2015 March
2015 March 1
Volunteers to drag Red River again to find missing aboriginal women
The murderer should also be required to pay for the all costs associated with searching for the body because this is also a cost of the crime.
2015 March 2
Red tape keeps some bad gov’t workers from being fired
Although these restrictions are not due to union rules (at least that’s what I infer), it’s still red tape that should not exist between employees and their direct employers who generally should be the ones responsible for their hiring and firing. There should always be an appeals process, but if the immediate employer wants one of their employees fired, that employee should be fired (stay home, no pay, etc.) until the appeal reverses that decision. Then back pay would be reinstated if there was no valid reason for the original dismissal.
2015 March 3
“Jihadi John” heard complaining about interrogations
It’s always hard to predict what humans will do in the future or what ideas or ideology they will adopt in the future. Hindsight always allows an observer to weave a thread through events that would then appear to lead to obvious developments. Because of the unpredictable nature of individual human decision-making, it is hard to predict how a specific human will decide at any given point in time to any particular set of circumstances or or choices presented. However, it is more reliable to predict the probability of an individual engaging in any given behavior when that individual is classified as part of a group with some identifying characteristics. Thus, Mohammed Emwazi was identified as being part of Muslim activist group “The North London Boys”, and the chances of somebody from such a group moving on to the next stage of activism and actually going to join the fight in the battlefield or engaging in some kind of terrorist attack is much more likely. The correct response from the government to counter the extremist views of this group would have been to create venues to discuss their concerns. Opening up classes within the community and engaging in dialog to help ensure an effective understanding of both sides would go a long ways to reduce tensions on both sides as well as educate and moderate both sides of the issue. This would act as an important relief valve.
2015 March 4
DOJ findings on racial profiling all too familiar in Ferguson
Reports of long-running complaints about profiling and harassment by the local police are, obviously, disturbing and unfortunate. While there is nothing wrong with profiling per se, the ‘overuse’ of profiling is never a good thing. There are a few ways to minimize such uses of power, but unfortunately, like many problems in society, the solutions seem to always infringe on someone’s rights of one kind or another.
Here’s what needs to be done to instill a sense of deep faith in any local police department, and ‘red tape’ needs to be blown through in order for these proposals to be implemented.
First, video cameras need to be installed everywhere in public and encouraged to be installed everywhere in private, as well. This would help capture objective information regarding any crime, including any interactions between the police and the community.
Next, every police officer (or law enforcement person of any kind) should be required to wear at least an audio (but preferably a video as well) recording device so that all interactions between them and the public and even interactions among themselves, are recorded creating an objective means of judging all their actions.
In additions, we need to create a system by which the public knows that they would be able to profit off of someone else’s crime by merely being the first or among the first to provide important recording of any aspect of crimes being committed. They should be taught a rule of thumb that around 10% of whatever financial punishment would eventually befall the criminal, would be their’s as a reward for providing critical information.
To curb the tendency for some police departments to habitually rely on improper methods of surveillance and arrest, there should be a system by which each police department and other law enforcement agencies are given varying amount of authority to search and arrest people based on some statistic of that law enforcement agency’s past record of being correct about the eventual guilt of those they have arrested or searched.
There are many other things that could also be done, but perhaps the greatest principle change would be the crowd-sourcing of police functions. Everyone should be empowered with an effective incentive to report information about crimes past, in progress or planned so that the restraining and corrective power of policing could be more efficiently used.
2015 March 5
Billionaires dominate gathering of China’s parliament
While there is nothing inherently wrong about someone making billions of dollars annually, the idea that communist China National People’s Congress has such a disparity between itself and the common folks is not much in line with its principles of equality. But this story isn’t new among human nature. The most logical way to more effectively equalize incomes across any society is to design progressiveness into the tax structure. Income taxes, luxury taxes, profit taxes and school tuition are among the major
2015 March 6
“You have a lot of time to think about the worst”
In cases like this, where a person was arrested and imprisoned for reasons that turned out to be false, the victim should be compensated for the time in custody at least by being given the minimum wage pay (according to the local wage laws and in thee local currency) for every hour held in some sort of custody.
2015 March 7
Man carjacked in north Stockton
More informants and high resolution video cameras may have helped get more information about the details of the crime and a better description of the suspects.
2015 March 8
Gov. Tom Wolf backs off campaign tax plan
Part of the problem with proposing, analyzing and advertising a comprehensive tax plan is that the tax code is so complicated that it is only after it is advertised, are there enough sample size of people who know about the tax plan and who actually have the knowledge and incentive to actually publicize the plan’s errors or miscalculations. Of course, the problem with these false tax proposal benefits could be human deception, as well, but I think that at least a huge component is the intrinsically complicated nature of the tax code with all its loopholes. By adopting the tax proposals stated here, the simplicity of the tax code would not allow such room for confusion.
