So much going on, I've barely had time to write about anything but ward representation, BUT--How do people in Massachusetts feel about a proposal to eliminate MA turnpike tollbooths and replace it with an automated system that would track our comings and goings?
From the Associated Press-- Instead of fumbling for change or navigating through special lanes in transponder-equipped cars, drivers may soon have to do little more than cruise on and off highways passing under a metal beam spanning the entire width of the road.
At the end of the month they'd receive a bill, much like any other utility bill. Except this bill would log each time they entered or exited a highway system, how far they traveled and how much they owed.
Does this idea bother anybody else?Now comes a truly absurd and invasive idea-- The National Animal Identification System (ever heard of this agency before?) wants the owners of all farm animals "...to register their premises and personal information in a federal database, to buy microchip devices and attach them to every single one of their animals (each of which gets its very own 15-digit federal ID number), to log and report each and every "event" in the life of each animal, to pay fees for the privilege of having their location and animals registered, and to sit still for fines of up to $1,000 a day for any noncompliance." Alternet.
These things get put in place and we have no say about them-- or no idea they're even happening.
4 comments:
The National Animal Identification System can kiss my patookie!
That animal ID system is one of the more foolish ideas I've heard lately. I had thought that scheme was abandoned. I'm sad to see it hasn't.
There are two bills in the Massachusetts legislature right now that would limit or stop the National Animal ID System. Check out the Small Holders Alliance website - http://smallholdersalliance.com/ - for more information on NAIS, the bills, and what each person can do. As Hightower's article sets out, several states have already made NAIS mandatory or are considering making it mandatory, so now is the time for people to speak out.
"Does this idea bother anybody else?"
Hate it for two reasons. One being it will cost me $5 per day to get to work on I91, or more time if I decide to buzz up and down rt. 5 in Holyoke/WS.
The other being the goverment essentially having a tracking device on my car. It's for that reason I never got a fast lane transponder.
Another thought, if they are going to charge me a user fee for the state highway system, I trust they will reduce the state tax rate accordingly, otherwise, it's double dipping.
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