Once upon a time on usenet rickman wrote:
~misfit~ wrote on 9/9/2017 2:52 AM:
Once upon a time on usenet rickman wrote:
~misfit~ wrote on 9/7/2017 7:26 AM:
Once upon a time on usenet Tom Biasi wrote:
Here is a cut from a Wiki article of which seems to be my
experience also.
"The U.S. Metric Study recommended that the United States
implement a carefully planned transition to the principal use of
the metric system over a decade. Congress passed the Metric
Conversion Act of 1975 "to coordinate and plan the increasing use
of the metric system in the United States". Voluntary conversion
was initiated, and the United States Metric Board (USMB) was
established for planning, coordination, and public education. The
public education component led to public awareness of the metric
system, but the public response included resistance, apathy, and
sometimes ridicule."

"Voluntary conversion" is doomed to failure due to inertia so it's
a failure of the legislators not the public. It should have been
made compulsory as it was in most other countries which changed
over.

This country can be pretty idiotic about "compulsory" issues. The
federal government has a regulation that children must wear life
vests in federally controlled waters. The State of Virginia has a
similar law, but it only applies to the waterways that are regulated
by the Coast Guard (federal laws). So the law is no additional
regulation, it simply allows the state authorities to enforce it.
Meanwhile it is perfectly legal in the state controlled waters to
not put a life vest on your children. Allegedly this is because the
legislators get tremendous push back when they pass laws that add
new regulations.
How fooking stupid is that?! *Everyone* should have to wear a life
vest any time they are in a boat underway. Just this past July 4th
weekend someone died when he fell overboard while not wearing a life
vest. They do nothing for you if you don't wear them. Cutting a
tree down with your six year old next to you would be considered
child endangerment even though there is no specific law against it.
By the same reasoning allowing children to ride in a boat without a
life vest should be child endangerment regardless of the law. But
we legislate according to the push back from fears of "over
regulation".

Very fooking stupid. Are seat belts compulsory yet? It seems an
odd mix.

Of course seat belts are compulsory. Where do you live that they
aren't?

I didn't say they aren't here, I remember that not long ago they weren't in
the US. Are they compulsory in the back seats too?
--
Shaun.

"Humans will have advanced a long, long way when religious belief has a cozy
little classification in the DSM*."
David Melville (in r.a.s.f1)
(*Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders)