Get Tougher on DUI

The problem is culturally systemic. Our alcoholism rates I'd guess are now on par with the USSR's in the 70s.

And my above comment isn't meant to point a finger. I think most contemporary organizations and/or individual feels obligated to make alcoholic beverages available, even if they themselves don't drink. I've always scratched my head at alcohol companies sponsoring surf events.. "Yeah let's down a few shots and hit Mavericks.."

I don't know about the '70s (and probably no comparable statistics exist) but as of 2005, the USA is far behind the former Soviet states:

* * Patterns of Consumption, Patterns of drinking score * *

["The patterns of drinking score reflects the alcohol-attributable burden of disease of a country, given the same level of alcohol consumption, on a scale of 1 (least risky drinking pattern) to 5 (most risky drinking pattern). The higher the score, the higher the alcohol-attributable burden of disease for the country. It is based on three different dimensions: four different aspects of heavy drinking occasions (i.e. high usual quantity of alcohol per occasion, festive drinking common at fiestas or community celebrations, proportion of drinking when drinkers get drunk, and proportions of drinker who drink daily or nearly daily), drinking with meals, and drinking in public places.]

USA .............. 2 (somewhat risky)

- Baltic states
Estonia ............... 3 (medium risky)
Latvia .................. 3 (medium risky)
Lithuania ............. 3 (medium risky)

- Central Asia
Kazakhstan.............. 4 (very risky)
Kyrgyzstan .............. 3 (medium risky)
Tajikistan ..... ........... 3 (medium risky)
Turkmenistan .......... 3 (medium risky)
Uzbekistan .............. 3 (medium risky)

- Transcaucasus
Armenia ................ 2 (somewhat risky)
Azerbaijan ............ 3 (medium risky)
Georgia ................ 2 (somewhat risky)

- Eastern European states
Belarus ................. 4 (very risky)
Moldova ................ (n/a)
Ukraine ................. 5 (most risky)
Russian Fed.......... 5 (most risky)

http://apps.who.int/ghodata/?theme=GISAH

I drove drunk earlier this evening.

Dolomush, I hope your luck runs out!
How's your mom? Mine is a rotting corpse in a casket in Indiana because some idiot had the same cavalier attitutude about driving drunk that you do.

Drinking is so socially acceptable, people my age (45) still boast about how drunk they got over the weekend. People do not realize the damage they are doing to thier internal organs. I want to live a long healthy life and pray everyday that I don't get killed in any type of accident so I can watch my daughter graduate, get married, and have her own kids. Things a mom and daughter want to do, things I never got to do with mine.

It's spelled "their," not "thier."

Again nothing to fire back except I misspelled a word.

My spelling is horrible, always has been because I received no love and support or help from my dad and his new wife who hated me because I look exactly like my dead mother. She cared more about her persian cat than she did me or my sisters. My life would have been a different, happier life if my mom had not been murdered by a drunk driver.

"Persian" is a proper name, and should be capitalized.

A single word (such as Persian) does not need quote marks when pointing out a simple grammatical error. The same rule applies to typing errors. Sober up and try to stick to the topic at hand.

I agree with the author of the letter. The penalties for DUI should be severe enough to be a deterrent.

You can quote me on that.

Throughout the years I've noticed a stunning lack of empathy or compassion from people who are steadfast in their drinking (and driving.)

Robert2xx-thank you for that!! When he has nothing constructive to add he has to point out my spelling errors. The grammar and spelling police are a sad bunch, trying to make themselves appear superior to others.

The penalties need to be stricter, that is apparent when someone will be able to drive again after murdering someone while driving drunk. Sadly, it is social acceptable to be a drinker, especially here with all the wine tasting rooms. Everyone is making a bundle on it, and money rules the world!!

I used to go to Paradise Store, but no longer will because Susman owns or leases it.

Drunk driving, like gun violence, is an issue which is dealt with symptomatically but not at the root of the problem.

First of all, I agree that Susman's sentence was very lenient, but let's look deeper at the overall problem.

