jim p
We have a mainstream America who is "virtually" uneducated when it comes to the issues of voting etc. People in our culture are educated by the "media" around them. TV, Radio, publications, video games etc. .... people have been consumed by the media today! Who do you think controls that media? The govt! People in search of the citizens of this country's greatest asset (in corporate america's mind) ......their money! We need to empower people of honor and integrity that aren't money driven. We need a govt. that put's honor, duty and integrity above money. People's greatest asset is their "heart". Mainstream America has lost hope for the future. Without hope, people's hearts can't shine. The people of this country need a proper education founded on good, core valued moral principles. I'm not talking just children either, I'm talking about the adults in society as well. It all boils down to LEADERSHIP. Every community on planet earth should have a leadership development program at people's disposal. A program that has no govt. affiliation. Just "we the people"!

TOLEDO, Ohio (AP) — A Michigan man was sentenced to 43 years in prison Friday
for driving the wrong way on an interstate and slamming his pickup truck into a
minivan, killing a Maryland mother and four children who were returning home
from a Christmas trip. Michael Gagnon of Adrian, Mich., had a blood-alcohol
level more than twice the legal limit and marijuana in his system, authorities
said

Now there's a state that doesn't put up with BS and is more concerned with protecting the public!! WI does nothing but make it easy to be a drunk!

ljs64,
I have felt the same way since elementary school. As my understandings grew greater, my ideas molded into what they are today. I haven't jumped on any band wagons. I will point something out of my own, though.
If stricter laws on drinking and driving don't solve anything, then how come in places like Europe or Japan there exist VERY strict laws, and they have significantly fewer problems with alcohol than our country? I'm not saying that stricter laws should replace treatment. I would never suggest such a thing. I do believe that our problems from drinking and driving are so prominent because the adults in our society don't take it seriously, and the kids who watch the adults emulate their reasoning. Reading about someone getting arrested for a third offense of OWI should be as rare as reading about a murder. It's not though, because we don't treat it like such a serious crime.
Just a little example of how other countries' stricter laws are effective.
Imagine riding in a car with your buddy who you went to the bar with. Your friend says that she hasn't had too much to drink, so you get in the car with her. She gets pulled over and a police officer finds out she's over the limit. Your friend doesn't go to jail alone. You now face up to a $10,000.00 fine and up to 2 years in prison, for riding with a drunk driver. Best case scenario, you will at least be fined $1,000.00.
Does that seem a little extreme? It's a law that was passed in Japan a little over a year ago.

darius

You are correct, it is the people who elect the governemt but as long as we have people who vote by party lines instead of the best person running, nothing will not change.

darius, absolutey! And, the way the people of this country can do that is to put people of integrity and character into these positions of power. It's WE THE PEOPLE who decide who goes into office. It starts with us.

Jim P
You bring up and interesting point regarding our govt. Is it really the govt. that needs to wake up? Isn't the govt. made up of citizens of this country? Is it possible the govt. doesn't give a rip? Personally, I think the "govt" isn't the problem. It's the people in the govt. positions that are the problem. These people are driven to passify their own personal self to stack the deck in their favor. If people of power truly cared about the problems we face today, we could unite and solve them. We are not united. Everytime someone turns to the govt. to help "fix" the problem, we give them more power over us. We the people need to fix it.

Ya know, I find it funny that alcohol is considered a drug, even by the government, yet it's the only one that's legal. You could literally get away with driving while stoned, and you're just as impaired as if you were drunk. I guess it's just mind-boggling that the government allows alcohol to be legal when it causes so much damage in people's lives. Yet, they are more concerned about smoking and banning it from public establishments. Hell, I'd rather drive next to a guy that's been smoking cigarettes in a bar all night than a guy that's been doing shots all night. I guess that's our government for you.

All the penalties and laws won't deter the OWI driver. This has been going on for years, all new penalties and laws has ever done is make those whose don't drink and drive happy for a short while. In the end it has always been the taxpayer who ended up with less money because of ill-advised laws and taxpayer-funded programs.

Treat the illness, we already have plenty of laws, making them, more stringent hasn’t worked “ever” you would think government would wake up one of these days instead of repeating the same errors over and over.

Today's paper listed a 70 year old having her 3rd OWI arrest..Mind boggling!!

Well they have to get a clue somehow.Cant
wait too there driving down the road and kill
your,wife,husband of god forbid a entire family.

I love to read all the people getting on the band wagon about tougher laws, steeper fines, longer jail sentences for multiple OWI offenders. The realty is this, no matter the penalty, a person with an alcohol problem will, if they want to get in a vehicle and drive. PERIOD. This is a disease, like it or not and their behavior is not affected by the laws/penelties that are on the books. I hope all the peoples that want OWI Court, more law enforcement on the streets are willing to pay for it. They will be the first complaining about the rise in their taxes. Educating our young people is the best use of our tax dollars to prevent this epidemic from getting worse.

it is mind boggeling trying to understand the insanity of drug use. a persons world comes crashing down on them and they still choose to use rather than stop using. programs, jail. increased fines, trreatment, often don't work because the person isn't going to stop no matter who or what. i knew a guy that was out on huber, a five year sentence and wasn't using while at work. yet, he confided in me that the first thing he was going to do when he finished his sentence was go to a bar and get a drink. that my friend is planning ahead. that is what addicts do. that is why it the disease is insane. and the only people who understand the insanity of the situation is the addict. but the only solution in the short term is incarceration and mandatory treatment. at least that keeps the addict off the streets.

This is a step in the right direction. The counties of Wisconsin need to show the state that we want to get tough on drunk driving... maybe then the state will enact tougher state laws. I personally think the entire country isn't tough enough on drunk driving.

razorsharp - you are indeed razorsharp.
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May I suggest you go public with your story, and submit a column to all daily newspapers - via the WI Newspaper Assn - illustrating the need for stronger programs.
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County lock-up just doesn't seem to be appropriate, nor does a Scarlett Letter on someone's liscense plate - but with modern technology, ankle bracelets, ingnition locks, efficient, low cost, random blood testing, etc, we can keep the cost low for taxpayers, and provide real remedies to repeat offenders.
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Your mother sounds like she has a more serious problem than foolish weekend binge drinking.

hopefully 'possible' becomes reality. double or triple the fines/court costs for drunk drivers to help pay for it.