dakota, not to beat a dead horse, but a cop can search your car anytime he has probable cause. ANTHING is probable cause. Such as... reckless driving...
batman, How is getting pulled over for not signaling not profiling? you don't think that had anything to do with being young, black, and in a fancy car? i'm not saying it was or wasn't profiling that got the car searched, but I have never been pulled over for not signaling. i doubt david cross has either. maybe david crosby, but he has long hair...
Wanna know my opinion on this? I'm a well known liberal on this board and also a defender of those ones who like the ganga, but I think every single person who doesn't use a signal should be pulled over. Every single one. Regardless of my reputation here, I'm crotchety like that. Being lax by smoking a bowl at home doesn't (and will NEVER) harm anyone. But traffic laws are there to save lives. I observe every single one and it makes me furious when other people don't. People who don't signal piss me off almost as much as people who run red lights. That stuff actually kills people. It takes your smallest muscle to flip a turn signal. If you don't, I hope you do get pulled over. I read threads in the hangout forum about pickup games and such. I used to play a little bit of basketball. I wasn't good or anything, but I liked doing it. Can't anymore on account of my knee which was blown out by someone taking it easy with traffic laws. And they weren't even drunk. My position on weed has nothing to do with being relaxed about the laws that protect people from strangers who think they're above them. If you wanna smoke pot at home and not bother anyone, you're gold with me. If you think you're above using your turn signal, I think you're an *******. Race doesn't enter into that with me.
Oh God... A few weeks ago when I was in Houston, a Spring Valley cop pulled me over at 1:30 AM because one of my 5 rear lights was out. This light had been out for over 2 years, and no cop had bothered to pull me over, until then. FYI, I'm an Asian who drives a Defender 90, but I didn't stop to think, "Did this ******* pull me over because of my race?" Use your damn turn signal EG. I can't stand it when idiotic, careless drivers slow down to 10 MPH to make a turn, without using their turn signal. I hope EG got a ticket for lacking common sense, both with the ganga and for failure to use your turn signal, especially at night.
That's nice and all, but it's still illegal in this country. Eddie should have known that, while driving fast or whatever the hell he did to get pulled over. I would think that a multi-millionaire athlete who has grass on him, would be extra careful not to get pulled over. I guess the human race consists of more mental midgets than I thought.
To all of you who are so self-righteous about the law: Every time you change lanes without using your signal, you're breaking the law. Same with speeding. Same with blocking the box. Same with rolling through a red, just because it just barely turned red. Same with driving slow in the fast lane or passing on the right. Same with getting drunk at a bar, whether you're driving or not -- that's a PI. Same with crossing a street, at an intersection, against a walk sign. Same with crossing a street, other than at an intersection, at all. Same with driving 71 mph anywhere, any time. Some of you are so self righteous about the laws you'd never think to break, while you break other ones, which could easily kill or injure strangers, ALL THE TIME. Jesus talked about splinters and planks. Read up on all that before you get all outraged about EG's bag of weed, which no one has ever alleged he smoked in any situation that might endanger another person's life.
I was going to start a thread with these 2 articles, but seeing this relates w/ our thug EG, I rather post it here... http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/story.hts/sports/1858546 Griffin apologizes, looks ahead By JONATHAN FEIGEN Forward Eddie Griffin returned to the Rockets on Tuesday for the first time since his Sunday night arrest for possession of mar1juana, apologizing to his teammates and then asking for the public's forgiveness. "I felt bad about the situation," said Griffin, who would not comment on any details of the arrest. "I'm just sorry about what happened. I know I let a lot of people down. I just hope people can forgive me and give me a chance." Neither the Rockets nor the NBA took any disciplinary action, but the league could suspend Griffin after the court case is complete. Players are entered into the league substance abuse program only for failing a drug test. "We had a brief meeting," acting Rockets coach Larry Smith said. "He apologized to the team. Now it's in the past." Griffin, 20, was released on $500 bond Monday. He was arrested on a Class A misdemeanor that carries a maximum penalty of a $4,000 fine and one year in jail. "I just tried to apologize to them and let them know I was sorry for bringing a distraction to the team like that so we could put it behind us," said Griffin, who is averaging 8.8 points and 6.1 rebounds per game in his second season with the Rockets. "I'm definitely going to straighten things up and bounce back ... just continue to focus on making the playoffs." Griffin said several teammates had called to offer support. "Ed's a smart kid," forward Maurice Taylor said. "He has to