Should Amnesty Be Granted To Red Light Camera Violaters – Wingin’ It Wednesday

On this edition of "Wingin' It Wednesday" panelist Carol Ross, Mike Stagg, and Warren Caudle joined "Mornings with Ken and Bernie" to discuss the amnesty period for violators of Lafayette's controversial red light cameras, as well as the tragic bombings at the Boston Marathon. 

Here's what the panel had to say:

1. Lafayette City Council has voted to defer the red light camera amnesty program. Do you think amnesty should be granted to red light camera violators.

Mike Stagg started us off:

I guess the amnesty is not my problem, my problem is that they're relying on these lights for a revenue stream for consolidated government, which opens up a whole range of questions itself. There's still questions over the legality of how the ordinance was renewed.  There's a serious conflict of interest that results when a government is relying on fine money as a source of revenue.
As far as if the amnesty period should be implemented, no, I've paid fines, I've paid fines for my daughter, so why should we reward bad behavior?

Carol Ross added:

Not too sneaky, it's been out there forever and ever.
To answer the question, no, we should not grant amnesty. It's enabling bad behavior. The underlying fact is they broke the law, now whether they were caught by a human or a camera, the fact is, they broke the law.
I don't mind the cameras at the intersection, but I always had a problem with speed van, but these speed light cameras, which is where the majority of these fines come from -- they're there. Everyone knows they're there.

Warren Caudle countered:

I don't think you can separate the two -- amnesty for the debt and whether or not the program is legal. You can't separate the two. You cannot enforce an illegal debt, which is basically what this thing is.
Carol used the optimal word when she said these people broke the law, well in Louisiana it says that you can not use this type of technology to enforce traffic laws. LCG was very careful when they constructed this thing that they did not use the term "law" and to make sure the police weren't involved. The fines they are giving are not legal fines and a judge in Ohio has ruled exactly that. There should be no amnesty period because there should be no fines.

2. Your thoughts on the Boston bombing?

Carol commented:

I don't know what to say about this. I'd turn the air blue if I said what I thought the person who perpetrated this terrible, horrible act at a sporting event.
How do you wrap your brain around something like that?
I hope we do not jump to conclusions by trying to draw a line and make something like this a political event.

Warren responded:

First of all, it's horrible, it's despicable, it's terrible, but it's a tool of terror that people have used for decades.

The real thing about is, we don't know who did it, but how will history define this person? If they're on the winning side then the history books will call this person a hero. You go back and look at one of the people who started this kind of thing was Menachem Bagin, who later went on to become the prime minister of Israel. The only way to take care of these kind of deals is you find out who did this, you hunt them down, and if they're found guilty you kill them.

My big fear right now is that the administration will start looking for any connection they can for Syria, for Iran, and for North Korea that they can for them to start launching military action.

Mike surmised:

There's no intelligence linking this to any government or agency, but terrorism is by definition a political act. It's a means to a political end. Whether we understand it or not, it makes sense in the mind of the people who did it. It was a heinous act, obviously they knew there'd be crowds there. No one's claimed responsibility for it, which makes it similar to the Olympic Park bombing in Atlanta, so it might be the act of a deranged person with certain skills and imagination, but the fact that no organization is taking responsibility is telling in itself.

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Now it’s your turn to tell us what you think about today’s Wingin’ It Wednesday topics. Who got it right, who got it wrong, and who was way off? Let us know in the comment section.