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You Break the Law Every Day ... Without Even Knowing It
Wired notes:
James Duane, a professor at Regent Law School and former defense attorney, notes in his excellent lecture on why it is never a good idea to talk to the police:
Estimates of the current size of the body of federal criminal law vary. It has been reported that the Congressional Research Service cannot even count the current number of federal crimes. These laws are scattered in over 50 titles of the United States Code, encompassing roughly 27,000 pages. Worse yet, the statutory code sections often incorporate, by reference, the provisions and sanctions of administrative regulations promulgated by various regulatory agencies under congressional authorization. Estimates of how many such regulations exist are even less well settled, but the ABA thinks there are ”nearly 10,000.”
If the federal government can’t even count how many laws there are, what chance does an individual have of being certain that they are not acting in violation of one of them?
As Supreme Court Justice Breyer elaborates:
The complexity of modern federal criminal law, codified in several thousand sections of the United States Code and the virtually infinite variety of factual circumstances that might trigger an investigation into a possible violation of the law, make it difficult for anyone to know, in advance, just when a particular set of statements might later appear (to a prosecutor) to be relevant to some such investigation.
For instance, did you know that it is a federal crime to be in possession of a lobster under a certain size? It doesn’t matter if you bought it at a grocery store, if someone else gave it to you, if it’s dead or alive, if you found it after it died of natural causes, or even if you killed it while acting in self defense. You can go to jail because of a lobster.
If the federal government had access to every email you’ve ever written and every phone call you’ve ever made, it’s almost certain that they could find something you’ve done which violates a provision in the 27,000 pages of federal statues or 10,000 administrative regulations. You probably do have something to hide, you just don’t know it yet.
And that’s just federal laws.
Crazy State Laws
There are a lot of crazy state and local laws:
Practicing New York attorney Nathan Belofsky has gathered a bunch of them.
Do you imagine that it is possible for you to go through life without violating a federal, state or local law? It’s impossible.
As Stalin’s notorious chief of secret police famously said:
Show me the man and I will find the crime.
Blurring the Lines Between Average Americans and Bad Guys
Law enforcement is blurring the lines between average Americans and potential terrorists.
As such, even normal people can fall under unwarranted suspicion in America today.
NSA Spying Can Trap You In Suspected Wrongdoing
Top NSA whistleblower William Binney – the former head of the National Security Agency’s global digital data gathering program – has repeatedly explained that just because you “haven’t done anything wrong” doesn’t mean you can’t be severely harmed by spying:
The problem is, if they think they’re not doing anything that’s wrong, they don’t get to define that. The central government does.
Binney explains that the government is storing everything, and creating a searchable database … to be used whenever it wants, for any purpose it wants (even just going after someone it doesn’t like).
And he notes that the government will go after anyone who is on its enemies list:
If you ever get on their enemies list, like Petraeus did, then you can be drawn into that surveillance.
Similarly, Edward Snowden said:
Because even if you’re not doing anything wrong you’re being watched and recorded. And the storage capability of these systems increases every year consistently by orders of magnitude … to where it’s getting to the point where you don’t have to have done anything wrong. You simply have to eventually fall under suspicion from somebody – even by a wrong call. And then they can use this system to go back in time and scrutinize every decision you’ve ever made, every friend you’ve ever discussed something with. And attack you on that basis to sort to derive suspicion from an innocent life and paint anyone in the context of a wrongdoer.
[If people don't oppose the surveillance state now] it will be turnkey tyranny.
Remember, it’s not just the NSA which is spying on your. Numerous government agencies are spying on all of your data, and sharing that information with federal, state and local law enforcement, the drug enforcement agency, the IRS and many others. So if any of those agencies thinks – rightly or wrongly – that you might have broken a law, they might target you.
Get it?
Mass surveillance is incredibly dangerous … and no one is immune.
* We’ve checked some of these, and verified that they are still on the books today. We have not checked all of them.
Many of the crazy laws which are on the books are normally not enforced. But there are two systems of justice in America … one for the fatcats, and one for everyone else.
So if someone in law enforcement takes a dislike to you – for whatever reason – they could easily harass you with laws or interpretations which are seldom enforced.
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I live in the county, but the nearest city requires you to have shelter for your dog, with minimum specifications on said shelter, in your back yard, even if you have a dog door that is always open and the dog can go inside the house. I pay attention to some of the shit that goes on in the surrounding city councils, and while most of it is boring and benign, there is some shit that makes you go "Whaaaaaaaaaaat?" often enough to make me very, very glad that municipalities cannot make any criminal laws with a penalty greater than petty misdemeanor here.