take responsibility for what happened. He has to be prepared to do his job. I don't think we'll have a problem with that. "The best thing for him is for the game to come, put it behind him and not let it happen again." http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/story.hts/sports/1858834 Rebuke of bad behavior needs to start in the locker room In the case of the Court Of National Public Opinion vs. Eddie Griffin, the most obvious question that hovers overhead is which came first. The dead brain cells? Or the rich kid speeding around town in an Escalade with a bag of hippie lettuce in the console and an outstanding warrant for speeding on his record? How dumb was it? It would have saved time and traffic tie-ups had Griffin simply parked in front of a police substation and honked the horn while sucking on a doobie. mar1juana definitely must make otherwise fine people do stupid things. Either that, or this kid charged with Class A misdemeanor possession of it was naive enough to believe -- like so many others -- he would never get caught. Either way, it was a moment of great embarrassment and self-inflicted professional pain for Griffin, who we must say does not strike us as a thug or bad person. He apparently just came down with a case of the young and dumbs, a condition all of us have battled in some form or another at some time or another. Griffin showed genuine contriteness and regret when addressing the subject Tuesday morning and promised it never would happen again. We should believe that it won't. But even if it does -- if not with Griffin, then someone else -- such bad moments will be overlooked and forgiven only by those most loyal to the Rockets. The rest of the world will see a disturbing pattern. Across the court from the Rockets on Tuesday night was the perfect example of exactly how forgiving a certain segment of the sports-loving public can be while everyone else casts suspicious glances. Compared to the Portland Trail Blazers' season-long series of antics, arrests and assorted other debacles, what Griffin did Sunday night was little more than get caught running with scissors. The Blazers have become the NBA's version of the Dirty Dozen. Sure, they can do despicable things and do them often. Sure, they are viewed by much of the nation as wild-eyed mercenaries. But as long as they get the job done, generals will pin medals on their chests and drop all charges. And in Portland's case, some fans always will love them unconditionally and contend the Blazers are "misunderstood." The problem is, the rest of the world considers the Blazers crooks and thugs. This is not the playoff-contending example the Rockets should follow. What Griffin did was dumb, all right. And it was undeniably a byproduct of being young and a millionaire athlete. But youth should not absolve Griffin of responsibility for his alleged actions. Once he signed a contract and entered the adult world of the NBA, he took on adult responsibilities no matter that he was 19 years old. Period. The bigger question is this: Will there ever be someone within the Rockets' locker room walls mature and strong enough to stand up and demand more from teammates, especially the young ones? Will there ever be someone who won't forgive and forget, shrug and move on? Someone who will advise with a strong hand? Someone who won't just say, as guard Steve Francis did Monday, that "any little thing" a player does will be put under a microscope? Someone who won't, like forward Maurice Taylor did Monday, compare Griffin's speeding and getting caught with mar1juana to coach Rudy Tomjanovich's "situation?" Tomjanovich contracted cancer. Griffin was arrested for weed. There is a difference. The last thing the Rockets need to become known as is some kind of Trail Blazers Light -- all the antics, half the success. All the excuses and victimization, half the accountability. The most faithful Rockets fans might always forgive and forget. But in a city where gaining the public's favor is highly competitive -- what with David Carr and the Texans, Jeff Kent and the contending Astros, plus big-time tennis and golf events -- this is a team problem. Nationally, the brewing reputation, especially considering this has been an underachieving Rockets team, could become bigger and more costly. The most unforgiving people should be those wearing Rockets uniforms -- not fans, media or even management. The highest expectations should come from within the locker room walls. Zero tolerance. As everyone knows, perceived character and image often can be more important than what is real. Ask the Blazers. Their faithful fans might be blinded by a winning season, but the rest of the world would rather walk on the other side of the street. A year ago, Taylor was found to have violated the NBA's substance abuse program for mar1juana. He was suspended for five games. Now, there is this. Griffin is sorry, and we should believe him when he says it never will happen again. Since his suspension, Taylor has been a model of good behavior. It might well all be a simple case of bad coincidence. It might be something that never happens again -- just a couple of bouts with the young and dumbs. But the last thing those inside the Rockets' locker room should be doing is shrugging it all off and making excuses. The last thing this team should want to become is some kind of Trail Blazers Light.
