A powerful blizzard is pummeling Massachusetts tonight with heavy snow and howling winds as residents hunker down in their homes. The potentially historic storm is expected to continue into the morning, dumping more than 2 feet of snow in some areas, whipping winds up to 70 miles per hour, and battering the coast with giant waves. Incidents of lightning and thunder were reported south of Boston.
Utilities reported about 250,000 power outages this evening as winds downed tree limbs and wires.
Comments
It's George Bush's fault.
Public safety is one thing but this is on the verge of a facist state. One year in jail and a $500 fine for driving in the snow?
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I think "facist state" is a bit hyperbolic. On a practical level, it is not as if they are rounding up people, its just a driving ban. I doubt anyone would do dail time for this. They're concerned about the safety of emergency crews - members of the public put them in danger - they could skid into emergency vehicles, or if they crash, responders are put in danger responding to the accident.
On a theoretical note, Giorgio Agamben is an Italian political theorist who has written extensively about state of emergencies. Democracies use them all of the time for a variety of reasons. He argues that the ironic tendency of democratic governments is to suspend democracy to preserve democracy. The state of emergency accomplishes this. I bring this up because the reality is that the US and other democracies do things like this all of the time in public emergencies (whether they are natural disasters, civil unrest, acts of terrorist, etc). There are a number of ways to view the action, but Agamben's point is that this is inherent in the legal structure of most (all?) democractic states, not some facist tendency.
the govenor does not have the power to ban all vehicles from the road. He is way out of bounds on this one
If you mean legally - MA state law provides state of emergency powers to the governor - see http://www.mass.gov/eopss/agencies/mema/what-is-a-gubernatorial-state-of-emergency.html
These include the power to close roads to non-essential vehicle traffic. Now, if you disagree with this power, thats something different. The governor has the authority to do it, though.
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Ok - so my staff cannot drive to work to plow our work driveway - WTF
Hey Governor Patrick - how about putting on a sweater and flying around in a helicopter ?
I guess it depends on what your work does? See http://www.mass.gov/eopss/agencies/mema/ for exemptions.
Assuming you're not an essential business - why would your staff need to plow your office's driveway? You're putting them at risk by asking them to drive in this weather, and you're putting first responders at risk.
Because if you let the snow get higher than 4"-6" you cannot plow it.
so if there is a snow plow attached to your car or truck your exempt? Or has he banned all the snow plows as well?
Depends on why they're out plowing - if they're supporting an essential business, it appears that its OK. See http://www.mass.gov/eopss/agencies/mema/
This a ridiculous move on Patrick’s part. We have had so little snow in recent years that people are losing their perspective. It used to be routine to drive in snow, with much worse equipment on much less frequently plowed and salted roads. Sure this will be a big storm and a caution would have been appropriate but a ban is unwarranted.
I agree with you that people are losing their perspective. I also think, however, that people are losing their skills. The less snow we get on an annual basis, the less practice MA residents have driving in it. It also increases the number of people who move here from warmer climes and have NO experience driving in the snow. If people exercised a bit of responsibility and acknowledged that they were not prepared for driving in this type of weather, I think things would be different. A lot of folks are not this reflexive, though.
Deval is just covering his donkey. Nobody's going to get arrested unless they're warned not to drive by a cop and then caught driving again.
I saw his press conference. Where was his bafoon of a public safety secretary with her fan?
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re:mtnhxc Yes people are losing their skills because skills are developed by practice. More broadly than just the skill of driving in snow, people are getting out of the practice of using their own independent judgment and instead relying increasingly on authority. The way to reverse the trend is to limit the powers and exercise of authority.
What we have here is an emergency apparatus itching to assert themselves, a media generating a large audience by whipping up hysteria, weather forecasters beside themselves with excitement, a lot of people happy to take a day off from work (paid for the most part) etc. etc. All very human and understandable but our governor should be the cool head in the room using his authority as sparingly as possible.
