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Monday, March 29, 2010

East Harlem Assemblyman Adam Clayton Powell Convicted of Driving While Impaired






Just over two years ago, on March 6, 2008, a New York police officer one night noticed a car weaving back and forth and tapping its brakes without reason. Once pulled over, the driver told the officer he had only consumed a few drinks. But he reeked of alcohol and had blurred speech. He passed a field sobriety test, but then initially blew a .072 on a breathalyzer that he refused to complete. A woman in the back of the car was so drunk that she required temporary hospitalization.

There story is here, here, and here.

The driver of the car turned out to be Adam Clayton Powell IV, an assemblyman from East Harlem. He was arrested on two drunk driving counts and his trial concluded last week. The result: not guilty of DUI, but guilty of the lesser offense of driving while impaired. Powell was fined $300 and his driver’s license was suspended for 90 days.

He blamed his ordeal on a police officer who he claims fabricated the entire incident.




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Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Mayor Zaleski of Dickson City and his DUI



The Mayor of Dickson City in Northeastern Pennsylvania, Anthony Zaleski, was caught slobbering drunk after he was pulled over during a traffic stop last Thanksgiving. The Mayor's speech was slurred, his breath smelled strongly of alcohol and his eyes were bloodshot and watery, according to the patrolman. The officer further described the mayor as staggering around and standing on the side of the road. He was arrested for DUI.

But thanks to a special program, the Mayor may have the opportunity to erase the DUI charge from his criminal history, because he is a first time offender. The program he is applying for is called Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition. His crime could be expunged from his record if he successfully completes a probationary period, which is usually several months.

Zaleski said he was greatly embarrassed by the incident, but has no intention of stepping down from as mayor or as chairman of the Lackawanna County Stadium Authority Board.

The stories can be found here, here, and here.

 



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Friday, March 12, 2010

Missoula City Councilwomen Walzer Pleads Guilty to DUI



A councilwoman, Pam Walzer, from Missoula, Montana was arrested for DUI late February. She pled guilty this month. The story is here.

Walzer was charged with misdemeanor DUI, her first offense, and was booked at the Missoula County Detention Facility shortly after 2 a.m. She posted bail, which was $500 and was released within the hour.

The local politician admitted to driving with a blood alcohol content greater than 0.08, above the legal limit, but did not admit to driving while intoxicated. She was given a six-month suspended jail sentence, a $400 fine and a $101 surcharge.

In her apology, she admitted to making "a human error in judgment." She went on to claim that her flawed judgment did not affect her ability to serve her constituent. She intends to remain on the City Council.

There are no facts in this story to suggest that Walzer is an alcoholic. Her alcohol related incident is just an episode of alcohol abuse. But lets remember people that alcohol abuse can be just as harmful as dependence on alcohol. Walzer drank too much, which effected her judgment, and she got behind the wheel of her car. Other problems, beside drunk driving arrests, associated with alcohol abuse include not being able to meet work, school, or family responsibilities.



Be careful out there

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Thursday, March 11, 2010

Indiana Councilman Arrested For Drunk Driving



A councilman from Hendricks County, Indiana got a little sleepy after boozing it up, and decided to take a nap in his car. The problem was that he was driving his car before he decided to sleep it off. And as we all know, it is ILLEGAL to drive while intoxicated.

The story can be found here, here, and here.

Police happened upon the councilman’s car and found him asleep behind the wheel at a railroad crossing. Apparently he dozed off while stopping for a passing train. Police found it odd that someone would use their car and the road for their bedtime, so they roused him and found his blood alcohol level to be 0.13. The councilman was arrested and thrown in the Hendricks County Jail overnight until he made $1,500 bond in the morning.

I do not know the councilman’s body weight. But assuming he is around 220 pounds, he would have had to consume 7 to 8 drinks in one hour to get that drunk. Well at least he was drunk on his own time, right? Getting drunk and driving has no bearing on one’s judgment, right? What he does in his personal life, no matter how stupid or dangerous is of no concern to the people who elected him, right? Hmmmm




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Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Houston Educators Learn A Lesson: Cocaine is Illegal!



