What is Digg?353 Comments
- DRINKxREDxBULL, on 10/11/2007, -7/+331We need to start basing our laws on the harm principal (Does action X harm anyone else? Then don't make it illegal). We should be moving away from using the force of government to solve problems and move toward using more voluntary solutions.
- AbsurdParadox, on 10/11/2007, -10/+153I agree 100%. If theres no victim, theres no crime. Voluntary actions between voluntary parties = no crime.
- Leomarth, on 10/10/2007, -0/+129Your life is subject to a lot more regulations than what you may think. Each day you probably violate several dozen laws and regulations that you could receive punishment for. The real kicker? Congress doesn't even know half of what it passes because legislation is introduced, amended and voted on in too short of a time to comprehend it.
This is your government representing you. If a lawyer did the same, he would be disbarred for incompetence. - SteelFrog, on 10/10/2007, -4/+79We have a similar problem in Canada. My family owns a farm and we're constantly running into layers of regulations and red tape. I can understand the government wants to reduce the risk of disease but sometimes it just gets ridiculous.
- celeb, on 10/10/2007, -4/+73"The government agents have decreed, in their egocentric wisdom, that no human can live in anything less than 900 square feet."
Um... I live in NYC and could only dream of having 900 square feet. Maybe I could use this article to influence my landlord to lower the rent:) Riiight... - Azap, on 10/10/2007, -6/+73The tile is much more exciting then the article... I was thinking of bank robberies, massive explosions, and speeding through said explosions in a sportscar.
- Akaji, on 10/10/2007, -5/+66Earth. You know, that planet that you've apparently never visited.
- yodaj007, on 10/10/2007, -1/+55Our laws are based on harm?
I'm not allowed to take a tube of toothpaste on a goddamn plane, even if said toothpaste is labelled as "anti-snake".
I'm not allowed to make backups of DVD's I bought and paid for, for the sole intention of a backup. Read: not selling. I keep the originals.
I'm not allowed to open a store in my own home.
Want me to go on? Before asking us what planet we live on, maybe you should look around. - MaynardJK, on 10/10/2007, -1/+54and prositution, and gambling etc... What is your point?
- TeatimeGrommit, on 10/10/2007, -7/+59Um, last I checked marijuana was illegal to own, sell or use, even though the only harm that comes from it is related to the criminal organizations that exist to sell it only because normal people can't legally fill this clear market need. And that's only the beginning of USA laws that ban or regulate harmless activities.
- drouk1556, on 10/10/2007, -1/+33There's this thing...it's called CSS...it's not really useful for reading an essay.
- ncc74656m, on 10/10/2007, -6/+37Sounds like an argument for drug legalization.
- Flashman, on 10/10/2007, -0/+30They forced him to build his septic leach field in a floodplain. Gross.
- tradwolley, on 10/10/2007, -2/+30Were you sitting, watching TV, because the statement you quoted went right over your head.
- yodaj007, on 10/10/2007, -1/+28It isn't the governments job to tell me what I can and cannot do with my own body. The US has become a nanny state, and though I liked Mary Poppins, I don't want her living with me.
- ButterBuddha, on 10/10/2007, -3/+28Try printing and using your own currency.....
- trypto, on 10/10/2007, -3/+28Funny with a title like that I was for sure the article would be about snorting heroin or sex with hookers. Instead it's about beef processing?
- subterfuge, on 10/10/2007, -4/+29"Does action X harm anyone else? Then don't make it illegal"
this is the libertarian's core philosophy. it is this philosophy that makes me a libertarian. - mojibake, on 10/10/2007, -2/+26They're already supposed to be. If there is no harm, injury, or loss, there is no crime.
Our laws have been terribly distorted, mostly for revenue (taxes, business profits, etc).
Corpus delecti: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corpus_delicti - subterfuge, on 10/10/2007, -0/+20not to mention that congress is EXEMPT from the laws it makes. this is not an exaggeration, it is the legal truth
- androo, on 10/10/2007, -0/+20under the influence refers to any substance that is altering your driving. yes, driving high can be dangerous and hard to detect, but its just as hard to detect legal medications that can make you incapable of driving. Pain killers are legal, but you sure as hell arent allowed to drive on them.
