GeorgiaDon

One issue this raises is that the damage is done to the accused by publishing all of this before he is even convicted. Whatever happened to "innocent before being proven guilty in a court of law"? Is the need to reduce crime sufficient justification to do away with the presumption of innocence? Don _____________________________________ Tolerance is the cost we must pay for our adventure in liberty. (Dworkin, 1996) “Education is not filling a bucket, but lighting a fire.” (Yeats)

If that law passes, it'll be hard to swallow! Don _____________________________________ Tolerance is the cost we must pay for our adventure in liberty. (Dworkin, 1996) “Education is not filling a bucket, but lighting a fire.” (Yeats)

You may be under the misunderstanding that the US rubber stamps permanent residency and naturalization applications. If so, you are very wrong. Having been through the process myself, I can assure you that immigration spends a lot of effort on each applicant, which is why it often takes years for those applications to be approved. For example, part of the process begins with what is called a "name check": the name of every person who appears in any FBI or CIA database is entered in a a list of names, but not the reason why your name is in the file, or your birthdate, or any other identifying information. For example, if you were ever interviewed as a witness you'll be in there. I am in there because I have written recommendations for people who were applying for work at the CDC. If your name comes up, immigration then has to request the relevant files from the FBI, and someone has to read that file, find where you are mentioned, decide if the reference is to you or to someone else with the same or a similar name (they check phontic variations, especially for foreign names) and decide if you were actually the subject of an investigation. This takes a lot of time, especially considering that almost a million name check requests are generated annually. If your name check is not cleared in six months (very common), a new one is automatically generated, so if the first check is cleared in 7 months you still have to go through the whole process again. A friend of mine, from Czechoslovakia, spent over 4 years waiting for his name check to clear. During that time you can't travel outside the country, which is a big problem for a research scientist whose specialty is tropical rain forests. In my case, it only took a year and a half, all because I wrote a recommendation letter for someone. Of course, immigration also checks with local police, police and official security agencies in the country you are immigrating from, to ensure you have a clean record. They also interview you at least twice. In the case of the latest incident, they seem to have picked up their jihadist notions after immigrating here. How could all the background checks in the world pick up an 8 year old who will a decade later, be corrupted by his older brother? Don _____________________________________ Tolerance is the cost we must pay for our adventure in liberty. (Dworkin, 1996) “Education is not filling a bucket, but lighting a fire.” (Yeats)

Why was there an Al Qaeda plot to derail a train in Canada? How many mommas has Canada killed in Iraq? Just FYI, although the Canadian military was (wisely) not involved in Iraq, Canada has had a significant military role in Afghanistan since 2001. For example, in 2006 there were over 2,500 Canadian troops stationed there. Canadian involvement in combat operations ended in 2011, but there are still about 950 military personnel there to train the Afghan military and police. That being said, it seems to me that Al Quaeda doesn't necessarily need a strong logical justification to decide to target a country. Perhaps they are just doing anything they can to show they aren't quite dead yet. Don _____________________________________ Tolerance is the cost we must pay for our adventure in liberty. (Dworkin, 1996) “Education is not filling a bucket, but lighting a fire.” (Yeats)

Excellent! Don _____________________________________ Tolerance is the cost we must pay for our adventure in liberty. (Dworkin, 1996) “Education is not filling a bucket, but lighting a fire.” (Yeats)

Well, it's not the first time, and I'm sure not the last. Don _____________________________________ Tolerance is the cost we must pay for our adventure in liberty. (Dworkin, 1996) “Education is not filling a bucket, but lighting a fire.” (Yeats)

No insulting stereotypes intended, sorry if it came across that way. My experience in the US has been that most of the time if I use the word "Inuit" people don't have any idea what I'm talking about, and when I explain they say "oh you mean Eskimo, why didn't you say so in the first place". There's similar issues with "Indians", "Native Americans", and "First Nations"; some people have no idea about the terms, and others get bent out of shape if you use the wrong one. Don _____________________________________ Tolerance is the cost we must pay for our adventure in liberty. (Dworkin, 1996) “Education is not filling a bucket, but lighting a fire.” (Yeats)

Yep, I know that but I was speaking American so as to not confuse the target audience (at least, any more than I probably already did). Actually I'm pleasantly surprised that you and others apparently know the difference between Inuit and Eskimo, most Americans I've talked to where the subject came up had no clue. Don _____________________________________ Tolerance is the cost we must pay for our adventure in liberty. (Dworkin, 1996) “Education is not filling a bucket, but lighting a fire.” (Yeats)

So you'd be giving them an Eskimo kiss? As opposed to a lesbian kiss? Curious that you think forcefully Eskimo kissing the teacher OK, but to you teaching kids it's OK to say "no" to unwanted advances is a big affront. Something about that doesn't add up; or maybe it does, but I don't much like the answer. Don _____________________________________ Tolerance is the cost we must pay for our adventure in liberty. (Dworkin, 1996) “Education is not filling a bucket, but lighting a fire.” (Yeats)

