A Little Off Topic

PrimeTime documented a story I had already seen on a forensic show, but it hits the spot to see that the media is starting to cover "junk science" in our legal system. However, they still seem reluctant to elaborate on: How did That Science Get There?:


http://abcnews.go.com/Primetime/story?id=1786421&page=3

This story is probably the best example of what I have been saying all this time. First, someone claims to be a doctor.....then sells some scientific machine (this time a lie detector) proclaiming it to be more reliable than the pre-existing. However, this one was even sold to the military until the Pentagon banned it.
Rule 702, I personally feel the Government, from Congress to Legislature owe this man their yearly earnings, for not simply closing the wound that is Rule 702, in light of Daubert vs. Dow.
Instead the courts are bleeding injustice. Putting faith in someone who is promoting and protecting an investment, some are multi-million dollar investments over faith in our Constitution. The segment is titled, " Innocent Until Proved Guilty?".

Quotes-
"Instead, the diploma on his office wall, which reads "Doctor of Psychology," is an honorary degree, awarded by a Bible college in Indiana that used to have an office in the strip mall where Humble's first office was located."

"Pressed as to whether giving himself the "doctor" title is honest, Humble replied, "I think it is.""

""I don't believe the instrument was wrong. Now were the examiners wrong? I don't know," Humble replied when asked about the case. "I don't believe I owe Michael Crowe an apology."- not a doctor Humble

""You could not accurately discriminate between truthful and deceptive subjects using that device," said Palmatier. As to whether the device could be used as a scare tactic, Palmatier answered, "Oh, exactly. Police officers have for years."-John Palmatier studied the machine for the Michigan State Police Department."

""It's a scare tactic, but it's an expensive one, and it's unfortunate that you have police officers who believe in it," said Crowe of his experience. "Who knows how many mistakes they've made by taking this for faith?"- Michael Crowe"

LAW: MADD at the Constitution (part 1)

After an exausting 6 month study of these devices I have found that MADD stands behind them, in fact they are usually responsible for propelling them into the courts. After lobbying to get the legislation passed that prohibits a lawyer from questioning the reliability of PBT's (legally accepted partion ratio of 1/2100, scientifically it is random, making almost every read erroneous +/-), they pushed for Ignition Interlocks, not just for DUI offenders, they would like to see them in all cars. The legislation has yet to be passed and most likely will not for obvious
reasons. I have read quite a few articles written by doctors, lawyers, journalists, and special interest groups that show MADD to be a neo-prohibitionist group. I, on the other hand, am going to try and excell from the usual reports and expose the group for what they are doing, and their lack of scruples.
I have found the statistsics they promote are fallocious, a deliberate attempt to mislead the public and legislature into passing and accepting the unconstitutional practices that come with a DUI arrests. While we already know alcohol related does not mean the driver was at fault or even drinking, they also use MIM to calculate their data. Multiple Imutation Method in 2002 increased the alcohol related deaths in 2000 by over 4%. So between August and October of 2002, there were 727 deaths in 2000? Observe:
1) August 2002
2) October 2002
3) Today
Allright so they lie to justify their existence, why should they not it is a lucrative organization. Non-profit does not mean there are not executives with 6 digit salaries. A group started by Steven Steiner called DAMMADD which stands for Dads and Mad Mothers Against Drug Dealers was being sued by MADD for trademark infringement after gaining national recognization. The "grassroots" group was started in honor of Mr. Steiner's deceased son. The group was working on a shoestring budget while MADD bullied them intentionally filing the suit in the wrong court. "They are playing games with us. They are trying to bankrupt us," Mr. Steiner said and also stated "They have no case so they are doing this intentionally because they know they have the financial resources to outlast us." Tossing money around in a useless nature while December 31, 2005 they cut their safe rides program in Metro-Detroit because it costed $27,000, there was not enough taxies and my personal favorite "There has not been an Alcohol Related (AR) fatality in years", maybe because the program was working!! In a more recent article the group cited they were worried people were donating to DAMMADD, when the donations were intended for MADD-For the tax year starting 7/01/04, and ending 6/30/05 the group claimed $12,723,730 in donations from the Government alone, and the highest paid employees:
1)= $108,958
2)= $91,203
There are 38 employees paid over $50,000 a year!
So they like to make a lot of money, they are still trying to do the right thing, right? Well, the reason you do not have the freedom of choice to wear a selt-belt is due to MADD's lobbyists, while this is one public safety movement that has legitimate statistics to support it, critics claim it a ploy to give reasonable cause to pull you over, the more DUI's, the more Victim Impact Panels, the revenue increases, and their very existence is again justified. They cited research to show .08 laws would save some 500 lives a year, yet even their stats have not curved, again more arrests, 200,000 more! One might think they don't want arrests because that would show failure on their part, are they trying to stop drunk driving, or just create convictions:
http://www.ktva.com/topstory/ci_3536047
"Alaska State Troopers' "You drink, you drive, you lose" campaign says the program has been a success in helping to stop DUI's. They say since the program began last July, they've made over four hundred additional DUI arrests...." Stopping DUI's, yet 400 more....
http://www.abqjournal.com/news/metro/429239metro01-31-06.htm
"When I hear that there are that many arrests, it warms my heart," Atkinson said. Atkinson is currently the head of the DWI resource center.
http://www.al.com/news/huntsvilletimes/index.ssf?/base/news/1132568170235890.xml&coll=1
Pitsis-Rush was thrilled and somewhat surprised by the increase in arrests. "I knew there would be an increase," she said, "but I'm really amazed it's such a dramatic increase." That's a sure sign that drinking and driving is still a serious problem in this community, she said.