2015 March 9
Don’t miss these overlooked tax deductions and credits
People should take advantage of the tax deductions they qualify for, however, politicians should create a tax code that has only the bare minimum of tax deductions and other ‘tax tricks’, and then only for very valid and preferably short-tern reasons. All these loopholes should be closed.
2015 March 10
14-year-old murder mystery back in spotlight
There is not much you could do to find a criminal in a cold case in which little evidence exists. However, there are certain policies that may help in speeding up their resolutions. First, the use of informants, with the potential resultant rewards as an incentive, may come out of the woodwork to offer clues about these cases.
Next, perhaps a credit system of policing may result in law enforcement agencies potentially better able to make intrusive investigative efforts into suspects that otherwise may not qualify for court sanctioned wiretaps or other forms of surveillance or investigation, including torture.
2015 March 11
11 troops missing after helicopter crash off Florida
The probability of such accidents occurring would be lessened if the military-industrial complex were significantly smaller. The way to accomplish to to create a larger nest of nations that could collectively pool their defense resources. This way, individual nations wouldn’t need to create comprehensive standing military structures, thus resulting in duplicative efforts compared to the alternative of nesting together. An international military organization is necessary to organize and control such an endeavor.
2015 March 12
Focus on the stock market and other financial indicators are relied upon much more than a naturally operating market would demand. The very fact that our money supply is created out of debt and the fact that the credit inflationary pressures of fractional reserve banking are always to be dealt with mean that the markets are far too dependent on human decision-making by a group of humans far too small to be considered a free market. Instead, the money supply should be determined by population level changes and a ‘price-level index’. Fractional reserve banking should be abolished.
2015 March 13
America’s Millennials: Well educated but unskilled
This is an indication of the fact that too much emphasis is placed on superficial, non important subject matters like, calculus, that students shouldn’t be required to learn unless they choose a profession that requires these subjects. Furthermore, the educational system should be geared more to provide hands-on, real-world training to all students, regardless of what career path they chose. High school students should be apprentices in whatever field of work they show an interest.
An addition potentially very beneficial macro level change in our educational system and our society, would be the development of a simplified version of the written English language. So much time could be saved by eliminating the need to teach children ridiculous rules of spelling and pronunciation. Instead, that time should be used for more productive subjects, while at the same time taking advantage of children’s younger and more mentally absorptive years to instill in them information and skills that are more productive.
2015 March 14
Dover man pleads guilty in friend’s ATV death
A drunk man accidentally killing his friend who was riding with him in an ATV should naturally be charged with manslaughter. Sure, it was an accident, but accidents need to be paid for. So a penalty needs to be imposed, but it shouldn’t be a penalty equivalent to what the perpetrator would have received if the killing were intentional. Nevertheless, because it was an accident, prison should be out of the question. The financial penalty should be the main component. However, because drunk driving was involved, there would be punishments associated with that aspect of this crime. The financial penalty should be pegged, in some way, to victim’s realistic earning projections for the next few years. Depending on the particular facts of the case, a multiple of some value, perhaps even less than one, could be applied to such a number.
2015 March 15
Monitor: More than 215,000 dead in four years of Syria war
I still remember how this conflict began. Government forces cracked down too hard on protesters. How easy it is for situations to spiral out of control! These last 4 years have cause children to grow up calloused by war. Adults, too, have grown bitter, and people who were friends or at least not enemies before the war, are now enemies. And as time passes by without any over-arching authority present to impose a structural peace of some kind, the more these feelings of bitterness and hatred with linger. Already, long-term damage has occurred between the various factions in this war. Sure, the drawing of unnatural international political boundaries by the colonial powers probably deserve the most blame, virtually all of the rest of blame could be placed on the fact that humanity has not yet created an international governing power with the authority to adequately settle international disputes and prevent the independent use of large-scale military force.
2015 March 16
Anyone who cashes checks meant for a deceased person should be charged with the theft of that amount of money and required to pay it back, plus more. People who have been injured by a false declaration (such as by the Social Security office) of death by not having access to their bank accounts and such, should be compensated as if they were robbed of an amount of money that they would have needed to conduct their normal lives, plus a punitive multiple of that amount.
