TresSugar

NY County Has to Remove DWI "Wall of Shame": Fair Move?

CitizenSugar — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 12:15:27 -0700

Drunk drivers are losing part of their 15 minutes of shame after a judge's ruling deemed that New York's Nassau County had been violating due process by posting the mug shots of DWI suspects on its Internet "Wall of Shame." The county began posting the mug shots of DWI arrests on Memorial Day, and has since been sued by one woman who was pictured. She said the online gallery was unconstitutional as it was posted before her trial. The county attorney says the mugshots are public documents and are just being given a public airing.

The judge however points to the power of the web, saying that posting the photos to the Internet creates "limitless and eternal notoriety." However, the county executive and proponent of the "Wall" says of the program, "The objective of what we're trying to do here is to change the culture that exists related to drunk driving, that it's not just a socially acceptable crime."

Since the Memorial Day start of the program, more than 1,400 drunk drivers have been pictured, and drunk driving arrests are up 6 percent over the previous year.

Germans Raise Steins to Oktoberfest, and Drunk Driving?

LibertySugar — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 03:00:34 -0700

Chancellor Angela Merkel and her fellow German politicians gathered in Berlin yesterday to kick off that city's beer festival. Beer lovers will tap Munich on Saturday, when Oktoberfest officially begins.

Guenther Beckstein, the governor of Bavaria, which includes Munich raised eyebrows recently when he said, "If one drinks the two liters over six or seven hours at the Oktoberfest, it is still possible" to drive. He's now retracted those potentially irresponsible comments.

Political opponents hope that Beckstein's statement on drunk driving could help them defeat him in elections on September 28.

Now that would be sobering!

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Headline of the Day

GiggleSugar — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 00:02:00 -0700

Man Gets DWI After Riding Motorized Cooler

Folks are always trying to outwit the drunk driving laws in this country, drinking until they've drunk the house dry and have to journey to the market for a 24-pack pick-me-up. When stumbling doesn't get them very far, their hammered judgment tells them to drive a golf cart instead. Or, even better, to drive a motorized cooler down the road. (But guess what? An electric-powered cooler counts as a vehicle in the state of New York.) For more on the story, click here.

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The First Step To Recovery...

GiggleSugar — Fri, 21 Sep 2007 02:00:00 -0700

...Is acknowledging the problem.

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Dumbass Of the Day

GiggleSugar — Fri, 08 Jun 2007 11:20:00 -0700

Let's give this dude points for creative thinking. He knew he had to be somewhere and that he was too drunk to drive, so he decided to drive someone's golf cart instead. The problem is: a DUI is a DUI. Another problem: once the cops catch up to you, it's not very wise to admit that you stole the vehicle you're driving and that you've been drinking. All. Day. Long. And another problem: did he just ask to go to jail?

30 Percent Increase in Women Getting DUIs

TresSugar — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 09:00:00 -0700

Although men still outnumber women in drunk driving arrests by four to one, a report by the FBI for the National Highway Traffic Safety Commission shows that in the decade ending 2007, there has been a 30 percent increase in women getting arrested for driving while intoxicated.

Are women under more pressure for being the sole breadwinner in a he-cession? Are television shows encouraging them to drink more? Does motherhood drive them to drink? Maybe we'll see more PSAs about women and drinking, especially after the horrific accident recently in which a woman who was found later to have been drunk, drove her minivan the wrong way down a freeway, crashing into an SUV and killing eight people.

Laura Dean-Moody, president of Mothers Against Drunk Driving and a widow because a drunk driver killed her husband in 1991, thinks there should be stricter enforcement of drunk driving laws. More than 2 million drivers who have multiple DUI convictions will be on the road this upcoming Labor Day weekend. Moody doesn't think they should be able to keep their licenses: "These are people who have proven not once, not twice but three times that they are not worthy of the public's trust when it comes to operating a vehicle."

Should people with multiple DUI convictions lose their driver's licenses? Why do you think there's an increase in women and DUIs?

You Asked: He Only Wants Sex When He's Drunk

DearSugar — Fri, 12 Oct 2007 17:00:00 -0700

Dear Sugar,

My boyfriend and I have been living together for over two years and everything has been great except for our sex life. For almost a year, it seems like the only time he wants to have sex is when he's drunk, and I'm obviously a little confused by this. We used to have sex all the time, at least four times a week no matter what. Now I'm lucky if it happens once a month.

I wish we were having sex more, and not just when he's kicked back a few drinks. I have no idea how to approach this. Sometimes I feel like he doesn't even want me unless he's intoxicated. What should I do!?

-Where's the Action Amy

To see Dear Sugar's answer read more

Dear Where's the Action Amy,

I hate to say it, but relationships that have been going on for a while tend to lose their pizzazz. You eventually reach a level of comfort and you both stop trying to impress the other because you've already won each other's hearts. To keep the fire blazing, you've each got to put forth a little more effort.

Just because your man doesn't want to have sex with you as much as he used to doesn't mean he doesn't want you - he obviously gets turned on when he's been drinking, it just seems like he's lost his sex drive a little.

Women definitely take it personally when their men don't want to have sex. It makes them feel unwanted and unloved, so you've got to tell him that. Be honest and straightforward, and talk to him about your sexual needs. Tell him you want more kissing, hugging, and affection - not just when he's drunk. Your boyfriend probably has no idea how much this upsets you, so let him in on your feelings and see what happens. Good luck.

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Flashback: Denis Leary's Interesting Drunk Driving PSA . . .

GiggleSugar — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 13:00:00 -0700

Which is really an ad for Holsten beer. I know Denis Leary is prosmoking, but I guess he's anti-drunk driving. I've always wondered if any of these public service announcements work, but "Drink, drive, and you'll be an asshole" is as good an anti-drunk-driving message as any, I suppose. And, of course, now I can't get this song out of my head.

Flashback: Star Wars Drunk Driving PSA

GiggleSugar — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 07:24:31 -0700

In a galaxy far, far away, there was a really cool dive bar with jazz-playing aliens who drank green cocktails. (And for the record, I bet that this public service announcement saved exactly zero people from driving drunk.)

Marijuana vs. Booze: Between Pot and a Hard Place

TresSugar — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 04:00:34 -0700

When Michael Phelps partied at the University of South Carolina last November, he was reportedly slamming beers and acting obnoxious. But it was smoking marijuana out of a bong that got him suspended from swimming and dropped by sponsors. In the forthcoming book Marijuana Is Safer: So Why Are We Driving People to Drink?, authors Steve Fox, Paul Armentano, and Mason Tvert wonder if our country has it all backwards.

You can read an excerpt from the book, which comes out in September, on Alternet. In it, the authors point out that the Phelps bong photos hit the web on Super Bowl Sunday, as millions of Americans were drinking beers and watching beer commercials on TV - activities that are expected and encouraged.

Marijuana Is Safer looks at the laws governing both substances and attempts to shatter many of the myths associated with marijuana use. When you consider alcoholism and drunk driving, not to mention revenue that legalizing marijuana could bring, do you think our country has it backwards? Which substance do you think is safer?