Disabled activism

David Morrison, local advocate for people with disabilities, writes in the StarNews (link) about the apparent difficulty they have refueling their vehicles. He asks why should “15 million drivers with disabilities have to drive around on fumes to find an accessible pump?” This raises the question: why are people driving around so incapacitated that they can’t refuel their vehicles. Sounds like a public safety problem rather than an issue of personal inconvenience. But Mr. Morrison seems more concerned with convenience—and imposing more government regulations—than safety.

Morrison points out that the federal Americans with Disability Act requires every gas pump to have a “call button.” But he doesn’t tell us how much that has cost consumers. And that’s not good enough for his interests. He and advocacy groups, such as the United Spinal Association, expect that every gas station in America should have attendants available at any time to personally “assist them” in pumping gasoline.

Morrison promotes the Disability Gas Coalition—activists who pressure businesses and legislators to require gas stations to provide personal assistance to people who drive but supposedly can’t pump gasoline into their vehicles. We assume they would require that every driver with a “Handicapped” tag be given this service free of charge—but it won’t be free. We will all pay.

Obviously, this mandated service would put a huge burden on gas stations; and, of course, would increase the cost of services for all customers.

No American able to do so would refuse to assist someone with a disability in an emergency. However, this new demand for government regulated special service is unreasonable.

An unintended consequence of sounds-good legislation results in advocates using established bureaucracies to regulate public and private services according to their whims, resulting in inconvenience and additional costs to the majority of people. One egregious example is a new ADA regulation that all public swimming pools be equipped with wheelchair access equipment. The result: pools will not be available to many of us because most providers can’t afford it.

It’s unfortunate that some people have disabilities that restrict their activities. But these people are accommodated in many ways through law, and by charities and individuals willing to help them. In my opinion, it is inconsiderate and selfish for advocates to expect the rest of us to be more regulated, inconvenienced and charged more so that a relatively small number of disabled people can attempt to participate in every normal life activity.

Government Imports Feral Cats?

One would think that we would have learned that importing one species to fix another perceived problem would have died out by the time the 20th century showed up, much less the 21st century.  From Kudzu in the southeastern US, to the mongooses of the Caribbean, to the opossums of New Zealand to the countless other imported solution turned problem across the planet.   Holden Beach has decided that lesson doesn’t apply to them.

The town recently decided to introduce the cats as a show of compassion and as a deterrent to rodents, she said. Any feral cat caught and brought to the county’s animal shelter is euthanized within 72 hours.  ”You have to have someone that knows what they are doing,” said Brunswick County 1st Sgt. Thomas Tolley, the animal services director. “That’s so the colony can maintain its health and integrity.”

Just a bad idea. . . . . “compassion” . . .  really?

When Local/State Government Fails

The Wilmington traffic nightmare that unfolded Friday afternoon into Saturday was epic:

(StarNews) – The Cape Fear Memorial Bridge closed Friday night amid miscommunication from the state Department of Transportation, catching thousands of frustrated motorists unaware and causing huge traffic snarls in Brunswick and New Hanover counties. By midmorning Saturday, cars were backed up as far as Magnolia Greens on U.S. 17.

And then there’s this fine nugget of information from Tammy Stewart, DOT spokesperson:

The Department of Transportation has 14 divisions, which funnel traffic and closure information to the communications department, which then disseminates that information to the public. Stewart was unclear where the breakdown in communication occurred, and was also unsure if Monday night’s scheduled closing would proceed as planned. ”There isn’t anything they’ve sent us,” she said. “I don’t know if wires got crossed or what – I don’t know.“

Not acceptable, completely unnecessary and costly!  And, of course, nothing from an editorial perspective in the local print media.