You Can't Go Home Again: Islamic Extremists In Britain

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Advice Goddess: Kids Being Groomed For A Surveillance State

Creepy catch by Amy,

Advice Goddess Blog:

"Very troubling news from PogoWasRight on the creep of the surveillance state. In the latest blithe attempt to eliminate kids' expectation of privacy, aConnecticut school district wanted to require students to carry an RFID card-chipped ID so their location could be tracked:"

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New Advice Goddess Column: Thin Line Between Love And Haight

Advice Goddess Columns:

Thin Line Between Love And Haight

"After my boyfriend and I returned from a teaching stint abroad, he broke up with me. I was devastated but eventually started seeing somebody else. He got really jealous and flew out a few times to see me until I said yes to getting back together. We've had a phone relationship since January, with visits whenever possible. Well, I'm starting grad school on the East Coast, and won't be mobile for three years. But, as for moving to be with me, he's now saying he doesn't know if he can leave San Francisco. It's not even a job keeping him there! He's unemployed and still unwilling to leave one of the most expensive cities! He simply just wants to live there. I'm wondering if all the waiting's worth it since he isn't willing to work very hard for us to be together.

--Dismayed"

See Amy's response at the link.

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John and Suki's news and comment area, from a Libertarian perspective.
Copyright 2009, 2010, SJE Enterprises, all rights reserved.

I got a Mention on the Advice Goddess Blog!

How cool! I got a mention on the Advice Goddess Blog! (read the rest at the link):

Advice Goddess Blog: July 31, 2010 Accidentally Funny

Bimbo Bakeries? If I started one, that's what I'd call it. At one point, I wanted to make a business card, 'Amy Alkon, intellibimbo.'
via Suki

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Suki Series BackgroundSuki Series TechOrder the paperback edition of Suki V: The CollectionBrowse the series on Google: Suki I, Suki II, Suki III, Suki IV, Suki VFan Fiction: John and Suki: Vacation Fun

John and Suki's news and comment area, from a Libertarian perspective.
Copyright 2009, 2010, SJE Enterprises, all rights reserved.

Arresting people for profit?

I am a big fan of Amy Alkon and do not recall a time that I disagreed with her.  Granted, I have not been reading her that long, but now I do read her daily.

Have to disagree with her position on this:

May 29, 2009 

Make Crime Pay Us Back

By doing something I've always thought we should do -- charging criminals for their jail stay. Tracy Loew writes in USA Today:

Get arrested in Springfield, Ore., this fall, and you might spend the night in jail -- then get a bill for your stay.

The city plans to charge convicted criminals up to $60 a night, depending on their ability to pay, when a new 100-bed lockup opens in October, Springfield Police Chief Jerry Smith says. Thus, the city could recoup most of its cost of about $70 a day.

"These people are the ones who cause the cost to operate a jail, so they ought to be the ones to pay it, not private citizens," Smith says.

The economic recession is spurring several local governments to turn to pay-to-stay programs, says Sara Totonchi, public policy director for the Atlanta-based Southern Center for Human Rights, which fights legislation that imposes such fees on inmates.

"In these difficult economic times, policymakers are looking for different options to save money," Totonchi says.

Oh, boohoo. You do the crime -- don't expect me to pay for your time. And that has nothing to do with the way our elected and appointed idiots mismanage our tax dollars and our prisons.

And while we're at it, I think criminals should have to stay in jail until they earn money to pay restitution to their victims.

I disagree about as strongly as possible.  All this does is set-up a system of perpetual employment for the legal and law enforcement system.  We already have enough problems with cops taking property under questionable circumstances.  We have for decades.  Now we are going to begin a billing system for housing convicted criminals?

How about this:  make jail as expensive and safe as possible and get rid of a bunch of stupid laws that make it all too easy for government actors to incarcerate such a large percentage of our population.  Perhaps if jail was more expensive to society our representatives would not be so happy to make so many perfectly harmless things illegal.

In the future, at least the one I was thinking in my book, pretty much the last things people will be getting jailed for (in the USA) are non-violent crimes.  Sadly, every time I think we are about to go in that direction we are deflected.

Amy Alkon has best SCOTUS comment this week

What Color Is Your Legal Ability?

I was disgusted by talk I heard on CNN and elsewhere by people who say President Obama should appoint a "person of color" or a woman to the Supreme Court. Shockingly, I think he should appoint the best legal mind for the job, and look for that person in a totally color-blind and vagina-blind way.

Discussion at the link