TheAgitator.com
Hooray for Government
Monday, April 12th, 2010If you’re trying to bring a friend around to think like a libertarian, I’ve been convinced for a while that you just need to have them read the “News of the Weird” column in your local alternative weekly. From this week’s installment:
In March, juries in Smith County and Matagorda County sentenced Henry Wooten and Melvin Johnson III to 35 years and 60 years in prison, respectively, for possessing small amounts of drugs (but enough under Texas law to allow jurors to infer an intent to distribute). Wooten, 54, had 4.6 ounces of marijuana (same penalty as for 5 pounds), and Johnson had 1.3 grams of crack cocaine (about half the weight of a U.S. dime). (Wooten’s prosecutor actually had asked the jury for a sentence of 99 years.)
And…
Alan Rosenfeld, 64, a New York City lawyer and real estate entrepreneur, is also a full-time schoolteacher, although he has been prohibited from teaching since 2002 because of accusations of leering at female students. He is thus a “rubber room” teacher whose union contract requires full salary and benefits even though the Schools Chancellor has barred him from the classroom as a “danger” to students. The Department of Education pays him $100,000 a year plus health care (plus retirement benefits worth at least $82,000 a year). The New York Post reported that Rosenfeld reports to “the room” each day but works exclusively on his business affairs.
And your winner….
In March, on duty on opening day of the jail at the new Adair County judicial center in Columbia, Ky., sheriff’s deputy Charles Wright accidentally locked himself in a cell and was fired after he tried to shoot open the lock.
Re: the sheriff’s deputy. I’ve seen as-stupid-or-stupider from people I’ve worked with in private industry. Now, someone that stupid shouldn’t have power of arrest, but they also shouldn’t have access to bandsaws and hydraulic presses. Not sure it really reflects on “the government” as much as himself, and probably the guy that hired him.
In my previous post, feel free to read “accident-prone” or “horrifyingly short-sighted” instead of “stupid”.
Assuming your friends agree that these are egregious government errors, what’s the argument for making government smaller as opposed to tinkering with it to just make it better?
Z –
ask them if 25 to 50 years in prison is significantly different from 35 to 60. Point out that without challenging the major underlying premise of these laws (that the state can imprison and punish people for possessing or using the select psychotropic substances that the state doesn’t like) abuses like this will continue to happen.
A system of laws cannot be ‘tinkered’ with to deal with case by case abuses. A set of reliable, ethical, and practical standards must be established and consistently enforced for the system to have any merit as a mediator of justice.
Wow, the deputy actually got fired? What the Hell? I’m definitely getting jaded when I’m surprised a LEO actually gets held accountable
2 lives effectively snuffed out and 95 years worth of incarceration fees for Texas taxpayers – another victory for the War on People (esp. of color).
#2 is MY winner. That’s seriously fucked up (wish I’d thought of it!)
I live just a few miles from Matagorda County, and am completely not surprised about verdicts like that:
1) Small population for the county (only 38,000 total, which about half is older than 18) makes for a small jury pool.
2) Very few “big” crimes, so DAs gotta make the small ones “count”
You missed “and grow in the woods”.
I haven’t followed the link to the original story, but my hunch is that Henry Wooten and Melvin Johnson III are black.
“…Texas law to allow jurors to infer an intent to distribute…”
Mother of God. So, the defendant had this butter knife in his pocket while he jaywalked. Feel free to infer he was going to knife the cop on the corner, if that seems credible somehow.
That first story is horrifying. Once again, why the hell aren’t people who are outraged about things outraged about this stuff 24/7? Liberals, anarchists, protest monkeys, where is the outrage? Where are you people?
1. Wow, now I understand why those important gummint people get paid more than we simpletons in the private sector.
2. Credit where it’s due: Georgia DA Fred Bright decided there was not enough evidence to charge Ben Roethlisberger with sexual assault. “We do not prosecute morals,” Bright said, “We prosecute crimes.”
That saying should be posted on the wall of every prosecutor in the country. And every on the wall of “activist” zealot, for that matter.
Whether he seeks higher office, remains in law enforcement, or enters private practice, I wish Mr. Bright well in his future endeavors.
Eh.
Most liberals are already pretty suspicious of law enforcement and the drug war. It’s not like you really need to bring us around to the position that drug prosecutions are frequently needless/excessive.
On item #2–government seems to be particularly bad about it, but I’m sure this thing occurs in the private sector too. People have contracts guarantee that them an arbitration process before termination and they sit in a well-paid limbo until that process is complete. Furthermore, I’m sure if he had just been straight-up fired for “leering at female students” you’d be just as likely to hold it up as, you know, another life ruined by over-zealous response to accusations of sexual impropriety.
As for the last item, well, dude did something stupid and lost his job. Good on the folks who fired him.
Some of the the most activist liberals I know are lawyers working as hard as they can to join DA’s office. When I directly confronted my friends on their drug-war stance, the answers ranged from “My brother almost died from drugs so I want to hurt drug dealers” to “Crime is crime.” Anecdotes are not statistics, but I believe liberals who are truly opposed to the drug war are a minority.
I don’t know of any modern industries where people pull in 200k in pay and benefits where this kind of long-term paid-unemployment would fly. Maybe it could happen in a heavily unionized manual labor industry, but not in the professional classes. Pilots maybe?
On item #2–government seems to be particularly bad about it, but I’m sure this thing occurs in the private sector too.
You should read a bit more on what it takes to fire a NYC public school teacher. Or any big city public school teacher, for that matter.
These people get paid full salary and benefits for years while working the “rubber room.”
