without) 4th Ammendment. This is our America today

Police have been given authority by the U.S. Supreme Court to conduct vehicle searches without warrants, based on a trained dog's alert. http://www.tampabay.com/news/publicsafety/crime/these-pot-searches-by-police-dont-pass-the-smell-test/2182595

 In Carroll v. United States (1925), the Court ruled that law enforcement officers could search a vehicle that they suspected of carrying contraband without a warrant.

The Fourth Amendment (Amendment IV) to the United States Constitution is the part of the Bill of Rights that prohibits unreasonable searches and seizures and requires any warrant to be judicially sanctioned and supported by probable cause. It was adopted in response to the abuse of the writ of assistance, a type of general search warrant issued by the British government and a major source of tension in pre-Revolutionary America. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fourth_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized

Under the Fourth Amendment, search and seizure (including arrest) should be limited in scope according to specific information supplied to the issuing court, usually by a law enforcement officer who has sworn by it. Fourth Amendment case law deals with three central questions: what government activities constitute "search" and "seizure"; what constitutes probable cause for these actions; and how violations of Fourth Amendment rights should be addressed. Early court decisions limited the amendment's scope to a law enforcement officer's physical intrusion onto private property, but with Katz v. United States (1967), the Supreme Court held that its protections, such as the warrant requirement, extend to the privacy of individuals as well as physical locations. Law enforcement officers need a warrant for most search and seizure activities, but the Court has defined a series of exceptions for consent searches, motor vehicle searches, evidence in plain view, exigent circumstances, border searches, and other situations.

And there you have it. Your vehicle can be searched without a warrant, so long as the officers can articulate reasonable suspicion. My question is... can they break in and take it apart while searching for something?

Georgia makes it illegal to hold up traffic in the fast lane. Stay right unless you are passing is now the law in Georgia

The bill makes it a misdemeanor for any driver on a divided highway who does not move to the right when a car going faster approaches from behind.

Senators said they were not trying to encourage speeding. However, as Senate Rules Chairman Jeff Mullis, R-Chickamauga, said, “often times drivers travel through (the left lane) as if they’re in tourist mode.”

http://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/en-US/display/20132014/HB/459

Upon roads, streets, or highways with two or more lanes allowing for movement in the same direction, no person shall continue to operate a motor vehicle in the passing lane once such person knows or should reasonably know that he or she is being overtaken in such lane from the rear by a motor vehicle traveling at a higher rate of speed. For purposes of this Code section, 'passing lane' means the most left-hand lane other than a high occupancy vehicle lane.

House Bill 459, the slow poke bill,  passed the house almost unanimously 162 to 9, and goes into effect July 1st

Had you heard that the Natl Highway and Traffic Safety Admin was trying to discourage bikers from attending Bike Week in Fla, and Rolling Thunder in Va? Yes.

the NHTSA‘s Motorcycle Law Enforcement Demonstration Program provides states with federal funding for traffic checkpoints that stop only motorcyclists. The checkpoints allow law enforcement to inspect motorcycles and determine if they meet state standards ranging such as noise levels, tire conditions and handlebar lengths.

Very focused on discriminating against bikers. Yes, their bikes are too damn loud. Agreed. But so is my 69 R/T. I know it, so do they, yet we still thumbs up each other on the freeway over how damn loud each other are. Yup, I haven't grown up yet.

Good news, a couple senators and house of reps congressmen have gotten bills in place to see if this NHTSA nonsense can be made illegal

http://blog.motorcycle.com/2014/03/07/industry-news/new-bipartisan-senate-bill-ban-funding-motorcycle-checkpoints/