Saturday, January 23, 2016

2 Paragraphs 4 Liberty: #47 “Liberty and The California Drought”

James_P._Gray_Web_t479Please don’t get me wrong, the drought in California is serious, and we must all do more than our part to conserve water.  In addition, I believe that I am “one of the good guys,” to the degree that long ago I turned off our sprinklers, and only hand water our yard less than once per week.  Nevertheless, in my opinion, neither the water districts nor any city governments have any authority whatsoever to order us not to water on certain days, or to control in any way how we actually use the water that is sold to us!

Water districts are formed as a public utility monopoly and are obviously in the business of selling and providing us with water.  To that degree, they have the right to set the prices for its sale – and that includes using a sliding scale for higher amounts used.  But otherwise they have no authority to tell us, for example, that we must take showers instead of baths, or water our roses but not gardenias, or to “allow” us to run sprinklers on Tuesdays but not on Wednesdays.  Yes, during World War II the government imposed rationing of products like gasoline and butter.  But once the sales were made, it did not even purport to have the authority to dictate when or where people could drive or whether the butter could be used on toast but not on hot cereal.  That was and is the right of the consumer.  And just because water districts and city governments might say they have that authority now does not make it so.  This is a straightforward question of Liberty, and yet another example of big government improperly attempting to control our lives.  Thus any attempts by governments to intrude on that Liberty should be resisted!  (Nevertheless, please continue to do your part to conserve water.)

Judge Jim Gray (Ret.)                         

2012 Libertarian candidate for Vice

President, along with Governor 

Gary Johnson as the candidate for President

 

Please forward this on to your circle of friends for their consideration.  And by the way, now I am on Facebook at Facebook at http://ift.tt/1KPuMEA, LinkedIn at http://ift.tt/1cAMtZD, and Twitter with username as @JudgeJimGrayOAI, or twitter.com/JudgeJimGrayOAI.  Please visit these sites, and pass them along to your social world.

 

If you wish to unsubscribe, please let your sender know, and it will be done.

And feedback is always welcome!

 




from WordPress http://ift.tt/1S1B6xc
via IFTTT

Thursday, January 21, 2016

2 Paragraphs 4 Liberty: #46 “Liberty and Sex on Campus”

image               There is an increasing movement on university campuses to require express and sometimes even written consent before parties engage in sexual activities – at each step of the way.  This is another example of trying to address every problem by passing yet another law.  Of course rapes and sexual batteries are serious matters, and they are rightfully criminal violations.  So when they occur, call the police!  But the present laws on the books are sufficient protection without universities taking the form of government and nosing even further into our bedrooms and private lives.

And talk about the Law of Unintended Consequences.  Does anyone seriously think that imposing these consents upon sexual activity will do anything good?  Without even addressing the dampening effect it will place upon emotional relationships, what should those written consents say?  “May I take off your shirt?” or, “That takes care of the left shoe, how about the right?”  And, by the way, which partner will keep them?  And for how long?  What is to keep the custodian from destroying it the next day?  Or the non-custodial party from saying that is what happened?  (Talk about “He said; she said.”)  Furthermore, in today’s world those written consents could really have marketable value.  In fact in some cases, particularly when one lover has been jilted, they would probably even be auctioned on the Internet!  “Having trouble finding a sex partner, here are the names of some active potentials!”  The possibilities for mischief are virtually endless.  (“Have sex with me once more, or I will mail this consent to your sorority, parents or new boyfriend.”)  So in this, like in most types of human activity, sexual relationships are matters of Liberty – and Responsibility!  And no university or other governmental do-gooding will change those facts.

Judge Jim Gray (Ret.)                         

2012 Libertarian candidate for Vice

President, along with Governor 

Gary Johnson as the candidate for President

Please forward this on to your circle of friends for their consideration.  And by the way, now I am on Facebook at Facebook at http://ift.tt/1KPuMEA, LinkedIn at http://ift.tt/1cAMtZD, and Twitter with username as @JudgeJimGrayOAI, or twitter.com/JudgeJimGrayOAI.  Please visit these sites, and pass them along to your social world.