Okay, it is true that this blog is called the Drunk Politician Blog, but I also want to include state officials, even though they may not have been elected. And this story, involving an assistant school principle and teacher, is too good to pass up.

It appears that the life of an educator in Houston is so bad that teachers and administrators must resort to illegal drug use to get by. In this case, that involves cocaine use. The story is here.

In late February 2010 the assistant principal for Chancellor Elementary School and an English teacher from Stafford High School were arrested outside a bar on charges of cocaine possession. A police officer noticed that they were acting suspiciously inside the teacher’s car and approached. I wonder if by acting suspiciously, that means snorting cocaine up their noses. At any rate, as the police officer drew closer he saw the teacher toss two bags filled with white powder on his passenger seat. The powder was tested and it turned out to be cocaine. The teacher already had a DWI conviction from 2004 in court on Monday.

Cocaine is the most potent stimulant of natural origin. It can be snorted, smoked, or injected. The high from snorting cocaine may last 15 to 30 minutes, but the high from smoking may last only 5 to 10 minutes. In order to keep that high, a coke user has to take another hit. For this reason, cocaine is sometimes abused in binges within a relatively short period of time, and at higher doses. Physical effects of cocaine use include constricted blood vessels and increased temperature, heart rate, and blood pressure. Coke users may also feel restless, irritable, and anxious. Cocaine is powerfully addicting.



Are these the kind of dedicated professionals we want teaching our young children? Lets hope they are punished, treated, and return to productive lives. Until then, keep them away from our kids.

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Saturday, March 6, 2010

California State Senator Roy Ashburn Has Lots of Explaining to do After DUI Arrest




Think one little alcohol related incident won’t ruin your day, or have much effect on your life? Perhaps that is what California State Senator Roy Ashburn thought as he left a Sacramento bar around 2:00 a.m. and drove off. That’s probably not what he is thinking now. After police saw him driving erratically, he was pulled over and arrested for DUI. That in itself could be a big deal for a Republican who has tried to position himself as being strong on moral family values. In such a case, just one DUI could ruin a person’s career. Well, as we hear so often on commercials: but wait, there’s more! It is alleged that the bar from which the conservative state senator emerged in his drunken stupor was none other than Faces, a well-known Sacramento gay bar!

Stories are all over the internet. For a story on his arrest, see this short AP report. For the more provocative stories concerning where may have been, see here and here.

Hey Senator, take a walk on the wild side? For the purposes of the Drunk Politician Blog, we could care less whether or not someone is gay, straight, Democrat or Republican. The point is that a person’s sexual orientation or political philosophy doesn’t have anything to do with substance abuse. Alcohol does not discriminate! Alcohol is a strong contributing factor in putting Senator Ashburn in the position he is now in.

There is some dispute about whether the senator really did come from a gay bar. See here. Perhaps this is just some political hit job perpetrated by opponents of California’s Proposition 8, a voter initiative which officially makes marriage in California between a man and a woman. Senator Ashburn is known to have been in favor of Proposition 8. He has also taken a position on other legislation for which he has been labeled as being “anti-gay.” He has made lots of political enemies.

Forget the political debate for a second. The point we are making here is that were it not for his excessive alcohol consumption and his apparent decision to drive while intoxicated, would Senator Ashburn be in the center of this controversy now? Most definitely not.

In the military, Senator Ashburn’s DUI would be classified as an alcohol related incident and annotated in his record book. This is just one occasion of alcohol abuse. Alcohol abuse differs from alcohol dependence, in that it is not a disease. A person can abuse alcohol without being an alcoholic. A person may drink too much and too often but still not be dependent on alcohol. Some alcohol related problems include not being able to meet work, school, or family responsibilities; drunk-driving arrests and car crashes; and drinking-related medical conditions. Under some circumstances, even social or moderate drinking is dangerous--for example, when driving, during pregnancy, or when taking certain medications.

Something else Senator Ashburn should have considered is that alcohol depresses your central nervous system, lowers your inhibitions, and impairs your judgment. Drinking can lead to risky behaviors, such as unprotected sex - but we won’t go there in this post!



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