- LordVance, on 10/10/2007, -0/+20How many professional boxers have died in the ring?
- greendalek, on 10/10/2007, -2/+21God bless you, Mr. Salatin. You've got allies, I assure you.
- RTourn, on 10/10/2007, -1/+20I'm not going to touch the marijuana, or the prostitution aspect they are "controversial" on their own. There are a big list of stupid laws on the books, take your pick.
Here is a short list, I pulled:
it is illegal in the military to get a blow job, or have anal sex, some have been court martial for having sex with their own wife improperly, UCMJ ART 125,
You may not wear blue jeans down Noble Street. Alabama (Wrong for so many reasons)
No person within the city may possess confetti. Alabama (How does this harm people?)
Women may not drive in a house coat. California (If they are covered why not?)
You may not step out of a plane in flight. Maine (What about sky divers?)
At a wake, mourners may eat no more than three sandwiches. Massachusetts (Who does this hurt?)
Car dealers may not show cars on a Sunday. Colorado (Who's religion are we enacting?)
Also there was a great blog post on America's War on Science: http://memepunks.blogspot.com/2006/06/americas-war-on-science.html - licoricewhip, on 10/10/2007, -0/+19Well, in a sense, hookers are in the meat processing biz.
- Travisx2, on 10/10/2007, -0/+19http://www.progress.org/currency.htm
Funny you should mention that.
It is working in many US towns. - aukxsona, on 10/13/2007, -0/+18mine is only slightly bigger at 850 sq. ft. but I have 7 people in here. It is a new law that Insurance companies are forcing. I tried to have my house insured and they refuses because it was categorized as a shed. I told the town I was living in said shed, and if they wanted the taxes from said shed they better make it a damn house. It is now legally a house.
- scabbers, on 10/10/2007, -1/+18Wtf is the O or the U word?
- TeatimeGrommit, on 10/10/2007, -1/+18All that stuff is illegal too? Damn!
- toast1226, on 10/10/2007, -0/+17I've had this discussion with people as well. It's sad how you can't do things without worrying that you are violating some law which can land you in prison. If it isn't violating other individual liberties then I see nothing wrong with it. In many cases things that are against the law have natural consequences anyway -- so why add extra consequences to things people are already going to pay for? Plus I find the best way to learn is to see for yourself and experience those natural consequences -- the government effectively prevents that from happening by creating dumb laws that restrict us.
- dwhitbeck, on 10/10/2007, -1/+18Pretty much the same in Pennsylvania. About selling meat, if you send your animals to an approved meat packer, you are not sure you get your own meat back. Farmers can sell produce at a farmers market but cannot directly market meat or dairy products. If you want to build any kind of a building, house, barn garage or whatever, you have to have about 7 different inspections, each of which you have to pay for. You can install a composting toilet if you persevere long enough, but it has to be an approved system and I believe there is only one state approved manufacturer. Also, even after you are approved you still have to construct a sewer system to treat gray water. The Amish have traditionally used out houses since they will not use electricity, but out houses are illegal. It doesn't matter that an out house produces almost no waste water and waste water is what propagates pollution from sewers. I recently stopped driving an old car an stopped the insurance on it. The state has been hassling me all summer because I don't have insurance on a car I don't drive. Pennsylvania has become a dictatorial bureaucracy where you have government without representation and common sense is thrown out the window.
- ncc74656m, on 10/10/2007, -0/+16Ditto.
500 sq ft ftl! - inactive, on 10/10/2007, -4/+19Same here, but I always find ways to get around those laws. Like my father always said, Its only illegal if you get caught.
- swizzcheez, on 10/10/2007, -0/+15All in all I agree, though the reason a lot of these laws exist is to avoid lawsuits previously raised by people that believed they _should_ have been protected from themselves or their own stupidity. The article itself is due in part to a variety of cases where plaintiffs can't live with the reality of "***** happens" and sue anyway.