You know what is so common with athletes these days, and I hate it...And this has nothing to do with drugs, or even Eddie specifically...It's just that his statement reminded me of it. They do something stupid, like get into a fight, or illegal, or whatever...and then their 'apologies' are more like the regrets of an innocent bystander..." I'm sorry it happened.".... " It's an unfortunate situation. " Where's the responsibility? Where's the accountability? You'd think that they were standing on a street conrner, waiting for a bus, and along came this drug possession thing...and WHAM! They get blindsided, and just as they are struggling to their feet in protest, the cops pull up...Or their fists started swinging by themselves, and they were as shocked as the rest of us, but will heroically bear the burden... For all his idiocy, one thing I admire about Ron Artest is he doesn't pull any of this pseudo apology crap. he says stuff like " This is what you get for acting like an idiot." etc. That's a man, albeit a man with issues. The rest of them act like grade school kids, trying to avoid responsibility for their actions even when forced to apologize...Drives me nuts.
BATMAN, I WASN'T AT ALL SAYING NO ONE SHOULD SIGNAL, THEY SHOULD. (OR THAT NO ONE SHOULD SMOKE POT, THEY SHOULD DO THAT TOO). MY POINT WAS THAT WHITE FOLKS DON'T NORMALLY GET PULLED OVER FOR MINOR THINGS LIKE THAT. THEY SHOULD, BUT THEY DON'T.
MacBeth - well said!!!! IMHO - people in these situations don't like to say things like "I'm sorry I did it", or "I regret making such a huge mistake" because they avoid verbalizing guilt. They do that for multiple reasons: 1) it's bad press. It just looks better not say "I was wrong" 2) it helps them get over the problem if they don't dwell on the fact that they messed up. 3) it delivers an apology without actually mentioning guilt. Alhough the apology is empty, it's sufficient to end the bad publicity. Generally, it seems that society doesn't seem to care much about responsibility or accountability any more. Maybe that's why my fast food orders are messed up so much more than they used to be. -- droxford
wowming, Yes, we do. I've been ticketed for stupid stuff like that, and worse. It happens to people of all kinds. -- droxford
wowming, I absolutely agree with you that racial profiling continues to exist in this country, especially in the South, and I think it's despicable.
Yes, it's despicable and it happens, as do other types of profiling... as I pointed out in my verbose way. This very well may not be the case here, however. And I want to stand up for being a turn signal guy. I ALWAYS use my turn signals. I ALWAYS stop for red lights as well. A fool ran one once and left me with a nice present... titanium screws in my back. You could say I was screwed. I found it facinating that A-Train's well known arrest for running with scissors made it into Lopez's column. Way to go, A-Train! Your famous! (maybe "almost famous" )
Wowming, I can't believe your gonna use the "race card" as a crutch. Can you not accept the fact that Eddie broke the law and that is why he got pulled over. Does he deserve to be treated better than you or me b/c he is a celebrity?! Hell focking no he doesn't! And by the way... I've been given tickets by black and white cops alike. So don't start that racist bull$hit okay.
When Eddie apologized and said he would not do it again. What is he referring to? Is he saying he will not get caught again or he will not smoke pot again? MAN.
That's not exactly a surprise. You can not understand some of the actions of a person, and still appreciate other things about them, you know?
Best line of all "I just tried to apologize to them and let them know I was sorry for bringing a distraction to the team like that so we could put it behind us," said Griffin, who is averaging 8.8 points and 6.1 rebounds per game in his second season with the Rockets. "I'm definitely going to straighten things up and bounce back ... just continue to focus on making the playoffs." madSAGE
For those of you who are ranting about gettting rid of Eddie, I am glad you don't have any power over the Rockets organization. What Eddie did was against the law, yes, and stupid, certainly. The fact remains that he is a very talented YOUNGSTER who simply has a lot to learn about playing basketball, having a winning attitude, and life in general. He is still a part of our team and as such deserves our support, especially in times of trouble. For those who are just ranting about Eddie in general, I would like to remind you that he is 20 years old. How many of you made the wisest decisions when you were 20? How many laws did YOU break at 20? How many mistakes did you make at 20? For those of you who want to rant about the dangers and evils of pot, visit the Drug Reform Coordination Network and educate yourself on the real danger to our society: prohibition. Personally, I think that Eddie will be a solid player in this league and I believe in him. I think back on all the crap I pulled when I was 20 and if Eddie's biggest foible is smoking pot, I will be more than happy to refrain from casting stones or judging and most of you should, too. It is too bad that the Rockets will probably miss the playoffs this year, but there are bigger reasons than Eddie's arrest. I agree with Calvin that in next year's training camp, all the balls should be deflated to the point that they can't be dribbled. Dribbling the ball has been the Rockets biggest problem this year (and last and the year before, too).
