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You commit three felonies a day

kottke.org

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Re: You commit three felonies a day

#21

Post by 300bps »

ck2 wrote: post #5

And the felony history never goes away now. Just think, a child who gets their first smartphone today, will have their entire phone history recorded until death. Their geolocation saved. Their email saved. All their financial transactions. All their friends and family will be known. Every intercontact in society. Where they shop, eat, etc. Who they date. I mean why would the NSA ever delete it? They can just get taxp…

I work with a Muslim from Yemen at an investment bank. He's as American as anyone I know but be recently got a gun permit and got a visit from the FBI about a week later. They wanted to know if he felt threatened, if there were problems at his Mosque, why he wanted a gun, if there was anyone at his Mosque who used hate speech, etc.

Something tells me he government knows if you have a gun.

Re: You commit three felonies a day

#22

Post by venomsnake »

ubernostrum wrote: post #15
Uchikoma wrote: post #9

From Atlas Shrugged: “Did you really think that we want those laws to be observed?” said Dr. Ferris. “We want them broken. [...] There’s no way to rule innocent men. The only power any government has is the power to crack down on criminals. Well, when there aren’t enough criminals, one makes them. One declares so many things to be a crime that it becomes impossible for men to live without breaking laws.”

Since posting this quote is apparently now a thing that happens in practically every HN thread, I will take the opportunity to repost this reply: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5708196

This is not Ayn Rand quote per se. In a sense that was public secret for anyone living in Eastern Europe at the time - got a few relatives that made a few trips to the concentration camps. That if you got authorities attention there would be more than enough crimes on which to convict you.

Re: You commit three felonies a day

#23

Post by rmc »

Sometimes I get a whiff of nostalgia from posts like this. As if everything was great back in the good old days, where the police weren't able to hassle you, when laws were fair and simple.

Of course that was only if you were a white anglo cis straight christian. Anyone who didn't fit that was able to be prosecuted/killed/oppressed/jailed. But if we pretend those people don't exist, then everything was great in the past.

Re: You commit three felonies a day

#24

Post by einhverfr »

Kiro wrote: post #20
einhverfr wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Silverglate talks about a number of cases, some of which have been addressed either before the book was written or after, but the overall problem is still out there. For example, see the honest services fraud charges against Jeff Skilling (of Enron fame), on the idea that anything dishonest any corporate executive might do would be depriving the corporation of honest services. Now the Supreme Court reversed Skilling'…

No, I want to know what felonies I commit.

So do I. But the point is that these felonies are largely a product of trying to stretch other laws to cover behavior none of us would consider illegal.

However, the big one I would look at in current times for most people is violating web site terms of service.

My point is that the mentality is "Show me the man and I'll find you the crime."

Re: You commit three felonies a day

#25

Post by youngerdryas »

Kiro wrote: post #20
einhverfr wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Silverglate talks about a number of cases, some of which have been addressed either before the book was written or after, but the overall problem is still out there. For example, see the honest services fraud charges against Jeff Skilling (of Enron fame), on the idea that anything dishonest any corporate executive might do would be depriving the corporation of honest services. Now the Supreme Court reversed Skilling'…

No, I want to know what felonies I commit.

Blog spam?

Re: You commit three felonies a day

#26

Post by arethuza »

einhverfr wrote: post #24
Kiro wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, I want to know what felonies I commit.

So do I. But the point is that these felonies are largely a product of trying to stretch other laws to cover behavior none of us would consider illegal. However, the big one I would look at in current times for most people is violating web site terms of service. My point is that the mentality is "Show me the man and I'll find you the crime."

I thought I recognised that quote - it's from Lavrentiy Beria

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lavrentiy_Beria

Re: You commit three felonies a day

#28

Post by ck2 »

300bps wrote: post #21
ck2 wrote: post #5

And the felony history never goes away now. Just think, a child who gets their first smartphone today, will have their entire phone history recorded until death. Their geolocation saved. Their email saved. All their financial transactions. All their friends and family will be known. Every intercontact in society. Where they shop, eat, etc. Who they date. I mean why would the NSA ever delete it? They can just get taxp…

I work with a Muslim from Yemen at an investment bank. He's as American as anyone I know but be recently got a gun permit and got a visit from the FBI about a week later. They wanted to know if he felt threatened, if there were problems at his Mosque, why he wanted a gun, if there was anyone at his Mosque who used hate speech, etc. Something tells me he government knows if you have a gun.

Hmm, well "muslim" isn't a nationality, it's a religion almost as big as christianity. is he an American citizen?

Because otherwise that is profiling. They don't show up and ask others if there is any problems at their church or anyone using hate speech about the government at the church.

Re: You commit three felonies a day

#29

Post by ownagefool »

Kiro wrote: post #20
einhverfr wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Silverglate talks about a number of cases, some of which have been addressed either before the book was written or after, but the overall problem is still out there. For example, see the honest services fraud charges against Jeff Skilling (of Enron fame), on the idea that anything dishonest any corporate executive might do would be depriving the corporation of honest services. Now the Supreme Court reversed Skilling'…

No, I want to know what felonies I commit.

Part of the point is you aren't supposed to know, otherwise you'll be able to stop doing them and the authorities will lose their potential future leverage.

Another way to look at it is you aren't, but should you come to the right peoples attention, they'll figure out how to bend the rules enough so that you are.

No way of really knowing until laws are rolled back, simplified, and followed both from within the confines of the letter of the law and the spirit thereof.

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