Various Stuff..
 

Hey CombWork! You still there???

That could be us folks.. If only we were civilized.. Apologies (and above all sympathies) to our freedomless Brit buds..

Don't need no waterboard in Canada....

Someone here said that minors have no rights. Maybe this is what they had in mind..

It takes a village.. A dysfunctional village sometimes..

Sorry CombWork, but you guys are getting even more attention..

Yup, that's what's in store after the 2nd Amendment is chewed up...

And ... the war on drugs continues..

Want to know why I am a govt skeptic? Because I read these every week at:

http://reason.com/brickbat/weekly/2011-04-24

I just had to verify that "wire mesh" story. It just sounded unreal..

But it is for real...

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...den-sheds.html

Simply -- this is what happens when :

:( THe criminals KNOW that you are defenseless..

:( Law enforcement and courts are more concerned about the welfare of the criminal than you or your stuff.

:( The nanny state has enough time and money to advise you in shed protection..

good grief

the sky is falling the sky is falling!

It's already fallen in England and is falling here.:(

The first story was a Constable's interpretation of tort law, not a warning of a criminal offense. Not being particularly familiar with English tort law, I don't know whether there is a precedent to support the constable's opinion or not. I would expect that any case would have had to do with much more than mesh wire, but it is usually only the simplest or most absurd sounding portions of a case that get reported.

If you'll notice, the cop in the second story was convicted for his wrongful conduct - or is it his conviction that has you up in arms?

The third story shows the overreaction by cops, but there is no follow up on what consequences they faced. I would be shocked if there were not severe consequences for the officers who engaged in misconduct.

The fourth story had to do about the LOCAL official who was in charge of the school district providing the meals for children. It sounds like even the highest ranking official in the school district could not make such a change merely by issuing an edict. It wasn't the nanny state, it was the nanny school district, which is what many parents expect.

I would like to hear what the follow-up was on the fifth story. That was a clear dereliction of duty by those peace officers. One would expect that one could rely on local law enforcement officials to take action against trespassers threatening a property owner. Not sure that this anecdotal evidence establish that criminals have become a favored class over property owners.

The sixth story - yeah I agree that the "war on drugs" consumes far more resources than it is worth, and I would rather see such resources used for things like - education maybe.

Regards,

D-Ray

Thank you D-Ray. People love sensationalism and love to get their chains pulled when it reinforces their world view. The "rest of the story" is almost always much more REASONable than what the ideologically driven web sources would have you know.

I was watching 'In From Holland' the other week (it's actually an interesting show) and they interviewed some teachers who were retiring or quitting because of increasing violence from students, that goes unpunished.

I'm uncertain whose worldview that reinforces...

Me Grans' best friend was an English magistrate and she was definately, not exactly pro-crook, but believed it was because of society, not personal choices, no personal responsibility.

My take, that most Europeans are really, really nice people and really want to do the 'right' thing. Whether their take on that is correct or not would be open to interpetation.

Pete

Btw, I can hear my grandmother now, indignant, "I'm NOT 'European', I'm English" :) Miss that tough old lady something fierce.

Pete

Good Morning D-Ray...

If you followed the Daily Mail link in the 2nd post, you'd find this..

You know -- at the point where the guys with wigs are ORDERING you to do something --- then maybe the law they are misinterpreting is too vague or too silly. At point I don't care about technicalities.. Except that I KNOW the law has granted relief to several burglars who ALREADY injured themselves in their craft.. It's that "slippery slope" all nicely set in motion and displayed for even the senseless..

Same goes for your excuse of mere "overreaction" of the cops for the 3rd and last stories. If it's not the Drug War, then it's the "lock-down" mentality of our schools. There's always a faulty policy or law behind it..

Seems be equivalent to that great faith in humanity that the American right claims when asked about "businessmen" doing the right thing, sans regulation............:rolleyes:

Dave

D-Ray:

You wanted to hear MORE of the 5th (gypsy) story and here it is..

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...etaliates.html

CLEARLY, the police DID NOTHING to remove the trespasser or even attempt to DISARM them of a chainsaw.. But they DID see fit to send the military to confiscate her (absolutely beautiful) vintage shotgun..

Evidently, the police were only concerned that some of those gypsies would be bold enough to not just cut down trees and physically and verbally assault her on her property, but maybe attempt to enter her house. Whereupon, she would actually attempt to defend herself with a (Gasp) gun...