A

You are downplaying the time element, though, when you portray the situation as "19 objects in Wyoming". Satellites and space stations are intended to function for a decade or more, so events that are low probability to happen today become quite a bit more likely if you say "some time in the next 10 years". Also, "risk" is some combination of probability of an event and consequences if the event happens; low probability events can still be risky if the consequences are catastrophic, just as events that are likely to occur but have only minor consequences are not perceived as risky. Collisions have in fact occurred, and the space station has been moved to reduce risk of a collision, so the probability of it happening is not 0 even if it is low. A collision with the space station could well be catastrophic. Clearly no need to panic yet, but still the prudent course would be to avoid adding to the problem as much as possible. I've seen discussions of using a laser to target the larger objects. Obviously you don't want to cause them to break up, but if you can perturb their orbit so they dip down toward the upper fringes of the atmosphere for part of the orbit, eventually they'll reenter and burn up. Don _____________________________________ Tolerance is the cost we must pay for our adventure in liberty. (Dworkin, 1996) “Education is not filling a bucket, but lighting a fire.” (Yeats)

So in your opinion has law enforcement been derelict in its duty in Virginia When was the last time you ever heard of anyone going to jail for adultery? Don Virginia just had a case charged for Sodomy. Predictably it was thrown out based on Lawrence v. Texas. As it should have been, in my opinion, but my opinion is not what matters. But has the law been rescinded? Did the courts strike down the laws against adultery or fornication? According to Kennedy, it would seem that as long as the law is on the books law enforcement should spare no expense to prosecute every offender. Every law must be enforced in every circumstance, or else we become a lawless society. Don _____________________________________ Tolerance is the cost we must pay for our adventure in liberty. (Dworkin, 1996) “Education is not filling a bucket, but lighting a fire.” (Yeats)

Pragmatic advice, and certainly correct. It does piss me off, though, that the most pragmatic course of action is "shit on the doctors and nurses who saved your sorry ass", and "pass the bill on to the suckers who did pay for insurance". Don _____________________________________ Tolerance is the cost we must pay for our adventure in liberty. (Dworkin, 1996) “Education is not filling a bucket, but lighting a fire.” (Yeats)

So in your opinion has law enforcement been derelict in its duty in Arizona, Utah, Idaho, Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, Nebraska, North Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan, New York, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Maryland, West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, and Florida? Adultery is against the law in all of those states, punishable by either a fine or jail sentence (up to life imprisonment in Michigan). It is also an offense under the Uniform Code of Military Justice. When was the last time you ever heard of anyone going to jail for adultery? Newt Gingrich is a Georgia resident and admitted serial adulterer, yet he has never been charged, fined, or imprisoned. Shouldn't the laws against adultery be enforced? They are on the books! Those same states also have laws against fornication. Should they also be enforced? But no, adultery and fornication are as common as speeding, which also isn't enforced as long as you don't push it too far. But those snot-nosed little brown kids who were brought here when they were infants, who have grown up here and know no other culture, some of whom don't even speak Spanish, now they are the dangerous ones. Run them out on a rail. Maybe you can get a good kick in for good measure. Don _____________________________________ Tolerance is the cost we must pay for our adventure in liberty. (Dworkin, 1996) “Education is not filling a bucket, but lighting a fire.” (Yeats)

I going to go out on a limb here and suggest that their interest in the matter is exactly the same as why prison guard unions spend so much money to lobby against decriminalization of drugs. $$$$$$$$$$ Don _____________________________________ Tolerance is the cost we must pay for our adventure in liberty. (Dworkin, 1996) “Education is not filling a bucket, but lighting a fire.” (Yeats)

If you're so hungry for another war we can't afford and have no business getting involved in, why don't you haul your ass over there and pick up a gun yourself? Or do you just like to complain, but aren't quite invested enough to actually do anything yourself? How many people have you, personally, hired in the last 6 months? Obama can't personally hire all those folks, private industry has got to do it if you don't want them all to be government employees. As far as I can tell, the so-called "job creators" are doing a pretty shitty job of putting their most-favored tax status to work creating jobs. So once again, how many people have you personally hired recently? Don _____________________________________ Tolerance is the cost we must pay for our adventure in liberty. (Dworkin, 1996) “Education is not filling a bucket, but lighting a fire.” (Yeats)

