On Wed, 2007-01-17 at 03:25 -0500, Ric Moore wrote: > On Wed, 2007-01-17 at 02:48 -0500, Todd Zullinger wrote: > > > I've had friends sent to prison for things that damn well shouldn't be > > illegal (and aren't illegal by any basic reading of the US > > Constitution -- but you can't convince a dipshit judge of that). I > > saw enough from visiting them to come to the conclusion that even > > fairly low-security imprisonment was quite awful. > > > > > Only a few live like that when you consider that 2.7 million are > > > locked up. > > > > Yep, sadly the US prison system could use McDonald's slogan: "Billions > > served." > > > > > The vast majority serve time in Medium or Minimum custody. Those > > > will be released if they keep their noses clean, so they do. Ric > > > > The vast majority of those in US prisons have no business being there > > in the first place, under any level of custody. Certainly Phil > > Zimmermann wouldn't have belonged there for writing software any more > > than most others who have committed no real crimes (other than to break > > laws that fly in the face of the written constitution that the > > government supposedly derives its power from). > > > > Sorry to go so far off topic. I just happen to get fairly agitated > > about governments locking people up. Actually, I just get agitated > > about governments in general, as I find them useless parasites of the > > human race. :) > > So do I, my friend. So do I. That's the reason for my project. Establish > a baseline, educate the deviance's that are below the baseline until > they are upped to an acceptable level and then let them go. Let the > computer assist making the decision and take humans with prejudices out > of the loop. Abolish structured sentencing and actually assist people to > fix themselves. And then, hopefully be released back to an also educated > society that forgives... not so much for the offender, but for their own > enlightened sakes. Our Government does not always seem to rule us with > Wisdom, instead fear and secrecy is used. That is not what was intended. > It's what an entire revolution was about. > > "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created > equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable > Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. > — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, > deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That > whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is > the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new > Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its > powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their > Safety and Happiness." > > Sounds like fighting words to me. The bitch, as both Gene and Bruno > mentioned, is that bit about deriving their just powers from the consent > of the governed. If we allow, we have consented. If we do nothing, we > get exactly that. Ric You guys should take this to the MandrakeOT list. http://mandrakeot.mdw1982.com/ http://www.mdw1982.com/mailman/listinfo/mandrakeot LX
