If the arc of history bends towards freedom, we should probably decide what to about all those people who were convicted in the past for things that are legal now. Legalization is an admission that the old law was wrong.…
“Procedural Error”: The Latest Synonym For “Breaking The Law”
So here we go again with there being no law that will be allowed to constrain the government. It’s a small, local matter. But one that has its parallells all the way up to the federal governernment. I encountered it…
Firing Inspectors: Exposing The Weakness In The System
Trump’s been busy in the last few days, demonstrating the weakness in the United States’ “Inspector General” model of Executive oversight; for the details see Trump Firing Intelligence IG For Doing His Job? Sure, Why Not? and more recently Fired…
Rules: Some People Think They Don’t Apply To The Folks Who Make Them
Now, I am kinda annoyed about this: Sonoma County emergency management director disregards coronavirus shelter-in-place order, takes family to beach. That’s not a good look, Chris. To be fair to him, his statement on the matter is pretty good: “I…
Still Idiots: Not Totally Wrong
According to any sane reading of the Constitution, the State here in the United States does not have the power to issue mandatory quarantine orders. They just don’t. Because they are expressly forbidden from “abridging” “the right of the people…
No, Just No: Department Of Justice Goes For Broke
Sheriff Barr is gettin’ a mite bit envious of them Banana Republics down South o’ th’ Border. They asked Congress to authorize indefinite pre-trial detention. You can see Mother Jones’ coverage at Trump’s Justice Department Proposes Indefinite Detention in Emergencies—Like…
Legislating Values: Culture Warriors In The Toy Aisle
This is the sort of thing that gives liberals a bad name. And Californians. So there’s a bill up in the California Assembly (Bill 2826) that would legislate (with fines, even) how stores could set up their toy aisles. Now,…
Low Standards: A Vote Delayed Is A Vote Denied
Social media lit up after Super Tuesday with photos of and interviews with folks who stood in line for hours to vote. So much for being a “modern” democracy. This really is insane: you should not have to wait in…
Executive Branch Jobs: One Is More Than Enough
One person really shouldn’t be able to have more than one Executive branch job. For one thing, how could you manage? There’s no way Mulvaney (or Grinell or any of the others) is actually doing a good job in all…
Real Accountablility: Elect Tha Police
That pic up there is what came up image searching for “police site:gov”. Yeah, that’s not good. But it’s a pretty accurate depiction of how the police (and government) in the United States seems to think of themselves. OK, so…