2015 March 17
Oxford Delays Fossil Fuel Divestment Decision
The idea of divestment is good for people who really object to behavior or practices of certain companies. It is unfortunate, however, that campaigns for divestiture have cropped up in so many different areas. This indicates that there is a certain imbalance in our economic system. Natural market places should operate in such a way that all market participants are satisfied. That is the whole reason prices exist. A certain balance between supply and demand is met when both producers and consumers agree at a certain price for the transaction. However, when parts of an economy are subsidized too much, or when for some other reason are allowed to not internalize all of their negative externalities, then market imbalances occur, and their effects could be severe and rather surprising, such as this recent trend towards the divestiture of funds from fossil fuel companies. If governments enforce the logical practice of requiring the internalization of all negative externalities, then natural markets would operate more as they were intended. Fossil fuel companies receive so many subsidies and ‘favor’ from governments all over the place, they they are efffectively allowed to operate and sell their products at prices that are far lower than they would otherwise be in a more economically just world which enforces the internalization of externalities.
2015 March 18
Should the U.S. oil export ban be lifted?
It is unfortunate that human being forget history so quickly. It would be foolish for us to lift the ban on exporting oil because it is such a critical resource for us. In just a few years, we will again be importing oil and all that oil that we exported will have been exported at a price far lower than the oil we will need to import. Leave the oil in the ground for when domestic demand requires its extraction. At the very least, fairly high export tariffs should be imposed on the oil so that it’s attractiveness for export would be lessened.
2015 March 19
Bloody arrest of black U.Va. student sparks outrage
The only way the mistrust between the police and the community will be restored is to prove to the community that the police operate with integrity. Unfortunately, human beings are pretty much the same. Sure, different environments like rampant corruption and drug running in places like Mexico, Russia and almost a whole world of other places will make people more susceptible to corruption and lost of integrity. But every person on the planet needs to know that humans are humans. Police officers, judges, Americans and any other subset of humans on the planet are corruptible and should be held in check by effective means of checking their behavior. Unfortunately, we cannot trust anyone. This is especially true of people who make up the core law enforcement body that is responsible for upholding the law. These people must never be allowed to lose the trust of the community, because they are the first line of defense against civil unrest and anarchy. A society needs an effective, trustworthy law enforcement agency that is demonstrably fair and just.
How can we create and maintain such a government law enforcement body? It’s a multi-faceted problem to be sure, but the following suggestions are a good start.
First, all law enforcement personnel must record all interactions with the public. This way, if any dispute arises regarding behavior or sequence of events, clear and objective video and/or sound recording would be available.
Second, the use of informants would likely reduce the frustration associated with police officers strongly suspecting someone of wrongdoing, but not having sufficient evidence to arrest. Informants, properly incentivized, would provide constant data about crimes past, present and future, and law enforcement agencies would likely have enough leads to remain busy. Naturally, severe punishments would be imposed on informants who turn out to have premeditated the release of falsely accusatory information.
Third, and perhaps most controversial so far, is that law enforcement agencies should have certain credit ratings that are pegged to the number of accurate arrests or convictions of the suspects. The higher a department’s accuracy rating, the higher its ability to carry our arrests or searches without getting permission form higher up the chain,
2015 March 20
Dangerous “uphill battle” to save Syria’s history
What a shame that ignorant human being are causing the permanent loss of archaeological treasures. In theory, it appears that such locations would be easy to save because one could appeal to a person’s good-will and sense of decency to prevent damage to such obvious historical treasures.
Obviously, people are dumber than I have given them credit for. I think that as a person gets older, it becomes more obvious that people could be idiots. Of course, not all people, but the significant minority that is responsible for these acts of destruction ruin it for the rest of us. It is because of them that laws must be strictly enforced and fences need to be around everything.
Solutions:
Informants would help catch these criminals.
Education would help prevent these criminals from developing
Proper punishments would also help prevent, but also help rehabilitate people with criminal tendencies.
2015 March 21
Northern York students still required to take driver’s education to graduate
Driving and swimming classes should be required of all high-school students,
2015 March 22
Climate change: China official warns of ‘huge impact’
China may be the worlds largest polluter and people told it that it would have such environmental problems associated with that pollution decades ago, giving it enough time to avoid some of its current pollution-induced ills. Though the focus of this article is the ramifications of global CO2 emission consequences, China has the potential to alter its environmental course perhaps faster than the US because of it authoritarian style of government. Unlike in the US, where politicians come from all kinds of different backgrounds, in China, politicians are trained in the art of governance and policy-making, and yes perhaps corruption might be easier to take hold since turnover is lower in that form of government than in ours. Nevertheless, our increasingly ignorant and partisan politicians and the growing reliance on private funding of campaigning may very well make us worse off than the authoritarian Chinese model. Of course, this Chinese system is not the right model, either, but our model sucks, making another one where experienced policy-makers actually matter look more attractive. The best model for government elections and construction is found in this Elections chapter and in this proposal delineating the primary purposes of government.
