Differentiation: Not Just For Products

distractedbyshinyobjects:

I’m 28. My parents’ corporate employer covered me until I was 25 even without the mandate to do so. I went from that to my own employer-provided coverage, had a year of nothing when I left that job, and now I’m on my husband’s employer-provided insurance. All of those had no problem covering everything needed or that I can imagine needing. Not that they were perfect, but I’m healthy so I don’t have big complaints.

But I’m still in favor of Obamacare. Because not everyone is as lucky as I am, and I’m not heartless enough to want them to suffer as a result. We live in too wealthy of a country for people to die and go broke because of stupid health stuff.

I love Obamacare.

That’s called differentiation. You could also call it a perk. You don’t, however, call it ‘luck’.

Treating benevolence as ‘luck’ rather than individual agency is precisely the problem I have with the left. It’s as if no good deed could possibly be the product of choice; only the faceless entity of the government, with its numerous regulations can help people, because apparently there’s something evil lurking within the human soul—no bureaucracy—which makes us selfish to the exclusion of all others’ interests (except, apparently, in the context of the government).

jeffmiller:

“On Monday, a 5-4 majority of the U.S. Supreme Court approved strip searches of everyone entering jail after arrest for even the most minor offense. The ruling exposed a disturbing insensitivity.
The plaintiffs in the case, Florence v. Board of Chosen Freeholders, were arrested for relatively minor offenses, such as walking a dog without a leash. Their lawsuit challenged a policy in two New Jersey detention facilities where all arrested people are strip-searched before joining the inside population.
In one facility, this means “a complete disrobing, followed by an examination of the nude inmate … by the supervising officer, which is then followed by a supervised shower with a delousing agent.” In the other facility, the booking process “required groups of 30 to 40 arrestees to enter a large shower room, simultaneously remove all of their clothing, place it in boxes and then shower.”
If you have ever driven over the speed limit in New Jersey, it could be you in that shower.”

—

Court ruling on strip searches is unjust – CNN.com

I think the Court’s decision is beyond disappointing, but it has helped to expose a real problem in America.  Too many Americans expect only the Court to guard their civil liberties.  Americans need to demand that all branches of government guard their civil liberties.  If your local police department is strip-searching people who speed, you need to vote all responsible office-holders out of office.  You need to do this even if you agree with them on hot-button issues like abortion, over which they actually exercise no actual control.

This is horrifying.

And while I would certainly not compare it to what went on in concentration camps during WWII, the imagery this invoked for me was eerily reminiscent of a scene I think was from ‘Schindler’s List’. Perhaps that’s unique to my neural synapses, but this is still dehumanizing and should not be tolerated.

caleyhustle: CITIZEN PETITION: Tell Elena Kagan: “Recuse Yourself From ObamaCare Court Case” With the Supreme Court preparing to hear oral arguments on ObamaCare, Justice Elena Kagan has given no indication that she will recuse herself from the case. This despite the fact that while… Does anyone really expect this woman, who once said the government is well within its rights to dictate people’s meals, to follow any kind of reasonable code of ethics, legal or otherwise?

Anti-Government Extremist: caleyhustle: CITIZEN PETITION: Tell Elena Kagan: “Recuse Yourself From…

statehate: The U.S. Supreme Court has unanimously decided today to uphold citizens’ Fourth Amendement rights in the GPS tracking case which would have allowed the U.S. government to track a suspects’ cars without a warrant. The court states that the Fourth Amendement’s protection of “persons, houses, papers and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures,” extends to vehicles. According to the ruling (PDF version here), a warrant is required “[w]here, as here, the government obtains information by physically intruding on a constitutionally protected area,” including a car. The case stems from a case involving the nightclub owner Antoine Jones, who was sentenced to life in prison for drug dealing before the appeals court overturned the ruling. The government had installed a GPS device on the suspect’s Jeep, which led to his later arrest. The government tracked Jones over four weeks in order as a part of its case proving Jones was distributing cocaine and storing it and money in a suburban house outside Washington D.C. In today’s ruling, five Supreme Court justices, Justices Antonin Scalia, Anthony Kennedy, Clarence Thomas, Sonia Sotomayor, and Chief Justice John Roberts, agreed that attaching a GPS to a car would violate a person’s Fourth Amendment rights. The other four justices, led by Samuel Alito, agreed in the Jones judgement itself, saying that the move to attach the GPS violated Jones’ “reasonable expectations of privacy.” All judges agreed that GPS tracking should require warrants, which upheld the appeals court decision. The ruling will have a serious impact on police investigations going forward, as GPS tracking has become a common means of obtaining information on a suspect’s movements. The case had Big Brother-esque implications, however, despite the Justice Department’s argument that the government was not after “24-hour surveillance of every citizen in the U.S.” The idea that the government walk up to your driveway and plant a GPS device (originally a military technology) on your car, had left many with a feeling of unease. Even though I don’t think the justices deserve much credit for this, seeing as the correct ruling was so obvious, I was actually expecting this case to go the other way, so I’ve gotta give credit where some credit is due. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I’m pretty sure this is one of <20 unanimous decisions by the Court since Brown v. Board of Education. That’s kind of a big deal.

Supreme Court unanimously rules search warrant needed for GPS tracking

Tonight

the state exercised its power, blind to reason, democracy, and justice and despite (or in spite of) the outcry of hundreds of thousands calling for mercy and fairness. Troy Davis is not the first, nor will he be the last, but vigilance of the people can limit the number of his successors to face death at the hands of the cold, inhumane government. As a citizen of the state claiming the most lives in this country and as a citizen of the country claiming the most prisoners, I truly hope that America’s citizens do not falter in their rejection of, and fight against, such unabated, cruel, and unrelenting state power.

Never allow truth to go unheard in a world where Ann Coulter still reflects a popular viewpoint of hatred, blind state worship, and unrelenting narcissism.

Good night and good luck.

good:

Troy Davis’ execution, scheduled for 7:00 p.m. EST tonight, was delayed as the Supreme Court weighed arguments from Davis’ lawyer and the State of Georgia at to whether or not he deserves a stay. 

Davis’ has quickly become of the state of Georgia’s best-known inmates.  What makes Davis different than past death-row occupants?

Read more on GOOD→

(Source: http://www.good.is/post/what-s-different-about-the-troy-davis-case/?utm_content=image&utm_medium=hp_carousel&utm_source=slide_1)