Maybe they should have sent a bunch of lawyers after him, instead of cops. Lawyers always seem to know exactly the right thing to do. I'm pretty sure they would have gone straight for that boat. Not to mention, if perp #2 had managed to kill or injure even one "civilian" (i.e. not law enforcement) while on the run, they'd also be falling all over themselves to represent the victim in suing the police. Don _____________________________________ Tolerance is the cost we must pay for our adventure in liberty. (Dworkin, 1996) “Education is not filling a bucket, but lighting a fire.” (Yeats)

from the link: "It’s not the first time Nike has felt the need to pull a product in the wake of a tragedy. In February the retailer pulled an ad featuring Olympic sprinter Oscar Pistorius with the caption “I am the bullet in the chamber,” after he was charged with shooting to death girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp." So there's your "FutureCam Crime Detector": just wait for Nike to produce a T-shirt, then go to whatever event/person is shirt is directed to and prevent the crime! So far, their record is pretty good. Don _____________________________________ Tolerance is the cost we must pay for our adventure in liberty. (Dworkin, 1996) “Education is not filling a bucket, but lighting a fire.” (Yeats)

Fair enough. However, I'd say that it's extremely unlikely that any defense would be able to result in an acquittal at this point. Regardless of what he says or does not say, there is already a mountain of evidence against him that has been released in the effort to capture him. Avoiding the death penalty would probably have to pass for a "win" under the circumstances. Would a "win" that involved life without parole, perhaps in the Supermax prison like Ted Kazinski, locked up without human contact for 23 hrs/day, and let out to exercise alone for an hour, really be a better outcome than an early death? Especially if he does believe all that "heavenly reward" and "72 virgins" malarkey? If I was 19, and looking at 50+ years of solitary confinement vs a few years then "lights out" (as McVeigh did), at this point I'd probably be doing everything I could to ensure the latter outcome. Don _____________________________________ Tolerance is the cost we must pay for our adventure in liberty. (Dworkin, 1996) “Education is not filling a bucket, but lighting a fire.” (Yeats)

Considering the stress of the situation (bullets flying, bombs blowing up) I doubt that would have been in any position for an introspective analysis of his life. Much more likely that the only thought on his mind was "must get out of here". Think of skydivers who find themselves in the basement, how many go for their main despite knowing full well that this would be a great time to whip out the reserve? High stress and rational thought are generally mutually exclusive. Don _____________________________________ Tolerance is the cost we must pay for our adventure in liberty. (Dworkin, 1996) “Education is not filling a bucket, but lighting a fire.” (Yeats)

But maybe not for long. As a naturalized citizen myself, I can tell you that in the application for naturalization there are questions like (paraphrasing) "have you ever been involved in a criminal enterprise for which you were not charged or convicted", and "have you ever been involved in a plot against the United States". You are asked to reaffirm your answers to these questions at the time of your final interview, shortly before the oath ceremony itself. I commented to someone that an applicant would be an idiot to answer "yes" to those questions, but I was told that's not the point. The point is, if you answer "no" when the honest answer is "yes" you've lied on the application and your citizenship can be revoked. If the FBI or whoever can prove that Tsarnaev was involved in the plot before last September 11 (when he became a citizen) it's possible that he could be stripped of his US citizenship. It's been done before, in the case of major drug dealers and also in the case of that guy who was accused (and ultimately convicted) of being a Nazi concentration camp guard. I don't know what the process is for doing that, if a trial is required or just a bureaucratic decision. That being said, the constitution refers to "persons" not "citizens" in the relevant passages; even if you are not a citizen you are entitled to a trial, and are protected against self-incrimination and double jeopardy etc just as any citizen is. I can't fathom how it is that people who are so adamant about their 2nd amendment rights are also perfectly happy with the government using an unconstitutional "enemy combatant" designation to strip people of all their constitutional rights and imprison them indefinitely without trial. Don _____________________________________ Tolerance is the cost we must pay for our adventure in liberty. (Dworkin, 1996) “Education is not filling a bucket, but lighting a fire.” (Yeats)

Approaching the question from the other side, at what point do you have a legal obligation to say something? If someone you know tells you to "stay away from the finish line at the marathon", or "whatever you do don't go to school on such-and-such a day", do you have a legal obligation to say something, and can you be charged with anything if you don't and an attack does occur? Don _____________________________________ Tolerance is the cost we must pay for our adventure in liberty. (Dworkin, 1996) “Education is not filling a bucket, but lighting a fire.” (Yeats)

so are you agreeing with Schumer that they should do it twice? seriously? I haven't seen where Schumer proposed that. I asked what legislation was being referred to, but just got a vague reference to "immigration" so I have no idea what Schumer was referring to that was so objectionable. Anyway the OP didn't object to fingerprinting etc twice, it seemed clear (to me) from the language used that he objected to it being done at all. Even once. Don _____________________________________ Tolerance is the cost we must pay for our adventure in liberty. (Dworkin, 1996) “Education is not filling a bucket, but lighting a fire.” (Yeats)

You want to re-write that with a little more fact and less emotional scare tactic? Guns are designed to accelerate pieces of lead. Just like cars are designed to turn gasoline into CO2. QED. Don _____________________________________ Tolerance is the cost we must pay for our adventure in liberty. (Dworkin, 1996) “Education is not filling a bucket, but lighting a fire.” (Yeats)