Who wants a nation of law abiding citizens?

cpo said:

"There's no way to rule innocent men. The only power any government has is to crack down on criminals. Well, when there aren't enough criminals, one makes them. One declares so many things to be a crime that it becomes impossible for men to live without breaking laws. Who wants a nation of law-abiding citizens? What's there in that for anyone? But just pass the kinds of laws that can neither be observed nor enforced nor objectively interpreted—and you create a nation of lawbreakers—and then you cash in on guilt. Now that's the system, Mr. Rearden, that's the game, and once you understand it, you'll be much easier to deal with."

This is from the novel Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand, published in 1957. I feel like it's spot on for 2019 in Maryland, and the Nation.

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cpo said:

"There's no way to rule innocent men. The only power any government has is to crack down on criminals. Well, when there aren't enough criminals, one makes them. One declares so many things to be a crime that it becomes impossible for men to live without breaking laws. Who wants a nation of law-abiding citizens? What's there in that for anyone? But just pass the kinds of laws that can neither be observed nor enforced nor objectively interpreted—and you create a nation of lawbreakers—and then you cash in on guilt. Now that's the system, Mr. Rearden, that's the game, and once you understand it, you'll be much easier to deal with."

This is from the novel Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand, published in 1957. I feel like it's spot on for 2019 in Maryland, and the Nation.

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DivingDriver said:

If the Annapolis General Assembly has their way we will all be criminals come October first.

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chilipeppermaniac said:

CPO, you may or may not experience a version of this type of government sanctioned "rule" that I experience in and around the various roadways I travel on to get to and from different jobs I do. But, I can't help but have my Tin Foil hat on at all the other exponential explosion of other ways the government controls us.

Now I know I feel a bit better when I am in the city if I know there are cams to capture crime and the perps, but, I cannot help but feel Big Brother everywhere else. For example, in certain and growing number of parts of town, I feel more distracted from normal driving while making sure I am not exceeding speed limits, negotiating speed humps or traffic slowing medians that squeeze a road into barely passable lanes, and my favorite game, playing Russian Roulette at intersections to time my passing thru green lights without the light suddenly turning yellow and wondering if I make it before that bright white flash goes off and my instant ticket is swiftly in the mail.

I have very definite feelings about all this "control" and what in my mind amounts to "involuntary taxation" of motorists. If the intent is really to make the roads safer, I really think it does the complete opposite in the ways it distracts us from the main goal in navigation, OBSERVING the actual roadways instead of the pitfalls of accidentally not timing a red light situation or highway construction zone speed trap...

Like I said, just more ways to control us and take our money.

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California knows more than 23,000 people who may be illegally in possession of guns but only rounded up 1,246 guns last year.

California's backlog of criminals illegally in possession of firearms has grown to a record level, a report released by Attorney General Xavier Becerra on Friday shows.

The report found there are now a record 23,222 people the state has identified in the Armed and Prohibited Persons System (APPS). These are generally people California identified as those who previously purchased firearms legally before committing a crime or being subject to a restraining order that made it illegal for them to possess firearms. The people flagged by the automated system, the only one of its kind in the United States, are referred to the Bureau of Firearms within the California Department of Justice. The bureau is tasked to ensure these individuals haven't illegally retained possession of their previously owned firearms...

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