4 ms·

A common feature of our modern society is that bad actors will take illegal actions and rarely/never face repercussions. This emboldens them to further do more

A common feature of our modern society is that bad actors will take illegal actions and rarely/never face repercussions. This emboldens them to further do more illegal things. Meanwhile, the courts take months or years to reach decisions (especially regarding technology) and in the passing time the practice becomes normalized [1] or already the damage is done. Perhaps in that time new technological paradigms create fuzzier muddier waters and the same crimes "can" continue "legally" while the courts decide, yet again. It is a flaw in our current system. It is most obvious at the federal level, where the President and many Republicans routinely break laws in obvious manners, while the courts fight it out for years. [1] Some of our laws are based on what is 'normal'. So after some years of a practice taking place clearly illegally, it can become to be seen as 'normal' by society and therefore legalized de facto. For example "cruel and unusual punishment" does not outlaw the death penalty because it already exists and is sufficiently common to not count as unusual.

giggles_giggles 7y ago
>the President and many Republicans routinely break laws in obvious manners Can you link to some citations regarding this? If one of our political parties and our elected officials are brazenly breaking the law I'd sure like to know about it!
- spaceheretostay 7y ago
  The redacted Mueller report does a good job getting started on a well-researched list of crimes committed by the President and various fellow Republicans. You can find it all over the web. If it is too long and dense and you wish a summary, many reputable lawyers and journalists have written down their understanding of the laws broken, the context and their intents. There are many more than listed in the Mueller report but it's a good start. It is hard to read your comment in good faith however, as I assume it is likely you already knew about this detailed list of the President's crimes if you truly "sure would like to know about it!" Edit: By popular demand, here is a direct link to justice.gov for the redacted Mueller report. https://www.justice.gov/storage/report.pdf https://www.justice.gov/storage/report.pdf
  - lugg 7y ago
    You shod drop the second paragraph. It doesn't help your case.
    - zaroth 7y ago
      I’m not sure a case is being made at all. A massive investigation turned up no criminal conspiracy and failed to substantiate a charge of obstruction. I’m really not sure what ‘spaceheretostay’ is on about.
      - spaceheretostay 7y ago
        > A massive investigation turned up no criminal conspiracy That is definitely not true. > failed to substantiate a charge of obstruction This is also not true. The events are ongoing, the investigation has not 'failed' in any way. > I’m really not sure what ‘spaceheretostay’ is on about. I think I've made my points clearly. Abuses of power that are clearly illegal are common at the top of our government, and it happens because they openly commit crimes that they know will take years to investigate, during which times the goals of their illegal activities can be met. That is a direct example that directly relates to the parent comment in this thread. I've tried to be as clear as possible.
        dang 7y ago
        Would you please stop using HN for political battle? It's off topic here, and you've been doing it a lot. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html
      - aldoushuxley001 7y ago
        Yeah he sounds very ideologically motivated and when pressed to backup his claims of crimes being committed completely failed to back them up. Seems par for the course for people to sling all sorts of accusations without backing them up these days, which is unfortunate because it's largely just toxic.
    - 7y ago
isoskeles 7y ago
> the President and many Republicans routinely break laws in obvious manners From a story about warrantless access to location data to... this comment. First, warrantless access to XYZ is an issue with the criminal justice system, and I know you'll find people of all different political persuasions acting to keep that system in place and make prosecution as efficient as possible. It benefits them materially. Second, the "Federal" government is overwhelmingly staffed by Democrats. In case you did not know, the Federal government is not just members of Congress. It includes the many departments of the Executive branch, and Trump can't just fire everyone and only hire Republicans. Scroll down here and look at what parties government workers donate to: https://www.fedsmith.com/2016/12/21/tallying-political-donations-from-federal-employees-and-unions/ https://www.fedsmith.com/2016/12/21/tallying-political-donat... What level of involvement do you think those people have? Do you think the President or all of the Republican Senators are doing their jobs for them? What would it take to convince you that a Federal government is gonna do Federal government shit regardless of whether a D or R is in office?

giggles_giggles 7y ago

>the President and many Republicans routinely break laws in obvious manners Can you link to some citations regarding this? If one of our political parties and our elected officials are brazenly breaking the law I'd sure like to know about it!

spaceheretostay 7y ago
The redacted Mueller report does a good job getting started on a well-researched list of crimes committed by the President and various fellow Republicans. You can find it all over the web. If it is too long and dense and you wish a summary, many reputable lawyers and journalists have written down their understanding of the laws broken, the context and their intents. There are many more than listed in the Mueller report but it's a good start. It is hard to read your comment in good faith however, as I assume it is likely you already knew about this detailed list of the President's crimes if you truly "sure would like to know about it!" Edit: By popular demand, here is a direct link to justice.gov for the redacted Mueller report. https://www.justice.gov/storage/report.pdf https://www.justice.gov/storage/report.pdf
- lugg 7y ago
  You shod drop the second paragraph. It doesn't help your case.
  - zaroth 7y ago
    I’m not sure a case is being made at all. A massive investigation turned up no criminal conspiracy and failed to substantiate a charge of obstruction. I’m really not sure what ‘spaceheretostay’ is on about.
    - spaceheretostay 7y ago
      > A massive investigation turned up no criminal conspiracy That is definitely not true. > failed to substantiate a charge of obstruction This is also not true. The events are ongoing, the investigation has not 'failed' in any way. > I’m really not sure what ‘spaceheretostay’ is on about. I think I've made my points clearly. Abuses of power that are clearly illegal are common at the top of our government, and it happens because they openly commit crimes that they know will take years to investigate, during which times the goals of their illegal activities can be met. That is a direct example that directly relates to the parent comment in this thread. I've tried to be as clear as possible.
      - dang 7y ago
        Would you please stop using HN for political battle? It's off topic here, and you've been doing it a lot. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html
    - aldoushuxley001 7y ago
      Yeah he sounds very ideologically motivated and when pressed to backup his claims of crimes being committed completely failed to back them up. Seems par for the course for people to sling all sorts of accusations without backing them up these days, which is unfortunate because it's largely just toxic.
  - 7y ago

isoskeles 7y ago

> the President and many Republicans routinely break laws in obvious manners From a story about warrantless access to location data to... this comment. First, warrantless access to XYZ is an issue with the criminal justice system, and I know you'll find people of all different political persuasions acting to keep that system in place and make prosecution as efficient as possible. It benefits them materially. Second, the "Federal" government is overwhelmingly staffed by Democrats. In case you did not know, the Federal government is not just members of Congress. It includes the many departments of the Executive branch, and Trump can't just fire everyone and only hire Republicans. Scroll down here and look at what parties government workers donate to: https://www.fedsmith.com/2016/12/21/tallying-political-donations-from-federal-employees-and-unions/ https://www.fedsmith.com/2016/12/21/tallying-political-donat... What level of involvement do you think those people have? Do you think the President or all of the Republican Senators are doing their jobs for them? What would it take to convince you that a Federal government is gonna do Federal government shit regardless of whether a D or R is in office?