Go to just about any fundraiser, and there are the requisite bottles of wine and people posing with glasses in hand trying to look chic. Look at UCSB which is known as a "party school". All over the place all you see is is one wine event after another and the people who participate in these events almost always drive home. All the while the same culture which encourages these events which inevitable result in buzzed--if not outright drunk driving, preaches about the dangers of smoking and *illegal* drugs. Is it any wonder why we have an epidemic of drunk driving fatalities?

How can the adults who participate in these events possibly expect kids to take them seriously when they tell them not to drink and drive, or for that matter, how can they take them seriously about anything else? Setting by example is impossible unless the person doing the preaching lives by their own words. Oh wait, I'm sorry, buzzed driving ISN'T actually drunk driving, even though my dad was nearly killed by a buzzed driver.

My family and I moved to Solvang back in 2006 and have watched helplessly as the mayor and city council talk out one end about public safety yet have given the Green Light for the booze industry to take over. Our pro-business mayor's line of reasoning was "let the Free Market decide". Despite many protests, letters to the editor, action from the Santa Ynez valley Association, the booze industry won out because let's face it, there are a LOT of rich drunks willing to spend lots of $$$ for the privilage to get drunk. The so-called "progressive" political leadership of Santa Barbara is no different, in short, I cannot name one local politician either in the Santa Ynez Valley or in Santa Barbara who will stand up to the alcohol industry so in the end, the drunks win out while people keep electing these folks.

The fact is we live in a country where the media glorifies violence and drinking, and while the relationship between the media and society can be approached from a "which came first, the chicken or the egg" analogy, the two things keep feeding into each other.

Until our mainstream culture becomes proactive and starts treating drinking the same way it treats smoking, the Priscilla Susman's of the world will continue to grow and more people will be maimed and cut down in cold blood.

>>"A single word (such as Persian) does not need quote marks when pointing out a simple grammatical error."

Yes it does.

>>"Sadly, it is social acceptable to be a drinker"

"Socially," not "social."

Bill.. Glad your dad survived:)

Your points are all very good, but how do I as an individual change things? Even when it seems the majority want something, the elected government officials do as they want anyway.

Taking the high road regarding the last poster

You forgot a period at the end of your last sentence.

Dolomush,

"Yes it does" should have a comma after the word yes. The correct grammatical structure is - Yes, it does.

I have dozens of grammar books to prove my points. I doubt that reading the labels on beer bottles qualifies you as an expert on the English language.

Do you have anything intelligent to say about DUI?

Rsparks: You use the power of the Internet as I do to get your message out. You won't change Dolomush, but you will get young kids reading this to think about what they are doing.

In short, you can be part of the problem, or part of the solution, and we are being part of the solution.

As for Dolomush's new role as the Grammar Police, I would submit this line from the classic by War "Why Can't We Be Friends": "Sometimes I don't speak right, but yet I know what I'm talking about" Dolumush wins the grammar war; Rsparks wins the common sense war.

>>""Yes it does" should have a comma after the word yes."

That is incorrect.

I" don't know about the '70s (and probably no comparable statistics exist) but as of 2005, the USA is far behind the former Soviet states:

* * Patterns of Consumption, Patterns of drinking score * *

["The patterns of drinking score reflects the alcohol-attributable burden of disease of a country, given the same level of alcohol consumption, on a scale of 1 (least risky drinking pattern) to 5 (most risky drinking pattern). The higher the score, the higher the alcohol-attributable burden of disease for the country. It is based on three different dimensions: four different aspects of heavy drinking occasions (i.e. high usual quantity of alcohol per occasion, festive drinking common at fiestas or community celebrations, proportion of drinking when drinkers get drunk, and proportions of drinker who drink daily or nearly daily), drinking with meals, and drinking in public places.]

USA .............. 2 (somewhat risky)

- Baltic states
Estonia ............... 3 (medium risky)
Latvia .................. 3 (medium risky)
Lithuania ............. 3 (medium risky)

- Central Asia
Kazakhstan.............. 4 (very risky)
Kyrgyzstan .............. 3 (medium risky)
Tajikistan ..... ........... 3 (medium risky)
Turkmenistan .......... 3 (medium risky)
Uzbekistan .............. 3 (medium risky)

- Transcaucasus
Armenia ................ 2 (somewhat risky)
Azerbaijan ............ 3 (medium risky)
Georgia ................ 2 (somewhat risky)

- Eastern European states
Belarus ................. 4 (very risky)
Moldova ................ (n/a)
Ukraine ................. 5 (most risky)
Russian Fed.......... 5 (most risky)

http://apps.who.int/ghodata/?theme=GI...

binky (anonymous profile)
May 30, 2012 at 7:05 p.m.