File some papers (yourself) and counter-sue for harassment.
It cost me nothing more than a morning, and since I am self employeed and relatively (to everyone else) free, there is no need.
Needless to say, I have not seen hide nor hair of that animal control officer since.
It was an interesting couple of years. If you think of it, I come home in a $500 suit, and an animal control officer wearing a $1000 dollar peice of body armor and a 35 caliber glock worth $700 in his holster confronts me. And I win.
And besides, I'd lose in court on harrasment. Waste of attorney money.
.35 caliber
HAHA
9mm=.356"
and they see a lot of really wrong stuff. i had to turn over my neighbors dogs which were running loose, and had open wounds with maggots. the guy was very sympathetic to the dogs, my experience with animal control has always been positive. but then i take care of my pets
No attorney in small claims court and they have to show up for hearing or default.
and the backlog is years
In small claims court? In Van Nuys it is three months.
forget it..............
There's a good chance it's already too late. It's already done, and if I were the city attorney, I would argue that they were compulsory counter claims from the last case, and thus he was barred from bringing them as he should have brought them as counter claims in the last action. He would have to argue that they were permissive counter claims, and thus, he was not barred.
30% work for government? Try like 5% if it is 30% we are truly screwed.
It's likely higher than 30%.
It's not just federal workers you need to count. You need to count postal workers, you need to count state workers, and you need to count private workers who work for contracts granted by the federal and state governments.
If anything, now that I think on it, the percentage is higher than 50% and yes, we a truly fucked.
So we are probably using a different yardstick.
To say that 30% of the american population (unless you meant working people "only" which is sort a non-sequiter ) of a country the size of the US - 360 million people would mean 120 million people work for government. Impossible.
well, 30% of 310 million people, 93 million would be absurd. Yes. but then your yardstick is off by a bit.
of the 310 million we have, some, like my kids, are under 18. Even more are over 65, and not working. So, the working population, or the population that is ABLE to work, ( Ie, healthy enough and over 18 and under 65) is about half of 310 million, which would be 155 Million. Do 77.5 million people in our society have a vested interest in the governement? Maybe. Maybe even probably.
All I know, is that it's FAR higher than your 5% estimate, which would be about 7.8% or 7.5 million. 7.5 million working for the government directly or indirectly under govt contracts would be awfully low.
30% of 310 million people, 93 million would be absurd.
WAIT!
A ZH story this morning says that 90+ million are "no longer in the workforce." How do we think they get food?
More than 50% rely on the state to eat. We ARE screwed, which is why I suggest to people that they stop playing a rigged game.
You said: 30% of our fellow americans work for the government enslaving us. - IS DEMONSTRABLY false - you then argue to add exceptions to this statement.
Are you related to Obama? Do you want to sell Obamacare? You seems to have the skills.
funny, i wasn't attacking you. So, ad hominem attacks are you forte? Ok.
Still, you need to refute me. 30% of americans work for the governernment that enslaves us. Yes. Count all federal workers, count all postal workers, count all state workers, count all goverment teachers, count all dmv workers, count all NSA, FBI, CIA, Homeland workers. etc etc etc
Yeah, 30%. And likely higher than that.
Wasn't attacking you either - gently mocking - I can show attacking if you like...
Already did refute on a single point - your 30% is wayyy out of line with reality. You can put all the qualifiers you want but your initial statement "30% of your fellow Americans" is untrue.
However, your general point was valid - we (the non-gubmit worker in the U.S.) have the gubmit workers greatly outnumbered. It is time we use this to stop the money faucet and take back our country.
Every tax increase on the ballot - vote no. Every bond issuance - vote no. Demand the salaries and benefits of all government workers and the bitterly complain every day that they are overpaid/non-essential.
Unbiased reader here. When he said "30% of your fellow Americans" work for the government I naturally assumed he meant 30% of working Americans, 30% of those with a job. It's somewhat illogical and argumentative to claim that factoring babies, children, old people etc into the calculation somehow refutes it.
If you include teachers and everybody else working for local school districts as well as all military employees and contractors then I would certainly expect the percentage of working americans who are government employed to be 30% to 40%.
Don't leave out all the people who get paid by the govt to not work.
edit: oops, I should have read next comment down by CH1.
way higher, if you consider private companies with government contracts, etc etc
At least some of them are true:
After reading this rambling list of crimes by State you would need to consider the risks of just stepping outside your own door given their absolute absurdity.
