Editorial for April 26, 2007 edition:


Learn from his crime

Society’s in big trouble when its movers and shakers in government thumb their noses at the laws that government has created and is supposed to enforce.
Whether it’s a Philadelphia city councilman who drives without a license for 25 years (Angel Ortiz), a congressman who takes bribes from fake Arab sheiks (Ozzie Myers, et al) or a Pennsylvania state lawmaker who accepts an illegal pay raise (take your pick), it’s wrong.
It’s also wrong when the most powerful politician in New Jersey breaks the law. In the case of our friends across the Delaware River, their governor, Jon Corzine, broke Garden State law by not wearing his seat belt and nearly paid the ultimate penalty when the state trooper who was rushing (at 91 mph) the governor to a very important meeting with deposed radio shock jock Don Imus lost control of his vehicle and crashed into a guardrail on the Garden State Parkway.
Mr. Corzine, who was unbuckled, was critically injured. We all wish him a full recovery, but it is important to note that while he seems to be a pretty good governor in his first 15 months on the job, he’s not a particularly bright fellow. What he did in the car was dumb, idiotic, moronic and stupid.
With so many half-brained drivers on the road these days, riding in a car or truck without seat-belt protection should be a federal crime that should never — and we mean NEVER — go unpunished.
Perhaps Mr. Corzine was subconsciously trying to end his life by sitting carefree in what traffic-safety experts call the "death seat" — the front passenger seat — or maybe the governor just wanted to be defiant. Either way, he messed up big time, and state police should throw the book at him — they ought not wait for him to be discharged from the hospital.
Congress should learn a lesson from Jon Corzine. Make buckling up a federal law. A human life is a terrible thing to waste. ••

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