ARE THEY SERIOUS??

       I was going to do this post on President Obama's 2012 federal budget and what was laughingly called spending cuts and deficit reduction.However that will have to wait until tomorrow,since another article caught my attention.And what you ask could pull me off the budget and take me to an entirely different subject. That's easy,it was an article about the Department of Transportation and what the Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood said that his department was looking to regulate. These new regulations would deal with the problem of distracted driver's and what would be allowed in cars in the future. Now if that was not enough these regulations would also regulate what drivers would be allowed to do while in the car.
     Now remember that the President said his administration would look at those regulations that impacted business and get rid of the pointless regulations that clog the books.According to the web site, Regulation.gov the Department of Transportation has 1.2 million pages of regulatory and adjudicatory rules that are on the books.Yes you read it right,that's 1.2 million pages of regulation concerning driving on the highways of the nation.Usually laws and regulation fall under the authority of the individual states. After all it is the state that issuses driver license's.You would be right,except that the federal government can regulate commerical vechile traffic,and if the federal government wants to regulate how drivers use or behaves on the highway system they can do so. Actually what they do is either tell the states that if they do not pass a particular law or regulation they will withhold federal highway funds.The other way is to tell the car manufacture to add or remove a particular piece of equipment.So what the Department of Transportation wants, the Department of Transportation gets.
     With the presidental directive to remove unnessary regulations from the booksit would seem that ,the Department of Transportation would have its hands full just reviewing 1.2 million pages of regulation.Can any rational human being even visualize what 1.2 million pages of regulations look like.Now what is it that they are looking to regulate now. How about hands free devices such as bluetooth cell phones,navigational devices.Now add drinking coffee,eating donuts,consuming hamberburgers and of course shaving and applying makeup.Ok I can see shaving and applying makeup since to do so one must keep glancing at one's reflection in the mirror.Look at yourself too long,Wham a car accident. Logical.The same with donuts,after all the jelly or powder sugar could fall on one's lap. The same goes for eating hamburgers;,ketchup,mustards or pickle could fall,and when one looks down,Wham a car accident.Logical,maybe?Now lets look at hands free bluetooth cell phones. The reason given is that when talking the driver is distracted,paying attention to the conversation and not on driving.Ok that seems logical,but wait what about talking with a passanger,doesn't the same thing apply.I would think so. Therefore the only way to prevent that from happening is to isolate the driver from everyone in the vehicle.That would do it.However I don't think the voting public would allow that to happen,do you?
     It seems that our elected and appointed officals are not the brightest bulb in the room, or are operating with a few cards short of a full deck.However you want to put it, they seem to want to regulate just about every aspect of our lives,Can we stop this tendency in our elected and appointed officals?I know what I think, but as usual what do you think?