- Serenikill, on 10/10/2007, -3/+17I believe that they try and do that but it seems they are paranoid and if they find any way any action could harm somebody else they make it illegal it and make absurd penalties
- rune420, on 10/10/2007, -1/+15The planet where I just read this article.
- flygirl62, on 10/10/2007, -0/+14Sorry, while I agree with what you are trying to say, I don't buy that argument. That's the same argument used for helmet (on motorcycles) and seat belt laws... "It hurts the family" and/or "it hurts society who has to pay your bills." To hell with that! It's my head and my body and I can choose to protect them or not protect them as I see fit.
If you want to pass a law that says that if I ride a motorcycle without a helmet or drive a car without a seat belt, I get no medical care unless my insurance has a clause (for which I'd probably have to pay extra) that says they'll cover it, I'd buy that. Then it's MY choice, MY responsibility and MY consequences.... and it's MY choice to decide what risks I'll take to be here to care for my daughter or not.
Sheesh... next thing they'll be outlawing recreational flying and scuba diving (both of which I love) because I'm taking too much of a risk (in their eyes) of not being there to care for my daughter!
Whatever happened to sovereign people?!?
(Sorry, oxdeltaxo, this is NOT all directed at you.... sometimes I just get going) - gomezfreak, on 10/10/2007, -1/+14It's a farm. They damn sure aren't going to eat all of it.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Farm - aknappjr, on 10/10/2007, -1/+14A call to elect Ron Paul? !!!!!
- Buckiller, on 10/10/2007, -1/+13sounds like this guy is voting for ron paul.
- inactive, on 10/10/2007, -2/+14Or at the very least, blazin' a fat one while screwing four prostitutes with illegally downloaded music blasting.
- WiseWeasel, on 10/10/2007, -6/+18Hey, I don't want your body crashing through my windshield when you smash into my car. Your seatbelt is protecting me...
- Matteos, on 10/10/2007, -1/+13Yeah, they are called "The Consumer"
- CraigJ, on 10/10/2007, -0/+11900 Sqft is pretty big for a hand build log cabin. That's a crapload of work, that...
- RiverBelow, on 10/10/2007, -0/+11You're aware kids do turn into adults after a set amount of time, and populate the world, otherwise it wouldn't work...
- ravenber, on 10/10/2007, -0/+11Combining that statement with the article then, wouldn't it make logical sense to say then the the regulations are not performing their intended task? The person who is honestly interested in making healthy, safe food is the one being punished, while the dishonest ones continue to be, well, dishonest.
- TeatimeGrommit, on 10/10/2007, -0/+10Many, in fact most, of the complaints in the article are state laws and local ordinances. The federal government is actually prohibited from intervening to prevent states from being retarded. The answer is to live is a state with fewer laws, or with better laws. Laws vary *dramatically* from state to state, with some being close to Orwellian in how silly they are and others not bothering to fund law enforcement which de facto lets people get away with just about anything.
- 4bit, on 10/10/2007, -2/+12I'm prety sure 'O' is 'Organic' as there is a ton of regulation to even use the word.
I'm a little lost on 'U' though. - yodaj007, on 10/10/2007, -0/+10That is legal as long as you don't try to produce a unit of 'official' government currency. i.e. you can't print an American dollar bill.
Understand what currency is: it's just a means of facilitating trade. That's it. It has no value in and of itself. Hell, you can use sticks as currency, as France once did. - brjohnson789, on 10/10/2007, -1/+11Listen people, its gotten to the point where if someone powerful enough in the government wanted, they could find out how you broke some obscure law or regulation. Its just a matter of not pissing off anyone that powerful enough now, or knowing someone powerful enough to get you out of a 'dilemma' should someone else give you grief. Get a traffic ticket? Well I happen to have a buddy who's a cop, etc. This is the ultimate authoritarian system. Everyone is a criminal, its just a matter of deciding when and whom to punish.
-
Show 51 - 100 of 346 discussions
Check out the new & improved 
© Digg Inc. 2009
— Content created and posted by Digg users is