Actually preventing DUI is the goal, right?

I’ll be intently following the political future of Randall Scannell in Green Bay. I know zero about his political beliefs or party affiliation. What I do know about the man, though, I like.

He’s all for eliminating parking tickets for drunks.  “What?????? He’s going to REWARD people for getting drunk?” You heard it right- no tickets for drunks. He’s not “rewarding” anybody, though.

Actual Effects Are More Important Than Theoretical Debates

Law and politics are, sadly, too much like Philosophy- lots of people with strong opinions sitting around in a room talking about what should (or will) happen in the “out there” world if everybody in the world acted (or was forced to act by passage of law) in the way they wanted. “Cut taxes and nobody will starve.” Or, “raise minimum wage and nobody will s Continue reading “Actually preventing DUI is the goal, right?”

The Regular Person Standard.

I don’t know much about a lot of things. Nobody will dispute that. I might know a little about a few things. At least, people ask me questions as though they think I do. Of course, I’ve got a philosophy degree so I know that I really know nothing. That’s what the bearded, hippie, teaching assistants told me, anyway. I don’t know enough to disagree with them, that’s for sure.

My favorite legal questions are when friends and family of people without much exposure to law enforcement have that first “experience” and want to know what to do.

  •  “The police were banging on my brother’s door and screaming for him to come outside. What should he have done?”
  • “Some investigator showed up at my friend’s house and asked him to come talk at the station. The Investigator wouldn’t say what it was about. Is that normal?”
  • “The police wouldn’t let me answer my phone and were asking me weird questions. Why would they do that?”

Continue reading “The Regular Person Standard.”

How to get the worst sentence possible (Hint: Think “War Machine”).

How to get the worst possible sentence… as illustrated by “War Machine”.

“War Machine” seems to be doing everything he can to make sure he’s not only convicted, but locked up for a long, long time. He’s got to be driving his lawyer nuts.  This is a classic case of how just about everything you do can and will affect what happens in court.
Continue reading “How to get the worst sentence possible (Hint: Think “War Machine”).”

The latest on Brittany Maynard.

A few posts back I wrote about Brittany Maynard, her brain cancer, and her choice to die with dignity.  Of course, she won’t be making that choice in Illinois- we like laws and regulations almost as much as we like imprisoned lawmakers.

She’s released another video. If you’re not aware, she had originally set this weekend as the date to pass on under her own terms.  This video it tough to watch.  She seems to imply at the beginning that the date may change, although that seems less likely the further you watch. Continue reading “The latest on Brittany Maynard.”

When Dying is Outlawed Only Outlaws Will Die in Peace.

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Update: 10/30/14- Brittany has a new video out. You can find it here with less commentary than appears in this post. Although, there is still some commentary… because Illinois’ regulation of death is still nonsense.

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Isn’t there some sort of saying about how dreams do come true? Maybe not right away, but eventually? Sadly, I think that today is “eventually.”

Back in 2011 I wrote a moderately sarcastic (for me) post about what I wanted to see out of the world in 2012.  Titled, “A look ahead to 2012: How about less Lindsay Lohan (or Sam Hurd) and more physician assisted suicide.”  The post was aimed at mocking the recent crime news and wishing for a return to when there were more pressing news stories of public concern.  It was a smashing success that earned three “likes” on facebook and one twitter mention.  The crush of publicity was hard to live with, but I managed.
Continue reading “When Dying is Outlawed Only Outlaws Will Die in Peace.”