A court recently upheld a Texas law that says the license plate holder on automobiles cannot cover any of the writing or symbols on the license plate. Most dealers install on new cars a license plate frame that has the dealer's name and logo on it. Most of these frames cover up some of the words or symbols on the plate, but not the numbers. The legislature offered some gobble-de-gook explanation for why this law was necessary. The real reason is to give more discretionary power to the police. Most people won't take the trouble to remove the dealer nstalled license plate frame from the car. This means the police have the authority to stop whomever they like for no real reason, power all police desire. What could mess this up for the more serious police departments would be some ambitious municipality that starts issuing citations for this infraction to raise revenue, another thing police departments like. I don't expect that to happen in large cities since it would cause most people to take the trouble to remove the dealer installed frame, thus eliminating some of the police discretionary power. Texas also has a law that there has to be a light bulb illuminating the rear license. Years ago I was stopped by the Dallas police. They searched me and my car but didn't find anything. They told me they stopped me because the light over my license plate was burned out, but they were just warning me this time. There was a gas station about 100 feet from where they stopped me. I pulled into the station to buy a new bulb for the light, but, when I checked the light bulb already there was not burned out. But, if they had found drugs on me, they would have had an explanation for why I was stopped. Black people often complain about being "racially profiled" and stopped for driving while black. I'm white, but during the two years I lived in Dallas I was stopped by the police for no reason three times. I've never been stopped by the police for no reason anywhere else. I guess I was lucky because back in the early 60's the Dallas police were well known for planting drugs on people.