By the way, if you want to talk about... I hate to use the word "ironic", but there is
certainly some sad irony in this story. A motorcyclist has died on a ride to protect--
or, rather, to protest helmet laws in New York.
Police say a motorcyclist who was participating in a protest ride against helmet laws in upstate
New York died after he flipped over the bike's handlebars and hit his head on the pavement.
He was not wearing a helmet. The accident happened over the weekend in the town of Ononda--
Ona-- Onondaga, or maybe it's Onondaga. It's probably Onondaga, right?
Louis: I have no idea.
David: In Onondaga in central New York near Syracuse, state troopers tell "The Post Standard"
that 55-year-old Philip Contos of Parish, New York was driving an '83 Harley Davidson
with a group of bikers who were protesting helmet laws by not wearing helmets. This instantly
turned into a political discussion, of course.
And you know, I used to have a motorcycle, Louis. I got rid of it. In Massachusetts,
you have to wear a helmet, and I've been to states, even in Connecticut, you don't have
helmet laws, and I cringe when I see a guy fly by me on the highway with just no helmet
at all. And I get that even with the helmet, you can be seriously injured or killed, but
it's just going above and beyond what is reasonable in terms of taking a risk.
And here's the thing: conservatives should support helmet laws, not because it's increased
regulation, but because a lot...
Louis: Because it saves everybody money?
David: A lot of these head injuries from no helmet, if the person doesn't die, end up
with lifelong medical bills paid by the government. It increases the cost of everyone's insurance,
it increases the cost of everyone's taxes.
Louis: But hey, you can't have government interfering in people's lives like this, David.
David: What about personal responsibility? I thought that conservatives wanted personal
responsibility. What if someone doesn't take responsibility and take the proper precautions,
they have an accident, they somehow survive, very diminished quality of life, they're on
disability, they are a taxpayer burden.
It's just like people who think that taxpayers... many conservatives say taxpayers should not
have to pay for women's choices, right? In other words, this is an abortion argument.
Taxpayers also should not have to pay for people's choice to not wear a helmet and then
spend their life receiving health care from the government when they ride a motorcycle.
Isn't that the conservative argument?
And please, don't flip out on me because I make... this is a hypothetical argument. My
argument is different. My argument is if you're going to ride a motorcycle, you just... you
should be wearing a helmet.
And you know what? I got rid of my motorcycle because I didn't feel safe on it. I really
felt like no matter what I was doing and no matter how cautious I was, somebody blows
a red light, and that's it.
Louis: Or if you're on the highway and someone decides to change lanes when you're next to
them.
David: Absolutely.
Louis: Doesn't matter how good... if you're the best motorcycle driver in the world, if
you have the fastest reflexes in the world, it doesn't matter.
David: It doesn't matter. And so I made the choice to get rid of the motorcycle. Every
summer, I mean, just last month I was thinking again maybe I would get one again, it seems
fun, some of my friends have them, but I'm just... I find it unsafe. I really just do.
Louis: They are.
David: And this is the same thing, again, with regulation, smoking bans, I said how
much I love smoking bans. Regulation is one thing when it is a victimless activity, something
that does not affect anyone else. I don't care what you're going to tell me about what
degree of harm comes from secondhand smoke, there is a degree of harm that comes from
it, and I don't want any of that near me, and I love smoking bans. That's one type of
restriction and government regulation I can seriously get behind, ladies and gentlemen.
And I know not everybody likes that. There's a lot of smokers who like this show, Louis,
but that's my position.
Today on the bonus show, we'll give you an update on the future of Anthony Weiner, what's
going on with his wife, what's going on with his upcoming still-to-be-born child. There
was also a body found in a public pool after two days, Louis, and the story just makes
no sense to me. It makes... I just don't believe the facts that we have gotten. Something is
missing. Also, new information about the psychology of weight loss, and I've got some good stories
to tell there. www.DavidPakman.com/membership, it's the bonus show. We'll be back after this,
plenty more to talk about.
Announcer: The David Pakman Show at www.DavidPakman.com.
Transcript provided by Alex Wickersham and www.Subscriptorium.com. For transcripts, translations,
captions, and subtitles, or for more information, visit www.Subscriptorium.com, or contact Alex
at subscriptorium@gmail.com.