Extatic over their failure because that means revenue, using fallocious statistics to justify their existence, they do still have some scruples right?
http://www.volunteertv.com/Global/story.asp?S=3831918
"A 12-year-old Knoxville middle school student saw the remains of her father in a gruesome photograph of a drunk-driving crash during a presentation by police." A program similar to MADD's victim impact panel. If it were not for the DUI concern propagated by MADD, maybe they wouldn't be showing twelve year olds graphic material that would have a hard time getting an "R" rating, so they made a mistake, but was this:

While teen drinking is going to happen, a some parents decided to hold supervised parties where alcohol was made available. The story made headlines and the local MADD chapter stuck their heads in. The parents were sentenced to eight years and the local MADD president said she was "pleasantly surprised" at the original eight-year verdict, and "applauded" the judge's efforts. The sentence was reduced on appeal to 27 months but these parents were taking steps to secure the kids safety, again teens will drink, is it really better to make them hide it at locations they most likely will DRIVE to. Since this case another happened in Michigan where a wealthy mother did the same thing. However, there seemed no mention from the local MADD chapter here, further investigation shows she is the wife of the president and CEO of the Chrysler Group. Chrysler Group's DaimlerChrysler is a major "Platinum Sponsor" investor in MADD. Glynn Birch, MADD's national president concedes that these parties keep the roads safe, yet he opposes them anyway because he opposes underage drinking. So not only has MADD's mission changed from keeping the roads safe to preventing consumption of alcohol, they'll support a position that cuts down on the latter even when it increases the likelihood of drunk driving fatalities.
http://ridl.us/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=1533
A news reporter sent to seek out a story on a man charged with drunk driving ten times found the offender to be human. In fact, her article quotes many of the mans friend an family which show him to be a caring, hard working individual who was well liked and respected by his peers. MADD was livid and charged the reporter with sympathizing with the suspect, and has had to endure many loud harangues.
This is not a drunk driver, a supporter of, an enemy of MADD or opposing lobbyist, but a reporter. I imagine this unsuspecting reporter was in awe at the vicious verbal taunts from a group that uses mothers (without fu****s) in its name!!

"In El Salvador, a first offense results in execution by firing squad." In fact, an attorney from the Salvadoran Embassy phoned Chaloupka demanding that MADD stop lying about El Salvador's driving laws.---Detroit News, 4-27-91
They currently use Turkey!
http://ridl.us/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=144&highlight=sex+offender
My personal favorite is when they fired one of their represenatives for his past "sex offense", and they claimed he was such a wonderful man, had he been driving at .o9 and caught then and only then should he have been castrated, branded, and forced to deal with his decisions for the rest of his life, so what if he thought he was soliciting a thirteen year old! "MADD does wonderful things," Steven Calamusa said. "Mark ( the Sex offender) has done wonderful things. The whole thing is so unfortunate." DUI more often than not hurts noone, yet....

Texas sends undercover cops into bars to arrest drunks before they drive. "Heather Hodges, an Abilene-based MADD victims advocate, said her group is working closely with the TABC on the project." Says Heather, ''We believe responsible adults should drink responsibly. And those that serve them should be responsible. A lot of people think it's OK to be drunk in bar, but it's illegal. A bar is not intended to be a place to get fall-down drunk ... . You don't have to be fall-down drunk to be considered drunk. Even after one drink, you aren't 100 percent.'' Notice the trend A) it is illegal to be fall down drunk B) you don't have to be fall down drunk to be drunk and C) one drink and you are not 100%, this has been the trend of MADD over the course of 20 years.

So the grass has been cut, and a money tree planted in its' place, and while they dismantle our Constitution (which generates billions), I would like to point out that there are at least 3000 suicides after DUI arrests every year, which exceeds the innocent killed by a drunk driver, so I will end this report with the same emotional rhetoric they use," If it saves one life, this report is worth it"!

