Our Criminal Justice System? It’s a Crime
20th March 2014
One of the hallmarks of a totalitarian state is that there are so many laws and regulations that no one can possibly know what they are, let alone obey them. Thus everyone is a criminal, and only the despot’s discretion separates the solid citizen from the criminal. Unfortunately, the United States is rapidly approaching–if it has not already reached–this dystopian status.
March 20th, 2014 at 08:42
“Never forget that everything Hitler did in Germany was legal.” – MLK
Environmental laws have increasingly become “guilty until proven innocent” situations. It’s easier to be sentenced to prison for an environmental crime than for murder, and environmental felons typically serve longer sentences than the average murderer.
OSHA could be worse, but it’s so inconsistently enforced that nobody know what to expect. (EPA is a great place for the administration to put it’s hard core commies – if for no other reason than to keep them from embarrassing them in the news. Reporters expect EPA to be obnoxious.) Worked at a plant where company officials seriously deserved prison time. Through their negligence and intentional bad management, a guy was badly injured and nearly killed. OSHA’s punishment? Put stickers on the electrical equipment to indicate voltage.
In another plant, a worker intentionally opened a line to do unauthorized repairs (he didn’t like paperwork) and caused a serious chemical spill. OSHA came in and proposed huge fines for all sorts of trivial things – including several they got wrong. The company protested and was told to pay up or they’d audit every plant they had and punish everybody. Now, if you or I do that, it would be extortion. The “O” Admin does it and it’s “business as usual” – Chicago-style.
March 21st, 2014 at 04:01
OSHA and the EPA are among the many reasons that Richard Nixon will burn in Hell for all eternity. EPA was actually established by Executive Order, not an Act of Congress, so to the extent that Obama is acting like any previous President, he’s acting like Nixon. Perhaps somebody ought to point that out to him.