Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Maryland Patriots

Mad as hell and not going to take anymore
The last county in Maryland I'd pick to harbor folks angry over intrusive gummint is Montgomery County, the nexus of most it. But, yay  verily! 
Simmering resentment against traffic cameras is being expressed in acts of civil disobedience in suburban Montgomery County, where vandals are striking back at automated traffic enforcement.

While residents of the neighboring District seem willing to suffer automated red-light and speed cameras in silence, some in Montgomery County have turned to what protesters often refer to as "direct action."

In the most recent incident, police say an unknown person or people painted over the lenses of two sets of speed cameras on Aug. 1 in the Cabin John area, rendering them useless. The cameras have since been repaired.
Montgomery County Police don't like to say very much at all about the camera attacks.

"We don't want people to get the idea in their heads that this is a good thing to do," said Lt. Paul Starks, a police spokesman.

"Some sites have been hit more than once, but we have tried to set up countermeasures to catch the people doing the vandalizing," he said.
I am so heartened. disturbed by this lawless behavior.   BTW, it strikes me that this story, juxtaposed as it is with last night's independently posted Chi-Com Cam deal (just two posts down),  is an example of what I call déjà prevu.  You know.  The  phenomenon where you see a very pretty girl walk by, and suddenly there's another one.  Like that.Weird. 

16 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'm a former Marylander and I concur with Rog's assessment: Montgomery Co. is the most liberal county in one of the most liberal states. But there are always a few lovers of privacy and the breaking of traffic laws to be angered by robocops. I'm not sure it's a significant thing- unless those machines are ticketing people that haven't actually broken the law. THAT will fire up anybody.

AWM

Anonymous said...

Tip: tar is MUCH harder to removed than paint.

AWM

Anonymous said...

A 5 gallon bucket of driveway sealant makes real mess. Yes, it's harder to use than spray paint, but it's worth it.

AWM

Anonymous said...

But when and how do we keep them out of our pockets?
Juice

Kristophr said...

Varathane Dullcote can't be seen from the ground, but it will make it impossible to get plate numbers.

For an alternative course, do an image search for "burning GATSO".

Anonymous said...

How about a well placed .45 round AWM? Oh hell, may as well make it three or four.

Casca

Anonymous said...

Casca: I was going for stealthy, but suit yourself...

I think some of them have bullet resistant-shields in front of the lens, .45 might not be enough and you have to get too close. Rifles from a couple blocks away, maybe, but bullets leave traceable evidence.

Do a search and see how the Brits are dealing with them. It's most entertaining. The British ones are armored, so favorite method is to hang a tire around the thing and set it on fire. The heat gets through.

AWM

Anonymous said...

Destroyed UK speed camera porn:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-iUpmynIBE&feature=related

AWM

Anonymous said...

Easy way is to buy one of those plastic license plate covers. Glare produced makes it impossible to get an accurate read on the plate. I bought my last set at Target....comes labeled "May be illegal in your state"...blah,blah,blah....;-) Gave a set to my daughter. Three months ago she said she got caught...saw the light flash....no ticket was ever received. They're installed tons of them down here in Orange County, Ca......big revenue enhancers.

Ad rem

rockville said...

We're not all nanny-state liberals around here. There are still a few of us mouth-breathing, knuckle-dragging, unreconstructed conseeeeeervatives left.

It's gotten pointless to vote, though. Republicans are always unopposed in the primaries, and lose in the general elections.

Chuck Martel said...

What did they use to set those cameras on fire? It's not homemade thermite.

Kristophr said...

Hang a tire on the gatco, and douse the tire with fuel.

Tires burn astoundingly hot.

Anonymous said...

When Speed cameras were being tested in Arizona years ago, they were set up on tripods on the side of the road. Police discovered one completley destroyed. They looked at the footage and found the last picture was of a 15 year old F-150 in primer gray with the front plate blacked out & two guys with ski masks, one of which was holding a shotgun out the passenger window. Problem solved.


Stick

Jon said...

those assholes gave me two tickets in one day because of these automated monstrosities. I'd just as soon see someone take 50-cal to the damn things.

Anonymous said...

Lets be civilized here. A Ruger 10/22 will deactivate a camera very nicely.

Kristophr said...

Those GATSOs in England have extremely expensive pro-grade digital cameras mounted in them.

A lot of those cameras are appearing on the internet for resale by private persons, for some strange reason.

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