They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. Benjamin Franklin 1706-1790 (This sentence was much used in the Revolutionary period. It occurs even so early as November, 1755, in an answer by the Assembly of Pennsylvania to the Governor, and forms the motto of Franklin’s ‘Historical Review,’ 1759, appearing also in the body of the work. –Frothingham: Rise of the Republic of the United States, p. 413.)

There is no conflict between liberty and safety. We will have both or neither. Ramsey Clark

The man who has nothing which he cares about more than his personal safety is a miserable creature and has no chance of being free unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself. Ronald Reagan, Jan 25, 1974

Mr. Speaker, what, then, is the answer to the question: ‘Is America a Police State?’ My answer is: ‘Maybe not yet, but it is fast approaching.’ The seeds have been sown and many of our basic protections against tyranny have been and are constantly being undermined. The post-9/11 atmosphere here in Congress has provided ample excuse to concentrate on safety at the expense of liberty, failing to recognize that we cannot have one without the other. Ron Paul June 27, 2002 (Rep, R- Texas)

Hogan’s Heroes:

June 25, 2001, Rights.com

North Carolina’s Highway Safety Research Center revealed that only 1.5% of traffic accidents were caused by drivers distracted by cell phones; meanwhile, fiddling with car radios caused nearly eight times as many deadly accidents, according to the same study. Eating in the car is at least as deadly as cell phone use (probably more given the Washington Post article, below). Hope you don’t switch stations or CDs either. And, quieting a screaming child ranked above cell phones as causes of accidents.

So, if you think the cell phone ban is good, pull out the radio, the radar detector, and don’t talk to anyone while you are in the car. And don’t even think about putting make-up on in the car.

Oh yes, and please remember: “They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.” Benjamin Franklin. Variations upon this quotation were commonly used by ALL the founders during the Revolution. Think like the men and women who fought for their freedom and yours. Think like people who care about liberty. Don’t think like people who need to be babied by the government. For too long people have been afraid to think for themselves and care about their freedoms. Don’t be a lemming mindlessly following the liberal press. Don’t let the busybodies and statists out there use you to further their aims.

It is already the law in every state that you cannot drive recklessly. Recklessness is recklessness, no matter what the cause.

Also, think about this: According to a federal analysis of 1997 crash data by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, cell phones were a factor in only 57 deaths that year, even though there were 100 million cell phone users around the country. Drunk driving, by contrast, killed approximately 16,000 people in 1997, according to Mothers Against Drunk Driving.

Mindless acceptance of “statistics” and “facts” cited to support further intrusions on our individual liberties will only lead to irreperable erosion of our freedom.

Check out these links, if you care to be informed about the issue:

1. (Washington Post: Crash Analysis Lets Cell Phones off Hook) http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A60521-2001May7.html

2. San Francisco Chronicle: Wheels and Meals Driving with a Soda as Risky as a Cell Phone http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2001/04/11/MN182630.DTL

3. San Francisco Chronicle: Dashboard Dining Distracts Drivers, Health Department Says http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/news/archive/2001/04/10/state2002EDT0224.DTL

4. Also quite interesting: http://www.lp.org/press/op-eds.php?function=view&record=5