Bloggers Rail Against Proposed N.Y. iPod Fine

Bloggers have lambasted a New York senator's proposal to fine iPod users $100 for listening to tunes while crossing the street.

State Sen. Carl Kruger's bill, scheduled to be introduced Wednesday, would actually ban the use of any electronic device in a crosswalk. So besides iPod users, the proposal also would target people talking on mobile phones, checking e-mail on their BlackBerries, or playing videogames on a portable console.

But the iPod ban is what sparked the most outrage, given the popularity of the Apple device among the Internet crowd. For many in the blogosphere, Kruger just didn't get it when it came to trying to legislate human behavior.

"Would someone please clue in Mr. Kruger people are sometimes retarded, and you can't fix stupid," a blogger in Kruger's home district of Brooklyn said on Pervasivelight 5.0.

Ryan Jones of Dotcult agreed, adding, "What's next? Banning deaf people from crossing streets as well?"