Originally posted 03/11/2006
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Law: Madd at the Constitution (part 2)

MADD's biggest push was the .08 laws, using bias research and emotionally charged rhetoric they eventually had the bill passed, even though the U.S. Government Accountability Office reviewed all the statistical data and concluded "the evidence does not conclusively establish that .08 BAC laws by themselves result in reductions in the number and severity of crashes involving alcohol." Critics cited that the law would tie up law enforcement with these "new" drunk drivers who pose little threat, and to catch these offenders they intended to use roadblocks, which are publicized and the threats know to avoid them.( Former Chief Justice William Rehnquist wrote that the threat to public health posed by drunk drivers was reason enough to set aside concerns about searches without probable cause- this man is no Thomas Jefferson) In 2000, President Clinton signed .08 into law and ironically the alcohol related fatalities began to incline after 20 years of decline. Fatalities began to fall again except in states that employ sobriety roadblocks, in fact they still inclined! Another concern with this violation to the Constitution is that nationwide less than .02% of stopped vehicles are cited for DUI, but other traffic violations and they most likely did not give probable cause!

They continue to push for legislation that would impose tougher penalties for people who refuse breath tests than those who fail them, disregard that Fifth Amendment! Ironic, people don't want known junk science to determine their liberty, they much rather leave the burden of proof to prosecuters, who is this? Just google for a month and see how many attorneys, judges, justices, and law enforcement officers refuse the test as opposed to submit.

ARIZONA- Pima county courthouse was the site of a MADD gathering, where they handed out ribbons and displayed a crushed car and photo's of DUI victims. This was on a day that Justice of the Peace Jack Peyton and Superior Court Judge Ted Borek were presiding over DUI trials. In a quest for justice should we not look to unbias views of the actual events, or should we try to spread our hate in hopes to influence jurers in the quest for vengeance? "They have a First Amendment right to protest, but that right ends where the defendant's Sixth Amendment right to a fair trial begins," said defense attorney James Nesci.

The local chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) has engaged in "reckless and irresponsible public behavior," according to the District Attorney General of Anderson County, Tennessee, Jim Ramsey. A recent MADD fund-raising roadblock caused a two-vehicle crash and the MADD chapter has interfered in ongoing criminal investigations, including irresponsible vigilantism, according to the Attorney General. The MADD chapter accused a local retailer of selling beer to a teenager who later had an auto accident that killed two people. However, a judicial hearing found that the beer hadn’t come from the business accused by MADD of this illegal behavior. There is no report of an apology. The MADD chapter defends its attacks and other activities as being "within the policies and guidelines of MADD."
Meanwhile, many states have adopted laws that prohibit a DUI offender from a jury trial, and who do we owe this....the head of the American Institute of Philanthropy says MADD spends far too little of the money it raises on services and is lowering MADD's rating to a "D." Up to 58% (over $25,000,000)of the money MADD raises goes toward fundraising and management, the institute says. MADD fund-raising roadblocks, roadblocks, jury tampering, malicious accusations, Daubert (junk) Science, Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Amendment violations are all within the policies of MADD, so does it end here.......................Of course not

You see, the are avid lobbyists and VOTERS, and can influence votes in a community with a simple call to arms. -City MIS Department at MADD's request from dispositions entered by municipal court staff on DWI cases adjudicated by Judge Fran Gallegos. The analysis reveals: Only 37 out of 912 cases involved a jail sentence. A conviction rate of 49.7%. (The state average was 85%) Only 54% of the aggravated DWI cases that refused the breath/blood tests resulted in a conviction. Only 8.6% of offenders convicted of aggravated DWI were sentenced to jail (aggravated DWI carries a mandatory jail sentence). ANALYSIS:Result 1: Less than 50% (N=453) of 912 DWI cases resulted in convictions. Forty-two percent (N=366) of these cases were dismissed. These include 24% that were dismissed with "no conditions" and 18% "with conditions."
This scrutiny was jeopordizing this judges livelihood, even though the final descision was based on facts, this judge allegedly tampered with DWI records that are sent to the state DMV, showing harsher punishment that was actually given, and resigned due to the allegations.

