Category: Politics

Friday Quote – Phil Labonte

June 19, 2020 / / 0 Comments

If the constitution were meant to be interpreted, if it were meant to change and be fluid with the times, why would the founders have made an amendment process in the first place? Furthermore, if it was meant to be interpreted and a “living constitution” that changes, why would the amendment process be so stringent?

Wild Plan For Remaking Criminal Justice Part Something or Other

June 17, 2020 / / 0 Comments

I was listening to the Free Thoughts podcast last Friday, and they were discussing criminal justice reform. One of the speakers (honestly can’t remember if it was one of the hosts or guests) talked about ways of reforming the disparity between the prosecutors and public defenders offices. He talked about semi-privatizing it by selecting each side from a pool of available attorneys. I liked the concept.

Derek’s State Attorney’s Office Proposal:

  1. Abolish both the prosecutor’s and public defender’s office
  2. Establish a pool of attorneys. I’m thinking of either volunteers or perhaps as a condition of being a part of the bar.
  3. All attorneys in the pool agree to a flat rate per hour for doing state service.
  4. No attorneys will have qualified immunity for unreasonable prosecution.
  5. Trial costs would be managed by judges

Here’s my idea of the flow:

  1. Police investigate crime, develop evidence, and arrest suspect
  2. State Attorney or Deputy State Attorney will decide if the case should be brought forward
  3. If the case is going forward, two attorneys from the pool are chosen randomly – one prosecutor and one defender
  4. Attorney selected for prosecution can decline if case is unsound. Since the attorney will be liable for bad prosecutions, they will have incentives to take the strong cases.
  5. Defendant may accept pool attorney or hire their own attorney.
  6. Attorneys will be paid going rate per hour for their time on the case.
  7. If additional funds are needed for prosecution or defense, that will be up to the judge.

Are there big, gaping holes in the plan? Heck, yeah. That’s what happens when Derek gets one of his wild idea plans. Yet, I find the framework fascinating.

Unpopular Opinions – May Riots Edition

June 3, 2020 / / 0 Comments

Time for another round of unpopular opinions:

  1. If that police officer isn’t guilty of at least manslaughter, then that was some weird deep-fake shit.
  2. If after watching that, you can’t understand why Black Lives Matter exists, you are too far up your own team’s ass to see clearly.
  3. If after watching that video, you don’t understand why the current qualified immunity standard leads to a horrific “only ones” attitude, then you’re too far up either Blue Lives Matter or the police union bullshit.
  4. If after watching that video, you don’t see how horrific it is for police unions to protect bad officers, then you are also too far up your own ass to see clearly.
  5. There’s part of me that wishes someone had been able to forcibly stop the cop, but I know that person would have been crucified. I think it’s high time that there should be a doctrine and cultural practice that if the populace witness the police performing an illegal act, we should be able to stop them. With all applicable force ladders.
  6. I understand and condone people gathering and protesting unjust actions to call attention to their plight. I may not agree with their assessment or opinion, but I fully sympathize.
  7. I can sympathize, but not condone, with attacks on government buildings by people outraged by atrocities committed by government agents.
  8. I will not sympathize or condone attacks on private businesses and homes. It don’t care if someone looting a store, throwing a fire bomb, committing arson, or even smashing a window during the course of a riot catches a bullet. Or multiple bullets. Or however many bullets it takes to stop them.
  9. It has been terrifying to watch how fast the narrative that the violence was mostly caused by white supremacist and fascist instigators and provocateurs spread across the inter webs. For fuck’s sake, if you’re correctly calling out the other side for their bullshit, at least have the common decency or consistency to call out the assholes on your own.
  10. If after watching how fast the riots – not the protests, the violent riots – spread to other cities, you do not understand why it should be normal for every willing citizen to have an AR-15 with a thirty-round magazine, then either you are too far up your team’s ass, or you do not want to get shot when you’re busy causing property damage.

No One Is Going To Like This Post – Tara Reade Edition

May 14, 2020 / / 0 Comments

My podcast feeds have been going over the issue of the sexual assault allegations by Tara Reade against Joe Biden. More particularly, how the major media outlets have been responding. The more and more I hear the chattering class jabber on, the more I’m leaning to Jonah Goldberg’s position.

  1. The press has actually been doing their job on these allegations by working to investigate the claims to determine if there’s substantiation or holes. The commentaries are ludicrous on both sides, but that’s just the chatter class.
  2. There is a stark difference by how the major outlets are treating this episode compared to the Kavanaugh allegations. The ombudsmen or spokespeople for the major outlets should be stating clearly “We screwed up then, but we’re going to do a better job with this one and all episodes going forward.” By not doing that, it just looks like their only willing to do good journalism if it will hurt those they don’t like and help those they do like. At that point, they are no better than the chattering class.
  3. For those who want the press to treat Biden like they did Kavanaugh, are you out of your fucking mind? What was done to Justice Kavanaugh was a tragedy. Why under all that’s sacred would you want to mainstream that?
  4. Now, let’s through a stick of dynamite on the wood pile. Jonah Goldberg’s made the observation that many of the people who are demanding that Biden receive the Kavanaugh treatment are perfectly willing to turn a blind eye on the far more serious and more substantiated allegations against Trump. Now, I know expecting consistency out of people who are swept up in party politics games is a lot these days, but for fuck’s sake.

You Want To Know Why Black Lives Matter Exists?

May 13, 2020 / / 0 Comments

Let’s examine the case of Ahmaud Arbery.

These two asshats killed a man on February 23rd. Since the elder is a former cop, the original prosecutor recused herself. The second prosecutor also recused, but gave a lengthy, if bullshit, memo as to why they shouldn’t be charged. The third is finally taking this to the grand jury after two months.

Let’s dispense with the citizens arrest bullshit. They did not witness a crime, nor did they have reason to believe a crime was in progress. That latter is proved by them asking Ahmaud to stop so they “can talk with him.” This also wasn’t anywhere near self-defense. If anyone had a justifiable claim of self-defense if was Ahmaud.

Yet, it took three prosecutors before they were arrested and charged?

Was it racism? Most likely. Was it a former cop getting preferential treatment? Fuck yes.

So, why should a community historically treated poorly by cops, look at this and not feel threatened?

Sometimes There Ought to Be A Law

May 7, 2020 / / 2 Comments

I am very leery of proposing new laws because I am aware the root of all laws is state-sanctioned violence. So, if I’m asking for a law to be passed, it’s because I’m willing to see violence done to enforce it.

Which in the case of New York demanding income taxes from people who came in to help, I want the state of Florida to say that it will not assist in any collection effort against its residents or companies with presence in the state of such a bullshit cash grab. Further, I would be just fine with a corollary that if NY does steal money from the people who came up to work and volunteer during the emergency, the state of Florida will pay those taxes by seizing any and all property in the state owned by any New York government or government official.