Internetworkers: http://www.ibiblio.org/internetworkers/

[Jim Allman <jim AT ibang.com>]

On Jun 24, 2005, at 11:44 AM, Roger Austin wrote:
>  In Raleigh, city inspectors can come on your property and cite you
> for an almost infinite number of things and the council can force
> you to make repairs or changes.

Unfortunately, it's a lot more fun (OK, politically popular) to make  
new laws than it is to "tend the garden" and review the existing laws  
for stuff that's outdated, hypocritical, or just silly. So we carry  
on with laws--prohibitions on oral sex, sports betting, marijuana  
smoking, livestock in city limits--that, if they could be ruthlessly  
and automatically enforced, we'd change immediately.

But in the real world these laws can be selectively enforced, so  
they're handy for any government that needs a two-by-four to club its  
enemies with. Witness this week's news:
    - Mugabe's selective (and sudden) enforcement of Zimbabwe's  
housing and commerce regulations, which drives his enemies into  
physical insecurity and panic.
    - The ongoing circus with California's "medical cannabis  
clubs" (the US is in massive denial about the popularity and danger  
of marijuana).
    - Yet another flag-burning amendment, hopelessly subjective and  
ripe for abuse against "subversive elements".

  =jimA=

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Jim Allman
Interrobang Digital Media
http://www.ibang.com/
(919) 649-5760