So let's just stick with the big ones that are game changers -shall we?
Patriot Act(s) I & II, and the NDAA both of which were allegeldy passed and signed into law by the Congress of the United States of America have never been officially ratified which makes them unlawful.
It certainly doesn't mean the DOJ and Congress aren't breaking the law as we know they clearly have repeatedly through the presence of extrajudicial killing(s) and wars of choice both inside and outside the U.S. over the last 12 years, but the fact that the "state of ermergency doctrine" they declared on this Country is without precedent in that it has no binding legal equivalent in it's implementation should have raised concerns for us long ago -but hasn't is beyond telling.
Sorry guys. The only thing that will fix it is if the American people look at their voting records and throw them all into jail for breaking the laws they swore an oath to protect defend. It's that simple.
Until that happens, expect more of the same and likely worse!
That will never happen because most americans are cheerleaders for government power.
I was on Jury Duty the other day and it was eye-opening. I look at the defendant in the dock and I'm sympathetic to his plight and very open-minded to his defense because the entire massive ediface of the state judicial system is bearing down on that lone individual. The cops and prosecutors have fingered him and will do everything in their power, with the backing of the state, to "win" a conviction.
But the majority of my fellow potential jurors basically feel that the guy must be guilty because the glorious and righteous government has charged him with a crime. Their default position is that the state is right and the individual is wrong while mine is the opposite.
The American public will never hold the state accountable for anything. Those who try to do so will be stigmatized and ultimately criminalized.
Jury Nullification.
Unless it is a crime against another person which they are able to prove beyond a reasonable doubt... Everything else should be jury nullification.
I was on Jury Duty the other day and it was eye-opening. I look at the defendant in the dock and I'm sympathetic to his plight and very open-minded to his defense because the entire massive ediface of the state judicial system is bearing down on that lone individual. The cops and prosecutors have fingered him and will do everything in their power, with the backing of the state, to "win" a conviction.
Is this for real? What happened? Did you join the crowd or hold out?
This is one of the reasons I can't even relate to the majority of people out there. "If they arrested him, he must be guilty of something" is pretty much the default position these days. Embracing "presumed innocent until proven guilty" has become a radical position, and one I embrace strongly.
True. Consider just one very common area of law, that of domestic violence. The cops are directed to arrest somebody whenever an accusation is leveled. the slightest touch, under any circumstances, is deemed sufficient for conviction. Most get about one year's probation and restrictions on such things as remaining in their homes and carrying/owning firearms. Of course the advantages to the false accuser (for example pissed off spouse) can be significant. I have seen persons who have had their businesses liquidated by a crooked partner becuase they cannot go to work becuase of an accusation of domestic violence between business partners. By the time the court schedules a hearing the business has been sold off to the benefit of one party, with the debts going to both. Courts are overwhelmed by charges brought by police for anything, often enough simply failing to respect the young cop's authority. Few prosecutors and fewer police chiefs show any interest in coraling these exercises.
Don;t get me started about underage drinking by eighteen, nineteen, and twenty year olds. Ordinary human behavior is a great source of revenue and employment for an ever burgeoning industry of basically non-productive free riders.
It SHOULD be illegal for any woman over 140 to wear shorts, period.
I would support that law.
Except in Wal-Mart of course.
Wearing Spandex is privilege, not a right.
"... woman over 40 to wear shorts, ..."
Fixed it for you.
Hey your wife has killer legs. Don't sell her 'short'.
I was upset reading these unecessary morsels of mysogyny and ageism - but quickly remembered that dicks with these attitudes always receive the "house special" at restaurants and other venues. Continue.
Then I guess it was a good thing that Wal-Mart did not exist in 19th century Chicago.
And the NSA have enough info if they used it to prosecute every politician / banker but they do not!
So does this wacky lawfare society work both ways? Can I use some archane law to push back on an overzealous cop? If the IRS comes after me for not signing up for ObamaCrap, can I also use my state's law against divulging personal data while the dog is listening to refuse to comply with the IRS?
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NSA keywords: wacky, cop, IRS, against, dog
Free Corzine!
That's because blackmail is more profitable than prosecution.
I would like to thank all the useless idiots that want government.
YOU are the problem.
Useless idiots? The correct term is Useful Idiots.
More on "useful idiots": http://youtu.be/y3qkf3bajd4 (This may be the most important video you ever watch in your life, by the way.) "Deception Was My Job" Ex-KGB Yuri Bezmenov describes how the West was so easily infiltrated and subverted by Soviet Russia, and the effects are blossoming today.