Couldn't agree more. To play devil's advocate though, this level of State authority hasn't been used since 1978. Thats pretty sparingly, I'd say. But back to your main point - yeah, absolutely, I agree that limiting the exercise of this type of authority is important - particularly at the Federal level.
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Well,we need to be vigilant about the tendency to over-react to threats and challenges and always err on the side of free choice when it comes to using police powers – the ban was premature and unwarranted but it should speed clean-up and may save some injuries and fatalities. Let’s see how quickly it is lifted.
Yes, banning non-essential vehicular traffic is part of a sweeping Marxist plot to take away YOUR FREEDOMS!
It has nothing to do with preventing injury, facilitating clean-up, or not interfering with emergency response resources.
Honestly, the idiocy on display in these comments is astonishing.
Reading these comments I am immensely cheered. Thank you, Darwin!
For all those who want to flout the governor's very sensible ban on travel...please proceed.
The blizzard of 1978 was really, really something else. Anyone who lived through it in Boston knows what I am talking about. Snow waist high or better. Everything totally shut down. It took days to dig out. I was in Dorchester at the time. If this is worse, then it will be just unbelievable.
From TV video on the national news networks a few minutes ago regarding the Governor's Ban, it appears that the brief ban may have worked to the advantage of those snow plowing the Massachusetts' highways. So far at least it's looking good as video of more than one highway in Connecticut had multi-car pile-ups hindering the safety and efficiency of the snow plowing In that state. It'll be interesting to see the results of this ban from "objective" analysis, not "anecdotal" comments nor the praising or detracting from fans or detractors respectively. I think it's a good decision and not intrusive to my liberties. It, I believe, emphasized how serious the safety of both the first responders ( police, fire trucks, ambulances, hospital personell, National Guardsman and snowplowers, and any I'm not recalling ) and possible regular car drivers on the highways during a BLIZZARD If the ban wasn't there. My uppercase for emphasis. It's not a regular snowstorm, it's a full on Nor'easter Blizzard. It's a pragmatic decision worth trying now. For those who seem apoplectic about this decision may I suggest at 5 AM Saturday morning, get in your car, drive 5 miles in any direction, turn around and return home. I'll be sleeping.
re: twnctyguy It is not Marxism but Schoolmarmism that worries me. I am sure the governor and his advisors mean well, as do the school teachers who I hear at a playground near my house telling their charges "Don't run!" and "Stay on the pavement - don't go in the wet grass." And I do not question that in a genuine emergency it is legitimate to restrict normal freedom of movement but I do question the governor’s judgment in this instance. Where do you draw the line? Do you say that every time a blizzard is predicted we are not allowed to travel? Who gets to predict?. Who gets to judge whether the forecasts are extreme enough to warrant such restrictions? And how do people learn if they have never experience abnormal or challenging conditions? Don't you want your fellow citizens to have some measure of self-reliance? The instructions to citizens of London England, in the midst of the blitz, were to “Stay Calm and Carry On.” I would suggest the same when it snows in New England.
An observation, do all of those poles that show Snow Emergency Parking Bans found throughout Boston and many, many other cities and towns in Massachusetts constitute a denial of the freedoms some here are stating? They are in cities and towns led by Republicans and Democrats. It's automatic, even with the smallest of snowstorms much less a blizzard of the proportion of the one happening outside tonight. And the alleged dictatorial Deval has nothing to do with those as they were in place before he became Governor. Where is the rage from the protestors of our freedoms about these transgressions? I'm assuming they'll all be at their respective City Halls or at their lawyers' offices on Monday demanding that these shackles binding the freedom to park "anywhere I want" and "anytime I want," not be abridged. Snowstorms and Blizzards be damned! After all we've got to practice digging out our plowed in cars to make us truly, hardy individuals. That being said I propose that the present law being discussed be revisited after this blizzard to just have a real hefty fine, no jail time, unless inebriation is a factor.