Not sure if I should scream or cry

[rokguy]

<EM><STRONG><SPAN style="COLOR: #888888">Just a question on some of the comments, &nbsp;How would the cops know you didn't have a home just by following you down the road ?</SPAN></STRONG></EM>

 

[user 423]

<span id="post_message_1277074350"><em><strong><span style="color: #888888;">

How would the cops know you didn't have a home just by following you down the road ?

<br><br><br></span></strong></em></span>Good point. Some folks will see some imagined oppression everywhere, I suppose. <span id="post_message_1277074350"><em><strong><span style="color: #888888;"><br></span></strong></em></span>

 

[owl]

&nbsp;&nbsp; slow, undergoing the things these folks are describing is certainly not imagining oppression everywhere!<BR>Neither did they infer that. What they were relating was an uncomfortable point in their lives. Quite possibly in an effort to understand it. When authority takes&nbsp;anyone's God given rights for whatever reason, that is a slippery slope I hope you never have to go down.

 

[ccbreder]

Cops can be *****. We can be *****. I have been "interviewed" many times, while rolling and while parked, while walking and while seated. All but one time I could agree with the cop as to why I was "interviewed".<br><br>It is a wise move to daily inspect your vehicle for all lights working, all hatch covers closed, and any cargo secured and even out off sight. Be&nbsp;careful&nbsp;of your breath and&nbsp;incense&nbsp;at toll booths, and&nbsp;always&nbsp;be polite to the blue people.&nbsp;

 

[user 423]

First, I wasn't referring to frickinducky's experience. Your comments/rant about the "gubmint"...yes. Sure, there's plenty to criticize about authority but where would we be without it? With 300 million people running around doing as they please, it would be chaos. In the abstract you can claim that government "produces nothing" but infrastructure, order and national security are pretty important these days.<br><br>Being stopped twice in the same trip seems like a lot but that is countered by the experience of others who have travelled for years and 100's of thousands of miles and have never been stopped. <br><br id="tinymce" class="mceContentBody ">Certain roads are major drug and/or people smuggling routes and you might just happen to be the random stop they decide to make. Any type of erratic driving will attract police attention because of much stricter enforcement of DUI laws these days. My brother was killed by a drunk driver so for that <br>bit of government "intrusion', I'm all for.<br><br><br><br>

 

[mockturtle]

<span id="post_message_1277079293"> In the abstract you can claim that government "produces nothing" but infrastructure, order and national security are pretty important these days.</span>

<br><br>With few exceptions, government may <em>fund</em> infrastructure [with our tax money] but infrastructure is <em>produced</em> by private contractors.&nbsp; What government <em>does</em> produce is an ever-increasing bureaucracy and lots of paperwork.&nbsp; I'm not anti-government by any means but I deplore its unchecked growth and power.

 

[user 423]

With few exceptions, government may fund infrastructure [with our tax money] but infrastructure is produced by private contractors.

<br><br>There are many businesses today that "merely" fund activity and they are a huge part of our economy. They don't really produce anything tangible but provide services. Insurance,entertainment,sales,etc.etc.<br><br>Most would agree that the government providing a service such as a decent road system that is available to the military for national emergencies is a good thing.

 

[mockturtle]

Providing and producing are quite different.<br><br>My state is always threatening to close parks because of budget constraints.&nbsp; They keep raising the fees so that no one can afford to camp in their state parks.&nbsp; But it is my understanding that there are more 'park' employees in offices in the state capital than park workers in the field.&nbsp; How many government bureaucracies lay off their own?

 

[owl]

&nbsp;&nbsp; What is the first thing government, on any level, does when they want more tax dollars? They threaten the populace with chaos, police and fire layoffs. School closing, prisoners being released etc. I and the others here conversing are not anti government, we are anti big government, uncontrolled spending. No one with a brain disputes that some government is necessary. What has grown here in the last few years is absurd. When you give up your freedom for " security " you deserve neither.

 

[ccbreder]

Me too. I will never drive on a road paid for by the government.

 

[AltTransBikes]

Some years back, like around 20, my wife, young son and I were traveling cross country. We had a full size Ford van and neat little 13' fiberglass TT, sweet rig really. Traveling west to east, we were on I-10 in Texas before the I-20 split and all of a sudden there were orange traffic cones in the road closing off the left lane and then funneling all traffic to the right into a roadside rest area. <br><br>It was a Texas DPS stop and as we were motioned in to the front there were vehicles along both sides stopped. Some folks had their vehicles being thoroughly searched, belongings placed out on the ground, suitcases and luggage opened and contents spread out. It was quite a scene, a little unnerving.<br><br>We were motioned into a spot to stop. A DPS officer fitting the bill, about 6' 3" and 275, big hat and mirrored shades, came to the window, said "Afternoon, I need to see your insurance papers".<br>I had them in a accordion type file folder and by luck I had that right beside the drivers seat. The folder had been in the trailer that morning but I had taken it up front to look for something else and left it there. I'm glad I did otherwise I would have had to say they were in the back and who knows what that would have led to. He looked the paperwork over and said "Have a nice day". We were there for 5 minutes, he never asked for license or registration. I did not ask any questions either though I was tempted to ask what this was all about. A little voice inside said it was best that day to put west Texas in the rear view mirror.<br><br>Luck of the draw I guess.

 

[rokguy]

<EM><STRONG><SPAN style="COLOR: #888888">Would still like to have an answer for my question ?</SPAN></STRONG></EM><BR><BR><EM><STRONG><SPAN style="COLOR: #888888">In Oz we have random drug and drink testing which is a good thing, the only people who wine about it are the ones who get caught. Actually the cops will rarely pull over a truck or motorhome seems like to much bother. They have always waved me through.</SPAN></STRONG></EM><BR><EM><STRONG><SPAN style="COLOR: #888888">These days with plate recognition and point to point speed cameras they don't need to hassle anyone unless your doing something really stupid out there.</SPAN></STRONG></EM><BR><EM><STRONG><SPAN style="COLOR: #888888"><BR>Geoff</SPAN></STRONG></EM>

 

[user 423]

The bloat in gov't has been around for many decades under many different administrations. The number of fed employees is just a few percentage points higher than what it was in the 80's and that's not "absurdly" high. It also is a different subject from the "losing all our freedoms" rant.<br><br>This thread is more about one person's atypical experience with law enforcement...why insert an exaggerated sense of persecution into it?

 

[owl]

&nbsp; Slow, I think you just want to argue so at this point I will bid you adieu and leave this one&nbsp;fact to ponder. Federal government spending is up 20% in the last four years. The highest it has been ever in U.S. history. The government has no money. They just&nbsp;print more which makes every dollar we get worth less.

 

[user 423]

Your every comment has been against big government,deficits,etc. and have nothing to do with a thread about unfortunate travel experiences.<br><br>So,yes adieu. Have fun tilting...<br><br>