While we’re on the subject of stupid government tricks, try this one:
http://www.theledger.com/article/20100407/NEWS/4075046/1410?Title=2-Lakeland-High-Athletes-Arrested-for-Consensual-Contact-With-Underage-Teens
Who knew that making out on a double-date was a felony in Florida? And two kids who are going to end up on the sex offender’s list because they were getting something those cops weren’t in high school — a girlfriend.
I don’t like the “rubber room” crap at all but how the hell is an accusation of “leering” enough to get someone there? Everybody should have the right to point their eyeballs in any direction they want. Just looking at something should not ever be a crime.
Who knew that making out on a double-date was a felony in Florida?
18 year-olds making out with 14 year-olds is a felony almost everywhere (>2 year age difference), and has been for over 30 years. I, and everyone else, knew that when I was Texas high school football player BITD – it was discussed often over the beers we weren’t supposed to be drinking. Hands off the freshman girls! Everyone knew that. Except back then and back there, you might be more worried about ending up on the wrong end of a shotgun in the hands of her daddy.
And two kids who are going to end up on the sex offender’s list
I hate this part of it. These guys are not likely to be repeat offenders. I’d take the rock salt over a lifetime of registry.
Well, yes, I’m aware that it’s hard to fire them. But as #17 pointed out, there’s not much alternative if you’re going to respect the rights of all parties–if there’s credible accusations of misbehavior then the appropriate response is to eliminate the immediate risk by removing the teacher from the classroom, while pursing an investigation to determine whether any wrongdoing was actually committed. Indeed, I’m sure that’s what the teacher’s contracts specify (ditto police, firefighters, etc), and I would be very surprised if you don’t see the same thing at certain levels in the private sector as well (or perhaps they just figure massive guaranteed bonuses are enough).
And again, I’m sure if they had just straight up fired this guy based on accusations that he “leered” at someone, it’s just as likely that you’d be up in arms about that instead.
Uh, no. Some liberals, if you point it out, vaguely agree that the drug war is a bad idea.
There has never been anything like G-20 protests, no anarchists black bloccing about it, no activists who unceasingly talk about it…Unless they’re libertarians. Lol, libertarians are just Republicans who like weed!
It’s not even about vaguely being against the drug war. It’s that it’s so unforgivable and people keep voting for the assholes who continue it. They’re not outraged like they should be.
The procedure is very well illustrated here: http://reason.com/archives/2006/10/01/how-to-fire-an-incompetent-tea
#5
Yeah, a deputy (probably still on probation status) was fired for being a dumbass and shooting a door. Wish we went after them with the same gusto for shooting innocent citizens. Talk about twisted priorities!!!!
Matt D, don’t use a strawman of ‘straight up fired’. The guy in question has been unable to be employed as an actual teacher for 8 years. You think there’s been no ‘due process’ or ‘protecting his interests’ in that time? How long is it supposed to take?
True. And besides, they’re busy enough with their crusades against fast food joints, campaigning for campus free-speech zones, decrying the violence of the Tea Partiers, etc. that I’m sure promoting the drug war would naturally be a low priority for them.
“The guy in question has been unable to be employed as an actual teacher for 8 years.”
Just for being ACCUSED of pointing his eyeballs in the wrong direction. He probably just gave her a bad grade and she decided to get even.
I was thinking of becoming a teacher but this kind of stuff keeps me away. I have a physics degree and I am pretty good at explaining math and science in both English and Spanish. No way will I even try without being on camera from multiple angles every second of the day when I am at work just for my own eventual defence.
Stephen, how much do you think the result of being ‘accused’ of it is because of the complete BS rigamarole that the teacher’s union has constructed in between accusation and disciplinary action? Andrew’s link shows a typical action flowchart. The guy’s still ‘accused’ or ‘reported to’ because there’s been no finding of fact, because all of that crap is in the way. And it’s in the way because the union wants it that way. So the guy gets put in the stockades while the investigation happens, because he can’t be sent home without pay, and maybe they can bore him into quitting. And I’d bet lots of people *do* quit, but there are some people who’d love to get paid to sit in a room and read the newspaper all day.
But it’s still a problem with the process.
Stephen “I was thinking of becoming a teacher but this kind of stuff keeps me away. I have a physics degree and I am pretty good at explaining math and science in both English and Spanish. No way will I even try without being on camera from multiple angles every second of the day when I am at work just for my own eventual defence.”
That’s what America has become-a place where we live in fear. Fear of being prosecuted and fear of being sued for something. The first almost instinctive thought now before we make almost any decision is can I be sued or sent to jail for this? What a fucked up country the “land of the free” has become.
Agreed with Stephen. Its bs that he’s paid so much for doing basically nothing. But “leering” sounds like a bs “crime” to me, too. Even if he was looking at them, I really doubt there’s a law against it. Far as I know, the only thing we’re in danger of getting arrested for if we don’t turn our heads and look away is police misconduct.
“complete BS rigamarole that the teacher’s union has constructed in between accusation and disciplinary action”
Completely agree that it has taken waaaaay too long.
I’ve known and known of high school teachers that would go out of their way to embarrass and humiliate female students with cartoonist eye pooping leers, other histrionics, pranks and stunts. In one case some of the girls got back at him by going to school without underwear, sat in the front rows of his classes and did Sharon Stone’s on him.
http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2010/04/portland_police_commissioner_s.html
Portland road rage cops ordered to “anger management” classes. Because this will solve the problem and is a fair punishment, right?
Oh yeah, CharlesWT. They really got him! I’m sure he was mortified!
I’ve always thought it’s the small things that happen to regular people that make the best case for small government. It’s so easy to disregard how government affects people when all you’re only looking at the big picture and pushing your ideals into law.
Well, when you’re distracted to the point that you can’t teach the class and everyone in the room is laughing at you…