A cancer-stricken woman, living isolated in a rural area with a raucous band of chain-saw possessing menacing gypsies.. It's not Monte Python now is it? Could you sleep? THAT'S what loss of freedom is like...

No help from police D-Ray.. And if you think that's not also happening here, you can no longer get police response for an alarm system of ANY kind in most Cal. metro areas. They won't come out.. Only the folks who can AFFORD private security get any back-up when the alarm sounds..

Isn't this how the right would have it? Privatized law enforcement only providing security for those who can pay? Kinda like health insurance only for those who can afford it? "If you want it, go out, make your own money and buy yourself some".....................

Dave

sorry flac, this is just nonsense

Blue, I've never heard anyone call for that. Cops are a local issue.

Pete

If govt fails to provide the basic essential services for civilized communities, why should I trust them with my healthcare Neptune? CLEARLY a functioning legal system, an infallible election system, possibly a monetary system and border defense are FIRST priorities. Fail in those, and you don't GET a chance at education, heathcare, or toilet design..

So how many false alarms are caused by having so many alarmed homes? Do the taxpayers want to subsidize the security industry by hiring enough police to respond to all of the alarms, false or not? The security companies are selling contact with the police as part of their service. Perhaps a service fee should be paid by the alarm companies to fund an adequate police force to support their product.

BTW, this is not England. The United States citizens have a different outlook on many things than do our European friends. Fortunately, we do not have bands of Gypsies (and I think the changes in technology have all but eliminated hobos as well.) Certainly there are gangs that pose a threat, but you see a serious amount of police resources spent on dealing with gang issues.

In the meantime, police forces, courts, and other law enforcement agencies have lost funding and personnel, but greater demands are put upon them. The old GOP strategy of starving (what they consider to be) the beast has had some success. The more services are defunded, the more difficult it is to provide them at an adequate level. The Obama administration has upped enforcement of the immigration laws to the extent that the system responsible for deporting immigrants is running at full capacity. Do the taxpayers want to pay for enough border guards to lock down the southern border? Do they want to pay to increase the personnel and facilities in the immigration courts?

Remember when we fantasize about an infallible election system that we are largely dependent on technologies purchased from private vendors. Has such technology proven to be infallible? Also keep in mind that there are people who want to cause "irregularities" in voting. They spend considerable energy trying to figure out ways to beat the system.

The government has to answer to the citizens. There is much more disclosed about any failings in taxpayer under-supported services than in private industry. There is really no way of knowing how much waste there is in private industry (such as overpayment for executive services) to be able to adequately compare it's performance to the demands made on government services. After all, private services are only provided to those who can afford to pay - most of the government services are available to all.

Regards,

D-Ray

Thank God we're not England D-Ray,
but there are political factions in this country working towards similiar ends..

I don't think there's a lot of evidence of FED govt REPs "starving the beast". Maybe they are guilty of not continuously funding temporary programs that were never meant to be perpetual. If anything, REPs are far more disposed to support "block grants" to the states and let THEM apportion it between law enforcement, and the courts. As opposed to say the Clinton "community policing" initiative which was real specific about where the cops were gonna be (7-11 stores between the chips and donuts) and what they were gonna be issued (bicycles, safety helmets).

As far as the border is concerned, I'm not as concerned about the border as I am about about the attractant bait that is being given them in the form of health care, education, and other govt benefits that affect their decisions to risk their lives crossing the border. You can't lean on people who are offering them a job -- when the states and Fed are giving them everything else they need..

Tell me about it. One of my largest clients is a touch screen company. I PLEADED with folks all over this country not to dump those pen-marked ballot systems, but the idiots in charge of govt wanted "something different", wanted to knee-jerk react to the 2000 election to show how capable they were and were sold a bad bill of goods. There was NO REASON to abandon pen-marked ballots. NONE. Maybe punch cards.. The govt OFTENS makes ridiculous tech purchases. There are dozens of Billion dollar data systems for the FBI, MediCare, IRS, NOAA and others. that never got built. And the voter rolls maintained by the states are a COMPLETE mess in most places. As a voter I DEMAND performance in these areas --- before we discuss any other massive grabs of govt responsibility.

So it's the government's fault that the private vendors sell f-ed up goods.

As one interested in seeing the government govern, I would rather that they not focus on one voter's pet peeve at the expense of all of the other interests that must be balanced and served with quite finite resources.


