Wading In

Cell phone police are at it again By Kelvin Wade May 26, 2011 The California Legislature is trying to save us from ourselves again. The state Senate has passed Senate Bill 28, a bill that would raise the base fine for talking on a handheld cell phone while driving from $20 to $50 for a first offense and from $50 to $100 for a second. With added local fees, that’s around $300 for a first offense and $500 for a second. Somehow I don’t think these new fees are about distracted driving. Oh the bill’s author, Sen. Joe Simitian (D-Palo Alto), says it’s all about saving lives. But if it were really about making the roads safer, why wouldn’t they just ban all cell phone use while driving? Studies at the University of Utah show there is no cognitive difference in the distraction caused by a handheld or hands-free device. No difference. The study goes on to say the distraction provided by both devices extends driver reaction time as much as someone who is intoxicated. So if this were about drive...

When suicide turns to homicide May 12, 2011 By Kelvin Wade It’s been a year since my brother Tony and I wrote columns about our brother Ken who killed his girlfriend and committed suicide years ago. Last week, when we discussed writing columns on domestic violence and suicide, we could not have foreseen the horrific murder-suicide on Venus Drive. (Nothing I write here pertains to that situation, as I have no knowledge of the perpetrator and victims.) During the course of my work with the Bay Area Survivors of Suicide, I learned a lot about this taboo subject and have continued researching it. Suicide is the 11th leading cause of death in America and third for people aged 10-24. More women than men attempt suicide but more men complete suicide. And you’re still more likely to kill yourself than be murdered. I’ve met many people who have lost loved ones by suicide. They were all horrible cases. But since I always felt like an impostor in the group because my brother had also committed mu...

Time to brings troops home By Kelvin Wade May 05, 2011 During the 2008 presidential campaign, candidate Barack Obama repeatedly said if he received actionable intelligence that Osama bin Laden or other high-value al-Qaida targets were in Pakistan and the Pakistanis wouldn't act, he would. He kept his word in ordering the operation that killed the most wanted man in the history of civilization, Osama bin Laden. So . . . let's end the 'War on Terror' and get out of Afghanistan. I'm not being flip. According to a recent Congressional Research Service report, we've spent $444 billion in Afghanistan. We've lost 1,566 lives in Afghanistan. That's more than enough blood and treasure. I'm no military expert, but when Cpl. Jake Diliberto, U.S. Marine Corps (Ret.) and cofounder of Veterans for Rethinking Afghanistan says we need to leave Afghanistan, I pay attention. I perk up when Sen. Richard Lugar (R-Ind.), one of the most respected statesmen in Congress, s...