Binky, could you please repeat that?

Bill, thank you, it is the younger generation that I should talk to because the older alcoholics will never listen. I'm going to contact MADD and see what I can do. My daughter and her friends now about my mom and how she was killed, I hope they remember my story when the are older.

I would much rather win the common sense award than the grammar award any day:)

Dolomush,

I refer you to www.grammar-monster.com which states:
A comma is used after an introductory expression such as 'yes', 'indeed', or 'absolutely'.

"Yes, it does" should have a comma after the word yes. Indeed, that is correct. Introductory expressions (such as these) are also classified as interjections.

Your lack of expertise on the subject of English grammar has now been exposed several times. If you can sober up long enough to voice an opinion on the subjects of DUI and what you might consider appropriate penalties (if any), I'm sure we would all like to hear it.

You typed double quotation marks before the word yes in your last comment. Does the six-pack in front of you look like a twelve-pack?

From your link:

>>"Expressions such as 'yes', 'no' and 'indeed' (usually at the start of a sentence) are known as 'interjections'. Interjections can be followed by a comma."

The word "can" means the comma is optional.

In other words, your previous comment "that is incorrect" is false.

Once again, what do you think the penalties should be for DUI? How severe should the penalties be if it results in the loss of an innocent human life? If you were the drunk driver, would you feel remorse or stop to correct the grieving family's grammar? Since you seem to think this is all a joke, what's the punch line?

Can you put down your bottle long enough to answer that question?

Maybe if we ignore him, he will go away. :)

Funny, I see I had a comment deleted and I don't even remember what I wrote.

Now I remember what I wrote; this time however, I have to agree with the decision to delete the comment.

>>""Yes it does" should have a comma after the word yes."

That is incorrect.

Should "Dolomush" be "Dolo-Mush"?

On a separate note: Isn't "Haven't got" redundant?

Maybe if we ignore him, he will go away. :)

Rsparks (anonymous profile)
June 2, 2012 at 4:29 p.m

He will never go away. We are stuck with him.

Dolomush,

"That is incorrect."
"(it's) optional"
"That is incorrect."

Indeed, your brewski can be less filling AND taste great. On the other hand, a grammatical point can not be both incorrect AND optional.

I will not waste any more of my valuable time giving you free tutorials on English grammar.

For the last time, are you willing (or able) to express a coherent opinion on the serious subject of DUI?

When (if ever) you answer the questions about DUI and what you would consider appropriate penalties, you will have earned another grammar lesson.

Until then, I would suggest you get a designated driver to take you to an A.A. meeting. Drunk driving is not a joke.The families of your potential victims will not be laughing.

If you end up in jail, should you introduce yourself by correcting the grammar of your cell mate? Yes, you should. Good luck with that!

In addition to your obvious inability to discuss a specific subject or answer simple questions you have trouble with reading comprehension. Nowhere in my comment did I concede anything.

This is the relevant point. We all have "free will." Drunk driving is, in a perverted sense, optional. One can (and you do) drive while intoxicated. Your assertion that it's an acceptable choice for a human being with functional brain cells is NOT humorous. The fact that you brag about it is pathetic.

You obsess about your commas, your quotation marks, and your period while trivializing serious subjects such as DUI and its potential consequences. Is this the result of a perpetual hangover?

Stick to what you know best. In your case, that would seem to be twist-off caps. You have a problem. Get help.

Responding can be concession.

Ken,

You make an excellent point. Why try to cure the incurable?
It's time to move on.

Perhapes one day The Indy will move over to the FaceBooks type commmenting systems which wuld allowe us to converse like real people (with reale names) and not hides behind a wall like an anonymouse turd that has mocked this entire joke of a threed. DOlopoops2 you are quite the enterntainners.