One day last winter, just at dusk, I was driving down Hardy Road toward Vinton when I noticed traffic backed up and police lights flashing. The line of cars slowed to a stop, then after a few minutes, the cops let us proceed. Inching by, we noticed a large vehicle had crossed the double yellow lines and crashed into the guardrail on the opposite side. The front of the vehicle was smashed in, but fortunately no other cars were involved.
Several officers of the Bedford County Sheriff’s Department were on the scene, investigating the crash, directing traffic, and attending to a white man on the ground. Based on the circumstances, I believe he had been the driver. It was a cold evening– in the 30s or 40s as I remember–but he was wearing no shirt and only pants.
His dazed, half-naked state in winter and destroyed vehicle indicated was not in a normal condition.
Drugs?
Following the officers’ instructions, I followed the other cars at a snail’s pace. However, as we drove past, I made a few observations:
- It was a blessing no other car was involved in the crash on that busy, curvy road. Had the timing been a few seconds off, he could have hit another car or two, instead of the guardrail.
- A large contingent of law enforcement officers were on the scene, on a cold evening, giving attention to the obviously-impaired man and managing the flow of traffic. I commented to the people I was driving with: “For the past half year, we’ve been told that the police are the enemy, the bad guys, the ‘armed and dangerous’ ones. But note: today, they are the only ones on the scene, helping.”
- With all the recent talk about how bad the police are and that we need to replace them with social workers, I did not observe social workers on the scene.
- The ignominious 2020 Virginia General Assembly was notorious for bills and laws designed to kneecap and hinder law enforcement officials from doing their jobs. State Senator John Edwards (D-Roanoke) and Delegates Sam Rasoul (D-Roanoke) and Chris Hurst (D-Radford) voted for most if not all of those anti-public safety bills. However, I did not see any of those gentlemen on the scene that evening either.
On April 7, 2021 the Virginia General Assembly met for a Veto Session. Governor Ralph Norhtham (D), who is still refusing to resign for his infanticide-comment and racist photo scandals, has made legalizing marijuana a cornerstone of his administration.
Could it be, that since his yearbook photo scandal made him and our state a national laughingstock, Northam is overreacting and trying to portray himself as some left-wing “hero of humanity”?
And this does not involve “medical marijuana.” It is about so-called “recreational marijuana.” Originally the Dems wanted to legalize it in 2024, but in their rushed blitzkrieg against what is good and decent, they sped the legalization up to July 1st of this year.
Delegates Rasoul and Hurst voted with the 53-44 Democrat majority to legalize pot come July 1. That is ironic, because Hurst ran for office on a “gun control and keep people safe” platform. However, he has refused to resign for his drunk driving. Is his behavior in the House of Delegates and on the road making us more or less safe? Rasoul’s campaign signs tout “LOVE” as a slogan, but where is the love in promoting a mind-altering substance that impairs judgment and driving?
In contrast, Del. Chris Head (R-Botetourt) voted “no” on legalization.
The vote in the Virginia Senate was a 20-20 tie. If the Left’s juggernaut is inevitable, as they want us to believe, why was the vote that close? All 19 Republicans, including Sen. David Suetterlien (R-Roanoke Co.) voted no, and one Democrat joined them. In Virginia, the lieutenant governor breaks a tie in the Senate.
Ironically, that is Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax; Vanessa Tyson and Meredith Watson have accused him of sexual assault. Fairfax too has refused to resign (are you seeing a pattern?) and he even sued CBS for daring to air an interview that allowed those two women to tell their stories. (Whatever happened to “trust the women”?)
Sen. Edwards cast one of the 20 “yes” votes that let Fairfax break the tie, so there you have it, Western Virginia. A Roanoke politician made it possible for the Old Dominion to go to pot.
Did you know that move has also taken the teeth out of all the state’s police dogs, pardon the pun? Police dogs are trained to sniff for marijuana, cocaine, etc. Law enforcement officials had argued for the 2024 date, so they would at least have three years to train canines to identify cocaine and bombs, etc. but not marijuana.
So now, with only ten weeks to go till this dangerous policy is implemented, our politicians have successfully rendered all police K-9 units in Virginia useless. How much money for law enforcement does that waste? How will that affect public safety? How might that affect your safety?
But wait, there’s more. New laws also block police from pulling over someone for a single broken tail or brake light. BOTH lights have to be bad, before the cops can pull them over. (How anyone can tell if both tail lights are out during the daytime is beyond me.)
Did you know it was a “routine” traffic stop that caught Timothy McVeigh, the killer behind the horrific 1995 Federal Building bombing in Oklahoma City that killed 168 and injured 680? So, some of our politicians are pushing pot while kneecapping law enforcement from doing their dangerous jobs to help protect public safety.
Our General Assembly passed a law that you cannot drive while holding a phone, but you can legally possess marijuana and drive with broken tail lights? Is that not schizophrenia?
For the record and in the interest of fairness, I contacted the offices of Sen. Edwards and Delegates Rasoul and Hurst, asking for their input and perspectives on these issues. To date, no one has responded.
Love should protect people, not put them in jeopardy.
Am I overlooking something, or is this insanity?
– Scott Dreyer
https://www.cnn.com/2019/09/12/media/justin-fairfax-cbs-lawsuit/index.html