Ferrell Hunter, a sheriff's deputy in Tunica County, Mississippi, was a Stakhanovite arrester of motorists on DUI charges, hailed by the state chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving as the state's top such enforcement officer.Tunica County has had a peculiarly low rate of actual conviction for DUI defendants. It turned out that Hunter had an arrangement with former Oxford attorney Joe Gregory Stewart: Hunter would provide Stewart with the names of motorists he arrested, Stewart would approach them and sign them up as clients, Hunter would then fail to make court dates so that the charges would be dropped, and Stewart would kick him back $200 or $300 per case. Now Hunter will serve three years probation after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit extortion, while Stewart was sentenced to three years probation, hit with a $20,000 fine and disbarred. (Andy Wise, "Former Tunica County Deputy Sentenced For Fixing DUI's", WREG, Mar. 10)

I personally oppose MADD for the simple fact they have no interest in justice, just a revenge based pursuit of convictions, regardless if a person is innocent. Deliberately advocating junk science, while expressing fallocious concerns for public safety, dismantling the Bill of Rights that was set forth to protect all of us from the harms of injustice. Anger is a phase of the greiving process, could this be the only reason why the have such a high turn-over rate even at the high paid executive level? It has been said that MADD rather than help the victim's families, keeps them in a state of anger. I have seen some of the ficticious stories rambled at their forum, and when proven false, they spew more hatred, and have currently shut down their forum to the public. One case, taken to the media shows a young man who was killed by a drunk driver, the media failed to report that the driver of his vehicle also had a high BrAC, in fact, the victim's BAC was lower than the driver of his car, he also was not wearing a seat-belt! Another case was even on Opera, "Burned alive by a drunk driver", that failed to reveal that the GM (platinum sponsor) product she was driving was notorious for catching fire after a collision! And on and on........
I am waiting to see if they try to take legal action over this report, since we obviously do not need Amendments, as long as it falls "within the policies and guidelines of MADD."

>"Mr. Howarth, how many fatal accidents do cell phone users cause every year versus drunk drivers?" "I have absolutely no idea, nor do I care." --- Brian Williams and MADD lobbyist Tom Howarth, MSNBC, March 4, 1998. (Cell phone use has been equated to a BAC of .10 (drunk). MADD supports cell phone use while driving, so you can report drunk drivers.)

Law- Endogenous Ethanol Does Exist

Dr. Hlastala had cited in testimony that a read produced by a SCRAM bracelet appeared to look more like alcohol produced in the body, the article research I had done was vast, but none showed a BAC level, Lawrence Taylor's search on the other hand...

Two physicians at Union Memorial Hospital in Baltimore reported they smelled beer in three of their patients. They were in an isolated hospital setting and there was no access to alcoholic beverages. The doctors tested the patients urine by gas chromatology, and all three tested positive. Two were tested for BAC (not BrAC), one of the patients results- .043%, which could and would be detected by any alcohol detecting device. The third patient, .121%, without even consuming alcohol this person would be arrested and convicted in all fifty states. A confirmation test, if tested for alcohol would only secure the prosecution.

I wonder if metabolites would differ since the alcohol was not consumed, but produced in the system, other studies show:
The presence of alcohol in human specimens containing glucose and yeast should come as no surprise...Several have made this observation. Under normal circumstances trace amounts of alcohol may be found in the blood; the alcohol is then channeled into an energy pathway by hepatic alcohol dehydrogenase...

The Japanese report the "auto brewery syndrome" in which they have seen middle aged patients with bowel abnormalities, most often after surgery, who have yeast overgrowth, usually candida, in the G.I. tract and who ferment ingested carbohydrates, producing enough alcohol to result in drunkeness. Mullholland and Townsend, "Bladder Beer - A New Clinical Observation", 95 Transactions of the American Clinical Climatological Association 34 (1983).

Drunkeness without a drink...

Increasing evidence has emerged to show that endogenous ethanol does exist, and the concentrations seen have large inter-individual variations. Our results show a markedly skewed distribution of values...The reason for the wide inter-individuaal variation in healthy abstaining individuals is hard to explain. Jones et al., "Determination of Endogenous Ethanol in Blood and Breath By Gas Chromatography", 18 Pharmacology, Biochemistry and Behavior 267 (1983).

So if your body produces .04%, and you consume two beers then drive before equilibrium, you will be well above the "legal limit", intoxicated or not thanks to "per se" laws a conviction after an arrest is inevitable. Now if one were wearing SCRAM, no drinking necessary and your probation will be revoked or extended$$$. Ignition Interlock introduces a host a problems. An emergency, say a child needs stitches or broke a bone, you may bi-pass the system but the vehicle will honk and the lights will flash all the way to the E.R., making you suspicious to law enforcement. Knowing you did not drink and the emergency eclipsing the problem with the interlock, can land you with more of the same. Amazing our forefathers had already been subject to this type of tyranny, and insisted on this Right to Privacy thing, imagine if they seen what is happening in the modern world!

"We may wind up in this country going to zero tolerance, period." —U.S. Senator and MADD lackey Barbara Boxer (D-CA)

"I believe that most people would not mind the slight
inconvenience of being arrested for a low blood-alcohol
level, given the opportunity to prove their innocence …"53
Linda Campion, MADD presenter and founder of the Kathleen A. Campion Foundation

http://www.duiblog.com/2006/03/01#a355