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Convicted for solving a problem the government refused to address
- giantg2 4y agoIt would be nice if they had some actual details and not just a sarcastic write up.
- SideburnsOfDoom 4y agoI'm going to disagree with you, on the rule that "if you can easily google it, no need to spell it out." In my case, just googling the name of the town, "Wetumpka" and switching to the news tab, gives many versions of this story; in fact, little else.
- giantg2 4y agoThen let's flag this story and post one with actual content. I tried searching for the court records and couldn't find them. Even the best story I could find had little in there. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/crime/progress/2022/12/13/wetumpka-alabama-cat-ladies-found-guilty-on-all-four-charges/69722572007/ https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/crime/progress/2022/12/1...
- birdyrooster 4y agoThat USAToday article hardly tells the story. I think people want the perspective of the OP’s article with its DIY vigilante angle because it is our community ethos. Furthermore, it is sourced and adds value to the rote facts.
- giantg2 4y ago"That USAToday article hardly tells the story." Then what does? I would have welcomed an article about citizens fixing their communities and government setbacks associated with that. This article provides nothing of value except to piss people off using vague and misleading rhetoric.
- paulette449 4y agoThe article features a link to a local newspaper article [1] and quotes extensively from it. [1] - https://www.alreporter.com/2022/12/15/opinion-wetumpka-cat-ladies-were-convicted-but-the-city-will-pay-the-price/?fbclid=IwAR0FkUCMWGBKWMzHfE5YIBG_jChWq0rpqBhJmJmLeNGMss2tz-U8vQS1YLQ https://www.alreporter.com/2022/12/15/opinion-wetumpka-cat-l...
- giantg2 4y agoThat's an opinion piece which has a similar tone.
- boesboes 4y agoI'd go as far as to say this has no place on HN at all tbh
- isaacfrond 4y agoHacker News Guidelines What to Submit On-Topic: Anything that good hackers would find interesting. That includes more than hacking and startups. If you had to reduce it to a sentence, the answer might be: anything that gratifies one's intellectual curiosity.
- giantg2 4y agoThe guidelines also state: "Please submit the original source. If a post reports on something found on another site, submit the latter." "Off-Topic: Most stories about politics, or crime, ..." That's not to say that I don't find politics or crime interesting. I even post a few on this topic when it seems to be a new development. However, this article seems to have an inflammatory tone with very little substance.
- sethammons 4y agoWe need a better way to hold elected and appointed officials accountable. This case easily appears as abuse of (elderly) citizens.
- drewcoo 4y agoIt's not elder abuse to prosecute the elderly for breaking laws. https://acl.gov/programs/elder-justice/what-elder-abuse https://acl.gov/programs/elder-justice/what-elder-abuse It's not as if 20-somethings are running around sterilizing cats willy-nilly while seniors are jailed for it.
- thinking4real 4y agoYeah, how dare someone volunteer to solve a problem!
- willcipriano 4y agoA modest proposal: What if someone took it upon themselves to take similar steps to solve the homeless problem?
- deleted 4y ago[deleted]
- naasking 4y ago> A modest proposal: What if someone took it upon themselves to take similar steps to solve the homeless problem? Humans require this tricky thing called "consent" that doesn't apply to cats.
- willcipriano 4y agoYeah but what are a few "laws" when you are solving a problem! The solution to bad laws isn't to not charge people who get lucky enough to get media attention, it's to change the law.
- nashashmi 4y agoDid they neuter cats that did not belong to them? If yes, then that should be a violation. It is something the city could do not either, legally speaking.
- jagged-chisel 4y agoTo whom does a feral cat belong?
- mnw21cam 4y agoThis should be very simple. If the cat doesn't have a microchip or a collar/nametag, then it should be fine.
- boxed 4y agoDid anyone check if they actually neutered a cat? That seems more relevant...
- jagged-chisel 4y agohttps://www.alreporter.com/2022/12/15/opinion-wetumpka-cat-ladies-were-convicted-but-the-city-will-pay-the-price/?fbclid=IwAR0FkUCMWGBKWMzHfE5YIBG_jChWq0rpqBhJmJmLeNGMss2tz-U8vQS1YLQ https://www.alreporter.com/2022/12/15/opinion-wetumpka-cat-l... Seems to be the best writeup. Link from paulette449 at https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34079667 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34079667
- kodyo 4y agoTaking it at face value, my favorite part of the story is that there are cops who are willing to arrest old ladies for trying to solve a problem in their neighborhood and not actually hurting anybody. The mayor is powerless without his minions.
- yowzadave 4y agoI was traveling in Athens with my family a few weeks ago, and noticed that there are large numbers of wild cats roaming the city, apparently tolerated by most people there. I wonder if allowing wild cats in New York (where I live) would actually be an improvement--perhaps helpful in keeping the rat/mouse population down?