WA: "how the fourth amendment gets gradually whittled away"

Latest South Sound pronouncement:

Gregoire announces proposal to take drunk drivers off the road

Gov. Gregoire today announced she will introduce legislation authorizing law enforcement in Washington state to conduct sobriety checkpoints to fight against drunk driving...

A good journalist's take on a (usually) good governor's very bad idea, from Randy Stapilus of Ridenbaugh Press:

Stopping you for no reason

(T)he proposed expansion of governmental stops and checks of citizens who are minding their own business and violating no law is one of the exact reasons we disapprove of them so much. Where will the quest for “safety” and “security” lead us next? How much more thoroughly will the Fourth Amendment be eviscerated in the name of keeping people safe?...

We think this is a lousy idea even if it works as intended, but we doubt that it will. Cops spending their time stopping and checking every driver (or every random fourth, or whatever it is) who are doing nothing wrong, are cops not checking on particularized violations (of DUI or whatever) somewhere else...