 

If you wish to unsubscribe, please let your sender know, and it will be done.

And feedback is always welcome!




from WordPress http://ift.tt/1NnUdJy
via IFTTT

Monday, January 18, 2016

2 Paragraphs 4 Liberty: #45 “Liberty and Freedom from Speech”

untitledDisturbingly, there is a movement spreading around some of our universities and elsewhere to promote having a “Freedom from Speech,” otherwise known as a freedom from having your feelings hurt by “insensitive” speech.  This has resulted in so-called “safety zones” in which people are shielded from discomforting thoughts.  To this end, students and others have received lowered grades or otherwise been censored for using phrases like “the most qualified person should get the job,” or “America is a melting pot,” or for calling people who do not have white skin “People of Color.”  (As to that last issue, when I was in the Peace Corps in Costa Rica, it was common for a male with Chinese ancestry to be called “Chino,” a Black “Negro,” someone who was thin “Flaco,” or a North American like me “Gringo.”  Using these names was simply descriptive and not at all disparaging, and I look forward to the day that this will be true in our communities as well.)

But setting up these zones of “Safety from Discomfort” is the antithesis of Liberty, because it not only stifles free speech, it also stifles thinking.  Fortunately our country is better than that.  Once again, remember back in 1977 when the American Nazi Party planned to march in their uniforms replete with Swastikas in a predominantly Jewish community in Skokie, Illinois?  Reprehensible and insensitive as it was, the United States Supreme Court rightly ruled that even those misguided people had a right to freedom of speech, such that they were allowed to march.  Of course – and this is the key – just because some people have the right to free speech does not mean that they have the right to make us listen.  But providing a cocoon wherein people will not be confronted by thoughts that might make them uncomfortable is contrary to our principles of promoting dissent.  So the campus “Cyberbullies” in this case are actually the ones trying to protect build a zone of protection from discomfort.  To quote George Will in one of his political columns, if this is “about American higher education: What, exactly, is it higher than?”

Judge Jim Gray (Ret.)                         

2012 Libertarian candidate for Vice

President, along with Governor 

Gary Johnson as the candidate for President

Please forward this on to your circle of friends for their consideration.  And by the way, now I am on Facebook at Facebook at http://ift.tt/1KPuMEA, LinkedIn at http://ift.tt/1cAMtZD, and Twitter with username as @JudgeJimGrayOAI, or twitter.com/JudgeJimGrayOAI.  Please visit these sites, and pass them along to your social world.

 

If you wish to unsubscribe, please let your sender know, and it will be done.

And feedback is always welcome!




from WordPress http://ift.tt/1SsIots
via IFTTT

Tuesday, January 5, 2016

2 Paragraphs 4 Liberty: #44 “Liberty and Fairness”

johnsongray-2012A good friend of mine who regularly participates in our weekly “2 Paragraphs” discussions recently forwarded to me some comments from a friend of his about the fact that the benefits for Veterans are weighted in favor of those who have less money.  So the issue of fairness was raised, because his friend was arguing that all Veterans should receive the same benefits regardless of their economic condition.  And he certainly has a point, because service is service.  But, as I frequently reminded my children as they were growing up (Just ask them!), “Who says life is fair?”  In fact it obviously isn’t, because some people were lucky to be born to supportive parents in the United States instead of being born to a single mother in Nigeria who is a narcotics addict with AIDS.

How is this relevant to the Veterans’ benefits situation?  Well, we as a society have made the political decision that, at least to some degree, we are going to provide a safety net for the disadvantaged among us.  So we have exercised our Liberty by making that political decision.  To be more clear, Liberty demands that, for example, if you are literally bleeding on the street, I would not be required to help you at all, unless I helped to cause your injuries.  But I will, because I want to – because that is who we are as a society.  It is not an entitlement; it is a voluntary gift.  (And maybe it should be more appreciated as such by the recipients!)  So the Veterans situation actually is fair, because that is the political decision we have made.  As a result, as long as the laws are carried out as uniformly and “fairly” as possible, Liberty is upheld.