Regards,

D-Ray

D-Ray:

Don't mean to hammer on this issue. Especially when you think it's just a personal gripe of mine and a solid corruption-proof, accurate voting system is just MY personal peeve -- BUT

There is only one type of customer for voting machines that I know of. Never seen them advertised. Never ran into one at Macy's or Best Buy. The govt has complete control of the specifications, manufacture and purchase. And they screwed up big time. Largely because the FED jumped on it's high horse and pummeled the states into "upgrading". But also because there was no special expertise to DEMAND certain features such as a paper trail. So it's NOT a failure of capitalism or the free market.

The optical recognition systems were just fine. Besides the machines, there's the horsecrap that is the voter registration rolls. You SHOULD be able to do same day registration. Your dead grandma should not be voting. And folks without US citizenship ought not be within 50 yards of a polling area on election day. That and the CONTROL of these machines ought to be under FORENSIC standards. That means SEALED, DELIVERED, GUARDED and accounted for from dawn to dusk..

If the resources are finite -- you do all of this FIRST. Because otherwise the system is corrupt. Is that so hard?

OK, you nailed me on the pet peeve comment. Nevertheless, I don't buy complete infallibility of a system involving millions and millions of people as a condition precedent to other services and oversight by the government. This is particularly so when our hallowed leaders of the free market undertake calculations about how many fatalities in vehicle accidents or airplane crashes are economically feasible Moreover, I'm not so willing to let the vendor off of the hook for selling products that don't do the job.

I'm with you on finding a way to permit same day voter registration. Considering your follow-up comment, though, I wonder what your view is of the move by several states to require citizens to provide birth certificates in order to register to vote.

Regards,

D-Ray

Yes, but it has been done on a local basis. Where was that? Wasn't it in Florida somewhere?

Dave

Heck I lived in a very small town that used rent a cops :)

They did end up hiring them in as 'real' cops to start their force later. Corrupt as all get out.

Pete

Sorry D-Ray: Had to earn a living and all that..


Most of the emphasis (Federal HAVA law et al) has been on voter ID for election day. All of that is BullShine. You should be able to SIGN THE ROLL in person in your skivvies if you want. The signature is all that is required as long as the registration is done correctly.

Since citizenship IS a requirement for Fed elections, I'm afraid I'm in favor of proving it at registration.. Not just an electric bill, not just a credit card. ANY DOCUMENT that tracks back to proof of citzenship is fine. A passport or Naturalization doc for instance.

If this is too much of imposition on them -- have them declare a PLACE of BIRTH and fund an office to help verify that claim.. PRIVATE sources could retrieve docs for $10. But YES -- I want a legal name on a birthplace in the US.. Part of the reason here D-Ray is that I studied the Fla election frackus and the dust-up over "purging" the voter rolls was LARGELY because people just decide to change names or spellings at a whim.. Can't maintain accuracy like that. Getting married is one thing. But Rhohandria in Brooklyn maybe drops an H or an I depending on how she's feeling..

Most importantly, if you show up with a Birth Certificate and an electric bill, you can VOTE TODAY. What's so hard about that? It's all dependent on VOLUNTEERS anyway. Just train them, design the system and DEFEND IT against abuse.. Can Govt do THAT?

What happens to those that are too stupid to acquire the necessary documents? Requiring such verification would likely harm the democrats more than the republicans; thus, will never be implemented.

OUCH!

Pete

Never a problem, I just show my voter registration and we are good to go. Of course they all know me anyhow. So when are we going to vote on Sunday instead of Tuesday, and when will they stipulate that everyone must have at least four hours in which to vote while the polls are open. Or does that simply make too much sense.

Gee BHunter:
I didn't have the GUTS to take it that far.. But OK... You're right. THAT's why we don't have better govt oversight of the election system.

Of course, NoOneReal would have to believe it would hurt the right more, because they're lazier, fatter, and stupider than HIS party animals.. So he'd be ALL FOR IT. (I hope).

don't shoot the messenger

btw I never read any data suggesting that they are lazier but I'll take your word. :D

Hmm? My birth certificate states that I was born in St. Lambert, Quebec, Canada - I do have lots of invoices from Better Gassed & Electrocuted, think that will work?:p

MerryLander:

That's only a MINOR handicap man.. If you've been absolved of that sin, then you're one of us..

So which country do you get to vote for national leadership in?

I don't need to know. But you can figure it out I'm sure..

ROTFLMAO!!

Pete