DUI Stops (Even if you haven't been drinking)

Not too long ago I was stopped at 2:00am on a Sunday morning after making an illegal right-turn-on-red. Before long I found myself blowing into a Breathalyzer after doing the humiliating field sobriety test. I knew that I would check out okay before I started - it turned out that my blood alcohol level was 0.01% - 1/8 the legal limit, but it was an aggravating and frustrating experience nonetheless. Since then I have done some research on ones rights when stopped by the police.

1. Before you can be stopped, an officer must have "probable cause". This can be a vehicle defect, such as a broken tail light, or a traffic violation, such as an illegal turn or failure to yield. Erratic driving will also get an officer's attention and provide "probable cause" for stopping you. I was once stopped on a rural highway because I swerved to avoid a dead animal (which the officer did not see) in the road. 
2. Once you have been stopped, you are not required to answer any questions, other identifying yourself. You are required to hand over your license and registration in Nebraska (laws in other states may differ). Officers will often ask you if you'd had anything to drink. You are not required to answer this, although lying is not a good idea either. By admitting to drinking any alcohol, you are, in effect, testifying against yourself, and making half of the officer's case. http://www.duianswer.com/library/what-to-do-if-youre-pulled-over-and-arrested-for-dui.cfm. What throws a lot of people off is that officers are often extremely polite and are trained to put you at your ease so that you will voluntarily answer their questions. Once you have admitted to drinking at all you have given the officer a reason to proceed to the next step: the field sobriety test. 
3. You are not required to submit to a field sobriety test http://dui.legalhelp.org/nebraska/field-sobriety-tests-in-nebraska/. I was not informed of this, although I did not think to ask either. They are very unreliable and are subject to the interpretation of the person administering the test. When I took the test I had been awake for 22 hours, had put in a full day at work, officiated at a wedding, driven an hour each way to my son's birthday get-together, sat out in the heat at an outdoor music festival, and worked 3 hours at the end of it as a bartender. Part of the test involved a bright light being shined in my eyes. Add in the fact that it was dark and I'm not especially coordinated anyway, there's no surprise that I failed to pass some aspects of the test. If you "fail" the test you have provided additional evidence against yourself and given the officer probable cause to administer a breath test. There are no legal or administrative penalties for declining a field sobriety test. 
4. Breathalyzer tests are a little more tricky. http://dui.drivinglaws.org/resources/dui-refusal-blood-breath-urine-test/nebraska.htm. http://statelaws.findlaw.com/nebraska-law/your-omaha-dui-case-the-basics.html They are included under the umbrella of blood, chemical or breath tests. If you have been arrested for DUI in Nebraska you cannot refuse the test without incurring a penalty: the suspension of your license for one year (one website said 90 days, another said one year). This is an administrative suspension by the DMV and is completely separate from a DUI conviction. This is called "implied consent" - you agree to this as a condition of having a driver's license. Lack of breath tests results does not guarantee that you won't be convicted - conviction for DUI does not rely exclusively on blood test results. If you have not yet been arrested, you can still be asked to take a preliminary breath test. Refusing the preliminary test can lead to arrest and a fine of $100. Yes, you have the right to refuse, but there are the penalties mentioned above and you'll be arrested and be spending the night in jail or detox, so there's really no upside to refusing at this point. 

One might say that if you have not been drinking, or have had few drinks, then you have nothing to fear. But it behooves us to know our rights and keep police on the straight and narrow. I voluntarily gave up my rights because I was ignorant of what they were.

School Shootings - School Prayer

I finally saw a great response to the stupid meme that ignorantly suggests that God could not stop the latest school shooting (I've seen it show up at previous school shootings too) because he is "not allowed in school". I'm not sure who the original meme is responding to: religious people who genuinely do not understand how a loving god could allow this to happen or non-religious people questioning the omnipotence of a god who allows this to happen. But the originator of the meme, and those who stupidly share it are using another gun tragedy to make a point about the long-established fact that public schools are not supposed to support religion or prayer. When it was pointed out to me the other day that this stupid meme had made an appearance again, my response was that anyone posting or sharing it was a moron. Or maybe I said "idiot". You get the point, right?

Here's why I think it's moronic: First, the cartoon character asking why God did not prevent the shooting is basically a strawman argument. While a lot of people regularly question why God allows bad things to happen (there's even a name for it - "The Problem of Evil"), it's usually religious people who agonize over it. An atheist might typically bring it up in a response to a believer who cites prayer as a reason that an individual survived a tragedy. A believer in God might be conflicted over the contradictions between a loving god and the existence of evil. I doubt that you could find many people using a mass shooting as an "in" to make their arguments about the non-existence of God (or at least the apathy of God). So it's a strawman, it's adressing an argument that's either not being made, or is an altered, weakened version of an actual argument.

The response itself is beyond ridiculous. The only thing, in this context, that has ever been banned from schools, is official, teacher or administration-led prayer. Schools are not allowed to teach religion, lead prayers or endorse religion. Anyone, teachers or students, can pray. Kids can "pray at the flagpole" in groups, pray for each other on the playground, or before tests (especially if they haven't studied) - all freakin' day long! The reality is that school-sanctioned prayer still happens anyway, often during football practice, but is illegal, despite the fig leaf that it is voluntary and students can opt out.

And finally, the argument that the meme makes, that if only we hadn't banned prayer in public schools, hadn't kicked God out of the schools, then the almighty could have and would have stopped these tragedies is stupid on the face of it. The supposed presence of God hasn't stopped churches from being shot up for example.

The meme is stupid. Stop sharing it. Stop being stupid.

Inoffensive Potato Salad

This is my attempt at an inoffensive, non-controversial blog post: my recipe for my world-famous potato salad. Despite my intentions, I realize that it might still end up offending potato salad purists, but so it goes.

You start off, obviously, with potatoes. Yukon Golds probably have the best taste, but Russets work the best for texture. Yukons can get mushier than I want them to...although, after boiling the shit out of them, it probably doesn't make much difference!

The quantities for any of the ingredients depend on how large of a batch you are making, and how much you want the different tastes to stand out. So here we go:

• Boil the shit out of the potatoes
• While boiling the potatoes, boil carrots and celery in a separate pot
• Also while boiling the potatoes, sautee an onion or two. Generally I drizzle some olive oil in a frying pan, toss in the onions and sprinkle black pepper on them. 

(I'm not really sure what the pepper does, but my father cooked very few things, but pepper on onions was one of the things he showed me...unless I dreamed it)

• Drain the water from the boiled potatoes
• Do not drain the water from the carrots & celery, pour the whole pot, water and all, over the drained potatoes
• Dump the sauteed onions over the potatoes
• Let the liquid from the vegetables soak into the potatoes for...I don't know, how much time do you have?
• When you feel they have soaked enough...hey! I said I don't know for how long! Drain the liquid out and dump the whole mess into a big bowl
• Cut up some bell peppers of various colors and toss them in: this adds crunch and color
• Next, drain the liquid out of a can of corn, preferably white, or white & yellow mix and add the corn
• Add mayonnaise (no, you may NOT substitute Miracle Whip!) until you get a creamy texture; the amount will vary according to taste and size of the batch
• I used to add some Doroth Lynch dressing as well, but haven't done this in a while; you can also add poppy seed dressing or whatever you feel adds to the experience
• Stir
• I recommend having some while it is hot, but you can let it cool in the refrigerator for later

This comes out a little different every time I make it...it's not so much a recipe, but a process