About a year ago, a drunk driver ran over and killed a pedestrian in Anchorage. I was astonished to find that this cretin had five previous drunk driving arrests on his record. When I corralled one of my State Senators and asked how was it even possible that someone with 5 DWI arrests wasn't already and permanently in jail, he had no good answer.

Recently Alaska has "gotten tough" on drunk drivers by reducing the legal limit from .10% to .08%. BFD. Test after test has shown that most drivers are significantly impaired at .05% and higher.

I think a person convicted of driving drunk should receive the same sentence that would be handed down to someone who put on a blindfold, then took out a rifle and started firing randomly in an urban environment. They would each be (IMHO) about equally dangerous.

And heck, as long as I am ranting... how about this for bureaucratic lunacy: There is a railroad crossing on the four-lane divided highway that leads into Fairbanks. This crossing is equipped with flashing lights and big crossing arms that swing down and block the road when a train is coming. This rail spur serves three outlets: the town dump (where compacted bales of solid trash are picked up); an auto wrecking yard (where compacted bales of wrecked cars are picked up); and a lumber yard which receives lumber. No more than three trains a month ever use the spur, and I have never seen a train use it during "business hours" -- say between 6am and 6pm.

So what's the big deal? Alaska state law requires all school buses and all trucks carrying flammable cargo to come to a complete stop at all railroad crossings, regardless of whether there is a train anywhere in the vicinity. Better safe than sorry, right? I don't think so. This is Alaska. That crossing is located near a coal-fired power plant that in the winter time can lay down a dense ice fog greatly reducing visibility. So how would you like to be coming into town on that freeway in heavy traffic, maybe going 45 MPH on an icy, slippery road in the dark and the fog -- and guess what? There's a school bus or fuel tanker truck stopped dead in the middle of the damned freeway. Too late to stop now -- the roads are especially slippery just because of all the traffic that starts and stops there -- so you take your choice: Run into the back of the tanker truck; swing over into the left lane and run the poor guy there off the road; or head for the ditch on the right side of the road and if you're really lucky take out the flashing RR lights and stuff along the way.

I have seen numerous accidents at that crossing in exactly that scenario. The chances of a school bus getting hit by a train at that crossing are so low as to approach zero. The chances of a stopped bus getting hit by a car are unity -- happens three or four times a year.

I tell you, when I get to be King of the World, there'll be some changes made, just you wait!

tanstaafl.