2015 March 23
Despite China’s Warnings, Cross-Border Strikes From Myanmar Continue
Though China is a hugely powerful military country, the incursions by Myanmar creates an international incident. It is more often the case that powerful countries incur into less powerful countries, knowing that the less powerful/influential countries can’t do much about it. This is why we need an international military organization whose responsibility is to intervene to solve whatever cross-border problems exist. Even this dispute between China and Myanmar has the potential to exceed the pain and suffering of the local population would have endured if such an incident were handled by an international military organization. If neighboring home-owners take justice into their own hands, there is a higher likelihood that simmering tensions after the dispute would be higher than if the police (a third party) were called to resolve the matter. This military organization would be a third party, and that fact alone would help sooth the situation. Of course, it would also have a much better military than any of the existing parties to the dispute and it would also have the authority of international law on its side to impose binding agreements.
2015 March 24
How to Prevent the Next Germanwings Disaster
When humans are involved in any chain of command, there is always the potential for catastrophic events due to mental failures. Sure, check and balances could be instituted, but human override abilities are still a difficult factor to overcome. We have reached a point in air travel where safety is pretty darned good. After 9/11 locked cockpit doors became standard. It turns out that this ‘safety’ feature was a critical cause of this disaster. We are either very close to or at the point where the institution of one safety feature to prevent one kind or family of threats becomes the precipitating or causal factor in another kind of threat or family of threats. We shouldn’t stop looking for ways to make air travel safer, of course, but we just need to keep a realistic view of what can be done and not succumb to the temptation to approve a new safety feature after an accident. We must always keep the overall health of the air travel system in paramount.
Having said this, this proposal by William Saletan for always requiring two people in the cockpit at all times seems like a good one.
2015 March 25
It is amazing of the amount of money required to build a single bridge–5.5 million British Pounds, in this case. Transportation infrastructure costs a lot of money. However, one wonders how much could be saved by merely raising the costs of fuel, requiring the users of infrastructures to pay their fair share for the use of that infrastructure and having a sale-tax based government revenue system which would inevitably reduce frivolous consumption, thus the need to transport so much frivolous stuff. All these proposals would help reduce the need for people to use transportation infrastructures to the degree they are now used.
2015 March 26
New bill could kick road safety tech to the curb
This is a good example of how politicians (and people in general) do not understand the real life implications of statistics. This technology estimated at saving over 1,000 lives per year and countless other injuries, is being threatened by a dual use request to use this same infrastructure for Internet public Wi-Fi access. Just imagine if two jumbo jets crashed as a result of bandwidth overload because of people downloading movies or whatever. I’m not saying that this technology cannot be used for these dual purposes, because I don’t know. But I do know that many experts are raising concerns about that very thing. So until the experts agree, the best course of action would be to stay with developing this technology only for its intended purpose. Then as bandwidth usage becomes more predictable and as bandwidth actually increases, then it could be opened up for dual use.
If the communications industry were to fund these infrastructure improvements, it is more likely that they would either adequately fund this project for dual use or build a parallel infrastructure. The former would likely win because of the immense savings to the industry.
2015 March 27
Jury finds ex-San Francisco bank executive guilty of fraud
This banker should not face jail time, instead he should be required to use whatever talent he has to pay back everything he stole.
2015 March 28
Boko Haram kills 41, legislator, but millions of Nigerians vote in close presidential election
The ignorance of extremists can only be successfully fought in the long term by education. Everyone should be required to go to school until age 20, when they would graduate from high school, according to this policy). Government sponsored classes on current event would also help.
2015 March 29
Arab leaders agree to form joint military force to combat jihadis in region
The best way to solve international problems is to have an international force deal with it. An international military organization with binding authority would be nest.
2015 March 30
How potential presidential candidates are raising campaign cash
The amount of money politicians need to work to raise is sickening when one understands the implications that has for governance. Campaigns should be publicly funded to both remove the corrupting influence of such fundraising as well as to make better use of time…for everybody.
2015 March 31
Osage County Jail Log, March 22 – March 27, 2015
The best thing about this website is that it tells people that if they inform the police about any criminal activities that result in an arrest or warrant being issued, that person may be entitled to a cash reward. This option should be open to everyone everywhere and it should be common knowledge so that people may become more instinctively likely to more readily turn information over to law enforcement.