Judge Jim Gray (Ret.)                         

2012 Libertarian candidate for Vice

President, along with Governor 

Gary Johnson as the candidate for President

 

Please forward this on to your circle of friends for their consideration.  And by the way, now I am on Facebook at Facebook at http://ift.tt/1KPuMEA, LinkedIn at http://ift.tt/1cAMtZD, and Twitter with username as @JudgeJimGrayOAI, or twitter.com/JudgeJimGrayOAI.  Please visit these sites, and pass them along to your social world.

 

If you wish to unsubscribe, please let your sender know, and it will be done.

And feedback is always welcome!

 




from WordPress http://ift.tt/22JDN9H
via IFTTT

Friday, January 1, 2016

2 Paragraphs 4 Liberty: #43 “Liberty and Being Smart on Crime”

C15120D0000-00-00Last week our 2 Paragraphs discussed the failure of the policy of “Tough on Crime,” and put forth realities on how we could have safer and more crime-free communities by being Smart on Crime.  What follows are specific things we all can do to achieve those goals:

  1. Stop “Over-criminalization!”  Many jurisdictions have turned their police and traffic laws into fundraising mechanisms.  Not only does this frequently weigh disproportionally upon the poor, it also directly results in anger and distrust against law enforcement in general.  In addition, large fines, coupled with additional penalty assessments, often result in unpayable amounts of money being owed by many people.  And if it is not paid, that inevitably results in additional fines and even being subject to arrest.  So the cycle perpetuates itself.
  2. Arrests should be seen as a last resort, just like in medicine, where surgery is seen as the last resort.  Furthermore, if people are arrested, bail should be reasonable.  That includes the proposition that suspect who are not a threat to anyone and are highly likely to appear in court should be released upon their written promise to appear.  (Actually, this is the normal rule of law, but often bail is still required.)
  3. Repeal Mandatory Minimum Sentences.  No one can determine in advance a reasonable punishment without knowing who the perpetrators are, their backgrounds, who the victims are and how badly, if at all, they were harmed.  But these “automatic” punishments often result in obscenely long sentences that are truly unfair to the defendants, their families and also the taxpayers.
  4. Body cameras on the uniforms of the police result in better conduct both by the police and also by the people in the community.  And that frequently also results in the exoneration of police officers who are charged with misconduct.
  5. Community Policing.  Get the police back to being peace officers instead of law enforcement officers.  That includes repealing the failed policy of the so-called War on Drugs, because that often results in the police treating drug violators like the “enemy.”
  6. Repeal “Policing for Profit.”  In other words, change the civil asset forfeiture laws to require a criminal conviction before anyone’s property can be forfeited to the government.  And when this does occur, the forfeited property must be placed into the general fund instead of police coffers.  Clearly our police must be fully funded for the protection of us all, but they should not have a financial incentive to forfeit property.
  7. If non-violent offenders have drug addiction or mental illness problems, but otherwise are not hurting anyone but themselves, they should be referred to medical assistance, not the criminal justice system.

Being Smart on Crime by providing reasonable assistance to help people live more productive lives, as well as bringing our police back into the peace officer business, will not only enhance Liberty for everyone, it will make all of us safer and even reduce taxes along the way.

Judge Jim Gray (Ret.)                         

2012 Libertarian candidate for Vice

President, along with Governor 

Gary Johnson as the candidate for President

 

Please forward this on to your circle of friends for their consideration.  And by the way, now I am on Facebook at Facebook at http://ift.tt/1KPuMEA, LinkedIn at http://ift.tt/1cAMtZD, and Twitter with username as @JudgeJimGrayOAI, or twitter.com/JudgeJimGrayOAI.  Please visit these sites, and pass them along to your social world.

 

If you wish to unsubscribe, please let your sender know, and it will be done.

And feedback is always welcome!

 




from WordPress http://ift.tt/1PBBMXX
via IFTTT